By Barb Thomson

Special to Black Press

We were the rubes who鈥檇 moved over from the mainland and knew nothing about boats and even less about marine surveys. After taking Power Squadron courses, reading articles, watching videos, even then, almost everyone we talked to knew more about boats than us. Finally, after searching the wilderness of sailboats for sale, Hansel and Gretel (us) found the boat of their dreams.

The broker said, 鈥淵ou need to get a survey.鈥� We said, 鈥淥kay.鈥� He said, 鈥淚 know the guy who surveyed this boat last year 鈥� he鈥檒l do it again for you.鈥� 鈥淥kay,鈥� we said. And just like that, we popped $650 for a surveyor who tap-tap-tapped the hull and then plopped down inside the boat鈥檚 cabin with last year鈥檚 survey to fill in the blanks of the same form that hadn鈥檛 changed. The whole process took about two hours. Everybody was happy 鈥� the broker, the surveyor, the boat鈥檚 insurer 鈥� and we were happy because we didn鈥檛 know any better.

Similar to a home inspection before buying a house, a surveyor 鈥渨ill inspect the boat鈥檚 structure, electrical systems, fuel systems, safety and navigation equipment and even cosmetic items that can erode the boat鈥檚 value.鈥� (source: Marine Surveys Canada)

The survey should accomplish two things:

1. Inform the insurer of the value and level of risk

2. Provide the buyer with an unbiased assessment of the boat鈥檚 condition.

Pain enters the process if the survey results in higher insurance costs due to vessel flaws or disqualifies the purchase altogether. In this case, the buyer considers the cost of the survey the lesser bill to pay.

A great article by Timothy J.S. Martin opens with, 鈥淚t seems like everyone has their guy,鈥� to describe how marine surveyors are often hired on the recommendation of personal relationships rather than professional assessments (https://www.marinesurveyscanada.com/blog/). He offers three basic qualifications to look for in choosing a surveyor:

1. Membership in an association of surveyors

2. Technical certifications

3. Professionally insured.

Martin goes on to say that a surveyor who can鈥檛 provide proof of membership or insurance or previous surveys and is offering to do the job at half the cost and cut your lawn as well 鈥� should be avoided.

In failing to do our own due diligence, we were lucky the flaws in the boat we bought were not significant to its structure or safety. Not all fairy tales end so well.

Barb Thomson is a boating enthusiast who writes regular columns for the Comox Valley Record.