When hiring a marine surveyor Estero, you expect him or her to give you more insight into the vessel you own or are thinking about buying. But how do you know if the surveyor does a good job? Will he only rely on judgement calls and are those calls sufficient? It is easy to feel like the service offered will not be sufficient. The important point you should remember, however, is that boat surveyors are required to adhere to certain guidelines. Here are some of those guidelines.
Code of Federal Regulations
The CFRs (Code of Federal Regulations) are the first guidelines a marine surveyor Estero is required to adhere to when performing a boat survey. CFRs are also referred to as Coast Guard Regulations. These guidelines list the minimal requirements for safety equipment, sanitation, navigation lights, electrical and fuel systems on a gasoline-powered vessel. For the diesel-powered vessels, the mechanical and electrical regulations don’t apply but has to comply with all other conditions.
American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) Standards
The ABYC are more of recommendations than regulations. They, however, carry very significant weight. This is more so if there is an accident or a failure ends up in a court. These standards are quite extensive. They cover virtually everything on a vessel save for the basic design and construction. With the ABYC standards being so comprehensive, most of the sections will not apply to every boat. Even so, it is good to remember that every system that a boat surveyor sees will be related to the ABYC standards in some way.
Additional standards that a marine surveyor Estero has to adhere to come from the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA). There are also other sources a boat surveyor can use. For example, when surveying the lifelines on racing sailboat, the surveyor may have to consider the Offshore Special Regulations. These are rules for offshore sailboat racing.
Judgement Calls
Away from the set standards, regulations and recommendations, a boat survey must also rely on their own judgement when surveying a boat. This is for the simple fact that the standards cannot account for everything including elevated moisture readings in the deck or wear in the hoses or belts. The toughest calls are when a surveyor is surveying systems on older boat models that don’t meet or are not covered in the standards for modern day boats.
With all the standards a surveyor has to adhere to and all the judgement calls he or she has to make, it makes sense why you should always stick with experienced surveyors. Find a surveyor that has experience working on boats that are similar to yours. You also need to make sure the surveyor you are considering has a remarkable track record.