Frequently Asked Questions

Marine Surveyors can be instructed for a number of different reasons. Ultimately Marine Surveyors are here to help and to protect you as the purchaser or owner. By using our experience we are able to provide information on the condition or if a damage survey, the cause and effect. The result is simple, we save you time, money and give you the information you need to make informed decisions. If you are considering purchasing a vessel, it is prudent to appoint a surveyor to check the vessel prior to concluding the purchase. We as surveyors are looking to identify any defects resulting from poor construction, misuse or neglect on the part of the vendor. 'Buyer Beware' is an alarming but realistic approach to buying a vessel. Following a survey the report and valuation (if required) will allow you to conclude the purchase with confidence or re-negotiate the purchase based upon defects identifed. In the most extreme cases the survey will allow you to walk away from a purchase due to significant material defects having been identified. Surveyors are independent and do not operate for any other party other then for you the client. We report to you and take instruction from you.

1. First ask if they have experience with the type of vessel you are considering. This also includes sailing on or operating if a motorboat. 2. Is the surveyor well established with years of practical experience gained in many disciplines or a recent graduate from a classroom based course? 3. Does the surveyor have full insurance? 4. Ask the surveyor for a sample report for a similar type of vessel to that being considered. 5. Ask to see testimonials/customer reviews. 6. Is the style of report that the surveyor produces easy to understand, informative and well presented with lots of phorographs? 7. If a valuation is required is the surveyor's reports accepted by all Insurance or Finance companies? 8. Does the surveyor have Terms of Business and a Survey Contract?

A standard Pre-Purchase Survey costs from £16 per ft LOA and if located on the South Coast between Chichester and Lymington no travel is charged. Surveys performed outside of these areas or abroad will have a sensible travel charge levied. Condition Surveys, Damage Surveys and Valuations are boat and location specific. Fees for Tonnage Surveys and MCA Coding Surveys are set by the RYA & MCA and their fees are advertised on the RYA website.

See sample survey for a motorboat or yacht here.

The process of a standard brokerage sale differs depending on the type of craft, broker and location. A summary below: You ask to view the vessel and request full details. You view the vessel and decide if it is correct for you. You ask questions maybe request a second viewing. You decide it is the right boat for you and at the correct price. You make an offer normally subject to survey but sometimes also subject to seatrial. The broker will pass on your offer to the owner and revert with his acceptance or rejection or counter-offer. You negotiate to an accepted price. A Sale & Purchase contract is drawn up against which you will pay a 10% deposit. You arrange a surveyor to inspect the vessel and report on it condition and value. You attend a seatrial. Armed with this information you can move to complete the sale or ask for a re-negotiation based on the surveyors findings. Once the new sale price is agreed between all parties, you pay the balance. Original title documents including the new Bill of Sale and all other original documentation and keys are made available to you. You take ownership of your new boat. Contact us for assistance during your brokerage purchase and benefit from saving money by having a quality survey and good advice.

Explanation of Osmosis & Treatment Osmosis remains a contentious and worrying issue confronting many GRP boat owners. Whether a purchaser of a pre-owned vessel or a potential new boat purchaser, osmosis remain an issue that most appointed surveyors would be expected to investigate and advise on. Osmosis in short is a biological process whereby a fluid will pass through a semi permeable membrane from a solution of lower to a solution of higher concentration. The process as applied to the GRP constructed vessel is not strictly speaking Osmosis at least not in the initial stages of the process. The term however appears to have caught on and now is widely used throughout the marine industry. The use of modern polyester and epoxy resins that are far more resistant to moisture ingress have reduced to a degree concerns about this issue with newer modern GRP vessels, the process however is inevitable. Osmosis_SurveyGRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) is a construction medium whereby glass fibres either woven into mat or loose are held in a matric with a resin. Regrettably the resin matrix is not without flaws and having micro cracks and voids is where the issue begins. Water is unable to pass across the gelcoat layer of a GRP hull and into the laminate as a fluid, but at a molecular level it can and does and will pass through the full thickness of the hull dissipating into the bilge. The molecular concentration of water (moisture) in a vessel’s hull will increase with time when afloat and decrease when out of water. Within the micro cracks and voids the concentration of water molecules will increase and as it does a chemical reaction between the water and water soluble solvents contained in the resin will start to occur. This reaction is called 'Hydrolysis' and the by-product is an acidic solution containing Glycol and Hydrochloric Acid. This ‘Osmosis’ fluid due to its concentration will start the true process of osmosis whereby fluid of a lower concentration (seawater) will pass across a semi permeable membrane (gelcoat) to a solution of higher concentration. This process is slow, but will continue irrespective of seasonal drying as the concentrated fluid will remain until it is removed. The process of osmosis is affected by many factors and the speed of the process can take 10 years for it to become visible. As the process of Osmosis continues so the volume of concentrated fluid will increase and eventually creating a blister under the gelcoat Certain factor can affect the speed and extent of blister development, one being the concentration of the seawater (salinity), another being the water temperature and finally the hull construction. The visual impact of a heavily blistered hull and effect on market value are compelling enough for many boat owners to undertaken remedial treatments to remove the effects of Osmosis, but structurally Osmosis remain largely insignificant and the good old saying that ‘a boat has never sunk due to Osmosis’ is probably very true. Identification of Osmosis as an issue is not straight forward and many surveyors some with significant experience will wrongly diagnose Osmosis and some will overlook the early signs. As the cost of remedial work for Osmosis can be significant the surveyors role is critical. Visual inspection, moisture measurements and other techniques are available to surveyors to assess the state of a vessel’s hull. Combining all these ‘tools’ with experience is the key to a correct assessment of the hull's state of condition. In most cases the antifouling coatings and gelcoat will need stripping known as ‘peeling’. This will allow for the moisture trapped in the laminate matrix to dissipate, however the concentrated products discussed earlier will remain. A hull that has been peeled will need cleaning and this is normally achieved by steam cleaning regularly following peeling and then followed by a drying period. Various system of ‘forced’ drying can be adopted such a vacuum-type systems or heat lamps, but natural drying can equally be successful. Continued assessment for moisture content is needed throughout the drying process until the reading reach a satisfactory level. The re-coating process of a treated hull will normally involve multiple coats of epoxy products concluding in the application of a antifouling coating.