SOS - Save Our Surveyors...

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SOS – Save Our Surveyors
The word about town is that our Surveyors need saving..,


A MNZ certified marine surveyor is a rare creature.  
He is the key to running a successful maritime operation.   
These are the blokes that keep an eye on the state of a vessel and through their vast experience, 
they see things before they are evident to us mere mortals.
Surveyors rely on a vessel operator to present his/her vessel in the best possible 
manner so he can complete his task with ease.    
When operators are diligent about looking after their vessel, it’s an asset and not a liability.
A surveyor will often work during the day and write his reports in the evenings to get the job completed.   With the new MOSS standards, survey reports are more detailed and the operator now gets an actual report that portrays their boat – good & bad.

Prior to his visit an operator should have basic engine details, stability documents, generator paperwork etc so he doesn’t have to wait for this to come.    
If the operator doesn’t have this information, it will be with their former SSM companies and can be difficult to obtain.
Having radio, compass & fire certificates up to date, checking flares and chart dates & giving the boat a good clean (if it needs it), make the surveyor’s job easier.  
Sometimes a surveyor can spend over an hour chasing lifejackets – which all adds up the cost to the vessel operator.
One of the biggest hassles a surveyor has is when, on leaving a job, they give the operator a work list and operator takes months to finish it.  
By the time they get back to the surveyor, he has moved onto other projects.

As surveyors are often booked months ahead, it is recommended they be contacted in plenty of time & before buying a boat.

(Thanks to Robin Williams, Marine Surveyor for information in this post)



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