What a Boat Survey Includes

This is the page I would want to read before hiring a surveyor. Below is what I actually inspect and, for each area, the published standard I measure it against.

That second part matters more than it sounds. A finding written as “wiring looks poor” is an opinion. A finding written against ABYC E-11 is a specification, and a yard can price it.

Hull, Deck and Structure

Hull and topsides, deck and cabin structure, stringers and floors, bulkheads and their tabbing, the hull-to-deck joint, and the transom. On a sailing vessel, the keel joint and the structure that carries the rig.

I am looking for delamination, crazing that indicates flex rather than age, previous repairs and how well they were done, and evidence of impact or grounding that somebody has faired over.

Moisture Readings and Percussion Testing

Moisture readings are taken across the hull below the waterline, the decks and the cabin top, and recorded with their locations so the next surveyor can compare rather than start over.

Percussion testing, which is exactly what it sounds like, finds voids and delamination that a moisture meter will not. Neither tool is conclusive on its own and anyone who tells you a single meter reading condemns a boat is overselling the instrument. Why that is, and why a moisture meter cannot read through bottom paint, is in what the day of the survey actually looks like.

Propulsion and Steering

Engines, mounts, couplings, shafts, struts, bearings, propellers and the steering system, inspected and operated where they can be run. Exhaust systems get particular attention because they fail expensively and quietly.

What I report is what I can observe and test. Internal engine condition needs oil analysis and a borescope, which is a marine mechanic’s work, and where a vessel warrants that I will tell you plainly rather than imply this covers it.

Electrical Systems – AC and DC

Measured against ABYC E-11, the AC and DC electrical systems standard. Overcurrent protection within the required distance of the source, conductor sizing for both load and run length, terminations and strain relief, chafe protection where conductors pass through structure, and separation of AC and DC.

This is the standard I am certified in, and it is where the most consequential findings usually are. A panel extended over several seasons by different hands is extremely common and rarely compliant. Age counts here as well as compliance. That is the subject of what maintained with an open checkbook actually means, which starts with a twenty-year-old inverter that still powered up.

Fuel Systems

Gasoline installations against ABYC H-24, diesel against ABYC H-33. Tank condition, support and labelling, fill and vent routing, hose specification and date coding, filtration, shutoff arrangements and grounding. LPG installations against ABYC A-1.

Gasoline is the less forgiving of the two and gets correspondingly more time.

Bonding and Corrosion Protection

Bonding conductors, anode condition and placement, and evidence of galvanic or stray current activity, against ABYC E-2. Through-hull fittings and seacocks against ABYC H-27, including whether they actually operate, which is not the same question as whether they are present.

Safety Equipment

Required equipment against USCG carriage requirements, and fire protection against NFPA 302. Extinguisher type, size, placement and service date. Flares and their expiry. Lifejackets, sound signalling, navigation lights, and gasoline ventilation against ABYC H-2.

Standards I Inspect Against

ABYC E-11 for electrical, H-24 and H-33 for fuel, A-1 for LPG, H-2 for gasoline ventilation, E-2 for cathodic protection, H-27 for seacocks and through-hulls, P-1 for exhaust. NFPA 302 for fire protection. USCG carriage requirements for required equipment.

These get revised, which is the reason I keep the certifications current rather than treating them as something earned once. A surveyor working from a superseded revision is giving you superseded information.

What a Survey Does Not Cover

Worth being straight about, because the boundary is where people get caught out.

I do not disassemble. I do not pull headliners, lift cabin soles that are bonded down, or open sealed compartments. Where something cannot be inspected without destructive access, the report says it was not accessible rather than implying it was checked.

I do not perform internal engine assessment, oil analysis or dynamometer testing. I do not dive the vessel. I do not quote repairs, because a surveyor who also sells the repair has an interest in finding it.