Revised Poll about Surveys

[BobJ]

(Or Revised Survey about Polls?)

I edited this poll about Surveys to get at the question better. Could we start over with it?

FYI, the earlier one asked "How long since your boat's last out-of-the-water survey?"

The results were:

Less than three years - 4 votes
Three to five years - 2 votes
More than five years - 3 votes

Thanks!

 

[tiger beetle]

Hi Bob -

one survey answer is "No, the survey I will provide is recent enough".

question for you: "Recent enough" for what purpose? An insurance survey may be quite different than an accident/repair survey, which may be quite different than an equipment survey.

So... if you can let me know the purpose of the survey then I can work out whether or not I think my most recent survey is "recent enough".

- rob/beetle

 

[BobJ]

Yes, it's been interesting trying to figure out how to phrase the poll options.

The out-of-the-water surveys I've had over the years have all been about the same. The surveyor (most often Peter Minkwitz) has tapped out and moisture-tested throughout the hull and decks, looking for voids, possible delamination and other internal issues that could lead to structural failures. He has looked at the condition of keel, rudder and running gear and their attachments. He has checked the operation of all equipment on board and noted items that are out of compliance with Coast Guard requirements.

Once the boat was back in the water, he has run the engine and performed an external inspection of its components, and inquired about recent servicing.

He is one of 3-4 local surveyors who will also do an aloft rigging inspection, although I have not asked him to do that (Glenn Hanson or Scott Easom have done those for me, usually along with other work). Nonetheless, the surveyor inspects the rigging he can see and once commented when the mast was slightly out of alignment. He has also inquired about the age of the standing rigging.

Finally he verifies the hull number and documentation/registration of the boat. (I may be leaving out some steps he performed of which I wasn't aware.)

This was done both for purchase surveys and insurance renewal surveys so unless you requested a limited survey for a special purpose, I don't think the details of the survey work would vary that much. Coming around then to your question - the purpose of the survey: As an entrant in the SHTP, I would want to know if there was anything that was wrong (or going wrong) with the structure or equipment on my boat, that might not be obvious to my untrained eye, and that could jeopardize the safety of my race to Hawaii.

Regarding the "recent enough" comment, past RR&C survey requirements have left the decision as to what is recent enough with the R/C and that will probably not change. But I'm trying to phrase the poll to keep the decisions about boat preparation with the skipper, since the ultimate determination as to a boat's seaworthiness needs to stay with him/her. The R/C and volunteer inspectors are not qualified to determine a boat's seaworthiness, and a survey requirement would help a skipper make that determination.

Long answer to a short question, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to describe what an out-of-the-water survey typically includes.