Which boat survey?

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swift2

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Hi All


Could some kind sole tell me what the differences are between the following surveys?
MCA coded
Buyers survey
Insurance survey

What does one offer that the others don’t etc.

With regards to the MCA I am not referring to the life raft fire and escape etc. My concerns are for the basic boat.
The boat I am buying is of wooden construction and is a motor. I will require it to be coded within a year so I am trying to save money and lift out once hence my survey inquiry.

John
 
MCA code of practice survey - what you need in order to have your vessel certified that it can be used commercially. It checks all sorts of things against the code of practice from which way round the hatches face to the height of the bridgeeck from the cockpit to the companionway to the number and type of fire extinguishers on board. If you are not using your boat for charter or as a sea-school boat you don't need this sort of survey.

Buyers survey. Thorough and detailed examination of the condition of the hull and all its equipment. The boat will have to be lifted/beached/dried out at some part of the survey if it is not already ashore. If you are buying a boat worth anything much at all, this is the sort of survey to go for.

Insurance Survey. A quicker and more cursory check to see the overall condition of a boat to satisfy the insurance company that the boat exists and its not about to sink without trace.

If you need a survey, the surveyor should be able to advise on whcich sort you need. You always need to check exactly what is and what is not being surveyed BEFORE you instruct the surveyor.
 
Insurency survey aims to assess the value of the boat not its condition although it would cover anything likely to lead to a claim, says nothing about if the boat is fit for sea or what work needs doing. Usually only needed when you have owned a boat for some time and want insurence updating (some companies require periodic surveys to cont' ins'). Might also be do after a significant refit when the boats value has changed.

Buyers survay reports on the condition of the boat and any work that needs doing now or will be needed soon. It sould allow you to decide if the boat is good value and if there are any hidden nasties that might leap out and bite you in the wallet and give you you first seasons maintainance program!! The buyers survay also acts as an insurance survay when you buy a boat

MCA coded is the one you need for charter/commercial and is the only one you have to pass to be allowed to use the boat (for commercial/charter work). Essentially its a safety inspection not a condition report. If you need a vessel coding it might pay to make sure that the initial survay includes work needed to bring the boat up to the code requirements as the cost can vary enormously.
 
The boat I am buying is of wooden construction and is a motor. I will require it to be coded within a year so I am trying to save money and lift out once hence my survey inquiry.
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You have a situation that dictates....You can not do an MCA code survey till the boat is ready in a years time....However you will need a buyers insurance survey immediately. Seems you need 2 surveys?????

I assume you realise that the MCA coding is only required for boats being used for commercial purposes such as tuition and chartering. I maybe wrong but I don t believe a lift out is not necessary as it can be done afloat.
 
Boat must be seen ashore for an MCA Coded inspection and may, but not necessarily, also have to be seen afloat.
CJ
 
I've just had my tug surveyed to MCA Cat2. The way it works is that every 5 years they do a full survey (out of water) to cover boat structure and systems plus relevent safety equipment. Then at the end of the year the owner/ agent does his own certification to confirm safety equipent is in date and all systems ok. This self certification carries on till 5 years is up then it has a full survey inspection by MCA approved surveyor to recode it. If the boat is sold within the 5 year period then they will send an inspector down who can check the boat over in the water...this is an inspection only- not a full survey. I found the RYA coding section that handles the MCA coding extreamly helpful....they explain everything to you in a straight forward and helpful way.
What you could do if buying a boat is get a surveyor to do the puchase survey who is familar with the MCA codeing and he can check that there are no major problems for coding. I did this with a smaller workboat I had and saved myself a lot of money.
Don't forget the coding regulations are tending to get harder all the time so just because a boat was coded in the past dosn't mean it will always be easy to get coded again.
 
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