Did You Know That You Could Be Ordering A Survey That May Be Worthless To You.... Not All Surveyors Carry Credentials And Certifications That Insurance Companies And Finance Companies Require.

Jim Potts Marine Services Is A Member And Or Accredited With These Institutions;

Jim Potts Marine Services Offers A Wide Variety Of Marine Surveys. The Following Is Our List Of Survey And Consultation Services. 

What Is A Marine Survey It  is a comprehensive and detailed inspection of all aspects concerning the current condition and fair market value of the vessel inclusive of its systems, equipment, safety compliance, and general maintenance. What Kind Of Survey Do You Need. A Pre-Purchase & Valuation Survey also includes inspection out of water and at sea trial with the additional appraisal of the vessel's cosmetic appearance. The Pre-purchase survey commonly pays for itself by pointing out conditions or deficiencies unknown to the seller and the buyer that can be rectified/negotiated prior to purchase. An Insurance & Valuation Survey, will be required by financial institutions and insurance companies in order to underwrite/insure the vessel. Damage Surveys, assess the extent and probable cause of damage and recommend repairs. Appraisal Surveys For Estate Settlements Or Donations, determine the fair market value of the vessel for settlements or donations.  These surveys protect the conservator from the claims of the Internal Revenue Service and legal actions by members of the estate. The Survey Report, prepared exclusively for you, is a well organized and detailed appraisal of your vessel's construction, hull integrity, machinery, electrical systems, spars, rigging, & deck gear, tankage & plumbing, galley & accommodations, safety & required equipment, and navigation, electronic, & miscellaneous equipment. Surveyor's comments are provided at each section. Destructive and/or intrusive testing is not conducted. Findings and recommendations are detailed using mandatory standards provided by the Code of Federal Regulations and United States Navigation Rules, and recommended practices contained in standards of the American Boat & Yacht Council and the National Fire Protection Association. Among resources utilized to determine fair market value are the BUC price guide, the NADA marine appraisal guide, internet and marine publications resources, and personal knowledge of your local market. A vessel description with digital photographs is also provided in the survey report.

 

Oil Analysis, is not quite as valuable a diagnostic tool as many people have been lead to believe. To do an analysis of wear metals, one first needs to know how long the engine oil has been in service, but this is something we almost never know. The main benefits of oil analysis is that it can determine if there is salt, water or antifreeze in the oil. As a tool for determining internal wear, it is basically only useful when conditions of extreme wear are present. Very often, we get no indication of what it is that is wearing excessively. After the samples are obtained, they then have to be sent to a lab service. It usually takes 3 days before obtaining the results.

Compression Tests; We will occasionally perform compression tests on gas engines at modest extra charge. Compression testing is a very valuable diagnostic tool, particularly on engines 4 years or older. We recommend that all salt water cooled gas engines be so tested. But bear in mind that the ability to perform compression tests depends on a variety of factors, such as the ability to reach and get the spark plugs out. Plus we have to deal with gasoline and the dangers of explosions. Therefore, we will be unable to advise you whether we can perform a compression test until we have actually seen the vessel. Compression testing of outboard motors is not a problem and we can do this in most any case.

Moisture Analysis, is conducted with moisture test meters designed to test areas such as stringers, bulkheads and other areas that may contain wet rot or high levels of moisture. Hulls on many types of vessels  may be tested but they must be very dry laid up for days prior to proper testing.

Pre-Purchase Consultation,  is the consultation with the buyer on a proposed purchase concerning known problems with the particular model and year of the vessel under consideration. This service would include what problems that may occur with the vessel, its equipment and ideas on the costs in making it the right boat for you.  This service is a prelude to the Pre-Purchase survey and may save you the costs of surveying a boat that is not right for you.

Construction Consultation, is similar to a Pre-Purchase survey but also assists the new owner in the set up of options and add-on's offered by the yacht builder. Having a new yacht fully checked out by an expert surveyor can greatly reduce problems after you take delivery. We can also provide evaluations of new boats before you sign your contract. New yacht surveys should take place prior to taking delivery and making final payment so that you will have sufficient leverage to ensure that there is little resistance to correcting problems.

• To discover warranty problems and get them corrected prior to taking delivery.
• Final Quality Control Check: To locate flaws and other defects, including safety and durability issues prior to taking delivery.
• To locate significant substandard conditions in structural, mechanical and system design and construction.

Ready for survey form.

Rates include 50 miles traveling distance from our Great Lakes or Florida offices.  Traveling times over this will be charged $75.00 per hour.  Minimum charges of $300.00 for survey.  Terms are cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.  Full payment required before the survey is released.