Hiring a Marine Surveyor in the US
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Hiring a marine surveyor at a distance puts you at a bit of a disadvantage, you miss out on the local knowledge afforded by "dock-talk" about who is reliable or thorough and your insurance broker is not likely familiar with surveyors south of the border so where do you turn for information ? Asking the yacht broker for a recommendation is a bit of a crap shoot as they may refer you to a "broker-friendly" surveyor or their brother-in-law. Most will provide a list of local surveyors and you can	This is our new old boat. a 1984 Dave Martin design. She is 40' with a single 235hp diesel
choose from them although you should never hire one without seeing a sample report. Under NO circumstances should you accept an existing survey unless you have money to burn! The US has as many bogus acronyms and "creative" credentials in the surveying profession as Canada so make sure you read my other article "Choosing a Marine Surveyor" as this may help you separate wheat from chafe. Some, not many but some Canadian Insurance companies are becoming a little more choosy about the reports they will accept and I have seen a few of the "check list" surveys rejected recently. You know .... the ones that say HULL - Yes, ENGINES - Two. The two best places to start are Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors® and the National Association of Marine Surveyors. Both of these organizations are internationally recognized and have similar stringent requirements for achieving Accreditation (SAMS) or Certification (NAMS). Certified NAMS surveyors will show "CMS" after their names and Accredited SAMS surveyors show "AMS®". Be aware that many non SAMS or NAMS surveyors add these acronyms or variations (among others) of them to their names. The only way to be sure is to check the rosters at the respective web sites.

Hiring a SAMS or NAMS surveyor is not a guarantee but it does ensure that you are hiring someone who has
invested 5 years in earning the acronym and is required to prove continuing education every year thereafter to maintain that status. If you are still unsure, give me a call as I know many of the SAMS®, US surveyors and can perhaps send you in the right direction. Hiring a US surveyor will cost more than a Canadian surveyor as their prices are higher, some dramatically so and vary greatly depending on the local market. For a 40' boat in Ontario you will pay between $12.00 and $16.00 per foot while in the US it may range from $15.00 to $25.00. For near border purchases the final cost may be about the same after you pay any travelling costs to the Canadian.	Our old boat (miss her badly) parked in the back yard for a thruster installation.
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Link to an Ohio surveyor who posts his rates on line www.greatlakesmarine.com/services.html and another in NY State www.marinesurveyorny.com/blog/BreakdownofFees or this one in Florida who charges by the hour www.sailcopress.com/survrates.htm I still strongly recommend you buy a fresh water boat but if you cannot resist that great deal on a "salty" you should also realize that salt water surveyors are likely to be less critical of corrosion issues as it is a normal state of affairs for them. Remember if you save $20k on a salt water boat it will also be worth 20k less when you try to sell it back here in Ontario. Also be careful of the "fresh water " boats from the Great Lakes as it is not unheard of for hurricane and salt water boats to be freshened up and sold as fresh water boats. Check out my other article "Buying a Used Boat From The USA" . Captain Wallace Gouk AMS® Marine Surveyor Port Credit Marine Surveys
Captain Wallace Gouk AMS®, Survey reports accepted world wide by all financial and insurance institutions for sail and power boats servicing Ontario east, west, south and beyond including Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines, Grimsby, 50 Point, Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Bronte, Port Credit, Mississauga, Toronto, Oshawa, Pickering, Port Hope, Coburg, Newcastle, Kingston, Brockville, Penetanguishene, Midland, Barrie and Keswick. I have also worked in New York State, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia, Florida and the Bahamas.