Resources
Marine Surveying Guides
Practical guides and professional insight for yacht and small craft surveyors.
Narrowboat BSS vs Pre-Purchase Survey
A BSS certificate proves basic safety compliance, not structural condition. A narrowboat purchase still needs a separate pre-purchase survey.
Defect of the Week: Battery and Shore Power
'Electrics in working order' is not a finding. What a marine electrical survey records about battery fusing, RCD protection, and the earth path.
Defect of the Week: Through-Hull Seacocks
'Present and operational' is not a finding. How to inspect a through-hull seacock, grade dezincification, and document it so it holds up.
Seawork 2026: Tech Coming to the Yard
Propulsion, battery, and monitoring technology at Seawork previews what reaches small-craft pre-purchase surveys within 12 to 24 months.
Steel Hull Ultrasonic Survey Method
There is no published minimum-thickness standard for steel narrowboats, so a defensible hull finding means a recorded reading grid by zone.
Keel Integrity in Pre-Purchase Surveys
Keel detachment is one of sailing's most catastrophic failures. Here's what a survey report must establish about keel attachment, and why.