Except for mandatory surveys such as the commercial yacht survey, there are no standards legally available. In other words, someone who considers himself competent to carry out full pre-purchase surveys can operate in this field. Although there is no legal sanction, due to the delicacy of the subject, there are professional organizations around the world related to this field. These are organizations such as YBDSA (Yacht Designers and Surveyors Association), BMSE (British Marine Surveyors Europe), RINA (The Royal Institute of Naval Architects) IIMS (International Institute of Marine Surveying)… For a surveyor who takes his job seriously, becoming a member of these professional organizations and to meet the required criteria;
• Being recognized by an organization, • Being able to closely follow developments related to the profession, • Having the organization act as an arbitrator in disputes that may arise with the customer later is beneficial. These organizations' acceptance of surveyors depends on certain training, criteria or demonstrable experience and references. There are also types of surveys specific to marine vessels subject to different standards in the world, to give an example; MCA (Maritime Coast Guard Agency, British state-based standard-setting organization) coding, class survey, tonnage survey, etc., but in order not to get distracted, we will focus on the 24 m in our country in this article. We keep it within the scope of interest for non-commercial cruising type yachts.
Functions of the surveyor;
• Consultant: The surveyor is not a consultant, because the consultant reflects his views on his field of expertise to you on an hourly fee and has no liability for the consequences that may arise after the consultancy he provides.
The surveyor is the person who carries out the survey activity defined above and reports the results obtained as a result of the tests and observations he has applied, not his opinion. He is the person who tries to reveal what happened, based on physical evidence.
• Separation of Works: Due to the separation of works, the surveyor must be a third party who has no interest in the buying and selling process. When choosing your surveyor, it will be useful to pay attention to these criteria, along with his awareness and expertise.