Wednesday 06 November 2019
Speaker, Sean Fitzgerald. Topic: Small Boat Surveys
Sean Fitzgerald is captain of a Stena ferry operating on the Irish Sea. Approaching retirement as a Senior Master he undertook a further course of study to become a qualified ship surveyor. Today he runs his own business [JMF Survey] specialising in small boat surveys. Sean compared what he does to buying a house. Having seen a property few people would proceed to purchase without a survey. The same applies to boats; the cruisers that ply Lough Erne can range in price from £20k to £400k and require a pre-purchase survey to get insurance. Without insurance a boat owner cannot get a berth in a marina and may even be debarred from certain waterways. Being drunk in charge of a boat is punishable by fines of up to £20k and 2 year’s imprisonment. To allow a full inspection of the hull, a boat can only be surveyed when out of the water, this being only one of a long list of structures, fixtures and fittings that form part of each survey. Sean also does work for marine insurance companies, surveying boats following collisions and accidents to assess the damage. More information can be found on the company website https://jmfsurvey.com He was thanked for his very interesting talk by Probian boat owner, Michael Cooney.