T&T: Annapolis Surveyor (Hartoft)

[Joe Marin]

Hello,
I've been lurking for a long time, but this is my first reply/post to this
list so I hope I do it right.  First, thanks to everyone for the continuing
informative posts on a variety of topics.

I had Gale Browning of Hartoft survey my Cape Dory in 2006, and had a
similar experience to those who hired Mr. Hartoft.  The survey was very
thorough and detailed, but in the end I received a 20-something page report
with a LOT of recommendations, categorized by importance, and flagged as to
whether they were underwriting issues.  Very valuable to me, but caused a
problem with my insurance.  BoatU.S. insurance initially required me to fix
virtually all of them.  That, however, was not the end of the story.  I
exchanged several letters with BoatU.S. in which I provided timeframes for
the serious issues, but declined to make many of the less important changes.
For each that I declined, I stated my reasons (usually, because the changes
were cosmetic, not an ABYC recommendation, or not commonplace on similar
vessels).  They yielded on all of my refusals except one which I felt was
perfectly acceptable on their part (a heater-type hose, rather than
wire-reinforced hose, used on the A/C intake).   An important note here is
that I fully intended to repair nearly everything, even the cosmetic issues.
But I certainly did not want my insurance contingent on the repairs and I
did not want a deadline on cosmetic issues.

Bottom line: I agree that when hiring a surveyor for insurance purposes,
ensure that you have some input on the level of detail.  Either way,
"required" changes are somewhat negotiable.

Trawler Joe
Cape Dory 28
Deale, MD
http://trawlerjoe.blogspot.com