Do I need to lift a boat for an inspection? Find out more about what kind of boat needs a survey and what a full condition survey will involve.
What kind of boat needs a survey?
You'll find that conducted boat surveys aren't constricted to the more valuable, large or used boats; typically, there isn't any minimum size or value compared to what you expect. Generally, a boat or vessel purchase tends to reflect the exact proportions of an individual's income.
In many cases, both new and used boats require some survey so that professionals can thoroughly analyse the mechanisms of your boat to identify any faults and defects found. Builders can make mistakes sometimes, and not only that, but it could be a case of your boat being neglected by or on the water for many months or years.
Get in touch with your local marina boat surveyors to discuss a free quote for your following boat survey and all your requirements.
What does a full condition survey involve?
Different boats will require different considerations; however, regardless of what type of boat you possess, it will require a thorough survey and assessment of the vital critical components, such as the propulsive equipment, the hull and the condition of your mechanical gear and tools. These surveys typically involve an approach that allows professionals to assess whether your boat or lifting equipment is sound and safe. It encompasses the thorough course of inspections of the transom and hull once out of the water; it is analysed for osmosis, cracks and any impact or other damage. Then, the engine and drive are inspected for any issues with the oil leaks, mountings, connections or shafts. Finally, the inspection assesses the deck hardware, communications and safety equipment, fittings and critical control systems. A competent person is responsible for undertaking all these surveys with plenty of experience in the industry and knowledge of the regulations.
A more basic survey tends to be relatively non-intrusive, so if you're looking for a more high-quality, detailed survey, you'll want to contact a seller and professional surveyor to organise a date for a more thorough analysis of your equipment. A more complex survey or training may include extra fees and costs and ensure your seller is up to undertake a more intrusive survey.
Boat cleaning - Lift & scrub
There are essential intended aspects of boat, yacht or ship cleaning services that you must make a habit of as they are more likely to improve your system. These are a few examples cleaning your boat can enhance your boating equipment:
- Clean units like props and hulls will enhance their performance whilst in the water, whether in seas, lakes, rivers, docks, etc.
- Boat cleaning helps improve the fuel economy of your system.
- With frequent maintenance and cleaning, you'll discover less crustacean growth around the components, sensors and instruments, creating more efficient gauges.
- Lifting and scrubbing your boat allows you to verify protrusions, damage and anodes.
- It can help improve engine cooling systems and enhance their efficiency because of less fouling around its intake of water.
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)
Such maintained regulations stated in the LOLER 1998 exist to place duties and properly planned rules onto UK companies, and self-employed people that own or operate high-quality lifting equipment. These include various organisations and businesses where employees will use this equipment regardless of whether they are purchased or hired.
In many circumstances, PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998) also applies to your work and lifting equipment, especially the elements about maintenance or inspection tests. All lifting operations involve specific lifting equipment and materials that a competent person correctly plans, supervises and carries out to ensure all tasks are completed safely. In most cases, regulations are essential to prevent the need for repairs and to enforce health and safety.
LOLER are regulations that require your equipment used to lift is appropriate for completing a specific job. Manufacturers must suitably mark them, and you or your company must subject them to statutory examinations on a 6-12 month basis. You must keep all records throughout the examinations as this will allow you to note down any defects that you discover that need to be repaired.
What is lifting equipment?
Lifting equipment is the work equipment that many utilise across many sectors and industries for lifting and lowering loads, whether objects or people. Such includes the attachments and lifting accessories explicitly made for anchoring, supporting and fixing your machinery, vehicles and equipment.
What is a lifting operation?
Regulation 8 of LOLER defines any lifting operation as a job concerned with the lowering and lifting of heavy loads in numerous situations. A load consists of the items being lifted and lowered to different locations, which can be heavy objects or humans.
Selecting the right equipment
LOLER intends for high-quality lifting equipment to be of stable and adequate strength, which adds to the obligations of other regulations and guidance like PUWER regarding the work equipment, personal protective equipment and its suitability.
All considered lifting equipment must be installed and positioned to reduce risks as much as possible. You want to select the perfect equipment suitable for your work environment and help avoid any loads or equipment striking people or your employees during the lifting and lowering process or prevent loads from drifting off the equipment and free-falling. It's paramount to take all measures to stop your workers from being injured by or inside the carrier.
Marking of lifting equipment
Lifting equipment and accessories need to be suitably marked clearly to indicate the necessary SWLs (Safe Working Loads), which are essentially the maximum load your lifting equipment can lift safely under UK standards.
The safe working load of your lifting equipment and its accessories will depend primarily on its configuration. The SWL and information provided need to reflect those configurations, such as whereabouts you may move the hook of its engine hoist. The equipment must explicitly mark each of the different positions.
It's essential to ensure you keep the safe working load information with your company lifting machinery; for example, the details of its rated capacity indicator fitted to a crane must be on the equipment. The operator must be alerted of the SWL so that they are aware of its lifting configurations.
Your manufacturer must also mark the accessories and display their characteristics, especially those that may impact the safe use of these products. Such will include the weight of its component parts, including the areas most significant.
When using equipment to lift people, the bodywork or manual needs to be marked to indicate the volume of people that you can lift and include this alongside the SWL.
Carrying out lifting operations
It's vital that all lifting operations using the necessary equipment must be:
Sensibly carried out and appropriately supervised in a safe manner
Planned properly by a competent person.
Planning any thorough lifting operation requires a detailed risk assessment that will allow you to identify the most appropriate methods and equipment to use during our jobs. It also allows individuals to strive to prevent as many risks as physically possible.
These lifting operations range from the following:
Complex operations that need detailed and sophisticated records and thorough planning. These include extensive expert input and plenty of supervision and monitoring from specially trained personnel.
Commonplace and straightforward boat lifts and operations, where minimal planning is done on the job by competent and trained people to manage the risks at hand.
Thorough examination
It's paramount that all lifting equipment on-site is thoroughly examined for faults and defects in various situations, including the following:
Professionals must inspect it before its first use unless there is a valid declaration of conformity approximately 12 months prior, which enables you to avoid such a process.
Installers must inspect it upon installation, re-installation, or assembly at another construction or shipyard site.
Anywhere your lifting equipment will be exposed to harsh conditions or risky locations that could leave you and your workers liable to danger.
These thorough examinations require detailed records identifying defects and changes to your machinery or equipment. You or the competent person must provide a written report of your finding to those using the equipment and those you hired the devices from. It's also essential to report everything to the relevant enforcing authority, such as the local authorities and HSE of industrial workplaces.
Are you planning to a boat inspection in the UK? If you need to lift a boat or other heavy objects and machinery, we offer lifting equipment and lifting services for the construction and industrial industries.
Follow the links below to find out more about our specialist lifting services throughout the UK.