Hull Cleaning Information

[fstbttms]

Wow I hope I get a few more.... Haha

Well, if it's any consolation, now I've got more business than I can handle. Seriously.

 

[sterlingMarineService]

Well that's good! From what I hear the divers here are busy but not busy enough to higher another diver....

Have u ever done any inspections or photography for a vessel??

 

[fstbttms]

Have u ever done any inspections or photography for a vessel??

Sure, but generally pleasure craft, not commercial vessels. When someone wants an inspection done (before purchasing a used boat, for instance) I tell them that before I can give them any useful ingformation, the bottom will probably have to be cleaned first. But even then, there just isn't a whole lot a diver can tell an owner about the condition of the hull. Just the usual stuff; condition of the paint, thru-hulls, running gear etc., which is all the same info they get from me during any cleaning. Unless there is something blatently wrong with the boat, you're not going to be able to see it in the water.

I do have a great little underwater camera, an Olympus 12 megapixel point-and-shoot. I use it almost every day. Our big push here in the Bay Area is to get boats onto a 2-month cleaning frequency (as opposed to the usual 3-month schedule). I'll take pix of a 3-month dirty bottom and e-mail them to the client along with my pitch for why a 2-month schedule is better. More often than not, they'll come over to the new schedule. That camera paid for itself the first week I had it.

 

[sterlingMarineService]

Cool... I have the sea life dc1000 with strobe and stuff.... So far it's been a great way to take before and after photos for the customer so the see what I'm doing....

 

[grouchyturtle]

fstbttms,

I have a really good camera. dSLR with 2 strobes, on really long arms, plus a macro lens. I could probably get some clear shots of the bottom, close ups of thru hulls, etc. Based on what you said, I'm wondering, do you think there's a chance of getting work from directly from surveyors? You'd be offering them an extra service they could charge for. Something in between hauling out and doing a full out of water survey and just a basic in water where the hull isn't really inspected.

 

[fstbttms]

I'm wondering, do you think there's a chance of getting work from directly from surveyors?

Well, all I can tell you is that I have never been asked by a surveyor to do any photography. I have done inspections for insurance claims for owners, but not all insurance companies will accept a diver's report. I suspect that any surveyor worth his salt is going to want to see the hull out of the water to do a complete survey. I spoke at the Nor Cal SAMS (Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors) quarterly meeting in December. They asked about in-water inspections and I told them what I've said here, that it's hard for a diver to give any really meaningful information about the condition of a boat based on an underwater inspection. But I'm not advertising my services directly to surveyors either, so who knows? There may be work to be had if you did.

 

[sterlingMarineService]

What do u do the most? s far as servcies?!

 

[fstbttms]

What do u do the most? s far as servcies?!

Hull cleaning and zinc replacement, by far. My company does about 2300 in-water hull cleaning services per year.

 

[sterlingMarineService]

Wow that's crazyp

 

[fstbttms]

Wow that's crazyp

It's a living.