Gil Fleming has 20 years experience as a marine surveyor and is a member of the American Boat and Yacht Council.

Gil is also a graduate of the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology and is a practicing professional yacht designer.

If you require a survey for insurance purposes or are considering buying a boat and require a pre-purchase survey call Gil.

Gil Fleming can conduct different types of marine surveys:

• Pre-purchase Survey
• Insurance Survey
• Appraisal Survey

To visit Gil's website for more information about the different types of surveys or to view some of his yacht designs, click on:

Contact Sandpiper Marine Services for:

• Pre-purchase & insurance inspections
• Transport Canada Tonnage Surveys
• Claim investigation 
• Vessel appraisals 
• Damage Surveys
• Infrared Thermal Imaging

To visit the website for Sandpiper Marine Services click on SANDPIPER.

 Thermal Imaging in Marine Surveying Thermography is an important addition to the marine surveyor`s toolkit, along with the percussion hammer, a moisture metre, and hands-on field experience. With today`s highly sensitive infrared detectors and advanced electronics, we can

• quickly scan your vessel for structural integrity
• examine electrical, propulsion, and fuel systems
• examine navigation and other on-board electronics.

Thermal imaging can detect potential problems that would be invisible, not only to the naked eye but also to many instruments. Electrcal, mechanical, and propulsion, power generation and other systems often show unusual heat variations before failure. Likewise, structural problems in FRP, wood, and composite laminates are frequently accompanied by abnormal heat signatures. Such problems are clearly visible to the new generation thermal imaging cameras, with their extremely sensitive heat detection capabilities, allowing problems to be detected early and helping to avoid costly and catastrophic failures.

Sandpiper Marine does use thermal imaging in surveying boats. Contact Greg Piper for more information today.

Nikolas Lintunen is based in Windsor Ontario.

He has lived on the Great Lakes his entire life and has spent most of those years on the water in everything from dinghies and canoes to seventy foot racing sailboats.

Nik is an accredited Marine Surveyor with the Canadian Association of Certified Marine Surveyors. He is a graduate of the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering program.

The services he can provide include:

• marine surveys - pre-purchase or insurance
• consulting services
• yacht designing

To email Nik click on the card above or visit his website for more information at www.nlmarinesurvey.com

 PRE-PURCHASE SURVEY for potential buyer

It includes:

• the physical inspection and inventory of the vessel's equipment
• moisture meter testing of the hull and deck areas
• percussion sounding of the under body
• verification of the operating condition of the engine(s) andelectrical equipment 
• verification of the condition of all the vessels various systems (plumbing etc.).

A sea trial may also be part of the inspection. A current market retail value of the vessel is also researched and included. 

INSURANCE SURVEY for boat owner

Insurance companies periodically require a survey  to ascertain the condition of the vessel and it's current market value in order to assess risk.

How often an insurance company requires a survey varies. An insurance survey should provide the same level of inspection as a pre-purchase survey.