during the first 6 months until they establish themselves. This is a great relief to have help with the workload coming in, plus it keeps the work flowing to IIMS member surveyors.
I get excited to see them gain confidence, take pride in their work and become independent surveyors who still call me frequently to bounce ideas off and thoughts with me.
Surveying work is a single person job generally, so having a new marine surveyor who is keen to learn gives me company and a second pair of eyes. Also, I like the process of teaching and describing what I do as I’m doing it and the pit falls of certain types of boats. It’s a way to reflect on my own methods. So, I’m learning new skills too and sometimes I learn new ideas from them as well. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks!
Q5. How do you go about mentoring? What are the key components and guidance you share with a mentee?
There are still no formal mentoring programs and the current training for marine surveyors is course work – remember, every boat is different even if there are two alike. Mentees have usually completed (or nearly finished) their formal training (IIMS Professional
Qualification) and are ready to learn “on the job” so they require guidance rather than intensive training. Mentees look for an experienced surveyor (mentor) and have approached me. Between us, we discuss how it will work and what the trainee wants out of the relationship.
The mentees come with me for several surveys over six months to a year on a weekly basis to observe what I do and how I do it. I try to provide a variety of yachts and power boats. I give them copies of my templates for drafts, service agreements, invoices and final reports, plus on every job that they accompany me their name also goes on the report as evidence.
Q6. I understand you have mentored a number of new entrants to the surveying profession, many of whom have gone on to become successful surveyors and members of IIMS. What do they gain most from being a mentee?
In most jobs there are experienced people in the workplace, where you can learn on the job with supervision. A surveyor works alone and doesn’t have the benefit of support from co-workers in the office. Therefore, a mentee has access to guidance,
information and experience from a seasoned professional surveyor and in many cases years later can ring and discuss (bounce off) things that require a second opinion before things are written down.
Q7. Typically, what are the key issues for someone coming into this industry that are likely to cause the biggest challenges.
As already mentioned, there can be difficult clients. A good marine surveyor requires first-class people skills and the ability to put everyone at ease during an inspection. The surveyor needs to be able to convey that most items discovered can be fixed or repaired as it takes time and money in most cases, and often just means the boat has potential.
Clients not understanding that the survey is for what is seen “at the time/on the day” and coming back, sometimes years later, saying things have broken that the surveyor should have picked up can be a real challenge.
Sometimes, from lack of experience or knowledge, items and faults can be missed and could have serious consequences – all the people I have mentored can call me anytime to discuss any concerns to avoid this situation arising.
The boat Peter built and with which he did a seven-year circumnavigation.
Peter and Jan on their Greek motorbike in Crete. THE REPORT | MAR 2026 | ISSUE 115 | 153
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