Gerry underwood Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Good day. We have our BSC inspection today. As a rough guide how long should I expect to be standing in the rain for whilst the inspector does his stuff. No sarcastic replies such as " it depends on this that and the other. Just a rough figure will suffice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmelly Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Just now, Gerry underwood said: Good day. We have our BSC inspection today. As a rough guide how long should I expect to be standing in the rain for whilst the inspector does his stuff. No sarcastic replies such as " it depends on this that and the other. Just a rough figure will suffice. Get one who doesnt expect you to stand outside is my advice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) Correct, you don't even need to stay there. Go for a walk, come back and see if he's finished yet. We had ours done last week and we were 93 miles away from our boat! I don't get the rain reference. We are not many miles from Stretham, and no rain is forecast today. EDIT: just checked Stretham on the BBC Weather web site. No rain forecast there either. Edited July 16, 2020 by Athy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) A proper inspection should take 3+ hours, our last BSSC took 20 minutes from him arriving in the car park to driving out of the gate. It depends on how diligent he is, have you 'booked him' based on his reputation of ensuring your boat is 'safe' or on 'getting a piece of paper because I need it to get a licence ?' It is better to be on-site as when he says it is a fail because you don't have a label on your pump-out, or your ventilation is insufficient, or your RCD is not correct etc etc you need to be able to point out what is required and what is an advisory. Edited July 16, 2020 by Alan de Enfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 My last one took about 2 or 3 hours, but he didn't make me stand outside. I was glad to be there for it as it was my first one and I was able to ask questions about things I didn't fully understand and likewise he was able to ask me things about the boat that I did know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGoat Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 minute ago, Rumsky said: My last one took about 2 or 3 hours, but he didn't make me stand outside. I was glad to be there for it as it was my first one and I was able to ask questions about things I didn't fully understand and likewise he was able to ask me things about the boat that I did know. Perhaps I've been spoilt over the years/ ALL our inspectors have been friendly, keen to make comments and ask questions if they were unclear about any details. IME it's the gas test that takes the longest time, especially if the installation (as is mine) was installed exactly as the original BSS rules (which were pants) required. Surprisingly they are there to help - not criticise... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fender151 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Based on my BSS survey experience last December, I totally agree with Alan's' response, I wasn't present at the inspection, the surveyor recorded 7 failures, 4 of which was because he wasn't familiar with boat and couldn't find things. 2 of the remaining issues we discussed and he withdrew the failures. Lesson learned! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry underwood Posted July 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 We have booked the same guy that did our boat 4 years ago. Unfortunately due to Covid we have to vacate the boat whilst he does his stuff. 32 minutes ago, Athy said: Correct, you don't even need to stay there. Go for a walk, come back and see if he's finished yet. We had ours done last week and we were 93 miles away from our boat! I don't get the rain reference. We are not many miles from Stretham, and no rain is forecast today. EDIT: just checked Stretham on the BBC Weather web site. No rain forecast there either. It was raining earlier. Now stopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 33 minutes ago, Gerry underwood said: Good day. We have our BSC inspection today. As a rough guide how long should I expect to be standing in the rain for whilst the inspector does his stuff. No sarcastic replies such as " it depends on this that and the other. Just a rough figure will suffice. Ours took 1.5 hours last Friday. The examiner had done 3 or 4 previous BSC examinations on our boat so was familiar with it. I always find it beneficial to be on site as there is often a knack of removing things and lighting gas appliances etc. Also, it is useful to discuss advisory issues face to face (at 2 metre distance!). Take a good umbrella with you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterboat Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 If you both wear face masks and gloves whats the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manicpb Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 13 minutes ago, peterboat said: If you both wear face masks and gloves whats the problem? I would have thought the certificating body has given out guidelines as to how tests should take place, probably written up with "government advice" and probably include the line that no other person should be aboard the boat upon testing. Of course it's up to the examiner how close he follows the guidelines but as we've discovered during this whole pandemic is that some people follow rules more strictly than others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry underwood Posted July 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 We passed with no issues. Took about 20minutes. He did comment on the high standard of work with the gas oven installation...I almost felt proud. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, Gerry underwood said: Took about 20minutes. So you did choose an examiner who just turns up and issues the certificate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry underwood Posted July 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Same bloke who did it last time so he knows the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 6 minutes ago, Gerry underwood said: Same bloke who did it last time so he knows the boat. The guy I had said "it passed last time, have you changed anything" I replied "No" so he filled out the 'form' and the certificate issued. Makes a mockery of the whole system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said: The guy I had said "it passed last time, have you changed anything" I replied "No" so he filled out the 'form' and the certificate issued. Makes a mockery of the whole system. So what did he charge for his *inspection*? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 2 minutes ago, PhilR said: So what did he charge for his *inspection*? £160, I'd done my own BSSC examination the day before and even knowing where everything was to do it properly took over 3 hours. At least doing it myself I could ensure that it was 'safer' than relying on a surveyor. If I hadn't needed the 'piece of paper' to get the licence I wouldn't have bothered, I just view it as the licence costs £160 more than C&RTs published 'price-list'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterboat Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 I had for a couple of years the same inspector shame he couldn't remember what he had looked and passed last time! The new inspector had no gas and no engine to worry about so inspection was swift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doratheexplorer Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 7 minutes ago, PhilR said: So what did he charge for his *inspection*? And when can he come and do mine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 11 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said: £160, I'd done my own BSSC examination the day before and even knowing where everything was to do it properly took over 3 hours. At least doing it myself I could ensure that it was 'safer' than relying on a surveyor. If I hadn't needed the 'piece of paper' to get the licence I wouldn't have bothered, I just view it as the licence costs £160 more than C&RTs published 'price-list'. It would be interesting to know how much CaRT charge examiners for the paperwork etc. Only then can we judge the value of the service. There is something wrong when people are charged the same fee for 10 minutes work and for 3 hours work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Dog Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 41 minutes ago, Gerry underwood said: Same bloke who did it last time so he knows the boat. You must have a very memorable boat if a guy turns up 4 years and umpty hundred surveys later and is still familiar with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, PhilR said: It would be interesting to know how much C&RT charge examiners for the paperwork etc. Only then can we judge the value of the service. There is something wrong when people are charged the same fee for 10 minutes work and for 3 hours work. I believe that the fee that the BSS charge their examiners is £40 Out of the remaining £120 they have to take travel time & vehicle costs etc into account so they are not making a fortune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry underwood Posted July 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, PhilR said: So what did he charge for his *inspection*? £150. 1 hour ago, Sea Dog said: You must have a very memorable boat if a guy turns up 4 years and umpty hundred surveys later and is still familiar with it... My boat is unforgettable. Bit like herpes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 33 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said: I believe that the fee that the BSS charge their examiners is £40 Out of the remaining £120 they have to take travel time & vehicle costs etc into account so they are not making a fortune. I agree that the examiners are not making a fortune. But CaRT's cut seems a bit excessive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty Cal Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, Sea Dog said: You must have a very memorable boat if a guy turns up 4 years and umpty hundred surveys later and is still familiar with it... The chap who did our safety test recently has not tested our boat before but is very familiar with the model of boat so knows where to find all the bits he needs to inspect. Not sure how long he was there as we didn't go to meet him. But I don't expect it would have been long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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