Brian W Smith in Manea, March

I had a survey done on a narrowboat in June 2016 and other than a few recommendations none of which were serious he gave the boat a clean bill of health.
In February 2017 the boat needed its safety certificate renewing, (BSS), and both the inspector and the engineer I had to employ to carry out the work necessary to comply with the regulations could not believe the boat's survey had passed as it was in fact in a potentially dangerous and life threatening condition - both of their words, not mine.
The gas pipe was situated too low down in the locker and then entered the boat. This meant if there was a gas leak it could sit in the bilge and as it was too close to electric bow thrusters it could explode. Neither the inspector or engineer had ever seen anything like this before.
In his report Mr Smith stated that the way the pipe entered the boat was perfectly safe but evidently it wasn't and I have serious concerns to his ability to survey a boat as I am unsure he is familiar with the regulations.
I would strongly suggest you do not employ this man to undertake your survey as there are plenty of competent surveyors who would not put your life at risk by cutting corners.
I wrote to Mr Smith expressing my concerns but he has not even had the professional decency to acknowledge and reply to me.

Given one star because he turned up. These are some of the things he missed:- water leaks. No water in the tank, he couldn't be bothered to put any in, the water supply was right next to the boat. He did not test any of the electrical systems. Later found a fault with the alternator. He only tested the hob on the cooker, the oven was flaming orange thereby putting my life at risk.

Later inspection revealed that the bathroom and bedroom floors were rotten. Perhaps if he had checked the water system it would have revealed this problem. He did not mention, in his report anything about water damage caused by leaks from outside. There was nothing in his report about any of the gas systems apart from to say to remove a boiler, low and behold I very soon had to have a gas leak fixed, and here's the clincher, he even miscounted the amount of mushroom vents the boat has.

If anyone would like to have a look at the survey report, I will be only too willing to let them. Plus the witness statements I am gathering.