Champion Marine, LLC
Marine Surveys and Boat Appraisals
BACKGROUND
RICHARD A. "Rick" Fisher
After many years of involvement in boating safety and boater's education, I was able, in 2007, to devote my energies to marine surveying, and was accepted as a Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS) member.
I have been actively boating, on both inland and coastal waters, for over 40 years, owning both single screw power and auxiliary sailboats. After moving to south Texas in 1984, I got involved in the United States Power Squadron, and have become a USPS certified instructor for both public boating safety courses, and advanced level USPS courses.
Boating safety has always been a strong interest of mine, and I actively participate in the USCG sponsored Vessel Safety Check program, both as a Vessel Examiner, and for some time, head of the Houston Vessel Safety Check program.
In addition to my volunteer instructor duties at the Power Squadron, I am a lead instructor at a Houston area US Coast Guard approved, "Captains" school, where I am approved to teach all courses leading to a 100-ton Masters License.
I also participate in NOAA's Cooperative Charting Program, a program that helps ensure our nation's nautical charts are kept up-to-date. I was recently cited by the US Department of Commerce for my active participation in this program.
In January 2007, I attended the Chapman's School of Seamanship, graduating at the top of my Yacht and Small Craft Surveying class. Following this, I tested for and received certification from the American Boat and Yacht Council for ABYC's Standards Accreditation. Since that initial training, I have attended a number of Damage Claim courses and other surveying related classes and seminars in order to stay current.
I was accepted as a SAMS - Surveyor Associate in April 2007, and, following 4 years of training and experience, I was advanced to Accredited Marine Surveyor (AMS) status.
In addition to conducting many pre-purchase and insurance surveys over the last few years (see sample list below), I have been extensively involved in boat damage claim work, representing both insurance companies and the individual insured. I gained tremendous experience as a result of Hurricane IKE in 2008, conducting damage surveys on innumberable boats of all sizes.
A sample list of boats, both power and sail, that I have conducted pre-purchase and insurance surveys on include:
POWER VESSELS
75' Stardust Cruiser Houseboat
68' Neth Ships Motor Yacht
54' Blackwell Tournament Express
54' Viking Convertible
53' DeFever Motor Yacht
48' Kha Shing Motor Yacht
46' Carver Motor Yacht
34' Intrepid Walkaround
31' Sea Ray Sundancer
26' Formula 260 Sun Sport
19' Nitro 901CDX Bassboat
SAILING VESSELS
65' Macgregor 65
47' Cheoy Lee Ketch
46' Seamaster Motor Sailer
46' Heritage Sloop
44' Hylas Cutter
41' Islander Sloop
37' Endeavour Sloop
37' Gulfstar Sloop
35' Beneteau 35s5 Sloop
30' Catalina Sloop
29' S2 Sloop
27' Catalina Sloop
23' Beneteau First 235
