A&L MARINE SURVEYORS, LLC’s survey and inspection services are available to both commercial and private entities throughout the state of Florida, from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas of Nothwest , Northeast, Central and South Florida. Below is an explanation of the various marine surveys performed, the types of boats inspected, and what each inspection entails.
For more information on A&L MARINE SURVEYORS, LLC’s boat surveys and inspection services, contact us at +1 (727) 647-7112.
I am a licensed USCG Master since 1962 and have held a USCG Engineering License > 4000 H.P, in addition to an unlimited towboat license. My experience goes all the way back as a boy of six starting in my family’s business of party and commercial fishing boats (a family business which goes back to the 1920’s in New York). When I was older I worked in the engine repair facilities and boatyards that my family owned. At 14, I was docking 140′ boats. I have done hundreds of inspections, depositions, and court cases since the mid -1980’s including work on the BP Deep Horizon oil spill. I have testified as an expert witness in cases worldwide as well as the U.S. and Florida. I have done accident reconstruction on small craft, yachts, as well as commercial fishing and work boats and large ships including the newest 1000′ long passenger ships. These include collisions, sinking’s, fire, groundings, death cases including alcohol-related. I have also done diminished value claims.
My business has built over 150 vessels in Fiberglass, composite, wood, steel and aluminum under the USCG Hull Identification AMS and in earlier years, before Hull Identifications, the “Ocean Horse” label. I have attended most of the marine engine schools over the years and did some work for GM on the early upgrades of the 53,71 and 149 engines as a young engineer. I am a certified FLIR Infrared Thermographer as well as a certified Non-destructive Testing audio-gauger/ and have all the latest equipment including engine computers, bore-scoping, and ultrasound equipment in addition to the infrared thermal imager and audio-gauge. I attend various schools and seminars throughout the year on accident reconstruction, electrical, and vessel construction. I do work for the Polish Registrar of Shipping, Lloyd’s of London, as well as several French and domestic insurance companies. HAVING BEEN HIRED BY BOTH PLAINTIFF AND DEFENSE AND BEING ACCEPTED AS AN EXPERT WITNESS AND SURVEYOR. MY POSITION IS ALWAYS “JUST THE FACTS.”
As a ships Master, Engineer, as well as an accredited and certified marine surveyor I have inspected ships elevators, electrically and hydraulically controlled watertight as well as passenger doors in used, as well as new condition or refurbished. I do condition, appraisal inspections as well as valuation appraisals, Infrared Thermal Imaging, NDT audio-gauging, Accident Reconstruction, including death, fire collision sinking, collapsing hatch supports both mechanical, electric and hydraulic, slip and falls, boatyard accidents, Diminished Valuation, Seaworthiness, Proper Repairs and Build, Boat and ship engines, and Paint condition.
*Captain Arlen Leiner
(1) Numerous experiences as certified expert witness in the Marine Field in the past 38 years, including Diminished Valuation, Accident Reconstruction, Vessel collisions, Sinking’s, Fire Reconstruction, Injury and Death, Cruise ships Accidents, Jones Act investigations and noncompliance, Boat Construction, Repair and Quality Control, Marine Engines and Installations, Testifying in the United States, Great Britain, BVIs, Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, France, Poland and Greece.
(2) Experience with Docks (loading and unloading), Boatyards, and Marinas and Marina Dockage, Ship and Large Yacht construction and repairs as well as management of Construction and repair, Inspection of NOAA, USCG and Military assault vessels. Boat Construction, Repair and Quality Control, Boat and Ship Construction, as well as Management of New Construction and Repair.
(3) Experienced boat builder Ocean Horse Label (before HIN’s) 178FRP Commercial boats, 3 Steel, 3 Aluminum, 7 Wood, 8 sail 5 FRP and 3 Steel, and from 2007 on under the AMS HIN Experienced and licensed operator (Master since 1963).
(4) Experienced Marine Engineer License 4000 Horsepower or greater from 1970 to 1993 (not renewed due to lack of use).
(5) Appraiser for recreational, commercial charter, and fishing vessel safety (Certified to give the USCG inspections of commercial fishing vessels, sail, and commercial workboats).
(6) Inspector of over 16,000+ boats and ships for condition, valuation, insurance, donation, finance, risk, disaster, salvage, damage, repair, hull, moisture, delamination, corrosion analysis, wood, Kevlar, FRP, including Ships, Submarines, Submersibles Landing Craft, Barges, Tow Boats, Jack-Up Rigs, Tankers, Mega Yachts, Yachts, Commercial fishing, Sportfish, Sail, Houseboats, Pontoon, Boat Trailers, I/O engines, Outboard gas engines, Gas and Diesel Inboard Engines, Freight, Sea Trials, On and Off Hire Surveys, Trip and Tow Surveys, as well as Cargo by all shipping methods. Extensive knowledge of scaffolding and ladders as well as the use of ladders and scaffolding to board vessels in boat and shipyards as well as the proper securing of ladders to vessels due to the use in boatyards in New York, as well as thousands of boarding of boats and ships in boat and shipyards to inspect vessels.
(7) Inspect MOLEX INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, Pumps, Motors, Electrical Panels, in two Plants in St. Petersburg, Florida. Using FLIR Infrared Thermal Imaging to test motors.
(8) FLIR INFRARED THERMAL IMAGING and Bore-scoping of marine vessels and land- based properties for mold and water intrusion. This includes specialized work for the United States Government and LOCKEED-MARTIN as subcontractor.
(9) Certified Internationally NDT testing (Audio gauging Steel and Aluminum).
(10) I learned Steel and Aluminum Construction under tutelage of Duckworth Boats.
(11) Equipment Associated with Boats and Ships.
(12) 2010 POLISH REGISTRAR OF SHIPPING Inspection Course (2 weeks) on CE examinations and ship inspections (Gdansk, Poland).
(13) Certified Diver, Familiar with Deepwater work as well as shallow work, including remote as well as attached tankage, Deepwater saturation work.
(14) Engine Surveys and Inspections: Diesel Engine Schools Attended, GM Detroit Diesel and Gas (all venues), YANMAR, VOLVO PENTA Diesel, CATERPILLAR, JOHN DEERE, MAN, MTU, DEUTZ, LEHMAN, PERKINS, IZUSU, CUMMINS, and ONAN. Gasoline Engine Schools, MERCURY, MERCRUISER, VOLVO PENTA, YAMAHA, EVINRUDE, HONDA, SUZUKI, TOHATSU.
(15) ABYC Electrical ABYC Electrical Systems.
(16) ABYC Collision Investigation.
(17) First Marine Claims Seminar.
(18) Knox Claims Seminars2007, 2009, 2012, 2014.
(19) ABYC Composites Course.
(20) ABYC Electrical Corrosion Course.
(21) ABYC Composites Course.
(22) IBEX Composites Course.
(23) IBEX Advanced Composites Course.
(24) IBEX Surveying and repairing Advanced Composites.
(25) IBEX Improving Gel Coat Quality.
(26) IBEX Demystifying Propeller Design.
(27) IBEX National Meetings 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 ,2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2019
(28) WORKBOAT National Seminars, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2018
(29) IAMI National Seminar 2003 (Panama City Beach, FL), 2008 (Baton Rouge, LA).
(30) SAMS® National Seminars 1999, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017.
(1) 2022 A & L MARITIME EXPERTS, LLC. A L MARINE SURVEYORS, LLC., were formed. Combining all affiliate corporations including family boat building and boat repairs and boat yard, after the sale of AAC MARINE SURVEYORS, LLC.in 2020.
(2) 2010 to 2016 Worked on Litigation against BP during Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
(3) 1970-to 2020 President, KNOT Just Maritime Services, SAGA Marine, Davie Marine Engine Rebuild and AAC Marine Surveyors, LLC; Marine surveying of boats and engines including pre-purchase as well as damage, Vessel and ship deliveries around the world which included commercial Tug and Barge Handling, as well as Yacht deliveries and Private Captain for large sport-fishing boats. Boat handling and operational experience including running and operational hands-on experience of Ships to 650 feet, Commercial Fishing Boats including, large trawlers, factory style vessels, shrimp boats, long line commercial fishing boats, offshore scallop boats and commercial grouper fishing boats. Manufacturing and Construction of commercial boats. Owner of Davie Marine Engines, LLC, rebuilds of marine diesel and gasoline engines.
(4) 1967-1979: Manager of the family-owned party fishing boat fleet, Brooklyn, NY; Management fleet of seven boats between New York, Mass., and Florida for the family. I Spent a half a year working for GM, as an engineer on upgrades concerning GM Diesel 53, 71, 149 , as well as early views of 92 series marine engines. Additional work as United States Government sub contractor Vietnam and Cambodia.
(5) 1963-1969 Part-time and full-time captain of family party fishing boats, in New York, summers and weekends, helped run family-owned repair yard in New York, in addition to repairing boats and engines in our family-owned boatyard.
(6) 1963-1966 University of Toledo; BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering/ combustion Engines.
Will Travel Nationally and Internationally
16,000+ Vessels Inspected since 1970
Call at +1 (727) 647-7112 or fill out the online form to learn more.
By Appointment
Monday – Friday
Saturday and Holidays
(By Special Request)
Will Travel Nationally and Internationally
16,000+ Vessels Inspected since 1970
A&L MARINE SURVEYORS, LLC. survey and inspection services are available to both commercial and private entities throughout the state of Florida, from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas of Nothwest, Northeast, Central and South Florida. Below is an explanation of the various marine Thermal Imaging & Inspection performed, the types of boats inspected, and what each inspection entails.
For more information on A&L MARINE SURVEYORS, LLC’s boat surveys and inspection services, contact us at +1 (727) 647-7112.
Thermal imaging (sometimes referred to as thermography, thermal scanning, infrared imaging, or infrared thermal imaging) is the means and by the knowhow by which we can see the infrared portion of the light spectrum. Every object gives off some amount of thermal radiation so thermal imaging is ideal for observing temperature anomalies that are abnormal in machinery, electrical equipment, and even in solids such as wood, aluminum, steel, and fiberglass. Thermal imaging does not require light to see thermal radiation (think of the old movie “Predator” or the new movies and t. v. shows which show people inside buildings or running towards a building at night) so thermal cameras can see in absolute darkness. Thermal imaging is used widely in law enforcement, security, the military, air and sea navigation, surveillance, firefighting, private industry, medicine, and science.
The tool used for thermal imaging is the thermographic camera, which is similar in appearance and operation of a portable digital video camera. I prefer using the Flir® brand infrared cameras. Flir® was recently purchased by internationally known Teledyne and is now labeled FLIR-TELEDYNE. The infrared camera works by sensing electromagnetic waves within the light spectrum wavelength between approximately 0.9 and 14 micrometers (visible light that can be seen by the human eye is between .4 – .75 micrometers).
A special lens on the infrared camera focuses the infrared light emitted by all objects in view.
The focused light is scanned by a phased array of infrared detector elements. The detector elements create a very detailed temperature pattern called a thermogram. It only takes about one-thirtieth of a second for the detector array to obtain the temperature information to make the thermogram.
This information is obtained from several thousand points in the field of view of view of the detector array. The thermogram created by the detector elements is translated into electric impulses.
The impulses are sent to a signal processing unit. The signal processing unit is a circuit board with a dedicated chip that translates the information from the elements into data for the display.
The signal processing unit sends the information to the color display monitor on the camera, where it appears as various colors depending on the intensity of the infrared emission. The combination of all the impulses from all the elements creates the infrared image. These impulses will also record surface temperatures of the image taken. Infrared cameras can be adjusted for optimum imaging by manually setting the distance to the object, humidity, and air temperature before the image is taken. Special software that we have can also adjust the thermographic image, search, and label exact temperatures outside of the spot size ratio (the center crosshairs on the infrared image), adjust the thermal tuning scale, and crop and edit the image based on how small the thermal anomaly may be.I only use Flir® brand high-definition professional grade infrared thermal cameras in my marine surveys, engine surveys, and inspections. My cameras are calibrated yearly, infrared thermal imaging cameras with a minimum of 320 x 240 pixels with an image frequency of 60Hz. They can detect a minimum of 43,200 individual temperature shots per digital or video image. The minimal thermal range of the cameras I use are between -4 degrees Fahrenheit – 1,202 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius – 650 degrees Celsius) which means I can see thermal anomalies in cold temperatures (such as freon hoses in marine air conditioning systems and refrigeration systems) and in extremely hot temperatures (such as overheating turbochargers and overheating exhaust manifolds in engines).
Each infrared thermal image I take is properly tuned based on the environmental conditions at the time of each shot of the inspection and will give the exact distance in feet or meters to create a more accurate scan for the inspection, this upgrading with this special software it helps to reveal thermal anomalies accurately. Having been trained by Flir® and as an ITC® Level Three Certified Thermographer, certified to teach thermal imaging, I know how to properly take, tune, and interpret infrared thermal images to determine if there are abnormalities in the thermal images or video taken of hull composites, engines, electrical systems, or marine components. I further understand how these systems work and what normal running temperatures are in many different engines and systems on board vessels from years of professional training in addition to my master’s degree in mechanical engineering and over 50 years of experience as a surveyor, thermographer and running boats and rebuilding engines. As you can see, there is a difference in the work I offer versus the untrained surveyors who are out there imaging with small cellphone, and or cameras meant to detect a clogged drain.There are numerous benefits to thermal imaging in many industries. Specifically in the marine industry some of the advantages are: