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When you enter the office of Robert Le Brunet, 61 years old, there is no doubt that you are in the home of a passionate person. Nautical charts rub shoulders with nautical event posters on the wall and the "historic" VHF ( the expert's first portable VHF actually ) shows he's got some bottle.
Not a judge, not a constable, not a lawyer..
This former owner of a shipyard in Lancieux in the Côtes d'Armor has been in the nautical industry as a professional for 40 years, in the field of expertise for a good twenty years, simply defining his profession: " The expert is neither a judge, nor a policeman, nor a lawyer, but only a technician.. "he explains.
" Being an expert is first and foremost a question of people. We're in relationships. The boat, the boat object, is full of affect. I frequently meet people who have recovered a relative's boat. These units do not possess any venal value strictly speaking, but are loaded with incalculable human value. In any case, it is these people who must be treated with both justice and fairness. "
The insurance aspect is only one part of the expert's job, without doubt the largest and busiest. Market expertise is the second. Robert explains: " it is a question of appraising a boat from the keel to the windvane, to guarantee to the potential buyer the good condition of the boat in which he plans to invest. "
The principle of a market survey is not to guarantee that everything is fine on a boat, but to obtain a complete and real inventory of fixtures of the property under consideration. This inventory of fixtures must not be complacent with any party, whether or not they are paying for it. The expert explains to us: " When I carry out an expertise, I engage my responsibility. For example, if an expert discovers a leaking valve or through-hull gland, he must notice it on the one hand and report it on the other hand ". It is thus a keen sense of observation and reporting that is required.
Human for humans
" The expert must be frank, firm and objective. I have been known to prohibit certain vessels from sailing, going to warn the harbour master's office of a port that a vessel in that port was dangerous " insists Robert. " Beyond the commitment of my professional responsibility, an accident on a boat can quickly become a tragedy. I feel it is my duty, as a human being, to avoid this tragedy when I can. "
Robert intervenes on all types of boats and for all types of claims, from replacing a propeller with damaged blades to changing the shaft of a passenger ship. An expert can be brought to work all over the world, alone or in a contradictory expertise. Above all, he is a boat technician, who knows how a floating craft is built and behaves and has the ability to explain it to his clients, both insurers and insureds.
Loneliness in daily life, complicated recruitment
The expert's misfortune? He works alone, yet he may need to confront his idea and his position with his peers.
The expert's major concern? Recruitment! He explains: " In my profession, one renders above all in writing. And these writings can be used in court, for example. So you have to find people who can type without too many spelling mistakes on the one hand, and on the other hand who have a minimum of nautical culture, to at least understand what they write. "This double skill is rare.
The expert is not unemployed, even if he is thinking of handing over in a few years. " I handle over 200 cases a year. I put the same amount of passion into each one, the only difference is the way the people I deal with boats behave. I'm a human being, I would always be more inclined to listen to a kind person than a bad one. At 61 years old, after a busy career, I'd like to go back to the sea. "To continue:" I've already lifted my foot, I travel a lot less, especially abroad. "
The expert earns enough to live comfortably, but without wealth
An expert lives from his passion, without becoming ultra-rich when he is independent (some experts are employees of expert groups). Independence and autonomy have a value and a cost. Robert is available to his insured clients, insurers, yachtsmen or potential buyers, almost permanently. Passion comes at this price.
The way we look at the marine surveyor is often marked by a certain amount of criticism due to the way some of his colleagues in the automobile industry work. If there are enthusiasts in the field of automotive surveyors, there are even more in the nautical field, especially when they work in small structures such as Sea West Expert.
Calling in an expert means banishing surprises - often bad ones - once you become the owner of your boat. It also means knowing independently what the state of your investment is and weighing up the "risk" for and the "and the" against "in his project. All in all, it's also about making sure that you go to sea safely and with full knowledge of the condition of your boat.
