Leaking fresh water system

[Ken Juul]

Been living aboard 3 nights a week since we bought our '90 C-34 in mid Jan.  Been gradually fixing things.  The water pump cycles much more than I would expect, even with no taps on.  Found several leaking fittings and what appears to be a leak in the water heater.  I have not pulled the covers off to determine where the leak is from, and at this point it is not bad enough to change the water heater, but my question is.  Should this have been found on the survey?  The boat was surveyed in Spring 2000 for the previous owner and again in Dec 2000 by the same surveyor.  Should he have found the leak?  It is a small trickle along the inboard edge barely visible.  Do I have any recourse to make the surveyor pay for it, or is it not worth the effort.  Thanks for any insight on how to play the boaters game.

[Roc]

I think surveyors have a disclaimer on their reports that says something like, they are not responsible for anything they have missed, or something to that effect.  Surveying is an interesting business.  I don't think they really need to pass any test or be accredited by anyone.  I may be wrong about that, maybe someone has some additional input.