don't spend money on a survey just yet...
To continue on from the finding your boat article. I want to touch on getting a survey. Or really doing your own pre-survey. There are steps in the process of purchasing a "used" boat. Steps that protect the lender and you from buying into a disaster. They're not perfect but some protection is better than none. One of those steps is the survey. Similar to a home inspection before the purchase of a new house. You will have to hire a third party surveyor to inspect the vessel for issues and ABYC compliance recommendations.
The process of getting a survey comes with a price tag. In addition to the survey, you be scheduling a boatyard to haul the boat out of the water to inspect below the waterline. You will be expected to pay for both of these services on a "by the foot" basis. To clarify "by the foot", in almost every service you have performed to your boat, it will end up being rated "by the foot". The measurement that this is applied to is dubbed "LOA" Length Over All. This is the longest measurement of the boat, from the forward tip of the bow pulpit to the furthest aft edge of the swim platform. This measurement is usually quite longer than the factory length designation. For example; Coraline is a Silverton 410 Sport Bridge, 410 is the factory designation of her length 41.0 feet. But, her LOA is 46 feet. At the time of Coraline's survey in 2015 our complete expense was $1450 for the haul out and survey. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first survey that we'd paid for either.
As you can imagine, dropping cash on boat surveys can get expensive. As the boat owner is under no obligation to refund you any of this cost should a serious problem be uncovered. So, I want to talk about ways you can "pre" survey. This is something to do before you even approach a lender about financing. It's a way to cut down on false starts and wasted efforts. To do this, you need to wait until the excitement of finding your "perfect" boat calms down a bit. In finding your boat I talk about how to figure out what type of boat you like. When you're doing your search, you might not notice but you're going tend to be more focused on the layouts of the boats that you're looking at. And that's fine, just focus on that. Now, let's say you've come to one that you really like, go visit it, and it's your perfect liveaboard. Next (trust me on this) just...go home, stop looking at boats online, slide back into your routine and calm down for at least 3 days. After that, reschedule another viewing and if you don't own any pick up some boat shoes that have little to no padding in the bed of the foot to wear (I'll explain later on). On this next visit you're going to look at the boat twice. First, when you get there pull out your phone and take video or pictures at an excessive level. This should help you calm down. Your goal is to flood your phone with images not your mind. If your mind is racing with images and plans you won't be able to focus. After you've gotten to the point that you think that it's impossible to take more pictures you'll be ready to start the second visit but, not yet. Excuse yourself to the bathroom at the marina or say that you forgot something in your car. Whatever works, just find a way off the boat for a few minutes with the intention of returning. At this point you should be coming up on at least 45 minutes of visit time. Hopefully you're relatively focused to start the second visit, "your pre-survey". What we're after here is a handful of potential issues that hide in plain sight. Things that most people will overlook because they're hung up on how large the master stateroom is, where they could place their stuff or the size of the shower. Get that out of your head. That's what those pictures were for. You can fuss over that later. Below is what we're after:
- Repaired hull damage. You're not going to be able to find a well done repair with novice eyes. Don't worry about that. A well done repair is most likely going to be done right and that's why you won't detect it. We're on the hunt for suspect repairs. A trick to finding these is by the studying the color of the boat. First from the dock and then from the top deck of the boat. Gelcoat (the outer skin) has to be tinted just like paint does. It takes a skilled craftsman to match the color exactly during a repair. You're on the hunt for any area of the gelcoat that has a variance in coloring to indicate poor craftsmanship. It'll most likely be in the yellow color spectrum. Yellow is the toughest color to match because when the gelcoat is wet it's hard to distinguish shadow from tinting. The tendency is to over tint with yellow. That's your first clue. Also, a tip off is that freshly repaired gelcoat will not have the same age as the surrounding gelcoat. Look for texture and gloss differences if you start tracking a color difference. Next, try looking down the length of the hull or deck for raised areas and odd imperfections. Even if you have to bend or lay down to do this. Close one eye and look over the horizon of the fiberglass. Is it perfect? If not zoom in on that area to inspect closer. Make sure to look down around the water line too. Notice any cracking, maybe like a stone chip on a windshield? A sure sign of impact and a broken stringer. If you spot anything like this, ask what happened. Don't take a brush off. Lay it out, say that "this issue is turning me off, I'd need to see a repair estimate to make sure this isn't serious before proceeding". As long as the repair was or turns out to be cosmetic (not structural), you'll be okay and you can use it as a bargaining chip during your offer.
- Wet coring in the deck. Some boats have wood or foam sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass. This has the benefit of strength, noise reduction, insulating, and weight. However, it is not uncommon for water to get past the layers of fiberglass and rot out the wood or foam coring. This tends to happen around mounting holes improperly cut into the deck and/or bad repair work. When the water infiltrates and freezes it becomes worse than just rot because it can expand inside the cavity pushing the layers apart. Typically, this is noted by cracking in the gelcoat. Voids in the fiberglass and/or coring of the hull will allow more flexing thus causing cracks in the hard non flexing gelcoat. Look for this. Question it. -Onward and armed with your un-padded shoes you'll need to walk around the deck in a bouncy fashion. Give the deck your full weight. Listen for creaking and cracking noises. Does it sound like you stepped on a peanut shell? Feel the firmness of the deck with your feet, does it feel spongy? Grab and wiggle railings, handles, any hardware fastened to the deck, does it feel firm or does it flex at the deck. If you answer yes to any of these, you need to require it be repaired to purchase or you need to walk away. The latter is preferable. Core repairs are invasive and can expand in scope quickly. The coring in the hull can extend below the waterline and pose the same issues but you'll have to wait until the survey haul out for this to be inspected.
- Has the boat ever been sunk. This isn't hard to figure out because insurance companies are cheap. If a boat is re-floated and repaired they tend to only replace what is readily visible in the cabin. Most marine plywood can be refaced with wood veneer, cabin doors may look good on the outside but if you open them up and look at the edges or backsides you'll see a water marks on a boat that has gone down. Same goes for any built in furniture or locker that has a wood face. Try to access the back of any wood panel you can to look for water stains. Check all levels of the cabin. Go into the engine room and look for water level stain lines on the bulkheads (walls) or the unfinished sides of the hull. If you find this, with no questions, walk away. Repairs from water damage will never end.
- Rot caused by leaking windows. Because the way some boats are designed a leaking port light or fixed glass window can sometimes wreak havoc unnoticed. Again, you're look for discoloration in the wood around windows, look at the bottom of the window frame, is water getting in and seeping into the wall cavities? If so, can you see if the wood below is damaged? Rotted? Leaking windows usually require replacement and repair of the surrounding wood. This gets expensive really fast. A run of the mill aft cabin saloon window will cost you 10k just in parts. That should make you consider walking. There's always another perfect boat.
- Engine and transmission issues. A replacement diesel engine can cost upwards of $40k. In a few quick checks even a novice can spot signs of disaster. First look at the paint on the engine. Is it flaking off in sheets, are there noticeable darker sections of paint (not dirt, more of discoloring or darkening). Typically, this is a sign that the motor has been overheated, something that most do not recover from. Look at the coolant reservoir (if equipped) is the coolant bright green, pink or blue? Or is it dirty, foamy, or separated? If so, it's contaminated and usually a very bad sign. Next, slide the oil dipstick out. Is the oil repulsively smelly, look like a coffee latte, have some other fluid present in it? All very bad signs. You need to let this boat go if so. Same goes for the transmission and don't forget the generator too. In five minutes you can get a good feel for the engine(s) condition with just these simple checks. Don't fret about catching everything later on you can get a mechanical survey to back up your conclusions. We just want to make sure it's worth going to that point first.
- Electrolysis eating up the boat's underwater metal parts? You don't necessarily have to pull a boat out of the water to know if the running gear is in good shape. What you can do as a preliminary check is look at the thru-hulls inside the boat. Thru-hulls are valves that allow water to enter the boat for cooling operations, sensors or waste dumping. Most are made of bronze. As it ages gracefully it turns dark green or brown. But, if bronze is being attacked by electrolysis it usually will turn pink. Bright green is indication of a rapid and recent oxidization and may be an issue. But, you'll have to come out of the water to find that one out. If you're seeing pink or bright green, chances are you're not going to have a clean bill of health and should look elsewhere.
- Expensive wear items. A quick tally of these can unveil thousands in needed repairs. Canvas tops: are they dry and thin looking, have tears or mold growing on them? Is the clear glass (usually referred to as Esinglas) still clear? Any breaks? If so, a full replacement top will run into the thousands. Seat and cushion vinyl: Is is cracking, have mold dots, seams splitting, brittle or full of water. Replacing these also will run into the thousands. What condition are the lines(ropes) in? A fresh set can cost upwards of a thousand dollars. These are not deal breakers but things that need serious consideration.
- What's that smell? Use your beak. Do you smell mold, gas, toilet odors? These smells don't go away easily. Mold can be a sign of water leaks and damage. Both expensive and tricky repairs. Fuel smells can come from poorly running engines, leaking fuel tanks or lines. This smell will permeate everything and will not be fixed without major efforts. Toilet odor can be caused by a poorly designed or functioning waste system, or permeated waste hoses. Again, expensive to repair and work no one wants to do. Boats all have a unique smell to them but it shouldn't be overpowering. It should be reminiscent of a wood, glue, and new carpet type smell. Heavy air fresheners should make you suspicious.
Check over these items. If you feel that the boat you're interested in passes this pre-survey. You should feel confident in making an offer on it. There's still some hurdles to overcome in the process but using this check list you can feel better about investing the effort and cash into moving on to the next step.
Cheers,
Mike
Life's a port
