Dang surveyor

[flyboyjack]

Well, as requested/demanded by the insurance company, I hired a very highly respected surveyor to do the boat inspection prior to completing my purchase of said vessel. Keep in mind this was my first "rodeo" in this arena, so I was completely trusting of the surveyor. Everything looked great, minimal moisture, yada, yada, yada, with the exception that the stuffing box was covered in oily water and couldn't be viewed/ inspected. The surveyor merely said to drain it and have a look-see when we got her home from the east coast as everything else looked very good/above average. I had it drained and inspected prior to bringing her to our home port. It was found the raw water tube, etc.. was rotted and in need of immediate replacement as in the current condition, she was unseaworthy. Repaired same and headed home. Removed in excess of 60 gallons of water upon arrival after a 2day transit home. Began chasing the water intrusion on a daily basis. First went to many adjustments of the stuffing box, et al. Still getting 10-15 gallons of new water every day just sitting at the dock. Finally discovered water coming from aft of the stuffing box and raw water flex tube, et al. Drove over to the local marina, hauled her for a better look-see and found water dripping from the sand shoe at the aft end of the keel. Seems the previous owner had at some time run her aground and bent the thru bolts holding the sand shoe to the keel. Water had been seeping in thru the holes and eventually making it's way into the bilge. This was not an undiscovered or new problem. It drained for 10 days! Now we're cutting out the rot, injecting epoxy and remounting the sand shoe! If you're reading this, thanks Larry for the "honesty". I guess everyone was hoping the surveyor wouldn't find this and he didn't. Dang surveyors!!! The good news is, I've learned a lot about this boat and boats/hulls in general. The bad news is there hasn't been any tuition financial aid! I feel fortunate to have found this and also have great confidence in the repairs. Dang surveyors!

[RobS]

Wasn't part of the survey conducted out of the water to inspect the hull and running gear and perform moisture testing or IR imagery?

[seasalt]

I just got home from looking at Jack's boat. I still see a little puddle on the ground and it has been dripping for a long time. The hull must be cored to the very bottom, aft end of the keel where the sand shoe bolts on. If it was solid I don't think it would have soaked up so much water.

I agree that a good surveyor should have found this by hammering on the hull around any bolt holes. My surveyor did a lot of hammering but I don't know what he missed.

[whwells]

BEEN THERE DONE THAT! Very sorry to hear of your problems. The good news is an Albin is worth the repairs. All went well with the Albin and it has been nearly factory perfect. A previous purchase out of Mobile, Ala. was a total nightmare. There were at at least a dozen major things that the surveryor should have found as the boat came out of the water for inspection as well as sea trial. My decision was then never to buy an older boat as you simply can't trust these people.
When you are 2,000 miles away you are without a remedy for all practical purposes. The only way I would buy an older boat now is to know the owner and the boat before the sale.
There are good surveryor's out there. However, if you are from out of the area you are at their mercy. Felt like the broker/ and surveryor knew each other and took care of one another.
After spending more money on repairs than the boat costs, I gave up and gave it away to one more experieneced at handling difficult boats. Actually, after all my work it has been a good 6 pack boat for the buyer.
whwells "Howard"

[flyboyjack]

At the inspection site, the surveyor said he was unable to do a moisture reading as the "hang time" wasn't sufficient to allow the hull to dry and he would merely get bad/false readings. I don't recall how much he "hammered" and whether or not he would have found this anyway. ,.... if I ever am in the market for another purchase, any water in the bilge will be my walking papers! Dang surveyors!! I'll keep everyone posted. Should be back in the water this week.

flyboyjack

[Panhdjoe]

My experience with 2 surveys has also been bad.

[special k]

my only survey was very generic. almost like filling in a form letter. he DID do a lot of hull thumping but the accessment of the auxillary systems left a lot to be desired. he even checked to see the discharge pump worked, with the seacock closed, this gave me my first experience changing duckbill valve. i was not impressed.

[RobS]

Details seem contradictory. The surveyor couldn't do a moisture survey because the hang time was insufficient yet on the following haul out the water drained out for 10 days from the keel bolts? Seems a visual was all that should have been needed there.

[Tree]

I'll add to this that my surveyor although very good in some areas did also miss some details that needed correcting.

Next time if I take that leap of faith again to import, I will be coming over to the States to check the boat over myself.

[HIGHSEASCT]

just curious why the water couldn't be pumped out using the bilge pump ... ???

[RobS]

The keel is hollow under a bilge pan. The bilge pump sits on top of the bilge pan, the water was under the bilge pan.