Boat survey in winter

[Magnarae]

Hello all,
My wife Melissa and I have been looking to upgrade from our 23 Striper W/A to an Albino 28 TE. We just recently sold our Striper and have secured financing on a 28 TE located on Long Island. Should I have any concerns with having the survey done this time of year? The boat yard is looking to have me survey the boat in the next couple of weeks. I have heard that a moisture test would not be accurate if performed when the weather is on the cold to freezing side. Is there any truth to this? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. This type of boat/motor is new to me. I have always owned an outboard.
Bjorn Bjornsson

[Nancy]

Bjorn,

Are you going to do a sea trial in this weather? When we made the deal to buy our boat, it was also winter. We gave the owner a deposit, and the agreement was written so that the boat would be surveyed, including sea trial, in the spring. The purchase was contingent upon sea trial and survey acceptable to us.

You haven't told us about your forum name.

[jleonard]

Do as Nancy said and save the sea trial and survey for spring time. You can survey the boat by yourself now and make an agreement with the owner.

[Magnarae]

I usually put my boat in the water the 2nd to 3rd week in March and have it hauled out the middle of December. I use it as much as I can for fishing during these times. I need to get my fishing in during the early and later months since my wife loves to be out on the boat as much as she can. She enjoys fishing once in a while whereas I would fish 7 days a week if I could. My concern is weather or not the survey will be accurate in this kind of weather? Overall the boat looks to be in great shape, very clean and well cared for.

Nancy the name Stinklips was supposed to be the original name of the boat (Stinklips fishing). It started off as a joke with my friends because of the smell of the bait, the fish and the Cigars and it kind of stuck. The actual name of the boat is Magnarae which is a combination of my sons middle name Magnus and my daughters middle name Rae. My wife was happier with that name.

[tshug]

Bjorn,

I did the same thing you're doing last winter. We sold our Striper W/A, bought a 2004 28TE and are loving it. We waited until spring for both the survey and sea trial.

I glad we found ours last winter. With the winter we're having in the Boston area it would have been tough getting around looking at boats this winter.

Good luck!

[whwells]

Bjorn: No reasonable seller could or should expect a resolution before weather allows for proper inspection and survey. How else could you even guess what you are wanting to purchase. Do your contract and allow time to complete survey and sea trial. Otherwise, you are well
maybe buying a "hole in the water" ?
whwells "Howard"

[Nancy]

Bjorn,

There are various schools of thought on whether moisture meters produce reliable results even in dry weather. I'm a fan of tapping the hull, walking the decks, and checking stringers and limber holes.

Make sure the engine will reach 100 rpm over WOT with the boat loaded as you would use it. It shouldn't smoke appreciably at any speed.

Fiberglass and engine - those are where the $$ is.

With the recent weather on LI, I don't see how a survey can be comfortably and reliably completed.

Good story on your boat names. I like Magnarae.

[DougSea]

We bought (and sea-trialed) our 35TE in January. Such fun!

The issue is indeed the moisture readings from the hull. I didn't notice if you mentioned the year of the 28. Older 28's are balsa cored, and while this is NOT generally an issue it does make a reliable moisture test more important. A frozen hull will not test properly.

If the yard is so keen to have her moved I'd look to have them move her into a heated space for at least a few days prior to survey (your surveyor can tell you how long he/she'd like that to be in order to sign off)

Best of luck!

[Magnarae]

Doug the boat is a 2002. Did you buy your 35 TE up here on the East Coast?

[DougSea]

...Did you buy your 35 TE up here on the East Coast?

We sure did! Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey out of Carver Marine. We had to clear the snow off of the bridge and cockpit and dodge the ice in the canal on the way to the bay for performance runs.

I believe a 2002 is synthetically cored. Do a few searches here on the site, you should be able to find the info.

To be clear - hull moisture is still something to be checked with synthetic coring. It's just more likely to be surface blistering than the worry of core rot that a balsa cored boat (improperly maintained) may have.

[DCatSea]

We are looking at a 27FC in CT. With the weather up there this year, i am really glad i found this thread as the boat is currently under the snow.
I have been concerned about surveying in this record hard winter, especially as I probably wont be able to sea trial until early spring, or at least after the sea ice has gone away.
Does anyone have suggestions as to how long I should wait for a reliable survey/sea trial after the freeze has dissipated? The question of moisture testing is gaining prominence, so Albin owners thoughts on this would be very useful.

Also, any suggestions, thoughts or ideas on post-freeze "things-to-be-sure-the-surveyor-looks-for" would be most gratefully read, and providers will be entitled to "sippers or good wets" should we meet on the Chesapeake Bay or further south.

[Magnarae]

My surveyor did the moisture test this past Monday. The. Marina brought the boat inside their shop Friday afternoon and the boat stood a full four days in the heated shop. The moisture test came back with satisfactory results as per the surveyor. The only two places that had slightly elevated moisture reading were the fish well hatches. He said that he was very pleased with the readings. The sea trial will take place once the bay opens up. I have made arrangements to have my surveyor and my diesel mechanic coordinate the date of the sea trial so that we can all be present. So far so good. Looking forward to getting the overall results of the survey so that I can officially call her mine.

[jleonard]

We are looking at a 27FC in CT. With the weather up there this year, i am really glad i found this thread as the boat is currently under the snow.
I have been concerned about surveying in this record hard winter, especially as I probably wont be able to sea trial until early spring, or at least after the sea ice has gone away.
Does anyone have suggestions as to how long I should wait for a reliable survey/sea trial after the freeze has dissipated? The question of moisture testing is gaining prominence, so Albin owners thoughts on this would be very useful.

Also, any suggestions, thoughts or ideas on post-freeze "things-to-be-sure-the-surveyor-looks-for" would be most gratefully read, and providers will be entitled to "sippers or good wets" should we meet on the Chesapeake Bay or further south.

Where is the boat? That will make a difference.
Being from CT I would say don't even think about it until at least April 15th, maybe a little earlier depending on location of the boat.

[Paddy]

Not sure how far along you are with the negotiation, but as part of my agreement, the dealer came down 11% on the price and included the following per my request and also "urged by the surveyor":

replaced timing belt
replaced alternator belts
valve adjustment
new impeller
all new fluids / filters (engine / tranny / racor)
cutlass bearing
wipers
anodes

I was very happy with the deal.

Good luck with your negotiation.

[DCatSea]

jleonard
Where is the boat? That will make a difference.
Being from CT I would say don't even think about it until at least April 15th, maybe a little earlier depending on location of the boat.
1983 40 Albin trunk cabin


Thanks - Boat is out of the water in Norwalk. I will be in the UK until 4/7, so I think we are looking at mid to end of April.