Boat Swamped - Should I walk away from the purchase?

[Greg Mason]

Every vessel you look at will have some personal or family history. If you keep this boat 10 years, the 13 year old swamping will be of little consequence at that point. If the boat is misrepresented, you may also have some recourse. I get that swamped is not sunk, otherwise it would be a salvage, not towed back to the marina. Go forward into the sun, and let the shadows always be behind you.

[paula_k]

The boat should have been priced accordingly, the broker or owner should have been up front about it. If it wasn't in the advertising up front then why not? You did not get off on good footing. They have set the hook and reeling you in. Walk away.

[

QUOTE=regex;2807732]Hello there folks.



So, the Mrs and I have an agreed purchase price of a 2009 Beneteau Oceanis 40 in Marina Del Rey. In our due diligence, we found that in 2016 the boat was swamped due to a run aground in Santa Monica Bay. I don't have the full details yet, but I went to "The Boat Yard" in MDR today with my agent and we got permission to look at the entire invoice by the selling party. I spoke with one of the heads of the MDR boatyard and he, of course, stands by his work and I hear very, very good things about the workmanship of this yard so that is a good starting point.

Needless to say, my first response in learning this info was "Oh, F****. This could be a showstopper"

Details as I know them:

• Event happened in October of 2016
• Boat took on water (swamped) and was emergency towed back to MDR boat yard
• I was told the run aground happened rudder first (aft end)
• Removed the mast
• Removed the prop, shaft, coupling, and seal
• Replaced bearings and shaft seals
• Cut out a delamination section next to keel joint and laid new fiberglass
• Repaired rudder tube & rudder
• Replaced nearly every electrical component on the entire boat
• New wiring throughout, new refrigeration compressors, modules, & fans.
• Replaced electrical panel, transom plates
• New electrical panel & transom covers
• Replaced inverter/charger, stereo, AIS system, and replaced all damaged electrical connections (all fuses, breakers, junction boxes, etc.)
• All new raymarine rewiring for GPS/Plotter/Radar
• Replaced all the batteries, batt charger, etc.
• Fabricated 2 new customer mattresses
• Replaced starter motor and alternator
• Replaced water heater
• Repaired steering system
• New bottom paint (2 coats)
• New spinnaker halyard
• Replaced motor mounts & aligned engine
• Repaired gel coat at the helm
• New microwave
• Serviced winches
• Sand and applied sepmco coating at teak in cockpit

Ok, that's the gist. So clearly as our first major boat purchase we are already pretty sketchy about the whole thing. Now having learned that the boat was swamped at some point puts us even more on edge.

Current thoughts from the two of us:

1. Could be a blessing in disguise, she's a 10yr old boat but has had many components replaced only 3 years ago.
2. It was done 3 years ago if there were additional problems from the swamping they would have surfaced already (no additional work orders at the boatyard, I checked). One would hope anyway...
3. However, there could be "sleeper cell" kinds of issues that would show up later. Clearly, the motor was in salt water for a time and salt is horrible on everything but they only replaced the mounts and the starter/alternator? Concerning.
4. Lastly, and maybe worst of all - This ugly history is going to haunt her, her entire life. If we decide to sell her, in full disclosure I legally have to tell the buying party that this happened even though I had nothing to do with it and it might make her MUCH harder to sell.

The boat is beautiful, very well taken care of and certainly loved and yes, you can tell she "calls to us" so our heart wants to move forward but my stupid technical sailing head keeps getting in the way.

Status: We are currently prior to Survey, Sea Trial and Haul-out. If we move forward I fully intend to tell my mechanical surveyor that this happened and to get "clinical" during his evaluation and diagnosis.

All of this said we got what looks to be a good deal. I guess now we know why.

OK. So. What say you salty-sailors & cruisers? Would you walk? Would you pay for the survey/haul-out etc?

Has anyone bought a boat (or had a run aground event) that had this kind of issue and did the MDR boatyard work on it? Were you satisfied with the work?

This is foreign territory for us so any advice would be greatly welcomed.

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

- Shane[/QUOTE]

[paula_k]

The boat should have been priced accordingly, the broker or owner should have been up front about it. If it wasn't in the advertising up front then why not? You did not get off on good footing. They have set the hook and reeling you in. Walk away.

[

QUOTE=regex;2807732]Hello there folks.



So, the Mrs and I have an agreed purchase price of a 2009 Beneteau Oceanis 40 in Marina Del Rey. In our due diligence, we found that in 2016 the boat was swamped due to a run aground in Santa Monica Bay. I don't have the full details yet, but I went to "The Boat Yard" in MDR today with my agent and we got permission to look at the entire invoice by the selling party. I spoke with one of the heads of the MDR boatyard and he, of course, stands by his work and I hear very, very good things about the workmanship of this yard so that is a good starting point.

Needless to say, my first response in learning this info was "Oh, F****. This could be a showstopper"

Details as I know them:

• Event happened in October of 2016
• Boat took on water (swamped) and was emergency towed back to MDR boat yard
• I was told the run aground happened rudder first (aft end)
• Removed the mast
• Removed the prop, shaft, coupling, and seal
• Replaced bearings and shaft seals
• Cut out a delamination section next to keel joint and laid new fiberglass
• Repaired rudder tube & rudder
• Replaced nearly every electrical component on the entire boat
• New wiring throughout, new refrigeration compressors, modules, & fans.
• Replaced electrical panel, transom plates
• New electrical panel & transom covers
• Replaced inverter/charger, stereo, AIS system, and replaced all damaged electrical connections (all fuses, breakers, junction boxes, etc.)
• All new raymarine rewiring for GPS/Plotter/Radar
• Replaced all the batteries, batt charger, etc.
• Fabricated 2 new customer mattresses
• Replaced starter motor and alternator
• Replaced water heater
• Repaired steering system
• New bottom paint (2 coats)
• New spinnaker halyard
• Replaced motor mounts & aligned engine
• Repaired gel coat at the helm
• New microwave
• Serviced winches
• Sand and applied sepmco coating at teak in cockpit

Ok, that's the gist. So clearly as our first major boat purchase we are already pretty sketchy about the whole thing. Now having learned that the boat was swamped at some point puts us even more on edge.

Current thoughts from the two of us:

1. Could be a blessing in disguise, she's a 10yr old boat but has had many components replaced only 3 years ago.
2. It was done 3 years ago if there were additional problems from the swamping they would have surfaced already (no additional work orders at the boatyard, I checked). One would hope anyway...
3. However, there could be "sleeper cell" kinds of issues that would show up later. Clearly, the motor was in salt water for a time and salt is horrible on everything but they only replaced the mounts and the starter/alternator? Concerning.
4. Lastly, and maybe worst of all - This ugly history is going to haunt her, her entire life. If we decide to sell her, in full disclosure I legally have to tell the buying party that this happened even though I had nothing to do with it and it might make her MUCH harder to sell.

The boat is beautiful, very well taken care of and certainly loved and yes, you can tell she "calls to us" so our heart wants to move forward but my stupid technical sailing head keeps getting in the way.

Status: We are currently prior to Survey, Sea Trial and Haul-out. If we move forward I fully intend to tell my mechanical surveyor that this happened and to get "clinical" during his evaluation and diagnosis.

All of this said we got what looks to be a good deal. I guess now we know why.

OK. So. What say you salty-sailors & cruisers? Would you walk? Would you pay for the survey/haul-out etc?

Has anyone bought a boat (or had a run aground event) that had this kind of issue and did the MDR boatyard work on it? Were you satisfied with the work?

This is foreign territory for us so any advice would be greatly welcomed.

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

- Shane[/QUOTE]

[paula_k]

The broker should have disclosed in the advertising instead of misleading You have started on bad footing. The broker has set the hook and is reeling you in. Walk away. Learn the lesson.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by regex

Very practical advice. However, to do that it means I have to spend almost $2k (which of course I can't get back) and do the survey. Trying to figure out if that is even worth my time. As I read others comments here, I am starting to lean against.

I am a shipwright and boat builder, we come across similar situations from time to time.
If the repairs have been done properly then why all this fuss?
Looks like the purchasing price is ok as well ?
A lot of boat owners are not hands on when it comes to repairs, most are good at cleaning and scrubbing after a day out.
If you like the vessel I would get the survey done and take it from there.
However, you are already worried about the cost of the survey so maybe its better to keep your money and the seller can keep his vessel...

Good luck

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by paula_k

The broker should have disclosed in the advertising instead of misleading You have started on bad footing. The broker has set the hook and is reeling you in. Walk away. Learn the lesson.

What is the lesson to be learned?

[paula_k]

The broker took advantage of the buyer by not disclosing in advertising. I have walked away from boats that had poor brokers and still found a boat that I love. And, yes, there are good brokers out there.

[dandawes]

Hire Bunker Hill, 9496463038, Marine Surveyor out of Newport Beach, CA, the seller's surveyor from hell, look over the boat. If there is a rusted screw out of place, he will find it and list it.

[davil]

OK

last post from Regex on the 23th

I CANNOT TAKE IT ANY MORE

my shrink refuses to give me more sedatives
my barber does not want to talk any more
my bartender avoids me
DID HE BUY IT?????

[murianne]

I have learned a few things over the past 26 years of boat life.
1. You will get screwed mercilessly when you go to sell that boat.
2. 30% below market price is not enough. A boat like that here in Asia with that history would eventually be sold for around $US 46K.
3. AND you never buy a boat with your heart - use your head.

If the price was right I would risk it, but with the understanding that my resale would not be good!!

[regex]

Originally Posted by davil

OK

last post from Regex on the 23th

I CANNOT TAKE IT ANY MORE

my shrink refuses to give me more sedatives
my barber does not want to talk any more
my bartender avoids me
DID HE BUY IT?????

Haha. We have haul-out and survey on Wednesday. I will let you know after we get all the results.

[davil]

thank you
good luck and best wishes

[samfreeland]

I would walk away. From what I've seen on the Internet the gear looks lighte gauge kind of stuff on these boats. They look good inside though. But in really heavy weather they look dodgy to me like the gear would fail. Every single electrical wire would have to of been replaced especially if the battery's went under. Any damage around keels and rudders would be a worry with the strains and stresses involved there. That's just my opinion on them I'm sure people must like them though or they wouldn't be so popular.

[stabbytherabbit]

This is my first post, but I'm a long time lurker. I have a similar story.
Two years ago, I was in lust with a 2013 Beneteau, and luckily I turned up whilst the surveyor was conducting his survey. The surveyor discovered the boat had been grounded on rocks. The owner only 'fessed up' once we called him out on it and said the grounding had occurred in 2016.
The owner said everything was fixed properly by a reputable boat yard, provided the works receipt, and I admit at first sight, the boat looked great.
The surveyor, however, found a few stress marks in the walls and along the joints inside the cabin (above the keel) which he became suspicious about and this caused him to keep investigating. Once we pulled the cabins apart, we found the honeycomb bonding substructure (which Beneteau use to hold the whole boat rigid) still showed a few small signs of stress and superficial cracking.
It didn't seem like much, but if you think about it, your boat constantly flexes when sailing. The harder you sail, the more pressure you put on this honeycomb bonding structure, and therefore the more these stresses/cracks will grow or flex and possibly let in water.
In summary, I did not proceed with the purchase of this boat.
PS: I have been advised this boat has since been gutted and new honeycomb bonding structure applied and refitted at great expense to the owner. Arguably, the boat structure is as good as new, possibly better? However the (unlucky) owners insurance company have refused to insure the boat due to the abovementioned ongoing repairs and problems.

[Shnookie]

I’ve known the guys at the boatyard for years. They do some really good work. If you are anxious about it, I’d walk away. But I do know if they said it was fixed right, it was definitely fixed right. The current boat I have had been going over there since 98. I wouldn’t take it anywhere else. And she’s had some major work done on her.