Buying advice - Survey showed excessive moisture below waterline

[Nor]

Just did a survey on a 2012 built Fountaine Pajot Mahe cat. The moisture below the waterline is out of range all over the hull, on the surveyor's Tramex Skipper Plus. Also on some areas above the waterline. But there were no osmosis discovered. The boat has been in the water all year round in the tropics since new.
The surveyor says the only thing that can be done is to let her dry out, out of water, but that it’s impossible to say how long that could take, months or years. Still, the boat is usable and no imminent danger, but a big issue is the resale value of the boat.
I understand earlier FP Mahe’s and other FP had issues with osmosis but that this was improved for later builds.
Would you walk away, or still consider the boat, if so how much should this affect the price?

[Searles]

If possible get some core samples from the highest reading areas to see if the core is actually saturated ,if positive ,start looking for something else ,it is possible to dry a core ,expensive and time consuming .⛵️⚓️

[Nor]

[SY Harmony]

I’d first use another meter to confirm the first one.

[Nor]

Originally Posted by SY Harmony

I’d first use another meter to confirm the first one.

There is also places on the boat that shows low moisture

[Snore]

If we assume the meter is accurate- buy yourself a first class ticket home and think of all the money you saved.

BUT, before I walked away from the boat, I would use a second meter. Hard to believe that much of the core is compromised without some visible defect or repair of the fiberglass. UNLESS they did a good job hiding a severe grounding.

[Nor]

There had been a grounding, the minikeels were full of water. However, the keels will be repaired by the seller. But if this could also have caused the moisture in the hull? Them keels are sacrificial.
It's a charter boat that's currently in use, in charter. And no visible sign of damage or repair, either now or when I viewed the boat 6 weeks ago.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Nor

There had been a grounding, the minikeels were full of water. However, the keels will be repaired by the seller. But if this could also have caused the moisture in the hull? Them keels are sacrificial.
It's a charter boat that's currently in use, in charter. And no visible sign of damage or repair, either now or when I viewed the boat 6 weeks ago.

IMHO- start looking at other boats

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Snore

IMHO- start looking at other boats

Agree. Unless you can negotiate a huge discount. If you fix it, you should budget months on the hard and as much as 100k (depending on how much you can do yourself and where the work is done).
I did very well about 15 years ago with a storm damaged boat that I bought for $35k (market price was about $100k higher) and put about $40k into it. Took about 4 months to fix it up to pristine condition then sailed it for 2 years, then sold it for over $100k.

[smj]

For what it’s worth the Mahe is solid laminate below waterline and foam cored above. I have little faith in moisture meters as I’ve seen quite a few false readings so maybe a core sample above waterline in the foam core would be a reasonable thing to do?

[Nor]

Originally Posted by smj

For what it’s worth the Mahe is solid laminate below waterline and foam cored above. I have little faith in moisture meters as I’ve seen quite a few false readings so maybe a core sample above waterline in the foam core would be a reasonable thing to do?

Do you mean that moisture is not an issue in the solid laminate?

[smj]

Originally Posted by Nor

Do you mean that moisture is not an issue in the solid laminate?

I’m sure it could be an issue, but I think there’s a better chance of there being moisture in the cored area. Does it have an epoxy barrier coat below waterline?

[s/v Jedi]

The surveyor must sound the hull using a hammer. If he didn’t then find another…

This will reveal where the core stops (drill a test hole through the outer skin 1/2” up from the transition to solid glass) as well as any delamination.

[smj]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

The surveyor must sound the hull using a hammer. If he didn’t then find another…



This will reveal where the core stops (drill a test hole through the outer skin 1/2” up from the transition to solid glass) as well as any delamination.

I like the idea of drilling a hole where possible water was found in the cored area, but why drill through the outer skin and not the inner skin?

[Shrew]

Good luck finding a seller that will agree to destruction testing during a pre-sale survey. You'd have to agree to repair the hole to it's current state. I'm not interested in digging that deep into a sale.

It's an argument for buying your own moisture meter to use during initial viewing before hiring a surveyor.