Worst Thing a Previous Owner Did to Your Boat ?

[Seaquesta1]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Just a question for Seaquesta 1, would that have been Doug and Alan Flockharts boat that used to sail out of R.Q.Y.S at Manly, Brisbane Australia ??

Dave

No, not that Im aware of. The immediate owner prior to me was a bloke called Phil ?? who bought it in Sydney and then raced it out of Mooloolaba for a while. She did the Bris-Gladstone a few times but was never based at the RQYS that I know of.

[S/V Elusive]

The below is what I was able to salvage from my web site. They were originally formed into GIF files and rather than re-typing ...

[Alan Wheeler]

Hey Sean, IMO Silicon should be banned from use on boats. Use MS (modified silicon) sealants if you really want to use silicon. But urathanes and other more modern adhesive sealants are the way to go and far more trustworthy and realiable.

[ssullivan]

This may warrant a different thread, but why? I used silicone and it hasn't leaked in the 12mos since I bedded the items. If anyone has an opinion on that, and can show me why I shouldn't use silicone, we should probably start a new thread on the topic. Confused..

[rleslie]

1) Wires spliced by twisting the bare wires and using black electrical tape to cover the twists. Of course the electrical tape had fallen off of several of the splices and the others were a melted mess.

2) One of the fuel guages showed the tank to be empty, but when I checked the tank, it was full. As I used the tank, the guage started to rise. He had wired it backwards, so a full tank showed as empty and vice versa.

3) Thank god I didn't light the diesel cabin heater. He had a rag stuffed into the exhaust pipe.

Roger

[44'cruisingcat]

How about fitting a teak deck to a steel boat? And screwing it on. Take a nice waterproof deck and drill 5000 holes in it. Great thinking.

[s/v 'Faith']

Originally Posted by ssullivan

This may warrant a different thread, but why? I used silicone and it hasn't leaked in the 12mos since I bedded the items. If anyone has an opinion on that, and can show me why I shouldn't use silicone, we should probably start a new thread on the topic. Confused..

Sean,

Someone started a new topic on this, Here is the link.

IN case anyone did not see it.

[Charlie]

Just returned from Sideny BC. Digging into the boat was well -- shocking.
I found two 120 outlets that had been removed and the feed wires just left there live and ready to electrocute.

The number of 12vdc wires that led to nowhere well I lost count after 10.

The battery charger was installed in a cabinet that was very difficult to get into and a shelf was built around it so that I had to cut the shelf out and then take the cabinet apart to get the old charger out.

If that wasn't enough while performing yoga moves so that I could work on the charger I found that the boats main bus bar was located behind the cabinet and a freezer was built into the cabinet. I took apart the cabinet and removed the freeser and found that there had been a nice nav station where the cabinet had been.

I have to get the admiral's approval but I can see that I am going to have to rebuild the nav station.

Then there was the sump shower that was led into the bilge.

That's what I found on my first inspection.

[Benny]

Some real horror stories - here's mine - AND the supposed surveyor with all kinds of credentials and an expensive on the hard survey - no engine test or sail inspection was $850.00 US - missed threm all.

New cabin teak and holly sole installed just before the PO put her up for sail - nice looking - problem is it was glued down completely all over covering the prior access hatches so I can't get at the bilge or the tankage/ pumps underneath.

wires behind the main panel were a jumbled mess and there was a longtime leak from the pedestal base above the panel causing it to be wet whenever water was on the cockpit sole. - surveyor did note the wires.

the boat was advertized as shoal draft versiion - thats OK but I found out that it was really a centreboard version where the board had been removed in the past and the well glassed over. I beleive this was done in conjunction with some other starboard side hull repairs/reglassing - also missed by the surveyor - so the boat may have suffered hull damage in the past.

the steering wheel and it's shaft was not fastened inside the pedestal. It would work it's way out after a few turns and come out of the bearing on the forward side of the pedestal making the steering inoperative. The PO must have had to apply constant forward pressure against the wheel as he steered to keep it in place - incredible! - I fixed it in 5 minutes with a new retaining ring. Also the fiberglass bedding around the rudder post was broken completely so only the weight of the rudder held it down in place - I discovered it by tracing the source of a squeak when the wheel was turned and a leak from the aft bilge area - it was normally about an inch above the water where it exited the hull above the rudder but when sailing with the stern wave rising up against the hull, it leaked. I had the yard haul the boat and block her while I fashioned a new post bed from epoxy and chopped cloth - drilled out the new hole for the new bearing and installed the new bed and built up a heavy - 2" of epoxy and mat all around the area for strength inside the hull. I am still amazed that it didn't break apart on him while out sailing as the boat would have sunk in minutes.

Instead of replacing leaking ports or rebedding them. he put little plastic tupperware containers below the leaks on the outboard locker shelves to catch the water - laughable.

The surveyor listed the doger/bimini/full enclosure in 'like new condition' - the only newer part was the windows. The threads tore out of most of the zippers and some seams the first time I put it on so when the PO put in new window panels, he didn't have them resew the rest of it.

The PO did not winterize the bladder holding tank which when I purchased the boat was not evident because it was February and the effluent inside had frozen along with the hoses where liquid was sitting. Of course when spring and warmer temps arrived, it all thawed and the sweet smell of old **** filled the boat as the bladder tank seam had parted because of the freeze and was seeping along with a hose that I could not access under the aforementioned glued on cabin sole. I had no way of pumping it out so had to wait for the boat to be launched to fix the problem. Needless to say it was not fun working on the boat until launch.

There are a myriad of smaller items too numerous to list and I did get the boat for a good price due to some other deck problems, but I'd like everyones advice if I should confront the surveyor and demand a refund of his fee.

[JGI417]

prev. owner wired the electrical panel using wire nuts...

[Alan Wheeler]

Benny, absolutely. Go nail his arse. I would sue him for the repair amount.
I have a freind here that just bought a small steel launch. It got a full survey and passed with flying colours. A few months later, the owner removed a fule tank and discovered rust under it. No probs, he thought and quick scrap and paint and it will be all sweet. Well he was scrapping away when water started coming in. Huh? where's the pipe? Then he realised the water was sea water and coming through the hull. The guickly got it hauled and found a huge area of bad rust that you could poke a screw driver right through with a little effort. The section was cut out and replaced and at a cost of NZ$6K, he went back to the surveyor and the surveyor paid the amount.
A few months later, he was once again in the bilge doing some cleaning and noticed a very strange smooth patch on the hull. Puzzled at what it was, he poked it with his finger and to his horror, his finger went right through. It was just the anti-foul paint on the other side. There was no steel at all left. this time he was stuck in the bilge with his finger in the hole shouting for help. Kinda funny in hind site. At least we all, including the owner was laughing about the story over drinks. You have to agree it was damn funny to think he was the "little boy with his finger in the dam" in the bottom of his bilge calling for help. Anyway, he thought he couldn't go the Surveyor a second time, so he wore the cost himself on this one.

[Benny]

Thanks Wheels - I'm considering it - The only major cost would be a new bimini/dodger/full enclosure - I've got quotes between $4000 and $6000 and the rest was materials cost and my labour. I have never had a fully satisfactoery survey on boats I've bought and expected some deficiencies on this one.

The main complaint I have is the rudder post problem and former hull damage. I have had a local surveyor look at the hull and he says although it was originally a centre board design and there was a fairly extensive repair to the starboard side, it was a good job and I don't need to worry about structural problems. The rudderpost could have been a disaster as I sailed the boat with the problem - thankfully in light winds.

He was highly recommended by the broker which I would not normally use as a referral but me being at the western end of Lake Ontario 500 miles away from the boat in Fall River Massachusets meant I had to rely upon him for advice which he was totally forthcoming about any problems he knew about the boat and worked well with me to reduce the price significantly due to deck problems.

The other problem is that the surveyor is as I said - 500 miles away and in the States where I'm in Canada - not worth my while to persue it legally due to distance and cost so I think I'll send him a letter about the deficiencies he missed and the costs to repair/replace and request my fee by returned. If he does not co-operate, the only thing i might be able to do is broadcast on my blog the poor job he did - like the Bumfuzzles - but let's not open that thread again.

If anyone has had similar surveying problems please PM me with your story and outcome or post it here or maybe we should start a new thread as I'm sure alot of us have had problems with the validity of surveys. Maybe there is already a thread in existance which might be worthwhile starting up again. Many times, bank loans and insurance not to mention our safety depends upon these surveys and while no one is perfect, glaring problems should not be missed. Any thoughts out there?

[Alan Wheeler]

It is certainly worth sending the guy a "proffesional" letter telling the facts and askign for some form of compensation. The owrst that can happen is you never hear from him, the second worst is he could simply say no, and the other side of the table is that he could actually send you a check. I think it is worth the effort. At least, it may actually make him put in a little extra effort in the future. Remember, he may not have tried ripping you off, he just may not have had the depth of experiance. This is the way one gains experiance.

[Boracay]

To me, the problem with surveyors is that we don't know what they are supposed to do, if they can do it, when they have done it, and what resposibility they should take for what they have done.
If one was being truely carefull a conversation with a lawyer before engaging a surveyor would be usefull.
One could then get a meaningfull verbal agreement. Make some notes in the relevant diary (Check this with the solicitor too!) and have some confidence in the outcome.
It would only take one surveyor to lose his pants for the rest of them too sharpen up their acts.
As it is most who get stung are left with the choice of taking their loss and fixing the boat or risking all in legal action.

[emeraldsea]

We figure the p.o. had the poor 32' cutter 6-8 tons overloaded, with 11.8 in the beam she was pushed down about a foot below the load line. He couldn't have sailed even if he knew how as he had a 8 wheel argo parked on the house. The poor little 1 cylinder yanmar got him 3/4 of the way from seattle-Alaska until it started giving up. after being towed in to harbour he elected to moor along a dock offered at no charge instead of the marina.
(wonder why its free and know one else parks there???)

The first storm started slamming the boat into the pile and he started taking on water, he called for help and help arrived. They got the boat out of the water the next day and patched her up. He then went and tied her back up to the same place, only this time he used a bumper, one long bumper placed mid-ship ( not quite enough). When the next big storm came he was not living aboard as it appears he almost caught the boat on fire trying to keep warm with the solid fuel stove. When he went to check on his boat the next day he thought someone had taken it. On closer inspection it was noticed that the railing of the dock was also missing......

He paid me $500. and signed the boat over to me just so he could get his personal belongings and loads of junk back after I brought the vessel up from 70' down.