The Shallow End

One Step Closer to Water

The surveys have been completed and we are much wiser now in the nuances of purchasing a boat and in the long list of maintenance items required. All in all, the surveys (there were three of them...hull, engine and rigging) cost nearly $1,500 (not counting travel expenses), but saved us $20,000. The rigging survey showed that the stainless steel rods (The strouds that hold up the mast on either side of the boat) need to be replaced. It looks fine to the naked untrained eye, but to the trained eye that knows where to look for corrosion (in the places where the stainless steel is deprived of oxygen but exposed to heat and salt water), it is corroded and cracked, ready to snap without warning. Unlike steel cable rigging that wears down like rope and gives you plenty of warning, the snazzier and stiffer rod rigging looks fine until suddenly, it's not. And then your mast ends up in the water and your boat takes it in the shorts.

The engine survey also turned up some problems, most notably a bent prop shaft that is causing vibration in the engine...left untreated, the vibration causes metal fatigue in the brackets that keep the engine and the alternator from ending up in the boat's bilge (not a good place to be). But the engine itself is in good shape.

So we got an estimate of the cost of repairs and renegotiated the price down by $20,000. We really didn't expect the seller to budge off of the original pre-survey price. They had reduced their asking price significantly right before we came along and offered much less than that. We had already factored in some repairs to the original pre-survey price, so we feel good about the final price.

And now we have a signed contract! They say that the happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day they buy the boat and the day they sell it. My husband's birthday is this Wednesday. He plans to write the check that day so as to indelibly mark this as his happiest birthday so far.

Labels: Sailing

posted by Gwynne @ 4:10 PM