Survey report on my new boat

[mjak42]

Hi everyone, we finally did it, put an offer on a yacht we like, it is just what we were looking for around 40', centre cockpit sloop, fibreglass. She's a 1985 38' Chieftan, built by cook bros of NZ for the charter trade.
Got the survey report today, and as I thought it needs a good tidy up but that is reflected in the price we are paying, only thing that worries me are the following comments by the surveyor,

As mentioned in comments above the hull has been subject to a series of moisture blisters over a long period of time. These have been attended to by various methods some of which are adequate and some not.

• The hull still shows with blisters on the port and starboard underwater sections. These need to be ground out and let dry out and then backfilled with epoxy filler and re-faired. Proper barrier paint needs to be applied thereafter.

• Two larger blister sections were found on the port side and two sections on the skeg were sighted. These sounded out as being quite dull and indicate deeper damage than just a surface blister. These will need to be attended to at some time in the future. These sections will probably need to be repaired with fibreglass and epoxy resin after grinding.

Also the following:

• The GRP floor near the mast base is corrugated. The reason for this odd defect has not been determined.


Tidying the interior, wood varnish some sealer here and there I am fine with, but these 2 comments I am not sure about, and would be gratefull of any comments.

[JohnRPollard]

Mjak42,

I'll preface my comments by saying that I'm not at all familiar with that model/make of sailboat.

Sometimes blisters can be ground out and filled with little effort -- I think of these as the "cosmetic" variety. But there are also the more serious variety -- the ones that penetrate nearly completely through the laminate, sometimes expanding to the size of oranges or grapefruit. They are not necessarily fatal, but need more serious attention to correct.

In your case, I would ask your surveyor to walk you through the significance of his comments. Ask him to give you an estimate on the cost and feasibility to remedy. Ask him if he would purchase the boat with these known issues. (In the U.S., anyway, the buyer pays for the survey and access to his/her expertise is part of the deal.)

I do not have any idea what the "corrugation" near the mast base is. But it sounds to me like the blister issues can be addressed. Best to listen to your surveyor's advice, though. Good luck to you!

[sailingdog]

Was the boat ever in a collision or allision where the mast was the point of impact???