Advice for survey & seatrial?

[paul77]

I couldn't find a great thread on this, so I figured I'd start one..

So we found a boat we liked enough to put an offer on it, came to a price, and next week is the survey and seatrial. It's a Hylas 46, and the boat is not local to me. Although the owners have been aboard a lot, they have not been sailing it actively for 2 years (weekends aboard at the dock).

The survey and seatrial is less than a week away!

What should I be looking for during the survey? What did you look for?
What do you regret not looking at? Does one check the dinghy & outboard operation? All the accessories? The liferaft?

I want to look at all the potentially expensive repair or replacement items that the surveyor will not.

This is the first time going through this for me, my last boat was a free Hobie 16.

[soul searcher]

Make sure that you use a surveyer that knows his $&^% with sail boats. and most importantly remember that he is there working for you! you hired him not the broker or seller, It sounds stupid but it's easy to forget and lump him in with others involved in the sale. We had a great surveyer on our boat purchace I regret not picking his brain more. So make sure you stick close to him while he is going through the boat and ask lots of questions. I would also highly recomend that you get a rig survey. He should go up the mast and have a look but some surveyors won't. Or would rather you hire a profesional rigger to go over the rig. Our surveyor had a lot of rigging expieriance.
It's easy to be love struck during this part of the game. You are exited and you can't see the flaws. I felt like during this process I had my head a little to far up my own ass to be completely objective and that is where having a good surveyor will save you.

On the sea trial yes they should be able to show you that all systems are functional. Nobody likes the full power run on the engine but it really is the best test of the power train it only takes a couple minutes at Max WOT for any vibration or over heating problems to show up. and simply seeing that it will make it to max. will tell you a lot.
your buying the dingy too so go for a ride in it as well.

Your about to lay down a lot of hard earned cash so make sure not to let anyone rush you through these steps if it takes a day to survey and another day to sea trial then good. thats what it takes, Don't let them take 3\4 of the day on the survey and then try to pack in the sea trial in two hours. I wish I would have had more time on our sea trial, thats one thing I will do different in the future.

Hope this helps

[jimmalkin]

Soul Searcher has it about right. Things missed on our survey: crack in exhaut riser, carbon build up in exhaust elbow (tough to see without removing but noticable due to smoke,) wear on a removable staysail stay at the bend where it stores against it's holder, and - oddly enough - he failed to look under the v-berth mattresses to find the fwd battery bank and shorepower cords that he reported absent! I had asked him to make sure all USCG required stuff was onboard - he missed the lack of a bell and the expired flares and fire extinguishers. The riser and the stay were the most expensive items - and the riser was noted by the yard (after we had paid up!) Good luck.

[paul77]

Thanks matt for the advice.

Know what you mean about packing in the seatrial. Was my concern and I tried to get two separate days, feel squeezed on it but am reassured there will be plenty of time. Your comments reinforce my intention to make my position clear if we don't have sufficient time on this.

If you had more time on the seatrial, it's really to just get a really solid feel for the boat and not something cursory?

[Faster]

I'll second SoulSearchers suggestion to be present and involved with the surveyor. There will be many comments and indications from the surveyor in person that may or may not turn up in a report.

Be sure to look in every nook and cranny, and if you can spend time on board yourself prior to the survey you might generate some questions for the surveyor, and or point the surveyor to issues you suspect.

[camaraderie]

Paul...the Hylas 46 is a wonderful boat. Strongly urge you include a real diesel mechanic to go over the engine and go on sea trial with you. Won't cost much and the typical surveyor will not generally be qualified to really evaluate the engine. Also...check every little thing yourself as well...don't take owners word for anything working...check the stove and propane system, all the plumbing and showers, pump the heads, check water heater, solar panel output, check every instrument, etc. etc.
Good luck!!

[deniseO30]

are you also going to have the boat hauled for the below water line inspection? They did a "quick haul and wash" of the bottom before the actual survey and sea trial on my boat.

[paul77]

The boat will be hauled for the survey, but don't know that it will be washed. should I expect that? Must be easier for the survey, and be nice for the seatrial.

[Cruisingdad]

This always grabs the ire of other members out there who dissagree with me (and rightfully so), but I feel the sea trial is a joke. I personally feel it is a great way to get out there with the owner (if possible) to have him walk you through sailing the boat and any nuiances... but chances are that you will not find major system issues on a sea trial. Now I would like to preface this with an observation that many people HAVE found issues during the sea trial. But for the most part, the deal is done then. Chances are that even marginal systems will hold together for a few hours... and I think you will have an interesting time talking the owners into serious bang-up cruise to put the systems to the test (a long weekend or serious passage). THe problems with that boat will show up weeks/months later.

You mentioned that the owners might have been away from the boat for some time except weekending. This always sends up a red flag for me... depending on their description of weekending. Boats that just sit create more problems than boats that are used. Sellers know this as do brokers. Thus, the "weekending" comments. Examples of things that are succeptible to just sitting are gaskets (like the head, for example), diesel in the tank, water in the tank, and engines in general. A boat that just sits at the marina will typically look nice on the outside and inside. However, most systems on a boat do not fare well just sitting.

Hylas makes a great boat... one of the best. SO I would focus on items that are not Hylas realted, like the engine, pumps, etc. If you can swing the money for an engine survey, it may be the best money you have ever spent. I just am not a big fan of sea trials... for reasons stated above. You will knw whether you want the boat before she leaves the dock... and the suprises will hide until they can really be suprises.

Just my opinions that many dissagree with.

- CD

[paul77]

Cam - the plan is that the an survey done by a diesel mechanic before I get out there next week. I will see if I can get him with on the seatrial as well.

Thanks for your previous feedback on the hylas 46 as well.. and we did decide to go far afield in our search. Going across costs certianly doesn't simplify things