Crealock 37 survey laundry list

[brokesailor]

The 1983 Crealock 37 yawl I have a sale pending has the following laundry list from the survey:

Low compression on the Volvo 28 HP-owner is having engine rebuilt
hairline crack on a chainplate-if I replace all six, $6K
dead engine start battery $100
battery charger needs replaced $200.
sails are in bad shape, will probably need to be replaced witin 2 seasons
Cosmetic blistering on the bottom-needs bottom blasted, barrier coated and bottom paint
possible fuel tank leak-I'm having it pressure tested
possible holding tank leak-having it pressure tested

Is this normal? When is enough enough? All this for 105K. I am ready to back out of the deal, am I being unreasonable? I'm thinking price would have to come down to $85K, wouldn't it?

[svjobeth]

Originally Posted by brokesailor

The 1983 Crealock 37 yawl I have a sale pending has the following laundry list from the survey:

Low compression on the Volvo 28 HP-owner is having engine rebuilt
hairline crack on a chainplate-if I replace all six, $6K
dead engine start battery $100
battery charger needs replaced $200.
sails are in bad shape, will probably need to be replaced witin 2 seasons
Cosmetic blistering on the bottom-needs bottom blasted, barrier coated and bottom paint
possible fuel tank leak-I'm having it pressure tested
possible holding tank leak-having it pressure tested

Is this normal? When is enough enough? All this for 105K. I am ready to back out of the deal, am I being unreasonable? I'm thinking price would have to come down to $85K, wouldn't it?

These findings are not at all unusual for a boat that age. In fact, that's not too bad a list for a 28 year old boat, even if that's just the major stuff.

We have an '84 34, have owned her since '03. In that time we have re-powered her, redesigned her electrical, (to which we have a little bug we're dealing with!), replaced her canvas, had major sail repair done to the Yankee to extend it's life another couple of years, replaced the batteries and battery charger/inverter. We've done countless smaller jobs like replacing all the sail slides on the main, all of the portlight gaskets, and a couple of the through hull fittings. We're now tackling the refit of our fresh water plumbing system and planning a refrigerator replacement.

We feel like we got a good deal on Jo Beth and understood what we were getting into when we bought her. We knew she had engine problems (no compression in one cylinder at the time of the survey), aged equipment and systems, and would need lots of TLC to bring her to where we want her.

The PSC 34 is, literally, our dream boat. She is also, literally, the last boat we plan to own.

Hope this helps you in your decision -

[RainDog]

I am no expert, but for one person’s opinion:

Originally Posted by brokesailor

dead engine start battery $100
battery charger needs replaced $200.
Cosmetic blistering on the bottom-needs bottom blasted, barrier coated and bottom paint
possible fuel tank leak-I'm having it pressure tested
possible holding tank leak-having it pressure tested

All of this is normal stuff of the type you are going to get on any typical boat of this age, I would not really worry about it too much.

Originally Posted by brokesailor

Low compression on the Volvo 28 HP-owner is having engine rebuilt

This you can ignore, since the owner is fixing it.

That leaves:

Originally Posted by brokesailor

hairline crack on a chainplate-if I replace all six, $6K
sails are in bad shape, will probably need to be replaced witin 2 seasons
Cosmetic blistering on the bottom-needs bottom blasted, barrier coated and bottom paint

The downside is these are all expensive. The upside is if you do all this, most of the really expensive stuff you will have to deal with on any 20+ year old Crealock will be done. You will have a new bottom, new sails, new chainplates, rebuilt engine, and the fuel tank behind you. On any older Crealock, you will have to do the chainplates and fuel tank eventually if they are not done already. I might be inclined to ask the seller to go 50-50 on the chainplates and bottom job.

It also depends on how you feel about this exact boat. This is a very unique boat. Are you in love with the non-standard layout? Is your heart set on a yawl? Is there something else that make this "the one"? If you just want any Crealock 37 there are quite a few for sale for well under 100k now. I would for sure at least look at them to compare (if you have not already). If you look at three or 4, you should have a pretty good idea of how they compare to each other. This should help you decide how much you want to pay. If this is "the one", work with the seller to come to an agreement and then enjoy the boat knowing that you bought when prices on used boats are really low. In the greater scheme of things, you are getting a great deal.

[brokesailor]

Thanks for the inspiring words!!!

[billbalme]

I just sold a 1983 37 - where were you when I needed you?

You have to expect some defects - and I agree that the chainplates and bottom are the only ones to concern yourself with. Since I've done the bottom thing - I'd definitely want help with that if I was faced with doing it again! Likewise, the chainplates is no small affair. I think I'd be asking for $5 - $10k of help. If they don't agree, you have to make up your mind how much you want the boat.

Sounds like once you have these things attended to, you'll have a beautiful and solid boat to enjoy.


Bill
Still looking for a replacement for Toodle-oo!

[BirdBrain333]

I don't think anyone else addressed the fuel tank. If it is the same Aluminum tank sitting in the bilge water as on later boats, I would not even bother to test it, just get a quote for a replacement. I went with a welded plastic tank which has no corrosion problems -- unless they put figure out how to put ethanol in diesel.

Jay

PSC 37, Kenlanu, 1986

[BirdBrain333]

One more thing, did the surveyor inspect the rig? Many don't and depending on when the wire was last replaced and the condition of the swages that might just be another item on the list.

Jay

[brokesailor]

Yes he went up both masts. The boat has two fuel tanks, one accessible and questionable the other not not accesible (the one in the bilge)

[Faster]

Originally Posted by RainDog

...........It also depends on how you feel about this exact boat. This is a very unique boat. Are you in love with the non-standard layout? Is your heart set on a yawl? Is there something else that make this "the one"? If you just want any Crealock 37 there are quite a few for sale for well under 100k now. I would for sure at least look at them to compare (if you have not already). If you look at three or 4, you should have a pretty good idea of how they compare to each other. This should help you decide how much you want to pay. If this is "the one", work with the seller to come to an agreement and then enjoy the boat knowing that you bought when prices on used boats are really low. In the greater scheme of things, you are getting a great deal.

+1.

There's no guarantee that similar issues will not plague another similar aged specimen but I agree that unless there's something about this one that makes it special, sounds like you can get to a better pre-survey starting price elsewhere...