[Mongo]

I was looking at a crown 34 at a broker and he said insurance does not allow them to start the engine at the dock unless they are doing a sea trial. Anyone ever heard of this?

Also previous owner had put in a new mast step,(keel stepped mast) removed the rod that ties down deck, and installed two L brackets mounted to the mast below the deck, and the top of the angle goes throught the hole of the deck and holds the deck down. Bad idea?

 

[Markwesti]

The first question , short answer, no I have never heard of that .
It doesn't make sense to me , if they can start it for a sea trial then why not for the on deck inspection ? If the engine was decent I would think that to start it up for you would be a good selling point . SBD lists the Crown 34 with a Yanmar 2qm15 , that is the engine we have . Ours is fresh water cooled , they didn't come stock that way . So I would check for that . Another thing , how many hrs. on it . Also some parts we can't get . Before you buy the boat I would hire a Diesel mechanic and a surveyor .
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=1944

 

[BarryL]

Hey,

I have not heard of a broker that would not start an engine, but it doesn't really matter. Just assume the engine operates normally and then decide to make an offer or not. You can also tell the broker "I am making an offer of X assuming the engine runs normally." This way you can make your offer, if it's accepted you can have the broker start the engine and demonstrate it. If you are unhappy you cancel the deal and get your deposit back. If you are happy then you hire a surveyor and move ahead.

Barry

 

[jzk]

I have heard of brokers that won't start engines. Happened to me last week when I was looking at a boat in Fort Lauderdale. The broker explained that some owner was doing work on his engine and didn't say anything to anyone. When the broker went to start it, it caused significant damage. So now they need to call the owner and make absolute certain it is ok to start.

 

[Faster]

I've run into that as well. Probably comes out of incidents like jzk alluded to. Seems to me IIRC the broker wanted the owner present if engine to be run.

 

[Mongo]

Thanks for response... I was told the Owner was out of the country. Just a curious incident.

 

[RobGallagher]

I can't comment on the mast. As for the engine, many brokers will not start the engine and yes it's because they could do damage. Even something as simple as a closed seacock or the owner got called away in the middle of filter change.

I would suggest that before a sea trial, a separate appointment is made for running the engine under load at the dock, compression testing, oil samples if needed, etc. Paying a mechanic, who specializes on a particular engine make, for an hours work can save thousands in the long run.

Things can get hectic during the final hours of a purchase, paying someone to play devils advocate for you is a good investment.