Reality Check, Good deal?

hardee · Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2020 8:13 pm Post subject:

Anxiously waiting to hear more about the cabin, hull and cockpit sole "moisture". Seems like it could be an overly sensitive meter, Or ...? ( some kind of artifact.) OR, you a got a really good and smart surveyor.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

curioustraveler · Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2020 8:48 pm Post subject:

She's incredibly thorough which is why she was recommended to me. We percussed probably every 6 inches of the boat. She's been doing this for 20+ years. She's telling me it's no big deal and I've spoken to another C-Dory owner offline who also said he wouldn't worry about it.

DuckDogTitus · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:16 am Post subject:

curioustraveler · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:30 am Post subject:

[quote="DuckDogTitus"]Either way I think you were to smart to get one, it's a small price to pay for piece of mind![/quote]

That's the funny thing...the survey gave me less piece of mind! I would've had no idea the floor was possibly wet until her meter started pinging. Would've probably used the boat for years with no idea but now I'm wondering if there's a major problem lurking (a la Scallywag.)

The more I'm reading about wet cores and the sometimes unreliable nature of moisture meters, I'm wondering if this is some kind of anomaly? The boat's hardly been used and never sat in the water. The hull sounded great with a hammer yet showed pretty much from the transom to the galley table was "wet."

This boat doesn't have the screws into the deck by the fuel tanks, just the little metal pieces that secure the straps. These look to be sealed well. The bilge pump isn't screwed into the deck, it's mounted to starboard that fits in the sump. So where could this much rain water be leaking in to somehow flood the hull and cockpit floor with water?

journey on · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 12:07 pm Post subject:

Well, curioustraveler, it's been 2 weeks and you've inspected the boat with a magnifying glass. I would assume that by now your neighbor has an idea that his boat is worth more that you're paying. time to buy the boat or give up?

Boris

curioustraveler · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 12:20 pm Post subject:

Leaning towards buying her and hoping no major problems develop. She's up at the yard right now where they checked her motor and looked at fixing the crack for me. I'm going to have them look at the water fill area and get their opinion on the floor. Then I'll make a decision.

curioustraveler · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:33 pm Post subject:

I met with the boat yard's main fiberglass guy and we went through the surveyor's findings together. We're going to fix the 2 areas we know need repaired (around the lazarette, rod holder, and the freshwater fill,) and I'll start rebedding all the other screws and deck fittings. He doesn't believe there is any reason to worry about the floor. After doing his own assessment he doesn't think I'll have any problems. It's solid.

So, considering the motor checks out fine, I'm going to take the advice of the surveyor and fiberglass guy, and jump on this. You never really know with a used boat, or even a new boat, but for the price I'm picking this one up I think I'm willing to give it a shot.

DuckDogTitus · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:37 pm Post subject:

that's awesome, congratulations.
how long will he have to have the boat for to make the repairs?

curioustraveler · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:42 pm Post subject:

It'll be a couple of weeks. I'm having them do a full service on the engine too. Hoping I can do most of that myself in the future but for starters I want a good baseline.

I also need to do a good deep cleaning but I really want to have her launched by the end or March, if possible.

DuckDogTitus · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:56 pm Post subject:

that's great, that's not a long wait at all. I'm seeing the local shop already getting a line up of boats preparing for the spring season. Once they get busy the wait becomes months.

curioustraveler · Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2020 10:03 pm Post subject:

Spent Saturday cleaning up the cabin. I added a few pics to my album.

The exterior needs a really deep cleaning which I'm hoping I can work on around the yard's schedule for the other repairs.

DuckDogTitus · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:07 am Post subject:

Looks good! did you just remove the dinette for cleaning?

curioustraveler · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:05 pm Post subject:

I have to repair the hinges on the table. Someone fell on it and ripped the screws out of the wood.

Fishcatcher907 · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 6:31 pm Post subject:

That’s awesome! Congratulations! I love boat projects. About 11 years ago I bought a wrecked just boat and totally rebuilt it. I had to strip in down bare and build it back up. It was a great winter project and I’m glad I did it. A great learning experience, that’s for sure.

curioustraveler · Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:37 pm Post subject:

The boat yard offered to do a "light wash" for me since they have to clean the area for the fiberglass repair anyways. I stopped by today and wow...she looks amazing. This is before any polishing or waxing but I'm amazed at how well she cleaned up.

Fiberglass repair should be done by Friday, then bottom paint possibly this weekend. After that, I need to polish and wax her and launch her. Hopefully by the 4th!