Cat with 8 lives left?

[DanDanDan]

I'm thinking of putting in an offer on a roughly 20 year old vessel tomorrow. While it's a little older than some others we've looked at it appears to be very well kept. It has one new engine and the other is original. I asked the broker why only one was replaced, didn't really get an answer.

After 10 seconds of googling I found an old blog by the current owner. It appears that they hit something in the icw, damaged the sail drive allowing substantial water ingress that their pumps could not keep up with. They made it to a marina with the help of the coast guard and fixed the boat up all nice.

Now it has a new engine, new sail drive and new flooring throughout the entire vessel. All of it looks very nice.

So my question is, would damage like that be a deal killer or if repaired properly and carefully examined by a qualified surveyor could it be as good as new?

I'd gladly appreciate any thoughts.

To answer a few questions before they're asked, yes this is proof that cats can't sink and no, I won't be trying to finance it as a liveaboard outside the country.

Thanks!


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[delmarrey]

There are a lot of variables here.
Like what make of cat?
The quality of work done for the repairs?
And does it still show water marks from the incident?

[Palarran]

I wouldn't be too put off by that Dan. A 20 year old boat is going to need work regardless of the problems it had years ago. Just get a good survey and a great deal. Good luck.

[DanDanDan]

Thanks! Any suggestions for things to look for during a survey relating to the water intrusion?

I'm imagining a car that had been flooded. Cleans up nice, but lots of problems later.


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[Fiveslide]

I would look closely at how the wiring was run and if any connections and components may have been submerged. If any of it was low enough to be affected by the water intrusion, I would expect a large amount be deducted from the purchase price.

I've done a couple hundred miles on a monohull that was raised off the bottom and entirely refit. If properly cleaned and repaired and ALL affected systems replaced, then that cat could be a fine boat.

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[dameskipper]

I agree with others answers.the biggest issue is electrical and this type of problem would show up fairly quickly, . If it's been awhile and there was a reasonable repair done and your survey is good I wouldn't worry

[Cheechako]

also a concern if the hull is cored around the damage..? But the surveyor should be able to determine if it sounds good. Damage around the rudder also? and as others have said, how submerged was it? it can effect the peripherals on the engine, electrical etc.
Can you tell if it's a "salvage" title on the boat?

[svfraidknot]

a 20 year old boat in my opinion is better built than some of the newer ones ,, mine is 78 model cat and i have been on newer cats i dont think would make it in the north seas where she has been ,, my two cents worth ,,

[DanDanDan]

Thanks for all the feedback. Very helpful. Will be submitting the offer paperwork tomorrow. Delayed a bit due to work/travel. The broker says my offer is a little low, but I think that's just what brokers say. We'll see.


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[DanDanDan]

Looks like my offer has been accepted! Now on to the survey. I've done a little searching here and elsewhere, but if anyone has any recommendations of someone experienced with multihulls in the Annapolis area I'd be glad to hear them.


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[Palarran]

That's great Dan. Can you post a link to the old blog so we can read about the accident? Good luck with the survey.

[DanDanDan]

Here's the info I have on the damage. Sounds like the water was contained to one compartment, but it's hard to tell for sure. Survey is set for this Friday.

That is not an "Oopsy" | Family Adventures of Hullabaloo

Do folks carry pumps big enough to help with this type situation? If one was offshore when something like this happened it could have been a different problem.

[ausaviator]

Fibreglass is meant to be in the water, so there's no issues there. Engines & wiring are the main thing. What else is the salt going to destroy? Some fabric, timber etc? If it was dried out, it would be a no-brainer.

I once bought an aircraft than spent a night in the ocean. It was built from fibreglass. Simply dried out the plywood engine firewall, fitted a new engine, new wiring and any bolts etc that were salt affected. Some bolts are affected, some aren't, it depends in my case on whether the anodized coating was broken at any time during fitting for example.

[admiralslater]

I just read the account of the damage and since appears to be contained in the engine room I think it does not matter much .Ialso doubt that the hull is cored below the water line especially in that location so repairs would have been simple .
Good luck

[Palarran]

After reading the account I would suggest having the rudder dropped if possible and the shaft inspected along with the bearing and connecting fiberglass. There have been some boats lost this year due to past damage to the rudder. This is very important, IMO, whether you do it at survey or later.