Need advice - Boat purchase

[bona2]

I need your advice. I am in the middle of sail boat search. 7 yr. old boat I found has rust/corrosion type of issue. Cokpit table hinges and screws on the life raft base shows rust/corrosion. It makes me suspicious that boat has been abandoned and major rust/corrosion developed entire boat. Ithad been sailed Caribbian island some years.

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[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by bona2

I need your advice. I am in the middle of sail boat search. 7 yr. old boat I found has rust/corrosion type of issue. Cokpit table hinges and screws on the life raft base shows rust/corrosion. It makes me suspicious that boat has been abandoned and major rust/corrosion developed entire boat. Ithad been sailed Caribbian island some years.

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Is it a steel boat or wood,fiberglass,concrete?If its got metal screws and they are rusty,that could just be because its on the water !!

[bona2]

It is a fiber glassboat. I could not believe cockpit table hinges so badly rusted on 7 year old boat...

[Celestialsailor]

Get a surveyor...I think you're nit picking

[bona2]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Get a surveyor...I think you're nit picking

I will find a surveyor but after I see the boat.

[KDH]

My first thought was that this was a joke post. However, I think a lot of people are shocked at how fast metal fittings rust in a marine environment. After looking at the blow up of the table, I see tarnished brass hinges not rust. The state of the varnish on the table tells the better story...it's newly varnished or has been kept in excellent shape. We have fittings on our boat 2 years old that were supposed to be stainless and they rust. I suggest that before you go see the boat you read Don Casey's "Inspecting the Aging Sailboat" (although I doubt 7 years old qualifies as aged). Get the large version not the Kindle so you can see the illustrations. Inspecting the Aging Sailboat (The International Marine Sailboat Library): Don Casey: 0639785803447: Amazon.com: Books

That way if you do see something very obvious that is a deal breaker you can move onto the next boat before you spend money on the surveyor. Focus your attention on the parts of the boat that matter like the systems, engine, rigging etc. rather than the gloss.

[Richard5]

I looked at the table hinges. What I could see are telltale rusticles where the screw heads are. The hinges could be brushed brass finish (does NOT mean actual brass) with screws to match. Screws could be mild steel. I just replaced all hardware on a cabinet in a residential bathroom. The screws were severely corroded from humidity. Replace with brass or bronze hardware. Heck SS would be ok too.

Perhaps the OP is nitpicking (I tend to agree) but it's his money and I wouldn't fault him for being cautious, inquisitive, and tight fisted.

[bona2]

You are right. I may be nitpicking and I wish I am. What I worried is not cockpit tables and/or other deck equipment but overall boat conditions. Obviously boat was in the very humid area for a long time...

[boatman61]

The tropics are like that... hot and humid...

[robert sailor]

Rusty stainless steel is very common and should just be cleaned. If you cross an ocean, when you get to the other side its very common to have most if not all stainless steel showing rust. Its easy to clean.

[boatman61]

Do a crossing and you'll find rust spots on your GRP decks where sea waters dried and the trace elements oxidise...
Its an inescapable fact of life... most metals have a finite life and need replacing sooner or later... if they did not manufacturers would create it...

[Teknav]

...a devil's advocate...was this boat sunk, then salvaged? It doesn't take much to sink a boat, then re-float it!

Mauritz
The devil is in the details.

[bona2]

So, I am misleading if I assume boat is not actual 7 years old but 14 years old.

[boatman61]

The registration documents will confirm the age of the boat... no assumptions...

[bona2]

Yes, registration will tell me actual years. However, since boat had been in tropics so actual condition would be close to 14 years old boat. I amy be wrong.