Should we buy a boat whose owner didn't let the surveyor use full throttle?

[Rachinwokingham]

Hi all,

We are thinking of buying a 1998 Contest. However, the surveyor had to do the sea trial for us and apparently the owner wouldn't allow him to put the engine up to full throttle. The blooming surveyor didn't insist. Needless to say, we are suspicious now!

Any idea why the owner might have done this? What could he be trying to hide?

Many thanks...

Rachel and Simon

[44'cruisingcat]

Re negotiate the price. Tell the seller you now have suspicions about the engine and transmission.

[charliehows]

what did the surveyor say about the engine?

[Calif.Ted]

Depends on what is meant by "full throttle" if he got it up to 80 % of WOT that should be all that's required. For most small diesels thats probably 2800-3000 rpm, I think most people would have a problem with running WOT for long.

[Bill Seal]

Bad clutches or marginal cooling system

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by Rachinwokingham

The surveyor had to do the sea trial for us and apparently the owner wouldn't allow him to put the engine up to full throttle. The blooming surveyor didn't insist. Needless to say, we are suspicious now!

Rachel and Simon

Run, Run, Run. Do not look back. Just keep on running.

Its a buyers market.

Go and buy a boat on your terms.
.
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[Peregrine1983]

Rachel and Simon,

I would get the survey back and see what other issues you're dealing with first. There will be other issues you want to take into account before renegotiation..

Your surveyor isn't going to insist a boat owner do something he says he doesn't want to, but you should ask your surveyor why they think the owner didn't want to throttle up and it should absolutely be reflected in the survey that the boat wasn't run up to full rpm.

Never be shy during a survey - if you have questions pipe up and ask them.

In my experience, the engine is always run to full rpm and for a while - because that's when issues (like overheating, etc) pop up. Issues with engines can range from a couple hundred dollar fixes to very serious issues that will cost thousands.

No matter what the owner says is the actual issue, I think you need to have a mechanic check the engine at this point just so you know what you're dealing with. This can be at the owner's expense and this can now be part of the negotiation process once you get the survey back and know what else is up with the boat.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you guys. In the end if you're still freaked out by the boat, don't buy it. I walked away from a boat before I bought mine and I felt very bad about it, but now i'm so glad I did.

There are always more boats out there...

Cheers

[Wotname]

Ask why...

Depending on the answer, either run, negotiate the price or ask for another sea trial to test at WOT.

Any good engine system should operate at WOT for 10 minutes or so without any issues.

[nwdiver]

At full throttle the prop may cavitate and that would sound bad, at the speed he ran it was the boat near hull speed if so the extra is just extra, the oil sample test will tell you more about the engine, and if not at hull speed when running 70-80% it could be a prop issue.......... Use it as a negotiating issue.


Another note.......your surveyor should have mentioned this as a possible reason not some random guy on a forum......

[a64pilot]

I have yet to see a sailboat that could cavitation a prop, have to see it to believe it.
Is this a sailboat?

[model 10]

I wouldn't let anybody run my engine wide open and our boat is for sale. You buy it you can do anything you want but you are not going to abuse my boat. There is no point in running it wide open. I could see a check of what the max rpm is, but no more than that. At high rpm the boat goes no faster, the stern just squats anyway.

[SailRedemption]

Get an oil sample analysis. That will tell you more than anything. If it's got high concentration of carbon from a coked exhaust, crystals from leaking heat exchanger, high metal content from high bearing wear, etc. They are cheap, do it.

[siamese]

It's perfectly acceptable to run a modern sailboat diesel at WOT for a moderate period of time. As a buyer, I would want to know if it is capable of operating at the peak rpm specified by the manufacturer. The manufacturer can provide the specified rpm, and might possibly provide the amount the temperature should increase at WOT.

The seller is either uneducated or hiding something.

Certainly start with asking him why he didn't allow the test.

I can't say that I would walk away from a deal on this one issue, because there are a lot of other variables. It would be a major black mark, and combined with other similar or lesser issues would make me walk away.

Good luck.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I have yet to see a sailboat that could cavitation a prop, have to see it to believe it.
Is this a sailboat?

It might not be cavitation but many boats have prop apertures small enough to generate a pretty loud noise as rpm increases.

[darylat8750]

Originally Posted by Guy

I wouldn't let anybody run my engine wide open and our boat is for sale. You buy it you can do anything you want but you are not going to abuse my boat. There is no point in running it wide open. I could see a check of what the max rpm is, but no more than that. At high rpm the boat goes no faster, the stern just squats anyway.

IMHO running an engine full throttle for a few minutes is not abusing. It is, or should be, designed to do that. In flat water the difference between 75% and 100% may just be a deeper hole in the water. But how about pushing against 2-3 meter waves and a 40 knot wind?

I was on board for a friends survey of a single engine boat. A slightly higher than normal vibration at low rpm but the bottom and prop were very crusted with marine growth. At just above cruise rpm the transmission started slipping. Turned out it needed a $3000+ transmission rebuild. Some may call it abuse, I call it prudence.

Another point. You don't know if you have the correct prop on a boat unless it will turn in the manufacturer's recommended rpm range at full throttle.