Yacht Delivery Death Traps.

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by Sailorman97

Boat Survey...lol.. The biggest scam going IMHO. I have had 4 of them now. All by different people. All incompetent. The things missed would blow your mind. The things they wanted to nit pick about would blow your mind.

Whats the one common factor among all three surveyors?

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by Johnno

G'day Surfer Shane, I'm one of the Coast Guard crew who towed you back from abeam Tweed Heads to Southport Yacht Club. Departed base around 1100 and got back around 1700, a long tow at slow speeds in bumpy conditions.

I too deliver boats and always check them out before departure. About to help take a 12.5m cat to Tasmania and will be checking it out before departure. Loads of fuel filters, toilet repair kit, washers ofr taps, fuel cleaned and full, water full, etc!

I'm still traumatised by the unseaworthy condition of SV Phar Lap and the vicious rumours that typically circulate after these sorts of things aimed at the scapegoat. I.E., me. Have I mentioned the boats steering?

On SV Phar Lap there was near a quarter turn of absolute slack in the wheel. This equates to a lot of free play when you are talking about a 52' boat where the oversized racing wheel is nearly the size of the bow. Compound this by the fact you had a 52' boat pivoting around a fine 8' deep keel. Either side it was difficult to pick up tension or helm. By hand steering was erratic and exhausting.

While the owner still won't fault the boat, the ex Navy Clearance Diver he also roped into "delivering" the death trap also had the same difficulties trying to control the steering. No doubt the SAS level dive boats of the Navy he had helmed where meticulously maintained and combat ready? Not abuse racing, ran aground and left to degrade? He wisely decided his seasickness was bad enough that it was unreasonable to complete the voyage.

Do the Coast Guard hierarchy need another reason why I walked away from the tow, left the owner to deal with the mess, went below and only reappeared when I was needed after crossing the bar?

[LANaturist]

But overall I've been lucky. I send the owner my pre-underway checklist, and always schedule time for a good inspection and correction of any minor issues before departing.

I also send a provisioning list ahead of time[/QUOTE]

Is there a way to get copies of the pre-underway and provisioning checklists?

[dan104]

Fools never learn nor listen!

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by dan104

Fools never learn nor listen!

Apparently not!

I was sent a photo of the "fools" yacht after he eventually got it back to Sydney. Not sure of the circumstances, but it looks like his Australia Day sail didn't go well. The oversized racing boom had been dropped on the binimi seriously crushing the port side. The boat was also tied up roughly with the Genoa sheet like someone was in a hurry to get off into an ambulance. Hopefully any injuries were trifling and transient.

We all know what these sorts are like when they get behind the helm? It was hard to count the number of times the owner demanded I raise the main. Each time I refused eventually myself raising it at dock so I could get to know the particular procedure including reefs. No doubt though he will still be looking for an excuse to blame me?

As far as "fools" go I have concede I am the idiot if I help anyone like this again? I was beyond stoked recently when a real friend bought a houseboat on protected waters instead of the big sailboat I was doing my best to steer him away from!

[ChrisJHC]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

Apparently not!

The oversized racing boom had been dropped on the binimi seriously crushing the port side.

Maybe he should have read the other thread about whether a topping lift is needed on a yacht?

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by ChrisJHC

Maybe he should have read the other thread about whether a topping lift is needed on a yacht?

Given my experiences, I'd say someone still hasn't listened to advice about facing the boat into the wind while lifting the main. No doubt the mainsail battens have got tangled in the lazy jack rigging and someone has started yelling " "get it up" then "drop it"over-and-over again like a self-entitled million dollar yacht club twatt. If not gone for the topping lift rope clutch themselves?

[cdreid]

Well you people have helped me figure out who to have survey my boat when i buy it.

Ill hire one of you guys.. pay for the trip to the marina and the first day ahead of time then wait for the list of reasons "theres no damn way im sailing this thing across an ocean".. buy you a ticket home and another $100 and i have my survey :P

[mindsofman]

Originally a Taz Ab diver but bought a boat and sailed
Of to Europe in the mid 70s,,,
Started doing deliveries,u.k. to med / Carib/ sth af./ Etc
Then based in the Carib with deliveries world wide.
I got my surveyors certificate in Lauderdale some years
Back and combine that with the deliveries .
Sure,people complain about surveyors and delivery
Skippers but you ever hear owners complaining about
Owners ,,N.F.W.
I do a survey,," I don't want to pay a fortune for this man"
" Can you tell the seller it's gonna cost a fortune to fix
The stove"
"That's a $40k blister job on that Catalina 30,knock it
Off the asking price"
" So!! The rigs suspect and the sails are 40 years old,I
Want it in Martinique yesterday"
" WHAT !!!! You blew the engine ? Impossible,we changed
That oil 10 years ago and replaced the filters and
Impeller at the same time"
" Wadda yah mean ? my boat sank coz of a thru Hull
failure!!! I got those from Home Cheapo 3 months
Ago and put them in myself "
Sheeeeesh,,,,and the list goes on...
I've gone to marinas where boats have been left for
Maybe a year or more , bilges were never cleaned,heads
We're left undrained, ovens never cleaned,fridges left
With Non perishables ? Hah,in them , dead batteries,
Rotting dinghies,seized outboards, uncovered sails, etc etc
And the owner has expected me to leave the next day. ..
But,then again,,I gave a small job to a couple of young guys
One time,highly recommended,,delivering a boat across
Chobbee waterway,,they both got wasted one night half
Way across,,put a one way valve back on the wrong
Way and woke up with water rising around the bunks,,cost
Me $15k to refloat that puppy...
There's sloppiness on both sides,,it don't help playing
The blame game but it's human nature I guess.

[Wolfe10]

Guess this story pales in comparison with some of the horror stories above, BUT:


New owner of a 7 year old "dock queen" Pacific Seacraft 34' (really nice boat) flew us (wife and myself) down to Port Isabel, TX to take boat up to Galveston Bay (250 NM across the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane season).


Got off the plane late evening with a tool chest. Owner looked "puzzled". ???Tool chest??? The boat doesn't have 150 hours on the engine!


Next morning, I start going over the boat. Owner "PACING"-- ready to cast off! No problem, but we aren't going on the boat until I have gone through it!.


OK, not a single reef line reeved. Water pump belt in pieces (old age). No pins in any of the rigging turnbuckles. OK, owner quickly suggested "when you are happy, I am happy".


Now we had a nice passage north.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

Thing is I never once held out to the owner that I was a professional delivery skipper. Regardless, I have been sailing my own boat solo along the same coast for a decade and worked the same coast on professional fishing boats. While I don't have any recognisable qualifications, I have well enough experience diagnosing and fixing problems as with the fuel blockage and about everything else on the death trap.

Thing here is the owner thought he could coerce a "friend" into heading straight to sea in dangerous boat. FFS, he questioned why I was packing a multimeter. Even turns out my suspicions upon boarding that the boat had been left to deteriorate after being submersed were correct,

If you aren't a professional delivery skipper, you have no legal responsibility to the owner...tell them how it's going to work or walk away. You are doing them a big favor. You have the leverage. Assuming it's a port hopping trip, walk away at an interim port if needed (if it's an international trip, clear thru with the authorities that you are leaving).

A professional still needs to address safety issues but it takes a bit of a different approach. You need a good contract that covers this type of eventuality and how you will be paid if safety issues aren't addressed. It should include compensation for your time if the owner can't/won't address safety issues. Then you need to collect clear documentation of the issues.

Much better professional or not would be to do an inspection prior to taking the job (of course, may be problematic if the boat is not nearby)

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

A professional still needs to address safety issues but it takes a bit of a different approach. You need a good contract that covers this type of eventuality and how you will be paid if safety issues aren't addressed. It should include compensation for your time if the owner can't/won't address safety issues. Then you need to collect clear documentation of the issues.

Much better professional or not would be to do an inspection prior to taking the job (of course, may be problematic if the boat is not nearby)

Thanks for dredging up this old thread! It was interesting to read my earlier post about how I've been lucky so far, and had confidence I could fix the little things which always come up.

Until last month. I had my first occasion to walk away from a delivery and take an Uber right back to the airport. I won't go into details, and I really hated to do it, but suffice it to say all of the advice @valhalla360 offers above is good, along with all the things I normally do (see my post on page 1, above.)

[zurk]

lol love the horror stories for yacht delivery.
Question for all of you who have tried yacht delivery -
do you have a list of standard items you take with you on a yacht delivery ? if so, could you please post it ?
Thanks.

[JC Reefer]

I had a death trap delivery.

Go to pull out of the dock and the prop flys off. I actually see it zip back from the stern the moment I went into reverse. That’s odd. I think, “The nut came off?”. Quick swim (because I had seen where it went) and I find the prop. We somehow have a spare nut, life goes on.

Half way to Bimini the engine cuts out. Figured it was algae. Sails go up and I’m in the system taking the fuel lines apart. 3 hours later it Turns out that there were paper towels in the fuel tank and one was sucked into the line clogging it completely. Odd thing for a paper towel to be lost down the pipe but whatever. Clear it out. Engine back on. Keep going.

Later I find that the dingy engine is missing its prop. The bloody thing was store in the sail locker on the bow. It hits me that the vessel had been sabotaged.

Someone has boobytrapped the vessel as payback or whatever. I start looking around and found all sorts of things. Cotter pins missing. The fenders and travel dock lines had been taken.

Wrapped up the delivery and make it home alive. Turns out the owner owed money to some interesting people.

[crankysailor]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

Sorry I don't have time to reply to everyone's replies. Thanks regardless.

Hopefully my story will help others question what might be a dangerous situation. Even before looking at the boat I would be considering the owner's motivations.

Obviously this narrcistic monster just wanted to show me up because I am happy with my life on my little boat. Again from our most recent and hopefully last correspondence,

I recently lost a "friend" in a different yet somewhat related manner. He is reasonably well off and wants to call himself a sailor. He bought my first boat from me when I wanted to upgrade and destroyed the engine and had to be towed into port. Sold it without an engine (amazingly enough) and now wants to buy a larger nicer $$$ boat .. even asked me to come with to visit a prospect. At some point I just couldn't in good conscience keep quiet and told him.. hey.. maybe buying a 40+ foot boat as a beginner is not the sharpest idea etc. He told me off and said that as usual I was treating everyone else around as an idiot ...I simply moved on with my life. .