Keep Looking ?

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Oh yes it has a gelcoat. The Fuji.... Well the Hughes is much more fully equipped. I mean it has solar, gps, sea tel sat phone, watermaker, pressure water, 6 gal hot water tank, vhf, depth, knot, autopilot, wind vane, etc, etc. The fuji had vhf, depth, knotmeter, etc. Very basically outfitted and all of it outdated. It is in serious need of painting, the sails are old and worn out but the worst thing about it was in one hanging locker, you can see where the deck/hull joint is coming apart and in the V-Berth, there is mould from one end of the berth to the other starting just ahead of where the deck/hull joint is separating. So that one is a no-go for me. In my opinion, IF I had lots of money to spend on her and lots of time, I might pay five grand for "the project". I'm just not into buying THAT much work.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

I spoke to a surveyor today and I will hire him to do a "pre-offer inspection" to check out the deck and the hull damage and advise me on whether or not I should make an offer.
I'll be sure to post his findings and pics that he sends me.

Cheers everyone!

[Bash]

Hey, don't let anyone tell you that's an easy repair. Especially the soft deck.

[spostamento nobile]

PAY FOR THE SURVEY!
It's the single best investment for the used boat buyer.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Yes definitely, this guy offers the "pre-offer" inspection just to advise on whether or not to proceed with an offer. Then if we go ahead with an offer it will be subject to a successful complete pre-purchase survey and he will adjust the price on the full survey to reflect that he's already done a minor inspection.
I in no way consider myself any where near knowledgeable enough about boats to be confident enough to buy without a survey.
Thanks for that though!

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

One thing too, if the section cut out is in one piece, the under side of the cutout can be cleaned off and that piece resined back in. Then just glass up around the edges. Some decks have an arch to them, which might be hard to duplicate.

This is how I do it also with epoxy, maine ply core and bridge seam with polyester.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Bash

Hey, don't let anyone tell you that's an easy repair. Especially the soft deck.

I would have to agree after doing it to 2 boats. Why not just walk away from both boat? This is the best time to buy and there are thousands of boats if you just wait a littlle...JMHO

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Well I don't know if I'm going to go ahead with an offer or not now. The seller and his broker are not being very cooperative. Or am I asking too much? The issue?
My surveyor will go aboard and do a "pre-offer" inspection for $200 bucks (vs a full survey for $700) and check out the deck and and deck/hull joint for me. A mini inspection to give me an idea of the cost of repairs. If I decided to go ahead with the offer and have a full-blown survey, he would then credit some of that $200 toward the survey.
This is how I want to proceed since I already know there are issues. The sellers won't allow any inspection without an offer/deposit saying that the surveyor could cause damage to the boat and that it is not the normal way things are done.

What do you guys think? I'm thinking of walking. I'm taking my time and going to go look at other boats today.

[delmarrey]

Yeah! I'd say walk away. But do keep an ear open. Once he's been rejected, he may become more lenient and have second thoughts. Unless he has something to hide.

[Mexdon]

Originally Posted by Capt Wraun

Well I don't know if I'm going to go ahead with an offer or not now. The seller and his broker are not being very cooperative. Or am I asking too much? The issue?
My surveyor will go aboard and do a "pre-offer" inspection for $200 bucks (vs a full survey for $700) and check out the deck and and deck/hull joint for me. A mini inspection to give me an idea of the cost of repairs. If I decided to go ahead with the offer and have a full-blown survey, he would then credit some of that $200 toward the survey.
This is how I want to proceed since I already know there are issues. The sellers won't allow any inspection without an offer/deposit saying that the surveyor could cause damage to the boat and that it is not the normal way things are done.

What do you guys think? I'm thinking of walking. I'm taking my time and going to go look at other boats today.

If the seller is not being co-operative I would almost certainly say he is hiding something that would be picked up by a surveyor even with a pre-offer survey. They are wanting the deposit and with the way they are acting I think if the survey did turn out $&*? then how sure are you you would get your deposit back.....WALK!!!!!! They don't appear to be on the up and up.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Ya, well I'm not so worried about the deposit. It took 3 requests (2 of which were polite) to get a copy of the contract to look at but the broker finally complied with that (seemingly very simple) request. It is clearly stated in the contract that in the event of an unsatisfactory survey (among other things), the deposit would be refundable.
The thing is, now my feathers have been ruffled and I'm not really in the mood for anymore $#!t from these people. I like the boat but I think you guys are right. They need some time in the corner to think about what they've done.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Capt Wraun

This is how I want to proceed since I already know there are issues. The sellers won't allow any inspection without an offer/deposit saying that the surveyor could cause damage to the boat and that it is not the normal way things are done.

Hey...This is on your nickle. They should be accommodating you. Not making rules for you to follow. I will stand by my earlier post...WALK AWAY! There are thousands of boats without these issues. I would wager if you just go to a new area and walk around, you will get a better perspective and not pay this boat a second look. This is a BIG investment in money and time. Do it right the first time. Not that I have always...

[Cheechako]

1/2" deep near the toerail is pretty deep. I'm surprised a 38 footer is even that thick there. Not a deal breaker, but will require more than just filling in the scrape. You are talking, grinding fiberglass for maybe 3" either side of the scrape, layering in glass, fairing and painting at least that side of the hull. Gonna be expensive.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Yes, that sounds about right. During the course of conversations about that damage, the seller's broker said "it would just need to be filled with resin" and the seller himself said he would fill it. I do not want anyone to touch it. If I buy the boat, I will make sure the damage is FIXED not just hidden.
Also, the conversations have really gotten bogged down in the damage to the toerail and they don't seem to want to talk about the deck issue(s).

[Celestialsailor]

Regarding soft decks...I had a broker tell me to just drill holes in the deck and squirt epoxy in them. That they do that all the time. As far as I'm concerned these guys are nothing more than used car salesmen. I have probably met 2 dozen brokers in my sailing life (35 years) and can say I only liked 2 of them and only one of those I bought a boat from.