First I should point out that I think a 4700 from the Moorings fleet is a great bargin. I would however never advocate
buying a boat without a top notch
survey. The 4700's coming out of the Moorings fleet are providing great boats for many people. They will take some money to get in shape and sorted out with proper
gear but still are a great boat at a great price.
As far as the Moorings I owned a boat with the Moorings for almost 6 years that has been
sold. I now own a boat with another company. The Moorings has a maintenance schedule and all kinds of planned maintenance ect... None if it is being done or has been done for many years. There are no real records, boats are 18 months behind on their 6 month overhuals. Simple things like
oil changes may or may not get done. I used my boat quite often with the Moorings. I would initial the
oil filter on the
engine and mark other
service access areas. It was very clear fast that promised maintenance or even documented as done maintenance was not happening. Most Moorings owners are very upset with the state of maintenance there the last few years. The Moorings has promised improvements every year and every year the same complaints keep coming however with the merger with Sunsail and the loss of many jobs things are getting worse not better.
One of the things I find interesting about the Moorings program is the promised
overhaul at the end of the
contract. Why should that be needed? With the charter company I am with now I have felt every time I went down to the boat I would be happy to take it home. It does not need a
overhaul since it is maintained properly all the time.
One last thing about a Moorings boat. Really really look hard at the
electrical system. They are a very basic system to start with and
battery banks are very undersized. The Moorings has limited to no qualified electricians working on the boats. If they need to splice a wire they wrap it together and put some
electrical tape over it. If they have a problem with a circuit breaker tripping they bypass it. Check every breaker on a Moorings boat to insure it has not be bypassed!!!
Again having said all this if I were in the market for a Cat I would certainly consider buying a Moorings Cat. There are several surveyors in the
BVI who are very familiar with the Cane and Roberts product and know where and what to look at on the boats. Some of the boats come out of the 5 year program in much better shape then others. Look at many boats and spend the money for a good
surveyor on your top 3 choices.
One last thing. There is a hardtop mod available for the 4700 done in the BVI that is excellent. Not
cheap but well worth the money if you are
purchasing one. Have it done there before you move the boat to its new home.