Transcription

1 PRELIMINARY SURVEY CHECKLIST Use This Checklist When You Survey Any Sailboat You re Thinking of Buying brought to you by If you own a sail boat, or are thinking of buying a sail boat you should join our free Sail Boat Owner s Tip of the Week at Each week you ll get practical, hands-on ideas on: repairing your boat maintaining your boat upgrading your boat cruising your boat racing your boat Plus you ll qualify for charter membership in our exciting new membership site for sail boat owners to be launched soon NOTE: Do everyone a good turn and send this checklist to anyone you know who s thinking of buying a sailboat

2 2 LEGAL STUFF Copyright This checklist is Copyright 2007 by Peter Reuter. All rights reserved Licence You are licensed to send this checklist to any one you like in any way you like on the condition that you send the whole checklist as-is, including all html links. No Liability No liability is assumed with respect to the use of information contained in this checklist. Although precautions have been taken, the author assumes no liability for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained iin this checklist. Peter Reuter

3 3 Before you go any further... You have got a copy of our manual on surveying used sail boats haven t you? If not, go right now to and download your free copy. You shouldn t be looking at used sail boats until you ve read it. The checklist on the following pages is best used in conjunction with our sail boat survey manual. You can print out a copy of pages 4-15 and take them with you when you go to do a preliminary survey on any sail boat you re interested in. Use the checklist as a guide so you don t overlook any important feature of the boat. Also note down your observations and impressions of the boat in the spaces provided as you go through the checklist. The notes under each item in the checklist are to reminder you what you should be looking for when inspecting that item. These notes are more fully explained in the survey manual. Make sure you get a copy.

4 4 Your Preliminary Survey You should have first conducted an initial inspection in which case you can skip the first two sections. In your preliminary survey you should inspect the boat more thoroughly, checking for deal buster faults early. You ll need the the following equipment: A digital camera with flash A small tape recorder or note book A flashlight A medium sized screwdriver with a plastic handle to use as a hammer A wad of soft cloth A small sharp screwdriver or other pointed tool A mirror on a stick like a dentist s mirror A magnifying glass If the boat passes your preliminary survey, you may consider making an offer subject to a full marine survey. 1 Location of boat Initial asking price Name of boat Make Model Registration number Year of manufacture Rig type Engine type Engine make & model Length over all Length on waterline Draft Hull material Owners contact details Brokers contact details

5 5 Questions to ask the seller Why is the boat for sale? How long has the boat been up for sale? Are there any liens or other attachments outstanding on the boat? Where has the boat been used in the recent past? How has the boat been used in the recent past? Raced? Cruised? Any major accidents, has the boat been aground? Have there been any repairs, refits or changes from original equipment? Are there any marine survey reports on the boat? Does the seller know contact details of prior owners? Is the boat properly documented? Does the boat have a sailing and maintenance log book? What inventory does sale price include?

6 6 First impressions Your first impression is very important - it s probably the right one. Does the boat look like the owner is proud of it? Is there weed on the hull? Ask how long since last antifoul. Is the external woodwork properly maintained?(varnish, paint or epoxy) Are the hull and decks clean? Bird droppings are acceptable. INSPECTION Keelbolts Check the top of the keel bolts in the bilge. If the keel bolts are of bronze, they should be exposed. However if they are of stainless steel, the head of the bolt plus the nut should be totally covered in epoxy resin to stop corrosion. Any corrosion is probably a deal buster Tanks Check all metal tanks for signs of corrosion. Open the access panels in the tanks and feel inside as far as you can for signs of corrosion. Use your flashlight and mirror to see as far as you can. Removing and repairing corroded tanks can be difficult and expensive.

7 7 Engine Check for oil stains both underneath and on the sides of the engine. Stains underneath the engine probably indicate leaking oil seals Stains on the side of the engine indicate valve cover gasket leak. Replacing the oil seals is a major exercise. Rust stains at the head block joint could mean a blown head gasket. Rust stains elsewhere usually indicate water seal failure in pumps or leaking freeze plugs in the engine. Peeling paint anywhere except the manifold probably indicates an overheating problem at some stage. Have the engine fully checked out by a qualified marine diesel mechanic before you have a full marine survey. Deck To test if core to laminate bond has failed jump hard on the deck, cabin top and cockpit of the boat and listen for any tell-tale crackle and feel for any unusual flexing. To check the extent of bond failure, tap the deck with the plastic handle of the screwdriver. A dull sound indicates a bond failure. Keep tapping in a pattern to find the extent of the failure. Failure over a larger area means the core needs to be replaced and a new laminate and gel coat installed. Definitely a deal buster.

8 8 Internal layout Check the number of bunks. Bunks should be at least 24 inches wide and preferably more than 70 inches long Check headroom and ventilation in the galley and toilet. Check the stowage and counter space in the galley. Check for a deep sink near the centerline of the boat. Check that swing of stove is OK. Check for sufficient hand grips to move about the cabin safely at sea. Check for sharp corners on countertops or furniture Check there are no tanks under the berths in the forward cabin. Imagine what the layout would look like when heeled at 30 degrees. Check adequate access to the engine for routine maintenance. Unless the internal layout works reasonably well for you it may be a deal buster.

9 9 Mast and standing rigging Spreaders should be cocked upwards so that they bisect the shroud angle. They should be at the same angle each side. Sight up the sail track on the back of the mast. If not straight mast is not properly tuned. External corrosion on the mast at the keel and at partners probably means the mast is also corroded internally. Pitting or bubbling around fittings on the mast means fittings will need to be refitted with proper separation of dissimilar metals. Serious corrosion around the gooseneck area could be a major problem due to the heavy loads in this area. Brown stains on rigging terminals or wire rigging indicates that all rigging of the same age is suspect and due for replacement. Wrap soft cloth around each stay and shroud run it up the wire. Broken strands will snag the cloth and indicate wire that needs replacement. Electrical wiring Check for poorly installed additions to the original installation. All wiring should be tinned boat cable #12 gauge or thicker. Connections should all have crimped or soldered ends. Cable runs should be as straight as possible and properly supported. Major rewiring will be expensive. If in doubt get a quote from a marine electrician.

10 10 Thru-hull fittings All thru-hulls should have proper bronze or Marelon seacocks. All seacocks should have a soft wooden taper plug tied adjacent to plug the thru-hull if the seacock should fail. Gate valves are unsatisfactory and should be replaced with seacocks immediately. Smelly toilet If the toilet area smells either the toilet itself, the toilet hoses or the holding tank is leaking gas. Test the toilet discharge hoses and the holding tank vent hoses by rubbing them with a clean rag and smelling the rag. Any odour on the rag indicates that the hoses are permeable and require replacing. If the holding tank is porous check how easy it will be to remove it for repair or replacement. You may need to dismantle some furniture to get it out. Badly fitting furniture If furniture doesn t quite fit suspect that the interior of the boat has changed shape somehow. Possibly a bulkhead has become detached from the hull. Changes in the shape of the hull can also be caused by the loads due to the tension in the stays and shrouds. Distortion can also be due to mast compression.. If the boat s shape is being distorted by rig tension it is probable that the hull is not strong enough for the rigging loads.

11 11 Toe rail & deck fittings There should only be a thin layer of bedding compound under the toe rail and deck fittings if they are properly installed. A bead of caulking along any portion of the toe rail or around a deck fitting means a past or present leak. Tap the deck around the toe rail or fitting with the plastic screwdriver handle to check for water penetration into the deck core. A sharp sound indicates an undamaged core Plywood cores are more likely to be damaged by water penetration from badly installed fittings. Balsa and foam cores tend to resist the penetration of water better. Cracks in gelcoat Widespread eggshell crazing is only a cosmetic problem. Crazing over a small area is probably due to the deck flexing. The area will need reinforcement before any repair work is started. Parallel cracks indicate that the deck is hinging or bending at the cracks. The deck underneath will need to be reinforced and possibly the bearing area widened in the case of bulkheads. Cracks radiating around staunchions. The staunchion will need to be removed and refixed with proper backing plates to spread the load. Check for core damage at all gelcoat cracks.

12 12 Internal leaks Remove part of the head lining and check for corrosion in the fasteners of any deck fitting that showed extra caulking at deck inspection. Check around portlights and hatchways for signs of water leaks. If a deck fitting shows signs of corrosion on its fastenings under the deck, check the core around the fitting for water penetration. Check for water damage to the core around any portlight or hatchway that appears to have leaked. Check the bottom of the bulkheads for rot. Use a small sharp screwdriver to check if the bottom of the bulkhead is soft.

13 13 Hull condition Stand in front of the boat looking aft and move slowly to one side, keeping your eyes on the retreating horizon of the hull. Look for flat spots or bulges in the hull and any change in the gel coat. Repeat the process on the other side of the hull. A hump at a bulkhead position means that the hull is hinging over the edge of the bulkhead. Hollows in the hull at the chainplate positions indicate that the hull is being distorted by the tension in the shrouds. Hull is not stiff enough Any cracks in the gel coat at the bow indicates that the hull is flexing when bouncing through heavy seas and falling off waves. Check for water penetration at gel coat cracks. Thru-hull fittings Thru-hulls are usually bronze or Marelon. Bronze thru-hulls must have a bronze seacock and Marelon thru-hulls must have a Marelon seacock. Scrape off the antifouling and check the thru-hull bedding for cracks. Test for water damage to the core. Scratch the metal ring of a bronze fitting. Any pink tinge to the metal, the fitting must be replaced.

14 14 Hull-keel joint A hairline crack in the sealant is acceptable. If the joint weeps water the keel bolts are standing in stagnant sea water and if they are stainless steel they are probably corroded. Any serious separation of the keel from the hull is probably due to a collision or grounding of the keel. Osmosis A small number of blisters on a hull can be repaired. Hundreds or thousands of blisters require an extensive and expensive repair. Water leaks Check for signs of leaking water or dampness at the hull-deck joint or the bottom of the keel, skeg or rudder after boat has been out of the water for a few hours Leaking from the hull-deck joint withstainless steel keel bolts, suspect that the bolts are corroded internally. Water leaking from the bottom of the rudder poses a serious problem. Water could have corroded the steel structure inside the rudder that supports the rudder stock.

15 15 Loose rudder or prop shaft Check the vertical alignment of the rudder by sighting it against the mast. Check the side play in rudder. Any significant movement means the bearings or gudgeons and pintles are worn. Lock the helm over hard to one side and then try to move the rudder from side to side from below. Any play means the internal structure of the rudder may be damaged. A costly repair. Take hold of the prop and try to move the prop shaft side to side and up and down. Any significant play in the prop shaft means the bearings are worn. Worn bearings usually also indicate that the shaft alignment is faulty. To realign the shaft you may have to replace worn engine mountings.