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Old 09-11-2015, 09:11 PM   #21
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Thanks to all that contributed to this thread. I've bought 3 boats already, and was lucky that I didn't have to walk away from any of them. I'm currently shopping trawlers, and this information will certainly save me time and money.

Cheers, Bill
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Old 09-12-2015, 06:12 AM   #22
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"I'm currently shopping trawlers,"

In many cases "trawler" is just the shape of the deck house.

There are lots more motor yachts , on the same basic hull, that may be more refined as many more are built.
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Old 09-12-2015, 10:31 AM   #23
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One thing I noticed in an online advertisement for a boat was that under the fuel tanks were aluminum roasting pans (think Thanksgiving turkey) that were stained. It appeared to me that they were there for a reason -- a leaking tank, or fittings. Something that the owner did not repair, which spoke volumes as to what else might have been put off until later...
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Old 09-12-2015, 11:32 AM   #24
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Greetings,
Mr. H. Mr. Phyr' hit the nail on the head IMO regarding first looking in the engine space(s). Out of sight, out of mind for a goodly majority of owners. Attention paid to details and maintenance in the ER says it all for me. I've seen listings for vessels that were quite attractive BUT that one ER shot where oily rags and over sprayed cooling hoses, buckets of "stuff?" and the gawd awful nuclear holocaust of "expert" wiring told me more than all the the lace doilies on the saloon side tables and granite counter tops.
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Old 09-12-2015, 12:21 PM   #25
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Second RTF on the engine room. Do a walk around on/in the boat and see if you like it. That takes five minutes. Then go in engine room. If they are a rusted nasty mess, walk. If you can't touch every critical part of each engine, walk. So many engine rooms have poor access that good maintenance and repairs are impossible. Walk from those.

If it passes the above quick checks, time to go into detailed inspections.

Nasty engines paid for construction of my boat. You don't want to fund people like me.

And if boat is out of town, surveyors and mechanics often are glad to do a "quick check" for modest fee to see if travel and survey are worth it. I've done lots of those.
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Old 09-12-2015, 12:38 PM   #26
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I did that to a 1986 boat-the walk around looked good.
Got into the engine room and, like the old cowboy movies...

It was CLEAN...TOO clean! Cleaner than the rest of the boat.
Everything had been cleaned, painted in the not too distant past and it leaves me wondering what was being covered up.
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Old 09-12-2015, 12:52 PM   #27
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If the engines look freshly painted, go crawl to the outboard side. Most painters don't bother getting the hard to access areas.

If I am hired to inspect some engines, if I see fresh paint, my scrutiny knob gets turned up a few notches.

A well maintained engine does not need to be painted in it's whole service life. A rotten mess looks bad. Paint might make it look better, but paint does not fix rot.

Fresh paint usually means someone is covering up rot or neglect. And they usually do a crappy job, especially areas hard to access.

Writing up one right now. Nice paint in easy to see areas, in the shadows, rot.
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Old 09-13-2015, 12:21 PM   #28
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Second RTF on the engine room. Do a walk around on/in the boat and see if you like it. That takes five minutes. Then go in engine room.
I went to a GB rendezvous yesterday and saw some that would also get a raised eyebrow and red flag based on neglected brightwork. What else might be suffering from lack of attention or pride?

The good news is, I saw some fantastic examples of very well looked after boats. My favorite being an '83, 42 aft cabin. So nice to see a boat that defies its age. Other than some electronic upgrades it was pretty stock but so well cared for.
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Old 09-13-2015, 01:07 PM   #29
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I would not judge a boat's condition based on the brightwork. Keeping brightwork up takes a lot of time and effort to get it good to begin with, and then an annual or biannual effort to keep it good. Some owners, like us right now, simply don't have the time to do the job right and they don't want to pay to have someone else do it at a $100 an hour yard rate. So they let it go or keep it the wood covered to minimize the deterioration, as we do, until the time comes when they have the time to do a proper job.

But this does not automatically mean that the rest of the boat is neglected. Our boat certainly isn't.
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Old 09-13-2015, 01:27 PM   #30
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Some owners, like us right now, simply don't have the time to do the job right and they don't want to pay to have someone else do it at a $100 an hour yard rate. So they let it go...until the time comes when they have the time to do a proper job.But this does not automatically mean that the rest of the boat is neglected. Our boat certainly isn't.
I'm not saying it automatically states neglect any more than external spit and polish equals a perfectly maintained vessel. In the context of this thread, I'm just pointing out another area that MAY raise a concern. What I saw on one boat; varnish over un-sanded abraded railings, appeared to be the work of a grandson and I wondered how much Rescue Tape I might discover in other places that also required more time to do the job right.
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Old 09-13-2015, 02:49 PM   #31
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New to forum but for two cent !!
Looking for a trawler live aboard.
Fine looking boat of interest but owner posted one thing needed. Seems there is one rudder MISSING. Not too worry boat will hadle just as good with one.!!!

Okey just could not hold myself back had to see. Yep one is missing.

Some how twin engine forty foot vessl I would beleive might just need Two rudders ?
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Old 09-13-2015, 05:13 PM   #32
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Possibly.
I have seen pictures of two boats around 65 feet with twin engines
and one skeg hung large center rudder.
The boats were "Pisces" and "Fifer".

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Old 09-14-2015, 08:42 AM   #33
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Your nose knows!

The construction of many boats includes wood somewhere.

.Rotten wood smells , well ,like any old wooden boat.

If the boat has that "certain" smell it means a very cautious look at whats rotten below.
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