Some questions about mechanical surveys

[High Wire]

Congrats you are off to a good start. The surveys will not find every fault. That’s why you keep a little in reserve for things you find the hard way. They are boats after all.

 

[JohnEasley]

During the survey and sea trial, we did run the engine through it's paces. We took her through the RPM range and compared oil pressure, temperature, and boat speeds with no major issues found. There is a discrepancy between actual RPMs and what is displayed on the tach since the owner changed out the alternator, but we didn't have the equipment to determine how much of a difference it was. Idle was also a bit low and needs to be adjusted a bit. We ran her at WOT for a good 10 minutes without any issues. The surveyor said there was some vibration, but it wasn't anything that raised any red flags with me. We checked for play in the cutlass bearing, and found none. There was very little smoke at any point during the run, even at startup.

We also took oil samples from the Perkins and the Genset, and both came back from Toromont Cat with no issues.

All of this in mind, I've been wondering if I actually NEED a mechanical survey. I'm still coming down in favor of yes, if for no other reason than my own peace of mind. I think what we did in the first survey will be enough to satisfy the bank and the insurance folks.

You've already covered the highlights of a mechanical survey and assured yourself the engine likely has no major issues. Good job. Your idea of hiring someone for a day to teach you everything you need to know about that engine is a good one. It helps to know your way around a bit, sometimes for peace of mind and sometimes to be able to more quickly diagnose an issue.

She's a nice looking vessel. Keep us posted on your adventures with her.

John

 

[ProMaritime]

Passed with flying colors? No such thing as a boat with absolutely nothing wrong with it, even from the factory, or maybe especially from the factory. I would not pay for a survey that didn't have at least a half-dozen writeups.

“That’s a load of Commie bull Mr. President.” - Gen. Buck Turdgeson played by George C. Scott in the movie “Dr. Strangelove”

 

[rgano]

Passed with flying colors? No such thing as a boat with absolutely nothing wrong with it, even from the factory, or maybe especially from the factory. I would not pay for a survey that didn't have at least a half-dozen writeups.

“That’s a load of Commie bull Mr. President.” - Gen. Buck Turdgeson played by George C. Scott in the movie “Dr. Strangelove”

Well, mine's perfect. Come by and buy.

 

[ProMaritime]

I should have said that there isn't a boat FOR SALE that doesn't have something wrong with it.

 

[rgano]

LOL, well played, sir!

 

[Wayfarer]

Passed with flying colors? No such thing as a boat with absolutely nothing wrong with it, even from the factory, or maybe especially from the factory. I would not pay for a survey that didn't have at least a half-dozen writeups.



“That’s a load of Commie bull Mr. President.” - Gen. Buck Turdgeson played by George C. Scott in the movie “Dr. Strangelove”

Oh heavens no, I wouldn’t ever claim that there wasn’t anything wrong with any boat. She’s got a list of things to fix, I promise. The zincs are all wrong and weren’t showing any continuity. There are blemishes in the paint work in several spots, and there are cracks in the fuel filler lines. There are a couple of hoses that should be double clamped that aren’t, and there are a couple of areas below the waterline that need to be filled and faired. One of the spreader lights isn’t working, and the whole boat could use an LED upgrade. There’s a water maker aboard that hasn’t been used since the first Bush administration, and is likely just ballast at the moment.

She certainly isn’t perfect, and she never will be, but I’m comfortable with being able to deal with the issues that she does have.

 

[Island fish lifter]

one of the most important engine checks should be base pressure, which is essencially the amount of blow by the engine has. this can be measured with a manometer, or if the guy knows his stuff, can usually judge it simply be removing the oil fill cap.