How the (blank) did the survey miss this?

A picture is worth a thousand words



Yes, it is below the water line. Yes, it is next to three frozen open seacocks. No, it isn't mentioned anywhere on the survey report. Yes, I'm in the yard and removing it.

I was trying to trace the sink hose and found it. I also discovered why the sink drains poorly and the whole boat smells. Both the head discharge hose and the kitchen sink hose don't have a consistent fall, they go up and down. The head hose undulates it's way back, but it doesn't matter because the poo then has travel a foot back up to the tank inflow.

Luckily I forgot all about how annoyed I was with the plumbing when I found the above pictured thru-hull "fitting."

Silly me, I was going to try and push dealing with the thru-hull mess till next year. Removing three, capping two, replacing one, adding one, and servicing (lapping) four. There goes the weekend...

So what you're saying is the surveyor was never there. I'd send a picture.

Think I would call the surveyor and explain to him that refunding your survey fee might save him explaining his oversight to the local Better Business Bureau, national accreditation association he belongs to, and every marina and broker within 100 miles.

Ted

That one belongs in CMS's "Hall of Fail"!
I'm never entirely surprised when a surveyor misses something as boats are complex with plenty of spaces that are difficult to find and inspect. I have to wonder about the person who made that "repair" though... What where they thinking????
Bruce

Who recommended the clown , the owner, or the broker?

Bruce B said:

I have to wonder about the person who made that "repair" though... What where they thinking????

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Probably that the surveyor wouldn't find it.

Your surveyor should have provided something like this page from one of my surveys, if not ..... i'd be looking for a refund.

I helped pump out a a near 70 foot scallop boat that sank in shallow water.


The diver with me found several plugs like the one shown above. They were driven into rust holes into the hull from the inside, smeared with 5200....they were leaking profusely.


We drove them back tight and pumped the boat out. It as inspected by the USCG and ordered to remain at dock until fixed and reinspected.


The owner was really upset with the USCGs decicision...he wanted to be out the next day scalloping.


Just another example of greed, not all commercial fishermen great seamanship role models, insane repairs, etc.....


Maybe the surveyor thought this was a suitable repair for a thru hull with no seacock inside....

For goodness sake - The installer of what resembles a ham-bone into the black hose should have known to always use two clamps for an item such as that! Geeezzzz!

Notice the green ground wires going to the two bronze thru hulls. The builder of the boat did nice work. But the PO was a scab.

That an old piece of plywood used as base??

As usual, three things are at play. First the notion that a surveyor's inspection will be thorough and competent. Second an uncaring owner with a project boat touting it as ready to cruise! Third, an in depth pre-inspection by the buyer was not accomplished.

Now before some get their innards all knotted up, these three things are unfortunately all too common when buying a vessel. For those of us who've been buying boats for awhile, buyer lapses are not unusual. I know first hand about #3 and hopefully learned each time.

BTW, the question asked already is still on the table - who selected the surveyor and how old was the survey?

I selected the surveyor, I've used him before and he is a good surveyor with a good reputation. This is the second boat I've had surveyed by him, the first being a sailboat seven years ago. The rest of the report was good, and I was present for the survey.

I think he just missed it. I understand that no survey will find everything, but this was a biggie. I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet, and I will, but I'm not out to ruin the guy.

My best guess is that since every thru-hull he did try was frozen, he just wrote the "service all thru-hulls" line and moved on, assuming they were all the same.

In other news, I'm planning on stripping and servicing the bronze taper seacocks on the other three, and I'll need to cut an access hatch in the floor of the settee to access them for normal use. Because they're so far back up in the bilge area, on the other side of the exhaust, that I can't begin to imagine crawling back there every time I leave the boat.

I'm working on my refit project management plan, I'll post a thread on it when I have it better organized. Given what I've found so far, it ought to be fairly entertaining.

But at least it's bonded!!



HOLLYWOOD

Mr.?, I'm looking forward to your updates. What kind of boat is it?

questionmark said:

My best guess is that since every thru-hull he did try was frozen, he just wrote the "service all thru-hulls" line and moved on, assuming they were all the same.

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If he included "Service ALL Through-hulls" on the survey, then you don't have much recourse in regards to a refund, and ruining his reputation would be out of line.

You were advised. The expectation that he specifically list each through-hull and what is wrong with it is an expectation on your side.

Shrew said:

If he included "Service ALL Through-hulls" on the survey, then you don't have much recourse in regards to a refund, and ruining his reputation would be out of line.

You were advised. The expectation that he specifically list each through-hull and what is wrong with it is an expectation on your side.

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This is a potentially lethal condition. I too would have expected specific detail.

PS. I am a surveyor

I've been doing engine inspections for 20yrs and thus am around a LOT of surveyors. One thing I found is as they get older, it is harder for them to get around and being human they don't want to be in pain. People also just get tired of doing things and can get sloppy.

The best situation I have seen was when a surveyor got 60+, he'd get a skinny apprentice to do the crawling. That works really well and I know two locals that went that route.

That "service all through hulls" is a cop-out. Bring the issue up with him and see how he responds. He should be embarrassed and offer some consideration.

I suppose I should say "all do respect to competent surveyors" but I have had 4 boats surveyed and 3 were a complete waste of money.
My latest survey of a 36' trawler is a case in point, when I asked what is that rattle in the transmission ? I don't know was the answer.
I specifically asked him to check the forward deck as it has solar panels mounted with many bolts and wire entries thru the deck--No problem it looks good.
I had the boat waxed 2 months later and the guy said did you know you have a soft spot on the forward deck. This guy cleans and waxes boats for a living and he found it but a surveyor with all the credentials missed it and by the way there were cracks in the gelcoat so it was not obscure.
On a different survey I said did you notice that one of the interior partitions had pulled away from the hull, answer was - Oh I guess I missed that.
They always find the easy stuff like navigation lights not working !

Bill R.

hollywood8118 said:

But at least it's bonded!!



HOLLYWOOD

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Yeah, boat building 101 is now considered "nice work".

Sad comment on people expectations of boat builders.