Just got back from surveying a 47’ Marine Trader!

Man am I excited, and also equally neverous. I think we found our boat! It’s the 3 cabin lay out that we’ve been looking for. And unlike the other one that was a floating condo, this one is in really great shape. The paint job really is beautiful. It was also pouring on and off as thunder storms rolled through, not a single leak anywhere.

Engines ran great, AC’s did great, the gen held a load but shut down because of poor water flow, probably needs an impeller. The only thing that bothers me is the windless didn’t work and there are zero electronics. The radio may or may not work and the depth finder was reading all over the place. Also one tach was missing on the fly bridge.

How difficult can trouble shooting a windless be? I guess as long as it’s getting power, I might be able to unbolt the old one and bolt in a new one? Or are they more complicated than that.

Fuel tanks showed no signs of leaking (about all we can do).

Survey and oil samples results should be in soon today or tomorrow.

That's a fun color.

Sometimes it seems like depth senders are practically disposable, for the half-dozen I've gone through over the years. I wouldn't let that hold you up, just keep it on the 'do while out of the water' list.

Likewise the VHF.

What you're looking for, expense-wise, is whether pulling wires/cables will be necessary, as that's where you start burning through labor hours. The hardware for depth and VHF is relatively inexpensive.

Windlass, well, it depends. If there's voltage at the motor when you activate the controls then you could well have a dead motor. That may or may not be something that can refurbished. Electric motors aren't generally unique to marine use and can often be serviced by a generic electric motor shop. If there's no power to the motor, but there's power to the controls then it could be the reversing solenoid setup. But if it's dead entirely then it could be the circuit breaker and/or the fuse.

None of those come across as show-stoppers. Fingers-crossed for your survey results!

Beautiful boat, love the color. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Cheers, Bill

Thanks guys!

A couple of interior shots.

Good luck . Great looking boat . Love the color.

Nice boat. You would probably replace the old electronics anyway. The windlass would not be a show stopper for me as it would be a good excuse to put a really good on on there. Good luck.

Be patient. More to it than a paint job. If the sales information said the vessel had a genset and windlass it is upto the seller to make both right and in good working order.

Price a new windlass and install and you will be shocked. To assume only an impeller is needed for the genset may be broker talk. Who knows? I can think of several reasons.

You did the survey and found what I’d call areas of concern. Now get tough.

sunchaser said:

Be patient. More to it than a paint job. If the sales information said the vessel had a genset and windlass it is upto the seller to make both right and in good working order.

Price a new windlass and install and you will be shocked. To assume only an impeller is needed for the genset may be broker talk. Who knows? I can think of several reasons.

You did the survey and found what I’d call areas of concern. Now get tough.

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Surveyor is going to have the seller fix the generator. Broker, surveyor and myself saw low water flow out the exhaust. The broker cleaned the sea straner but it didn’t help. Our guess is the impeller, but in case it is more than that, the seller is taking care of it. So I have no responsibility there.

The windless is the biggest item so far.

How much do you think we are taking for the windless? Worst case scenario.

A Lewmar H3GD sell for about 1800 to 1900. If the wiring is adequate and in good condition then you could probably do it for around $2000.

Steve91T said:

The windless is the biggest item so far. How much do you think we are taking for the windless? Worst case scenario.

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Alaska Seaduction could provide a solid answer. My thoughts, there are three areas of cost concern.

— The windlass itself. Is it still made or would a new deck mounting arrangement be required?
— A new deck mounting hole may uncover fore deck soft core. This is quite common and adds to cost.
— Electrics and cable runs OK or new required?

For risk of opening Pandora’s box, what anchor, chain and windlass are on vessel now?

Steve91T said:

Surveyor is going to have the seller fix the generator. Broker, surveyor and myself saw low water flow out the exhaust. The broker cleaned the sea straner but it didn’t help. Our guess is the impeller, but in case it is more than that, the seller is taking care of it. So I have no responsibility there.

The windless is the biggest item so far.

How much do you think we are taking for the windless? Worst case scenario.

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I agree with Sunchaser and it sounds like the seller is going to take care of the genset. I would definitely have them fix it since it could be cheap (impeller), a bit more expensive (water pump), or really expensive. That is an unknown that you don't want to deal with.


As for the windlass, if the seller wants to fix it, great. If not, then reduce the price by the cost of having a new one installed. You can get a rough quote from a local yard.


While it may not be required on a pleasure boat of that length, I consider a VHF to be an essential safety device on a boat, much the same as the required extinguishers, flares, running lights etc... If the VHF isn't working, that is a negotiation point.


Electronics aren't a big deal as you likely would want to upgrade anyway.

In a boat older than about 10-15, I would assume a full electronics upgrade is going to be necessary. A boat older than 20 and I would expect Depth, radio and windlass upgrades as well.