I bought a 40ft Narrowboat from a broker in Derby about three weeks ago. Like a fool I didn't get a survey done - the reason being it came with a survey that was a little over 12 months old that stated no major issues, hull thickness's were good etc etc and the broker basically said to me upon me asking him if I should get another "Well, we have to recommend to everyone to get a survey, BUT if it was me I wouldn't bother".
The problems started when I picked the boat up to move it to my mooring at Saweley. The engine overheated on the way there, I stopped the boat, refilled and bled the cooling system and went on my way. Upon arriving at Sawley I took the boat to JBJ Marine and got them to service the engine and change the coolant, the guy found some loose pipes on the cooling system and fixed those. He mentioned that it was smoking a lot, when asked what this might be his reply was "Well, it's knackered mate". Having posted on here before about the smoking, I'm less worried as there seems to be quite a few things I can do before I write the engine off as a dud.
The next problem was the leaking Houdini hatch that soaked my bed over one weekend. Not worried about this particularly, but in taking the bed apart to dry it I noticed wetness under the bed. Cut a long story short it turns out that the skin fitting connected to the shower waste is sitting VERY close to the waterline (currently about three inches above the water). The fouling on the hull actually reaches the skin fitting, so at some point the fitting must have actually been AT the waterline. The upshot of this is that water has been getting in and running under the floor boards, I had a hole cut in the floor and the bloke pumped out at least 30 litres of water.
This got me thinking as to why someone would put a skin fitting so low - I don't think it was fitted low, I think the hull is too low in the water. Now looking at the boat and comparing with lots of other boats in the marina, it looks to me like the back of my boat is much lower in the water than other boats. It's difficult to judge, but it looks to me like the bow is only about 6 inches under the water, where as the stern right at the back is at least 18 inches under.
These are the things I'd like you good people to advise me on;
1. Why would the back of the boat be so low in the water? (Although the water from the leaking skin fitting was pumped out from under the floor, is it possible that there is a lower sump somewhere where water might collect?)
2. Do I have any comeback on the broker that sold me this boat?
3. Is it worth while getting a retrospective survey done?
4. What's the minimum height for a skin fitting?
Thanks in advance for all your help!
Nick
