Question about water damage on a potential first boat.

[Mad Harold]

If the parts of the boat you can see are bad,then what are the parts you can't see like?

Engine?gearbox?electrics etc?

You have said you are not a good at diy,and it sounds from your post as though it will need a complete internal refit as well as a thorough hull inspection inside too,because a hull corrodes from the inside too.

Can you trust the vendor or broker to make good to an acceptable standard? Personally I would doubt it.

Labour charges where I am are £46 per hour + vat.If you get a substantial discount on the price,then it is your decision to go ahead or not.

From what you have posted I would walk away.There are hundreds of boats for sale at the moment.

[Tasemu]

18 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

This is just me, but what is the engine bay like?

The engine bay looks ok to be, some small water in the bilge, but nothing major. Pain on the engine is a bit worn.

16 minutes ago, haggis said:

I think finding the source of the leak will be the easy bit. You say that the floor boards are distorted having been wet and that doesn't happen overnight. It sounds as if the problem has been there for years. You are probably looking at replacing the whole floor (or a good length of it) and as everything is fitted on top of the floor, it will mean dismantling most of the inside of the boat and rebuilding it. As others have said, a very expensive job. 

I would walk away!

 

haggis

 

Aye, distortion of the floor boards are happening at the stern, which is very worrying. If the work can be completed at the owners expense though, i'm less worried.

12 minutes ago, LEO said:

I found a leaking water pump caused a slight list to my boat very quickly, tracing the problem took a while and bear in mind many marinas have been locked down with owners unable to visit boats for a while, marina staff keeping an eye on boats. Access to the marina near me has been restricted to residential boaters for some weeks, this restriction only being lifted last weekend......

 

I think this is very possible, i viewed this boat once before, a while before lockdown and it wasn't listing.

[Bee]

I would check the water tank, it has not been a particularly cold winter but frost could have cracked the pipework or water pump and the whole tank could be in the bilge. Mushrooms growing in the woodwork tells me that its been that way for a while and the 'marine ply' will be ordinary ply - perfectly ok but still pricey and the labour of replacing the floor will be awful. Boat fitters - including professionals - just bung the floor down and build on top of it making it all but impossible to repair or check under the floor. At the moment this lot is the owners problem and unless the thing was at an extremely low price I would not want anything to do with it.

[Tasemu]

Right, thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm gonna walk unless I get an excellent discount. Which may happen, but unlikely.

Is it ok to post boat links on here by the way? i could have just shared the link.

[Rickent]

7 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Right, thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm gonna walk unless I get an excellent discount. Which may happen, but unlikely.

Is it ok to post boat links on here by the way? i could have just shared the link.

Yes, many people do.

[Tasemu]

Ah ok, sorry. I thought it was against the rules, and for some blasted reason a weird paranoia of having it stolen from me hahaha.

 

https://www.devizesmarina.com/2shai

[sharpness]

10 hours ago, Tasemu said:

or to significantly lower his offer to offset the materials and labor.

But then you've got to find somebody who can/will do the work if you are unable to.

Walk away.

[Tracy D'arth]

Being honest I think it looks like a neglected shed of a boat, massively overpriced with a folding bed that is daft as a live aboard. Offer £10K and spend another £10K on it or walk.

[Alan de Enfield]

13 hours ago, Tasemu said:

I have a boat i really like the look of for my first boat. 48ft narrowboat built 1995

Are we talking the same boat ?

(The details you linked to state it is a 1990 boat)

 

If you intend to buy it your insurers will require a full structural survey (unless you intend to insure it 3rd party only).

It is a vastly overpriced 30 year old floating shed (I'm trying to be kind)

 

For £30k you can get a much newer and far better condition boat.

 

Turn and walk quickly  away.

[Tracy D'arth]

Its not the correct link to his prospective boat!

Shar 2 is another 57ft boat.

[WotEver]

26 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Its not the correct link to his prospective boat!

Shar 2 is another 57ft boat.

They don’t appear to have a ‘95 48’ boat. 

[ditchcrawler]

For your first boat even if was only a shower do you want to replace the floor if thats wet and the bearers, maybe removing bulkheads to do so. Have you got somewhere to do this work, have you got the skills to do it, you have already said you are short of time

[Tracy D'arth]

What happened with the overheating rattly engine in the boat you have?

 

I cannot find the 48ft boat you are talking about in Devises either.

[bizzard]

A lady around here on a boat put a foot through a rotten floor of their bathroom. She was trapped by the foot for ages like a rabbit in a trap. The ply floor busted ply had closed in around her ankle. When I arrived her hubby was trying to free her with the bread knife, which he eventually did. He asked me to fix it. He didn't want the expense or upheaval of renewing the entire floor, so I did it my way. With a jigsaw with half the blade snapped off so it wouldn't cut through the floor bearers I cut around everything with it, toilet, shower and goodness knows what until I lifted out a large irregular shaped piece of floor like one of those odd shaped bits of a jigsaw puzzle. I then screwed and glued battens all around and underneath the hole to lay the new piece of floor in.  I placed the old floor with the jagged foot shaped hole in it upon a new shhet of ply, drew around it and cut it out with the jigsaw. I then screwed and glued it down onto the prepared aperture, filling over the join with filler. They'd already removed the vinyl floor tiles to try and dry the floor out. Anyway Job done. I then had tea and massaged my knees, which are still sore.

    They told me that a plastic water pipe in the bathroom had come apart a couple of years previousely while they were out and flooded it all. They had not turned off their water pump before going out.  Motto is ALWAYS switch the water pump off when leaving the boat unattended.

[Tasemu]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Are we talking the same boat ?

(The details you linked to state it is a 1990 boat)

 

If you intend to buy it your insurers will require a full structural survey (unless you intend to insure it 3rd party only).

It is a vastly overpriced 30 year old floating shed (I'm trying to be kind)

 

For £30k you can get a much newer and far better condition boat.

 

Turn and walk quickly  away.

I was half asleep when i wrote the OP and messed up the length and date sorry. The linked boat is the correct boat. Embarrassing. 

2 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Its not the correct link to his prospective boat!

Shar 2 is another 57ft boat.

I was half asleep when i wrote the OP and messed up the length and date sorry. The linked boat is the correct boat. Embarrassing. 

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

They don’t appear to have a ‘95 48’ boat. 

I was half asleep when i wrote the OP and messed up the length and date sorry. The linked boat is the correct boat. Embarrassing. 

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

For your first boat even if was only a shower do you want to replace the floor if thats wet and the bearers, maybe removing bulkheads to do so. Have you got somewhere to do this work, have you got the skills to do it, you have already said you are short of time

The marina has a workshop and they said they would quote me for the work to use in negotiating a price.

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

What happened with the overheating rattly engine in the boat you have?

 

I cannot find the 48ft boat you are talking about in Devises either.

Engine is working, the cap seal was busted which was causing the coolant to be expelled from the overflow pipe. I stopped commenting in the original thread because I felt as though I was making an idiot of myself.

33 minutes ago, bizzard said:

A lady around here on a boat put a foot through a rotten floor of their bathroom. She was trapped by the foot for ages like a rabbit in a trap. The ply floor busted ply had closed in around her ankle. When I arrived her hubby was trying to free her with the bread knife, which he eventually did. He asked me to fix it. He didn't want the expense or upheaval of renewing the entire floor, so I did it my way. With a jigsaw with half the blade snapped off so it wouldn't cut through the floor bearers I cut around everything with it, toilet, shower and goodness knows what until I lifted out a large irregular shaped piece of floor like one of those odd shaped bits of a jigsaw puzzle. I then screwed and glued battens all around and underneath the hole to lay the new piece of floor in.  I placed the old floor with the jagged foot shaped hole in it upon a new shhet of ply, drew around it and cut it out with the jigsaw. I then screwed and glued it down onto the prepared aperture, filling over the join with filler. They'd already removed the vinyl floor tiles to try and dry the floor out. Anyway Job done. I then had tea and massaged my knees, which are still sore.

    They told me that a plastic water pipe in the bathroom had come apart a couple of years previousely while they were out and flooded it all. They had not turned off their water pump before going out.  Motto is ALWAYS switch the water pump off when leaving the boat unattended.

Holy hell, fair play! I'll make sure I never leave the pump on when i leave my boat.

[David Mack]

2 hours ago, Tasemu said:

Holy hell, fair play! I'll make sure I never leave the pump on when i leave my boat.

I always turn off the electrics at the isolators when I leave the boat for more than a few hours. That way nothing electric is left on by mistake.

I turn off the gas at the bottle too.

Edited May 19, 2020 by David Mack

[KenK]

Any owner who allows the type of damage to which you refer happen is careless at best it takes time for wood to distort and rot to happen as others have said avoid there will be other problems.

As an alternative given that you need to purchase locally have a look at a boat on brokerage at Frouds Bridge https://www.froudsbridgemarina.co.uk/brokerage/ . Looks to be a fair boat for the money and you'll probably be able to negotiate a discount. 

If you are intending to live aboard on the K&A I hope you have already found a mooring.

[Parahandy]

18 hours ago, Tasemu said:

Hiya, i viewed a boat today as my local marina opened up (by appointment for viewings). I have a boat i really like the look of for my first boat. 48ft narrowboat built 1995. There was one glaring issue I found with it and I want to know how bad this is. I noticed the boat listing slightly to one side, upon inspection i found that some of the floorboards were bowing slightly towards the stern. I found an inspection hatch under one of the rear boards and found that it was full to the brim with water. The marine ply was soaked and it was causing the floorboards on top of it to bow. I also noticed this was causing mushrooms to grow where the wall meets the wall. When i showed the marina guy he said this was definitely something the owner needed to fix, he said he would have to fix it, or lower the price accordingly to have the work done.

 

He said it could be done by replacing the marine ply and the wood floor panels, and by painting the inside of the cabin bilge and putting some absorbent mats in there for the future.

 

My question though, is this something that I should be running away from? the price for the boat is quite appealing, though not dirt cheap. If the price was negotiated, is the boat a possibility? or do I run?

 

Thanks for any and all advice.

My bet is that a calorifier or some other source of water such as a shower tray has leaked and caused the water to gather at the rear of the Boat , you will prove this by checking how far towards the Bow you go before you encounter a dry floor . The previous owner I believe , may or may not have remedied the problem though I think its inconceivable he would remedy the problem and not remove the water so my guess is the issue may still be there . In my opinion this current situation tells me that maintenance has been neglected , I would simply look elsewhere for a better Boat .

[sueb]

Don't forget to allow for the time it will take to repair. This could be months rather than weeks. Boat yards work to their own time.

[cuthound]

11 hours ago, sueb said:

Don't forget to allow for the time it will take to repair. This could be months rather than weeks. Boat yards work to their own time.

 

Indeed, I booked my boat in for a repaint, reblacking and a few other little jobs last year.

 

They said it would take 5 weeks. I got the boat back 5 months later.

 

[dor]

How long has it been on the brokerage?  It says blacking booked for October 2019.Was it done? 

from what can be seen in the internal photo, the boat looks fairly neglected.  The shell could need repair work.

[Bee]

17 hours ago, David Mack said:

I always turn off the electrics at the isolators when I leave the boat for more than a few hours. That way nothing electric is left on by mistake.

I turn off the gas at the bottle too.

Very sensible, so do I .

[Tasemu]

19 hours ago, KenK said:

Any owner who allows the type of damage to which you refer happen is careless at best it takes time for wood to distort and rot to happen as others have said avoid there will be other problems.

As an alternative given that you need to purchase locally have a look at a boat on brokerage at Frouds Bridge https://www.froudsbridgemarina.co.uk/brokerage/ . Looks to be a fair boat for the money and you'll probably be able to negotiate a discount. 

If you are intending to live aboard on the K&A I hope you have already found a mooring.

Thanks for the link! I don't know all the marinas where i can see boats.

2 hours ago, dor said:

How long has it been on the brokerage?  It says blacking booked for October 2019.Was it done? 

from what can be seen in the internal photo, the boat looks fairly neglected.  The shell could need repair work.

Blacking was done in oct, looks like they didn't update the pictures though.

[KenK]

23 hours ago, Tasemu said:

Thanks for the link! I don't know all the marinas where i can see boats.

You'll need to check with the various marinas, to check what rules they have in place at the moment, these are all on or near the K&A.

Bristol harbour marina,

Couple at Bradford on Avon,

Foxhangers at the bottom of the Caen Hill flight,

Devises you already know,

Newbury has three Greenham Island, Greenham Lock and Ham Mill marinas,

Aldermaston has Frouds Bridge and Aldermaston marina,

Thames and Kennet marina, on the Thames at Reading

 

Most if not all have websites.

No idea how many boats you have already looked at but look at as many as you can even if they are out of your price range, you will get a better idea of what is worth the money and what should be avoided. Good luck and don't forget the mooring, CCing on the K&A is more trouble than it is worth. 

[Alastair]

That isn't a good fitout for a liveaboard. No storage to speak of.