Hull survey - 2 pack?

[Leap of faith]

Hi all,

Thinking of view a boat but the details stipulate the following "having recently invested in having the hull 2 packed, the seller is not willing to authorise a buyer to invade any part of this as part of their survey" There is a survey available to view from 2021. I would of course like to have my own done. Should I not bother looking at it?

[kris88]

How old is the boat? 

[LadyG]

A seller survey from 2021 is not as good as your own.. 

Is it going to be easy to get a survey done.

Ask them if the boat is available for survey.

Are you willing to repair the damage. 

Is tĥis the only boat that meets your requirements. 

You can probably cover with bitumen, as it dies not need several days to cure.

The owner has not accepted that when his ownership ends the state of the hull is no longer his concern .

Ask them to send you a photocopy of survey, of the invoices for painting hull, and  generally be a bit awkward. 

Then stop communicating for a few days. .while you ring around , it's not going to be arranged immediately. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by LadyG

[Mike Hurley]

7 minutes ago, LadyG said:

 

Then stop communicating for a week .

And call them on day 8 to find the boat sold to someone less fussy

[LadyG]

1 minute ago, Mike Hurley said:

And call them on day 8 to find the boat sold to someone less fussy

Yep, someone who did not require a survey, that is the risk, he might even sell it while OP is trying to arrange a survey.

We dont know if the boat has been surveyed and rejected, assuming it is in the water, there are plenty of ifs and buts.

Most boats are probably sound.

[Tracy D'arth]

Some surveyors can do hull thickness test without grinding off the 2pack.

 

If its an old boat it may be well to have a survey if you don't know how to assess a boat.

[howardang]

52 minutes ago, Leap of faith said:

Hi all,

Thinking of view a boat but the details stipulate the following "having recently invested in having the hull 2 packed, the seller is not willing to authorise a buyer to invade any part of this as part of their survey" There is a survey available to view from 2021. I would of course like to have my own done. Should I not bother looking at it?

How keen are you to buy this boat? In my view an old survey is not worth taking a chance with. Surveys 

are out of date almost as soon as they are done, and if the seller is adamant to refuse a proper hull survey, I would walk away from it with the provision that if he has a change of heart then to get in touch with you. Its your money that is at risk, not his. If, however, you absolutely are willing to forego this hull survey then that is your decision and your risk. It’s 

up to you.

 

Howard 

 

 

 

[Leap of faith]

The boat is 1993. I am going to email and ask if the boat is available for survey. If it is a negative then I will not bother with it!

[LadyG]

9 minutes ago, Leap of faith said:

The boat is 1993. I am going to email and ask if the boat is available for survey. If it is a negative then I will not bother with it!

That's quite old, I'd be wary. 

Some insurance  companies will require a survey for fully comp,  another consideration.

Why was it surveyed two years ago?

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by LadyG

[David Mack]

If your surveyor grinds patches off the hull and you go on to buy, then the result is your problem. But if you don't proceed the vendor is left with boat he has had expensively 3-coat epoxied and all properly cured before reimmersion, peppered with patches of single coat bitumen applied immediately before the boat was refloated. And that's not a very attractive prospect for the next buyer. So I can understand the vendor's position.

The cheap ultrasonic thickness gauge I bought off ebay works perfectly well through paint. Your surveyor ought to be able to do the same. Thickness measurement is only one aspect of the surveyors work. Explain the position to your surveyor, and if he's a good one he will work around the vendor's restrictions. He may add another caveat to his report, but since surveyors' recommendations are so hedged in by their terms and conditions anyway, I don't think in reality you lose anything. 

Talk to your surveyor.

And if you do buy the boat, you benefit from the full epoxy job.

Edited August 17, 2023 by David Mack

[Mike Hurley]

38 minutes ago, LadyG said:

That's quite old, I'd be wary. 

Some insurance  companies will require a survey for fully comp,  another consideration.

Why was it surveyed two years ago?

 

Maybe for insurance purposes for the previous owner?

[ditchcrawler]

6 minutes ago, Mike Hurley said:

Maybe for insurance purposes for the previous owner?

Or before he had it 2 packed for peace of mind or insurance and then 2 packed to arrest the pitting 

[Mike Hurley]

10 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Or before he had it 2 packed for peace of mind or insurance and then 2 packed to arrest the pitting 

Well there is that. A 93 boat has that possibility for sure

[Bee]

If you look at a piece of pitted steel it's quite easy (usually) to say where the original surface was and from there reckon on the state of it (a)-bit of pitting, (b) quite a lot of pitting or (c) the serious stuff that needs real work. Lift floorboards and check the inside surface, (a) dry, (b) damp and crusty in crevices or (c) sheets of scale. If there is a lot of b's and c's then you need a proper survey before going any further and if the owner protests then he needs to be realistic about his boat. That is a bit of a rough and ready guide but it works for me. 

[Peanut]

Questions I would have in my mind would be was this two pack a DIY job, or done in a reputable yard?  Furthermore, was it surface tolerant, or blasted back to steel?

[LadyG]

7 minutes ago, Peanut said:

Questions I would have in my mind would be was this two pack a DIY job, or done in a reputable yard?  Furthermore, was it surface tolerant, or blasted back to steel?

 

I would rather apply the epoxy myself than have a yard do it. I'd trust those who specialise in this sort of job, but not otherwise. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by LadyG

[Peanut]

reputable yard

[BEngo]

This is not an unreasonable condition.  Any competent and properly equipped surveyor should, these days, be able to measure hull thickness without grinding patches off.

 

N

[LadyG]

3 hours ago, BEngo said:

This is not an unreasonable condition.  Any competent and properly equipped surveyor should, these days, be able to measure hull thickness without grinding patches off.

 

N

But what about pitting, would this show up or give a false impression?

[BEngo]

If the two pack has been properly applied, to a blasted substrate, then any  pits will be neutralised.

 

If is not done properly there will be rusting from the pits.

 

Either way you can see where the pits are, so the remaining boat can be measured, with the right kit. 

 

Even if the owner permitted coating removal, there is not much other than a blast gun that will only clean out the bottom of a pit.  Drills and grinders are pretty certain to either remove additional metal, which is fine only if you already know the boat needs welding or re/overplating, or not remove all the rust.

 

N

[steve hayes]

When we sold Bluemoon the surveyor just cleaned the surface with a scrapper and used his ultrasound tester.

interestingly on the other boat he was surveying he got his battery grinder to clear off some normal blacking when  he had some suspicious readings only to find filler underneath filling some deep pitting.