Not blacked for seven years?

[Southern Star]

Well, here's a boat which would seem to tick most of my boxes (trad stern, right length, good engine, side hatch etc) http://www.apolloduck.com/advert.phtml?id=319561 but it says in the advert "Last blacked 2007" and I'm thinking this is an awfully long time to go without being blacked. Are there likely to be serious corrosion problems when a boat hasn't been blacked for this long? For example, would it even be worth paying for a survey or is this boat best just walked away from?

[BlueStringPudding]

Not necessarily. I didn't black mine from 2007-2013 due to being skint. Had it done last autumn and the boatyard said the hull was in great nick.

 

Also my brother's boat when he bought it had an entirely rust coloured hull. I can't imagine it had been blacked for at least a decade. When he had it surveyed the hull was in excellent condition. (So he bought the boat and got it blacked).

 

It's worth bearing in mind that if the previous owner didn't have time or money to black it, maybe other things have been neglected?

[pete.i]

If it ticks all the boxes then it, probably, is worth the risk. If you are going to buy any boat then, IMO, a hull survey at least is a bare minimum. Also even if a boat has been blacked recently there is no guarantee that the blacking isn't covering some abject horror. So whatever you do a survey is an absolute must and if the survey is not good then walk away. Of course if the boat doesn't tick any or only a few of your boxes then it, probably, isn't worth it.

 

Peter

[Machpoint005]

Get the boat out of the water and have a proper look. As others have said, it may be a problem, it may not. If it turns out to be full of tinworm, at least you will know before spending squillions on it. If it's ok, then you have the comfort of knowing it's OK and just needs a bit of TLC.

[b0atman]

are there any anodes left ?

[Southern Star]

I've just had a Google and it has apparently been on sale since 2012. This would tend to suggest that it is overpriced, or that potential purchasers have received unfavourable surveys. Certainly, from other boats I've seen on Apollo Duck it seems that £27,000 is optimistic to say the least. I wonder if anybody who has a general feel for boat prices would care to give an opinion on this?

 

It is the type of boat I would be looking for. It does seem to have been neglected for some time but I'd be quite prepared to take on a boat in need of work if the hull and engine were sound, and it was priced to take into account the work needed.

 

As an example, here's a pic of the side hatch,

 

http://cache.apolloduck.com/image_bin/319561_4.jpg

 

 

 

it's just screaming out for a scraper, some sandpaper, some yacht varnish and a couple of days getting dirty and that's just the type of thing I like doing. From the other photos there are 1001 similar jobs that need doing, but it basically looks like a well-shaped craft.

 

Any other comments are welcome as I try to narrow down the perfect boat! I should be going out to view and purchase about this time next year and the more research I can do, the better. My truck (in the avatar) cost £25,000 and that was the most expensive thing I've ever bought outright. I did an enormous amount of research before I even started viewing trucks and I'd like to think, two years later, that I couldn't have made a better choice. So I'm hoping to have similar good fortune with my boat. Thanks.

[Lady Muck]

Just be careful - two boats near me - both not been blacked for 15 years, no anodes on either. Neither had been cruised for years either.

One was drydocked and surveyed and was fine, the other the bottom plate was only held on with rust and actually came off when she was craned out and the boat had to be rebottomed at great expense.

You never know.....

[Ally]

The other question is, what is the blacking, 2 pack or bitumen? We have the original 2 pack on ours from 2007, inspected it last year and it was perfect still. Either way, get it surveyed would be my advice.

[Ray T]

Back cabin / engine bay needs a bit of work:

Edited May 17, 2014 by Ray T

[bizzard]

Ordinary bitumen should go 5 years IF prepared and done properly without rushing to do it in 2 or 3 days which is what most folk stupidly try and do.

[blackrose]

I get 4 years out of mine, but I use 2 coats of Primocon underwater primer and the 4 coats of blacking. Once you start to see small rust patches on the waterline you probably have another year to get it out of the water.

[matty40s]

I would be looking at what it hasn't got.

Looks like there's no inverter and shore power is your only available electric supply.

This would mean you only had lights, water pump and toilet flush when out cruising.

These pictures are also a good guide on how NOT to present a boat for sale.

[Alan de Enfield]

Isnt it funny (or a sign of getting old) when you look at a boat made in 1995 and think - thats a good price for such a young boat, then you realise that its almost 20 years old - the millenium only seems a 'few' years ago, and my little lad is in his mid 30's.

 

Where has the time gone ?

[Beaker]

Isnt it funny (or a sign of getting old) when you look at a boat made in 1995 and think - thats a good price for such a young boat, then you realise that its almost 20 years old - the millenium only seems a 'few' years ago, and my little lad is in his mid 30's.

 

Where has the time gone ?

 

Frightening, innit?

[Ex- Member]

7 years no Blacking isn't good IMO The photo's clearly show there's been no regular maintenance taken at all. Personally I wouldn't go near it especially at that price.

[Southern Star]

I would be looking at what it hasn't got.

Looks like there's no inverter and shore power is your only available electric supply.

This would mean you only had lights, water pump and toilet flush when out cruising.

These pictures are also a good guide on how NOT to present a boat for sale.

I agree that the photos are awful, but wouldn't the lights and water pump be powered by the leisure batteries? It says that the toilet is a cassette toilet and I didn't think they needed an electrical supply?

[Alan de Enfield]

It says that the toilet is a cassette toilet and I didn't think they needed an electrical supply?

 

Ours (Thetford) is plumbed into the water system and has an electric flush

[matty40s]

I moved a boat recently from there which was set up with 240v sockets everywhere, microwave, electric kettle etc, and once you unplugged the landline, the boat was electrically cut off. No charging, no inverter, no 12v sockets or spare wiring looms to allow easy install. Basically a houseboat designed for permanent mooring, and the one in the OP is similar.

It is the second one I have moved from there with a similar setup.

[Southern Star]

 

Ours (Thetford) is plumbed into the water system and has an electric flush

Ah, ok, thanks. I'm presuming this boat was deigned from the outset to be permanently moored then?

[Alan de Enfield]

Just to clarify (in case of confusion) - our Thetford cassette toilet is plumbed into the BOAT water system and has a 12V electric flush, our boat moves and is electrically independent.

[Laurie Booth]

These pictures are also a good guide on how NOT to present a boat for sale.

Or being honest, so when a person comes to view, they won't be surprised at what they see.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Laurie.Booth

[cheshire~rose]

If the advert said "last blacked 2013" how would you know how many years had elapsed prior to that blacking?

We have kept every receipt for everything on our boat. Not everyone does but a last date of blacking only proves one thing not the entire boat history which can vary considerably.

[jake_crew]

Just like a house or a car, make an offer "subject to survey".

[Naughty Cal]

Some people have got no idea how to present a boat for sale have they?

 

No wonder it's been for sale for so long!

 

Why would you leave it so cluttered?

 

Surely the idea is to make the boat look as clutter free, tidy and presentable as possible? Those pictures just scream out lack of storage space to me, amongst other things!

[Ex- Member]

Some people have got no idea how to present a boat for sale have they?

 

No wonder it's been for sale for so long!

 

Why would you leave it so cluttered?

 

Surely the idea is to make the boat look as clutter free, tidy and presentable as possible? Those pictures just scream out lack of storage space to me, amongst other things!

 

Not only that but lack of care generally, taking note of the general condition of fittings & linings, so you can be pretty well sure any maintenance has been neglected in the much same way, the seven year gap for Blacking speaks volume's. It's clearly been prioritised as a dwelling rather than a boat, and untidy one at that