J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment how wet is too wet?

So, I went up to survey the boat that I have an accepted offer on today, (pending satisfactory survey) and, unfortunately,it was anything but satisfactory.

In short, the transom needs to be recored at least up to the water line, the aft quarter of the hull on the starboard side appears to need the same. The cockpit under the winches on both sides are wet, both chainplates are wet, but, other than that, and some typical things....she's GREAT! :-(

D-feel free to chime in here if I've missed anything.

It's a late model- 1985, hull #526

So, the question is...is it worth it to go here at all? If so, at what price? Anyone with firsthand experience of this kind of nightmare, please share.

I'm a very unhappy camper.

Teresa

Teresa,

I would encourage you to look at some of the other boats for sale that are in better shape. Regardless of early vs. late model. They are both great boats and with a family of 4 you may have more room on an older layout boat since you do not lose the second quarterberth. Does anyone actually use the oven?

David
#397

Teresa,

Also. I think anyone who has bought one of these boats in the last 5-10 years has had to consider some moisture. It is all in the degree of moisture. So many of us have had the same uneasy "what the heck am I getting my self into" feeling.

David
#397

couple of points ....
I had the pleasure to talk to Mr Rodstone at one of the boat shows.... Anyhow... he said more or less, if they would have to built a J 30 today than the pricetag would be above 140 000 ( If you look at the pricetag of a J 100 you will believ that )

The original price new was around 35 grand I believe ...

Boats are 25 plus year old ... of course you cannot expect a new one .... ( not unless you spend 140 grand ) You gonna spend between 20 and 30 grand on a decent boat ... and you probably will find some wet spot in every single one of them...
( I am still looking on mine and cannot find a problem .... but if I would dig ( literally ) i am sure that i can find a spot )

what am I trying to say ??? you get what you pay for.... maybe...

Some folks on Sailing Anarchy for example giving all kinds of horror stories about wet boats... when you check deeper , than some of them dont even have a boat, or are sailing a dinghy ... some info is hearsay only ....but I digress ...

Anyhow .... with an old balsa cored boat you have to expect some wet ness... NOT a whole boat though ... And as this example shows, it doesnt make any difference about what year the boat is, but the care and love it has received from former owners ..

Thor

no matter what you do, you will not loose a lo0t of money with a J 30 ,,, even if you have a yard recore some wet areas ...

Thor,

Thanks for the input. There is an older model on the market that just had almost all of this stuff done, I believe, by Mullers Marine in annapolis (to the tune of 7 or 8 grand).

I have to assume that I might be better off with that one...Obviously, I would need to go look at it.

Thoughts?

sure ..why not...

Iknow people will always try to get a newer version... But in all reality I am not even too sure I would prefer it....

The Oven ??? I would never use .. but I would miss the extra berth where a couple of sails reside, nicely out of the way ..

On the other side are various contraptions against the sun at anchor ( anchorshade) and those fold a seats from west marine
plus various other items ... lol

go and check further, no need to give up after only one boat.. and even that might be worth while due to miss readings of watermeters ??? sure cant tell you how to aproach this ... If you like the boat, I would make an offer, where the current owner fixes the waterlogged areas ... OR deduct the money from a experienced builder

It might be less than everybody thinks ...

Thor

So, here is the update, just to confuse things further. I spoke to the owner and he told me about another survey that had been done a week before mine, which didn't have any of these same problems. In fact, the surveyor said that the cracking of the gelcoat around the exhaust pipe was of no consequence! (!??!)

All I know, is that my surveyor took 6 or 7 hours to really go over the boat with a magnifying glass. I heard the dull unambiguous thuds myself...I saw the moisture meter practically sieze...I just cannot fathom how someone with a phenol hammer could take two taps on that transom and declare it fine!

Bizarre.

Makes one very nervous about surveyors!

So, I did a little checking on your surveyors (names withheld as requested by my legal counsel) since the websites were cached in my laptop (having just argued with several surveyors about MY boat) NEITHER of the names were listed as "certified, accredited or approved" members of any "professional" organization for Marine Surveyors/Insurance. Having said that, I checked out a website for a "surveyors school"...hell, I didn't know I had a new career! I can be a surveyor too!!! Having had a less than satisfactory experience with a surveyor (no wait, and ASSOCIATE of a Surveyor... I recommend that you trust your gut instinct...and the guy who climbed into the boat for 6 hours.

Hi Redhead,

The 6 hr surveyor also did my boat and I have my survey in hand an he is, and I checked, an accredited surveyor (AMS) also SAMS and ABYC.

David

[This message has been edited by dbows (edited 07-28-2006).]

My feeling is if the owner feels they are of no consequence then he really has no idea about boats, and there will be numerous other issues that will arise because of him not doing routine maintenance and care. You can see the cracks and unless there was a collision to create the cracks, there is someting amiss. Boats just do not crack like that for no reason.

There is no reason this cannot be a good boat and valuable boat but in present condition it is a project. It will need a new transom, re-working of electronics, new fresh water system (both water pump and hotwater tanks are in sorry shape), new head with updated waste hoses, table re-worked since legs were cut off, cabin sole stripped of cetol and properly varnished, a complete bottom job, rudder is dry but is cracked down centerline...Who knows about the motor, it was half there since someone was working on the other half off site.

Other than the transom and rudder everyting can be done by the owner/buyer and is not too expensive but there will be a lot of time put into this boat to get it prepared for another 20 years of great service.

Some good things however are other than the floor and a mess of electrical wiring, the interior is in good shape, the sail inventory is good, the topsides and deck are in nice shape and the bottom does not have a ton of old bottom paint to remove and the keel, keel bolts and sump seem to be in good condition.

It does make me sad to see the boat sitting there. Someone needs to buy the boat, fix the transom and keep sailing this boat. It is a nice boat worth getting back on track. I hope the seller understands he is doing himself no favors by letting this boat sit and he lowers the prices so it is sold, fixed and sailed.

I am not a surveyor, this is just my 2cts from visual inspecting the boat.

David
#397