Possible new owner

[Scarlett]

I am a surveyor and I agree with JLR. However the mistake a lot of buyers make, which is usually driven by a lazy broker, is doing both the general and the mechanical survey on the same day. I can’t tell you how many times I have told brokers to get the mechanical survey before the general, especially on gas boats. If the engines have problems you can decide weather to proceed Or pull the plug before you incur the general survey expense. Many times I am on the boat doing the general while the mechanic is doing the engines and problems with the engines are found and the buyer decides to back out, so the buyer has to pay both of us. John

 

[SeaEric]

JLR has it correct. I say this like a mantra: "Don't skip any steps"

 

[Maurice]

Out of curiosity, how many here would allow a potential buyer to perform a borescope / compression test (assuming all cylinders both engines). Seems a bit invasive with possibility to throw some stuff out of whack.

For a boat and engines like this, I would walk away if they refused. The only exception would be if the owner allowed the surveyor to personally speak with the rebuilder, if they agreed. Not al lot of experience with engine surveyors, but what I have says it's a routine part of a good engine survey in order to get a clean bill of health. And to do a compression check the injectors have to be removed which is a perfect time to get them checked too, especially on the engine thats smoking. Another exception might be if the owner gave a written engine warranty for 100 hours, which they would never do.

 

[Photolomy]

It seems rare that buyers or sellers go as far as a compression test. My boat does 18.5 knots wot. I would have to be hard pressed for buyers to entertain a compression test on a boat that doesn't exhibit issues. I would tell the buyer to go find a boat that needs a compression test to buy. I liked Oscar's answer. His mechanic. Unfortunately, I haven't needed a mechanic yet so I don't have one I can trust yet.

 

[jim rosenthal]

All of these boats are old, now, but some are 'older' than others. By which I mean that 'old' is not just a function of age, but of care.

Eric is right. Do ALL the steps, do them in order, take your time, because the longer you look, the more you find, and be involved.

As to the $1500 'learning experience', that was a bargain. Ask me about some of the cars I've bought.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Unfortunately, I haven't needed a mechanic yet so I don't have one I can trust yet.

That’s really hard luck.

 

[Photolomy]

Lol. Yeah, that did come out funny.

 

[Finnley]

I am a surveyor and I agree with JLR. However the mistake a lot of buyers make, which is usually driven by a lazy broker, is doing both the general and the mechanical survey on the same day. I can’t tell you how many times I have told brokers to get the mechanical survey before the general, especially on gas boats. If the engines have problems you can decide weather to proceed Or pull the plug before you incur the general survey expense. Many times I am on the boat doing the general while the mechanic is doing the engines and problems with the engines are found and the buyer decides to back out, so the buyer has to pay both of us. John

So....... I'm thinking this, from past experience. You're talking about a mechanical engine survey before general. Normally, wouldn't you want the hull pressure washed before doing a full run out for the engine survey? RPMs and such. Time check to get on plane, etc. I'm thinking first thing in the morning both the engine and hull surveyors on the boat with a 10-15 min run at slow speed run directly to the haul out. This gives each a chance to start their checks. Haul boat, surveyors check the hull, after a pressure wash, for blisters and the usual stuff. Then resplash and head for the full RPM runout and whatever else the engine guy/lady want. Return to dock and the hull and interior checks continue. Otherwise, the boat would need to be run twice, yes?

 

[Freeebird]

Just now seeing this thread. If you're not worried someone might buy it out from under you, where is this boat and what is her name?

The Hatteras family is pretty small, and there's a good chance someone on here may know the boat. Could save you a lot of grief, not to mention money. Hope it works out for you as those are great boats.

 

[Passages]

Freeebird is correct .

A simple 'Does anyone know the vessel (name) in (city)?' will usually give you a few responses.

 

[Photolomy]

So....... I'm thinking this, from past experience. You're talking about a mechanical engine survey before general. Normally, wouldn't you want the hull pressure washed before doing a full run out for the engine survey? RPMs and such. Time check to get on plane, etc. I'm thinking first thing in the morning both the engine and hull surveyors on the boat with a 10-15 min run at slow speed run directly to the haul out. This gives each a chance to start their checks. Haul boat, surveyors check the hull, after a pressure wash, for blisters and the usual stuff. Then resplash and head for the full RPM runout and whatever else the engine guy/lady want. Return to dock and the hull and interior checks continue. Otherwise, the boat would need to be run twice, yes?

This is generally how you do it because of the number of trips that would be required. In my earlier post, my mistake was to not do a more thorough inspection myself, before ordering any survey. Of course, that is easy to say now that I have had one of these for a couple years. Previously, I didn't know anything about big boats. Freebird has the right idea. Most of the owners here know these boats better than any general surveyor. Even I (now) would only hire a general surveyor because insurance requires it.

 

[Phasma2128]

The boat is La Belle Epoque in Chicago Ill.
1981 Hatteras 56 wide body motor yacht.

 

[Sadey]

Trina and I looked at that boat last year. It was in fair shape on the exterior from what we remember. The inside of the boat was well lived in. Lots of mold on the salon window tracks, she also remembers mold around the aft deck. Carpets in poor shape. Lots of clutter, the owners definitely didn't take the time to stage the boat for sale. The broker said the boat was used as a family condo, party barge. It appeared to be used but maybe not taken care of meticulously as of late. The 56' for sale in Sturgeon Bay (Take Five) was in better shape but has been on the hard for a few years. We negotiated on that one but ended up $10,000 apart so we passed. We also looked at the 1980 53' (Encore) and it was nice. The owner had paper work on the rebuilds which was down down south and thats what pissed me off. It was advertised then as an all fresh water boat but it wasn't . Knowing what we know now we might have looked harder at the 53' but so happy we found Benedetto. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions.

Dave
815-342-3754

 

[Finnley]

Plasma,
Have you heard any more info regarding the 600 hr engines?

 

[Phasma2128]

Oil samples pulled last Thursday. I paid the bill. I should know the results of the oil analysis Tomorrow or wednesday.

 

[Phasma2128]

Trina and I looked at that boat last year. It was in fair shape on the exterior from what we remember. The inside of the boat was well lived in. Lots of mold on the salon window tracks, she also remembers mold around the aft deck. Carpets in poor shape. Lots of clutter, the owners definitely didn't take the time to stage the boat for sale. The broker said the boat was used as a family condo, party barge. It appeared to be used but maybe not taken care of meticulously as of late. The 56' for sale in Sturgeon Bay (Take Five) was in better shape but has been on the hard for a few years. We negotiated on that one but ended up $10,000 apart so we passed. We also looked at the 1980 53' (Encore) and it was nice. The owner had paper work on the rebuilds which was down down south and thats what pissed me off. It was advertised then as an all fresh water boat but it wasn't . Knowing what we know now we might have looked harder at the 53' but so happy we found Benedetto. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions.

Dave
815-342-3754

I was looking at the Hatteras in Sturgeon Bay on yachtworld. Nice boat! Im kind of focused on the waukegon hatt at the moment. Ive looked at several. Another one that caught my eye was a 56 in port clinton oh named Adjustment

 

[Sadey]

Is that the one with the galley up? If it is reach out to Sky he's very familiar with that boat.

Sorry, I got confused by the name. There is a 60’ named Adjustment in Montague Michigan that Sky is familiar with.

 

[Phasma2128]

I looked at the 60 Hatteras in Montague last spring. Since then I have found several others that are far superior in layout and condition. This has been a slow process. Hopefully the oil analysis and surveys will cone back clean

 

[Wiredup62]

For a boat and engines like this, I would walk away if they refused. The only exception would be if the owner allowed the surveyor to personally speak with the rebuilder, if they agreed. Not al lot of experience with engine surveyors, but what I have says it's a routine part of a good engine survey in order to get a clean bill of health. And to do a compression check the injectors have to be removed which is a perfect time to get them checked too, especially on the engine thats smoking. Another exception might be if the owner gave a written engine warranty for 100 hours, which they would never do.

Interesting views on this. I sold a 62' custom carolina boat prior to buying my current 60' Hatteras. I had C32's in the custom boat, ran great, properly serviced, etc. Had a contract put on the boat, and during engine survey, their mechanic mentioned wanting to borescope, etc. My CAT mechanic, who worked for CAT for years, said that shouldn't be necessary if all the other checks short of borescoping were good. They were all good, but the buyer pushed borescoping. My broker called me and said to let them do it. I said no based on my mechanics opinion. So, let them do a few cylinders and their mechanic said he saw rust/odd color on the cylinder liners, so now all cylinders need to be checked and may need to quote new cylinder packs, etc. My mechanic was furious and said that's all BS, that the color they were seeing was very normal for liners and showed my on the CAT site similar photos.

Long story short, became a huge issues, my fighting with my broker who didn't seem he was on my side, and lots of back and forth with the potential buyer. I had run that boat 2 years straight, never had any issues, etc. So, imo, I would not allow a borescope on my boat unless there is a reason to do so.

 

[Sadey]

We didn’t look at the 60’ in Michigan but we did spend a lot of time trying to decide if we should. It was the lack of a place to sit in the pilot house while running the boat that was a deal breaker. I prefer to run from the bridge but Mother Nature doesn’t always allow that in the Great Lakes. Good luck on the oil samples and the successful purchase!