Survey Results- some moisture to deal with- thoughts?

teamgomez

teamgomez

New Member
May 18, 2007
54
Howdy all-

Been in the hunt and thought I found the 'Shenaya' of boats...she's a 9.5 overall ('97 240 sea ray sundancer) and all the surveyor could find after 4 hrs including a sea trial was a bad gfi plug, some canvas needing stitching, an intermittent bow light, and where there were signs of moisture intrusion around the hatch (brown stains going back about 24" from hatch aft) he got 25% moisture reading measured from the cabin ceiling.

He said it is something to look after during winter storage (remove hatch/trim and get her indoors or wrapped well and keep some heat inside her with a dehumidifier). Sound/tap tests were solid- no delam anywhere. He said I could pay to have moisture sucked out (gotta see that in action :smt119 ) but since I'm not at the point where there's any delam this summer shouldn't hurt her.

He said that the moisture probably affects boat value 2 to 3 % right now...would be worse if I didn't attend to it over winter.

I asked him if he'd buy the boat, and he said for the price (23.5 incl trailer), "Hell yes- she runs perfect (160 IR heat at the water pump, 115 deg at the risers WOT), there's not a lick of fiberglass damage/chips, and looks fantastic for a 10yr old boat. Water content of cabin ceiling is something that needs attention but wouldn't be a deal breaker for me".

Anybody dealt with this moisture condition and do I have late-night-purchaser's-beer goggles on :smt101 and should wave-off or since she's absolutely fantastic will she still be as sweet come breakfast time???

Thanks!
 

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Emotions are always high when facts are scarce.

Sounds like you have gotten the facts on this boat. I can tell you for a fact, an new 240 DA is $53,000 (without trailer) so this one goes for less than half the price of new.
 
Well. . .remember that surveyors are not perfect.

My survey said "eh, don't worry too much about that squeaky belt". Two engine hours later. . .raw water pump pully seal failed, and OFF comes the belt! :smt089

But the surveyor did pick up the fact that the risers were original. . .and over due for replacement (at 10 years). (actually. . .the exhaust was in good shape. . .but the information was invaluble for negotiation and peace of mind).

The moisture in the ceiling is a REAL issue. But not a deal breaker. You have some fitting up above that needs rebedding. That will be some work to figure out.

A 2-3% hit on price? What does that mean? That is probably half the sales tax. Noise in the boat buying process.

GFI plug and intermittent bow light is trivial. Fixing canvas is some bucks. . .but canvas won't normally last more than 10 years anyway. That is a wear item, and expect to be replaced after 10 years. Just fix these things and move on.

Engine and gel coat condition will be far more telling. Is this a salt water boat? What is the exhaust replacement history? How often have the pump impellers been done? These are the real condition.

I would say that you should discount the boat "value" one or two thousand because of the obvious moisture problem. . .but if the price is right relative to other boats. . .I would buy it.
 
Fresh water boat stored indoors during winter- gel coat superior and engine exhaust original. I'm sure that after a season of salt I will be looking at new risers/manifolds...

Going to talk to the owner today to try to get the hatch repaired prior to delivery. Make the repair his head-hurter instead of mine..we'll see!
 
Of course I would defer to the surveyor who is on-site, but the hatch leak looks different from what you describe.

I assume we are looking at a head liner and the water stain is on the head liner. First, you are never going to get that stain out completely and may have to replace at least part of the liner.

Second, if the liner is wet, or there is moisture between the gelcoat and the liner, this could account for moisture readings. Problem is you won't know until you remove the head liner.

I think the fact that the liner is water stained is a good thing. If the water intruded from above into the deck laminate structure it probably would not also leak to the head liner. This would require two leaks at the same time. One from the deck to the laminate and another from the interior of the deck laminate to the inside.

The leak may be from the way the hatch is bedded to the deck or it could just be the seal between the hatch frame and the opening part of the hatch. Heck, it could even be that they owner left the hatch partially open and water got in that way.

I would buy the boat as long as you are comfortable with the price versus repair possibilities.
 
Did the surveyor check the foredeck in the area of the hatch for softening of the core? We surveyed a 1999 250DA and the surveyor found an area around the hatch that sounded "flat", and he said was caused by waterr intrusion into the deck core material from failure of the hatch bedding. He tapped the area around the hatch with a small hammer, and you could hear the difference between the good and bad areas.

If the deck around the hatch is solid, the moisture may be from another source, as Sea Gull suggested. If there is a problem with moisture in the foredeck coring, the repair might be expensive (it would have been on the 250).

Jeff
 
I personally would ask for a price reduction and then reseal it myself - you can get the headliner looking pretty good as well. Sounds like a nice boat.
 
surveyor checked all around hatch/anchor locker and did not discover any dmg. Noted findings in recommendations and not under safety or immediate action.

Surveyor info last night was from verbal phonecon on the items he deemed most important- written email this morning also noted lack of 110 ground to boat ground, bad GFI (trips ok on pushbutton test but load tester doesn't trip it and lamp on plug tester indicates reverse polarity. I had this once at home and don't remember my fix...new GFI plug?) and lack of bonding wire from fuel cap to boat ground. Simple stuff I can all to my 'to-do' list.

Oh yeah- he also mentioned bilge alarm...can't say I ever saw one one our old Sea Rays...do the new ones come with them? I can rig one up pretty easy but wondered when they became standard stuff.

Thanks!
 
Risers/exhaust should last more than 1 season in salt -> even if they ran 10 years in fresh.
 
Surveyor paid for himself today...present owner taking boat by Sea Ray to have the hatch re-seated, canvas stitching repaired, antenna coax fixed, and inspected for 'missing grounding wires' that the dealer said must be there just missed.

Will be bringing up some malted barleys for the guy- he's really going the distance to deliver a sound vessel and do the right thing :thumbsup:

What a refreshing way to start ownership! That is...until I Break Out Another Thou!
 
I'm with Seagull on the water issue. I can't tell from what you wrote, what the surveyor found. Maybe you weren't sure. I would read his written report. To me, "water intrusion" does not mean a wet headliner - although obviously it could. If only the headliner got wet, then I wouldn't call it water intrusion. And at 2%, maybe that's what he means, as many others wouldn't buy a boat with water intrusion on the foredeck. You have to find out.

Those exhausts are another problem. It must be fresh water boaters who are afraid of salt water. (I know they won't swim in it!). Anyway, I doubt exhausts last 10 years in fresh water. So if you use them this year in salt water, you will be told that it was the salt water that ate them up. The risk of serious damage is great after 10 years. If some of that water gets into your engine it could ruin it. I think after 10 years I would pull the risers and inspect the inside. you can reassemble them with new gaskets if it's ok.
 
Well. . . .All I can add regarding the risers is that I had 170 hours on a 9 year old boat when bought used. The boat was used in Salt. Risers were original, and the engine was flushed with fresh water on a lift after every use.

The risers were replaced "just because" based upon a survey recommendation. Upon removal, the risers definately showed corrosion, but were far from being "done". I probably could have gotten one, perhaps two, seasons on those old risers.

I had two mechanics state that risers in my area typically last 5 to 6 seasons in salt water use. My surveyor stated 3 years as norm.
 
Great, something else for me to worry about. :smt021

I'm on 4 years and everything so far looks good. mostly salt use.
 
Hatch leak

This looks like a bedding problem, But do not assume it. Give the hatch bead a test as well.

Take a piece of tough paper or foil and place it beteen the hatch light gasket and the seat, dog down the hatch and pull the paper through the gasket. If that paper slips through easily or has little resitance, then wind driven water could be the culprit and not the bedding. Replacing the hatch seal maybe more difficult than one might think, figure it in the deal for sure.

To get the stain in the head liner out, use a wet vac and OxyClean and hot water. Spray it heaivly and vacumm sparay again etc... do let the stain crawl larger by vacuming from clean to dirty.

Good luck.
 
The problem I see here is not just rebedding the hatch or cleaning up a water stain. If the deck core is wet or rotted, it must be handles properly by drying or removing and replacing with an appropriate filler.

None of us were there, so its easy to anticipate a worst case scenerio, but I have seen the skin removed off the entire deck to replace the core material and get a proper match on the non-skid.

This one may be just a $500 rebed the hatch and clean up the water stain or it could the a $5000 repair. Be sure which is in front of you before you write any checks.
 
Goin' to get her...

Owner took the boat to the Sea Ray dealer and they re-sealed the hatch and confirmed that the grounding wires were present. I think my reputable surveyor might have had a 'senior moment' on the wiring inspection. I will do my own tap test on the deck to confirm his findings that there's no delam.

8 hr drive tomorrow...1 hr sea trial...and then my first night will be on the hook in Erie b/f doing the long haul back home Friday. Father's day shaping up to be the best yet with my family on the water, fresh bacon and eggs wafting their delightful presence across the bay, some fresh crab in the pot, and with any luck the kids will be all worn out by the time we get home! :smt038 :smt038 :smt038
 
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