Survey says" Moisture in hull " anybody have experience with the costs?

[swanee39]

I would be interested in experiences with repairs of moisture. I had a $14,000 repair for a spot the surveyor found on a previous boat. The credit we received did not cover costs of repairs. I'm still considering the surveyed boat for the right concession as anything can be repaired . The question is what's right $ without opening it up. I highly recommend morman surveyors in the Detroit area. Thank you!

 

[Gofirstclass]

I changed my opinion and advice after reading what Frank wrote in post #7 below.

Frank, your advice was better than mine. YOU DA MAN!

 

[SCORPIO]

Are we talking about a cored hull? Also, is this area below the waterline? If cored and below the waterline, I personally would walk away from that deal. If this is a deck core, then I'd proceed as GFC suggests.

 

[RollerCoastr]

Hull sides, IIRC...

If you're still interested in this boat and the seller appears willing to work with you, my next step would be a second opinion and/or "destructive testing" (core sample) to confirm the water intrusion. False positives are VERY common. Surveyors can use anything from simple tools to complex instruments, and all of them are subject to misinterpretation.

 

[Craigalan]

IMO...I'd keep shopping. Unless its a really rare boat that is your dream rig, then maybe get a 2nd opinion. Otherwise, consider the 1,000's of dry boats on the mkt.


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[NorCal Boater]

I took another direction when I bought my 52'. The survey showed $11,000 work needed on the Cats. (blown head gasket and leaking fuel pump port engine and cooling systems on both) I wanted the seller to have the work done and deliver a repaired boat just in case something else showed up when the port engine was taken apart. The seller refused. So we asked for a $5000 "hold back for unseen issues." It turned out to be a wise move. As they got into the cooling systems they discovered a problem with the trans coolers on both Twin-Disk trannies to the tune of an additional $2800. It was covered. If they had found nothing the seller kept his $5k. If I hadn't asked for it I would have been out $2800.

 

[fwebster]

I don't agree with the notion that the buyer and seller split the costs for a wet core repair. Unless the brokerage listing or the offer to sell contained a moisture disclosure by the broker or seller, the buyer has every right to expect the boat to be structurally sound and moisture free. Why on earth you would "own" part of the cost of the repair by splitting the cost? All that does is commit you to buy the boat or lose a chunk of $$, when you don't' even know if the boat has a wet structure or how bad it is?

As far as working off a repair estimate, you will never get a fiberglass guy to give you a firm price on a wet core job simply because you just don't know how bad or hard the repair will be until you remove the gelcoat or interior skin. And this is probably the biggest problem with cost sharing a moisture repair on a boat purchase.....you are negotiating on an unknown.

If you find a decent boat all you can do is survey it and do moisture tests and sound the hull and deck. As someone else offered, non-invasive moisture meters are subject to high error rates because of mis-interpretation of the data.......measuring on a bulkhead location or on a spot with thick layup will read as high moisture. To a large degree, you can eliminate problem boats by choosing the make and model carefully. If you get high moisture readings and the source isn't clear to the surveyor, use infrared photography, you can remove screws, remove a hull vent, and even core sample the structure (with the owner's permission) to try to narrow down the problem.

In the final analysis, you will never know how bad the moisture is until you get inside the gelcoat. It would take a really sweet boat and an even sweeter deal to get me past a survey that found high moisture levels. The best posture is to give the survey results to the seller, reject the boat, cancel the deal and get your deposit back because of high moisture. You then have leverage to get seller to repair the boat repaired because he now has a disclosable defect and pretty much has a boat he can't sell until it is repaired.

 

[Craigalan]

Totally agree. I too, would not split any of that cost. This guy is going to have to fix this if he plans on selling it...however, what is that P.T. Barnum quote?

 

[dpmulvey]

Without a clean survey, I would imagine you would have trouble getting insurance. That was my experience with Saint Max.

 

[swanee39]

Thank you for the thought provoking responses. It's a interesting situation because due to disclosure law in Michigan (and I have hired many lawyers so I sure ain't one) he has to disclose this to others now that he is aware, right ? All things can be fixed but at what cost. You guys have good points to consider. The gambler in me says start at 20k settle at 15k. We use the boat this summer and fix it this winter. The boat has low hours and many nice upgrades. The boat was maintained he just had no idea as none of us due until the dreaded moisture meter and dull thud of the hammer. The insurance question is a good one also, the bank didn't seem to care when I told them. They must figure if I'm that stupid go ahead.( and 3.6 percent financing isn't going to be around forever ). It is a cored hull and above the water line. Hold back is another excellent idea.


Frank I think it's a good price
for the boat that's why I'm still considering it. You guys are are helping me figure this out and I appreciate it.

 

[ks65609]

Thank you for the thought provoking responses. It's a interesting situation because due to disclosure law in Michigan (and I have hired many lawyers so I sure ain't one) he has to disclose this to others now that he is aware, right ? All things can be fixed but at what cost. You guys have good points to consider. The gambler in me says start at 20k settle at 15k. We use the boat this summer and fix it this winter. The boat has low hours and many nice upgrades. The boat was maintained he just had no idea as none of us due until the dreaded moisture meter and dull thud of the hammer. The insurance question is a good one also, the bank didn't seem to care when I told them. They must figure if I'm that stupid go ahead.( and 3.6 percent financing isn't going to be around forever ). It is a cored hull and above the water line. Hold back is another excellent idea.


Frank I think it's a good price
for the boat that's why I'm still considering it. You guys are are helping me figure this out and I appreciate it.

Been there, done that. Think ahead to when you will want to move on to another boat. If the moisture issue is severe, it will cost you more for repairs than you expect to pay for the boat.

 

[swanee39]

We are moving on from Detroit boat on to Lake of the Ozarks area..........I need to be careful of the, I have to have a boat this summer!....Number #1 rule of negotiation. I care, but I don't care that much! Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[Jackie J V]

Moisture meters can give erroneous readings, as has been pointed out in this thread. I too had a high moisture concern spot pointed out at the time of my survey. After consulting with the marine surveyor and the service department at the marina, it seemed that I was looking at a potential $5k bill, factored that into the final price determination and concluded the sale.

I took possession in May and used the boat for the summer. Over the winter, I had the service folks do a core sample and found the core to be dry and intact. It was clear that there had never been moisture in this section and that it was a false reading - no repair required! This certainly doesn't mean that other readings aren't legit concerns, just not this one. I still have the core sample for when it comes time to move on to the JJ VI.

I now have moisture testing conducted on the hull each year, a month after haul out. If there were issues, would want to know and address immediately. Had to repair and reset one after-market through-hull as a consequence over the six years I've owned the boat.

Good luck with your process!
Paul