agree with Bud

Posted By: Matt ('90 S25 Caribbean Soul)
Date: 4/3/09 1:21p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Trailering 1200 miles (pic) (Bud Curtis, Colorado 96 S25)

In my circumstance as a starry-eyed buyer, I traveled just over 1000 miles to buy my boat and did NOT hire a surveyor ahead of time. Mine was a similar price range as the one you're looking at, except from a private party. The boat showed VERY well. Brightwork was shiny and varnished, the hull was glossy, only two small scratches on the whole boat. Motor purred like a kitten and started right up. It literally looked like a NEW boat. Here were the things that subsequently failed over the next season that may or may not have been caught by a surveyor: After a week of sailing, the belt flew off the alternator. Wrong size installed. First rainfall, both starboard and port cushions were completely soaked. Chainplates leaking like a sieve, cured with 4200. Another month goes by and I find out one battery is leaking all over and the other is almost completely shot. They were wired in parallel and had different brands/dates/etc. (As a sidenote, I circumvented the gassing issue by installing AGM batteries. I _love_ them.) After two months of sailing, I found out the rudder was completely rotten and actually flexing between the gudgeons. Ordered a new replacement from Hake. Before winter storage, I discovered that all 4 bearings on the trailer were blown. During fall decommissioning, I discovered that most of the diesel maintenance had been, well, never done. The thermostat, zinc, etc were all original on a 17 year old boat. I also now have three scratches in the boat, but that was my fault.