Steel yacht pre-purchase inspection

[hbruner]

New to the forum, (and to steel boats!), but great info all over!

I am looking at purchasing a Colvin Gazelle, and have not had luck in finding a recommended surveyor in the area specializing in steel. Thinking of just getting in there myself (after getting some education) to prove or disprove horror stories about how the boat was built by the yard, is 10 gauge mild steel OK, being unable to properly seal T-framing, how has maintenence been etc. I know it is not a perfect world, but I don't want a boat that is dangerous/unsellable 5-10 years from now. It is a 1986 hull.

I am off to find books and try to educate myself what to look for in terms of hull condition, try to figure out how the hull and frames were constructed, sealed, and insulated, and what the maintenence has been like. I will only have as much access as the interior cabnitery/equipment/floor allows.

Any pointers? Thanks!

[gonzo]

I can do it if the boat is in the Great Lakes area. If not I can recomend someone who could.

[FAST FRED]

Tom Colvin has a place in Alva Fl,
Perhaps you should ask him?

FAST FRED

[david ratchford]

i think the best piece of advice i ever heard was..."getcherself a good flash light and get dirty"..with out sticking your nose into the nooks and crannies of the beast you will only be trusting some one else to do what you should be doing...along with the light; i would suggest you also crawl all over any other steelies you can pursuade folks to let you check..and read till yer head spins..there is information out here but man you've got to dig to find it...p.s. there is no easy way to get your feet wet..good luck!

[gonzo]

david ratchford: How do you propose to test the quality of welds of thickness of materials with a flashlight?

[Thunderhead19]

If the boat is twenty years old (even if it's just sitting in the water), any welds on a steel hull that are of poor quality, (penetration, contamination, overheated, too light) frequently show signs of heavy corrosion, cracking, leaking, paint flakes away from weak areas that flex excessively or are undergoing fatigue or distortion. With the right equipment, you can actually sound the plate quite accurately. Once a hull is all welded up not all areas are visble though. Personally I would NEVER choose to inspect a vessel myself. But if your initial visit to the vessel shows the above problems, you don't have to bother spending the money on an inspector (or the boat for that matter). I would encourage you to get dirty prior to seeing an inspector.

[AlaskaFisherman]

Running a commercial boat requires my boat to have a survey every three to four years for my insurance.
I have an old 32ft long aluminum gillnetter and the cost is $300.00 to $500.00 per survey and I find the surveyor likes me to hand him a copy of the last couple survies.
When I was looking to buy boats, I found all the surveys covered the same things as these low cost one's I have paid for.
I have said all this to get to this point. After I got familiar with these kind of boats, I found the only thing the survey did for me is tell me what size the tanks were and maybe the location of a few things. In other words they do almost nothing to tell me the shape of the boat. I have read that surveys that cost three and four more would check out this size boat. I have never seen one.
My first concern on a boat is the running gear - Main enginee / reduction gear / shaft / prop. After that I start looking at the hull and hatches and windows - how water tight are they.
If I have been of help - great. If I can help more let me know. I cann't talk about steel but might be able to find other fishermen that do know steel.
I would never want steel for what I do with boats but they sure make the world go around with the cargo business. The bigger crab boats up here are steel.