Tahiti Ketch 2002

Hello All,

I am looking at buying a Tahiti Ketch and would like some expert advice.

The boat is Wood, but has 2 layers of fiberglass with epoxy. Not sure if this was a good idea or not. The boat has been out of water for the last 6 years. I don't mind putting a little work into it.

Let me know what you think


See details below in the google document.


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JL8aJcwi0afatXkZz11cdJ7a6OC0_yRRp6NDYVQRG9Y/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks,
Chris

 

Hi,
we are rebuilding the deck and the interior of the bigger version of the thaiti, the carol ketch, is a very slow but safe and good for long distance trip.

if is well done the epoxywork is ok.
i immagine that in six years rain has done some damage to the deck... have you find rotten parts?

 

Hi,
A couple of 'thinks'; from my own personal errors, those of friends & acquaintances, plus, a professional.

If she's been on the hard that long, I'd not care to wager odds on the engine being able to turn over (aka; possible/probable frozen pistons, etc.).

2 layers of 4oz glass likely isn't enough to handle the forces involved with planking that thick & stout, shrinking & swelling (due to moisture content changes). And if the glass is at all cracked, then the problem grows geometrically when she's re-splashed.
With the exception to this perhaps being, if someone splined together, & refastened all of the planking prior to glassing. - Hopefully others will weigh in on this, as I'm not an oracle on wooden vessels.

Here's a GR8 article on refits by Nigel Calder http://www.cruisingworld.com/how-to/projects/a-refit-reality-check
There are a whole host of other good, free articles & reviews there as well. And I'm uncertain as to who said it, it may even be in the above article, but... "if there's any question of structural problems, walk away."
A comment penned in regards to what to look at, as well as major red flags, when buying a vessel.

 

Hi Jelfiser,

I have not found any rotten parts yet. The boat has a cover on it, so I did not walk the deck. But I need to go back and check it out. The inside of the boat was dry. No water in the bilge.

The only damage I found was the some delimitation of the fiberglass on the rudder. It looked like the glass was wrapped around the rudder and did not stick to itself in a few spots. Don't know if this will be a problem, or if it will take much work to fix.

The other spot I saw damaged was where the bowsprint cable connects to the front of the boat. There is a crack above and below the connection point.

I took photos of both locations and they are in the google document.

 

Listed down below this thread, there are some links to various things Tahiti Ketch... on this forum. One of them mentioning a Tahiti Ketch forum, & it has a link to same. Perhaps they have some more boat specific wisdom there. I can't imagine it'd be too painful to take a peek.
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/wooden-boat-building-restoration/tahiti-ketch-forum-6065.html

 

you may also ceck with ws guide for epoxy/wood work.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/howto-pub2/Wooden Boat Restoration and Repair.pdf


from your pics it look much better of our restoration project of lisca bianca
you may have a look at
https://www.facebook.com/LiscaBianca

http://www.liscabianca.com/

or pics there
https://www.flickr.com/photos/121261165@N07/sets/
a round of the world and 6 year under the rain have seriously damaged all the deck, disassembling the boat come out lots of rotten part you didn't expect

 

From the pictures this boat is strip-planked, so the glass sheathing (if properly done) is a good thing. The rudder is a minor issue, grind the paint back, make sure the wood core is sound and dry, and re-coat with epoxy.

The stem cracks are a worry, obviously this area has seen some severe stress. The bobstay fitting needs to be removed and the glass ground back in this area to see whats up. Those cracks don't look like broken wood, but more like joints opening up. If everything around it is sound the best fix will be to cut a tapered notch out of the stem and laminate new wood in. Then sheath with glass and re-engineer a new bobstay fitting.

 

Thanks for the information guys.
I am still considering buying the boat.

What do you think a fair offer would be?

 

Offer $1k and see what the owner comes back with.....then you can decide how badly you want her......

 

I sent my offer of 1k cash and referenced this forum as justification, but did not get a response back.

 

I think that making an offer on condition that the boats gets a favorable survey is a safe way of doing it.

 

Simply put, if you have to ask these questions, you need a comprehensive survey. This is a project boat and unless you have some (considerable) experience with this sort of thing, thinking you're finding a real "deal" is folly and simply bound to empty your bank account.

 

I would echo Gonzo & PAR on the survey. If you really like the boat here are some suggestions:

1. Contact the owner/broker and ask if a current survey has been done. A responsible owner will do this to ensure the boat is seaworthy and presenting no showstopper issues for a potential owner.

2. Verify the survey has an estimated value of the boat. If not, the surveyor did not do a valid survey.

Either way, the survey is the solution. Buying as-is is very risky and usually means the boat needs work...the scope of which you'll never know until a good survey is done.

Keep the surveyor search link handy as you look for boats.

http://www.namsglobal.org/find-a-marine-surveyor/

 

I think Joseph means well but I would not put any faith in a survey from the current owner. If you are going to be serious you need a surveyor working for your interests alone. Any estimated value may or may not represent market value, usually the survey is for insurance and values are inflated. A decent survey will be worth every penny when you go to negotiate. A caveat is that even good surveyors can miss big issues (read the fine print). Currently surveys run $18-20.00 per foot (length on deck), and a proper engine survey is additional dollars, so how much do you want to invest in a maybe?

I've read hundreds of surveys, perhaps 3 were (IMO) well done.

 

Tad raises a point, echoed from Joesph. Commonly you'll see a "buyer's" survey or a "seller's" survey. I don't do these. The buyer's version shows the boat in it's least, while the seller's presents the boat's good points. When I do a survey, you pay me up front, mostly because I don't care who's who, you're going to get the condition and value of the vessel, without a "spin", which you may or may not especially like. I am careful to balance the good with the bad, offer repair and maintenance choices and attack plan, but it's just an unadulterated survey about the boat, not the people paying for the service.

Being a project yacht, you'll have your hands full. If they say it's 90%, expect this to mean 75% completed and 50% of the boat's value is tied up in the last 10% of the build effort. Simply put, if it's a $100,000 yacht, that they suggest is 90% complete, you have $50,000 worth of work to complete, before you get the 100K value.

It takes a very experienced person to take on a project like this and see it through to completion. So how many boats have you built - restored - done major surgery on? I'm not taking about fixing a rotten transom on an 18' bow rider now, but serious work. The real question you should ask yourself is if you're the person for this boat. This should include your skill set, tools, shop space, experience, budget with appropriate wiggle room for "difficulties", etc. In the end, ask yourself if you've been careful about what you've wished for.