Expert classic boat Surveyor in the Great Lakes area?

[Lilian M]

Hi everyone.

We have made an offer on a 1988 Bristol 56.6 that is located in Sarnia, ON, CA and intend to bring her back to salt on the US East Coast. There aren't a lot of surveyors up in CA and fewer still likely to have expertise in classic New England yachts.The boat is currently winterized and on the hard, so we'd be looking for someone for the early spring for survey and sea trial so we have a little time, but want to be sure we have the best possible person for all the complications you might guess in buying in another country for a boat that's been hauled out for more than a year.

Thanks in advance!

Lilian

 

[Foswick]

If it's the boat I'm thinking of, she seems to be in good shape. I wouldn't say there is anything unique about the construction or configuration of that boat that requires specialized expertise. You might find (as I have) that you really need three or four surveys/inspections to have the job done thoroughly: general marine, rigging, power, and maybe electrical. Even good general marine surveyors are often not prepared to offer much detailed assessment of rigging, power, and electric.

You might be capable of performing some of those inspections yourself, but it all should be checked out, obviously. The one specialized inspection that your general marine surveyor almost certainly will not be able to perform is an aloft rigging inspection. If the rigging is near-EOL, that could be a deal-breaker, as replacing the standing rigging on that boat would be quite pricey. At minimum, deficiencies in that area could give you good leverage to bring the price down.

Of course, any purchase should be contingent upon a satisfactory sea trial. The fact that she's been on the hard is fine, but I would want a thorough shakedown. If you've never sailed this model or a similar boat before, you might not even like the way she handles. If you pay for a survey and cover the round trip to put her in the water (and back out), it wouldn't be unreasonable to spend the weekend on her in the water before making a final decision.

 

[dLj]

I don't know if this person is close enough to you but they are in Canada and quite good.

Wallace Gouk
Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors, Ret'd
ABYC® Standards Certified, Ret'd
ABYC® Certified Corrosion Analyst, Ret'd
Transport Canada Licensed Master, Ret'd
Transport Canada Tonnage Measurer
BoatUS® Approved Marine Surveyor
boatpoker@gmail.com
or 416 - 526 - 3845

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dj

 

[marcham]

Congrats!

What is unique about this boat? It's a fiberglass hull with a teak deck? What specialty/experience would be required from a surveyor that this vessel requires?

Just curious, why wait until the spring? If it was my boat, I'd do a sea trial, get a survey and then truck it to the East coast. Boats for sale are usually not cared for well. Storage does not do a boat favors. It could be in very different shape next spring then it is now.

If you know that this is the boat for you, and you've already gone through it with a fine tooth comb, why wait ??

 

[dLj]

Hi everyone.

We have made an offer on a 1988 Bristol 56.6 that is located in Sarnia, ON, CA and intend to bring her back to salt on the US East Coast. There aren't a lot of surveyors up in CA and fewer still likely to have expertise in classic New England yachts.The boat is currently winterized and on the hard, so we'd be looking for someone for the early spring for survey and sea trial so we have a little time, but want to be sure we have the best possible person for all the complications you might guess in buying in another country for a boat that's been hauled out for more than a year.

Thanks in advance!

Lilian

If you are set on that boat - those are nice boats. But there is a really excellent boat for sale in Annapolis that I think I'd want to take a look at before deciding..

1984 Camper & Nicholsons Nicholson 58 Roxy

Discover exclusive yacht listings by David Walters Yachts. Browse handpicked vessels for luxury, performance & style. Find your dream yacht today.

www.davidwaltersyachts.com

This boat is going to be on display at the Annapolis boat show - I'll be very surprised if it doesn't sell there...

dj

 

[Lilian M]

If it's the boat I'm thinking of, she seems to be in good shape. I wouldn't say there is anything unique about the construction or configuration of that boat that requires specialized expertise. You might find (as I have) that you really need three or four surveys/inspections to have the job done thoroughly: general marine, rigging, power, and maybe electrical. Even good general marine surveyors are often not prepared to offer much detailed assessment of rigging, power, and electric.

You might be capable of performing some of those inspections yourself, but it all should be checked out, obviously. The one specialized inspection that your general marine surveyor almost certainly will not be able to perform is an aloft rigging inspection. If the rigging is near-EOL, that could be a deal-breaker, as replacing the standing rigging on that boat would be quite pricey. At minimum, deficiencies in that area could give you good leverage to bring the price down.

Of course, any purchase should be contingent upon a satisfactory sea trial. The fact that she's been on the hard is fine, but I would want a thorough shakedown. If you've never sailed this model or a similar boat before, you might not even like the way she handles. If you pay for a survey and cover the round trip to put her in the water (and back out), it wouldn't be unreasonable to spend the weekend on her in the water before making a final decision.

Thanks for that. We have owned a number of classic New England boats. Our last was a 1990 Alden 44. We have found that there are often particulars to a builder/designer that come up and those familiar with the them know to look for them - which is why we are looking for the specific familiarity.

And of course the sale is contingent on both survey and sea trial. I do like the shakedown idea. We've not done that before, but know that even on boats we've chartered around the world it takes the first week to find all the gotchas so had intended to spend the first couple of weeks in the great lakes to assure we are fully confident before moving toward the ocean.

Thanks again for your reply!

 

[Lilian M]

If you are set on that boat - those are nice boats. But there is a really excellent boat for sale in Annapolis that I think I'd want to take a look at before deciding..

1984 Camper & Nicholsons Nicholson 58 Roxy

Discover exclusive yacht listings by David Walters Yachts. Browse handpicked vessels for luxury, performance & style. Find your dream yacht today.

www.davidwaltersyachts.com

This boat is going to be on display at the Annapolis boat show - I'll be very surprised if it doesn't sell there...

dj

Thanks. We'd seen this one and DWY is who we've bought and sold thru in the past.

 

[Lilian M]

Congrats!

What is unique about this boat? It's a fiberglass hull with a teak deck? What specialty/experience would be required from a surveyor that this vessel requires?

Just curious, why wait until the spring? If it was my boat, I'd do a sea trial, get a survey and then truck it to the East coast. Boats for sale are usually not cared for well. Storage does not do a boat favors. It could be in very different shape next spring then it is now.

If you know that this is the boat for you, and you've already gone through it with a fine tooth comb, why wait ??

Thanks for the reply. A whole bunch of reasons for the delay. But among them... we'd actually prefer to do the trip instead of trucking. Would be the first and last time we'd ever do the St. Lawrence as life takes us in other directions from our mid-atlantic location.

 

[dLj]

Thanks for that. We have owned a number of classic New England boats. Our last was a 1990 Alden 44. We have found that there are often particulars to a builder/designer that come up and those familiar with the them know to look for them - which is why we are looking for the specific familiarity.

I completely agree.

I'd give Wallace a call. He may be able to direct you to someone that may better for you. He's been in the business a long time..

dj

 

[dLj]

Thanks for the reply. A whole bunch of reasons for the delay. But among them... we'd actually prefer to do the trip instead of trucking. Would be the first and last time we'd ever do the St. Lawrence as life takes us in other directions from our mid-atlantic location.

That would be an awesome trip! I've been thinking to do it - going the wrong way - hahaha. As I'm down on the The Chesapeake, I've been thinking of going into the Great lakes using the St. Lawrence. If you are interested send me a PM I have a fair bit of info..

dj

 

[capta]

Way, way off topic, but perhaps of some concern? Is the boat registered in Canada? Will you have to pay duty? If so, will there be a tariff? Just a thought.

 

[Foswick]

Is the boat registered in Canada? Will you have to pay duty? If so, will there be a tariff? Just a thought.

I live pretty much walking distance from Canada and not far outside Vancouver. So, you would think I would know all about this, but I don't. What I do know is that people buy and sell boats across the border all the time, around here, such that no one seems to care much about which side of the border the boat was previously owned. So, it must not be that big a deal. But, as I said, I don't know.