I just purchased a 1974 Monsun 31 at a distance (I flew down for an inspection and sea trial but was not present for the survey) and wanted to share what we are going though in case anyone has adivice. The pre-purchase survey noted "gel coat cracks" in the transom but thinking this was minor I didn't even question him further. When we finally purchased and got the boat trucked here the cracks were definitley deeper than gel coat cracks. Since this is beyond my ability to fix I have the boat now in a shipright's shed. He has ground away the gel coat and found: 1) that the boat was constructed of two halves that were bonded together (I didn't know this previously) 2) that there was in some areas no fiberglass over the bonding material (in the transom and bow) 3) even after being out of the water for 3 weeks there is still some leaking (seeping) from inside the boat through the unglassed join of the two hull halves. The shipright's advice is to grind down the entire join along the length of the boat, and then glass, fair, and finish with gel coat again. He is somewhat baffled with this issue since he knows of HR's good reputation and he is even questioning if HR contracted out any of the work in 1974. His suggested path does seem like the only option to take since I'm not even sure if the hull is sound in it's current state (athough it has survived for 31 years). In every other way the boat seems well constructed but this aspect is very surprising. I take full responsibility for not catching this problem but also think that the surveyor should have picked up that this was more than just gel coat cracks and could be a potentially expensive repair. After all, we do pay them for their expertise. My major lesson learned is to be very careful when chosing a surveyor and to always be present (even if it means a 1500 mile flight) for an out of the water survey. Has anyone ever had a similar experience or and thoughts they might like to share. Chris Gratham Monsun 31 Patience Vancouver, BC