Buying a Boat - Water in Bottom?

[Oceania]

Hello All,

I'm a beginner sailor looking for my first boat this summer, and recently looked at a 22' 1977 Oday in New Jersey. The boat appeared to be in decent condition, but I had some concerns that I wanted to address before deciding whether or not to purchase.

There was approximately an inch of water within the bilge compartment, which I think was probably fine (as the boat had just been out for a sail before we arrived). However, there was also about a quarter inch of water in the storage compartments under the starboard and port berths. I wasn't sure if this was normal, or symptomatic of weaknesses in the structure. It's also been raining a fair amount recently, so I'm not sure if the water may have seeped in, but the boat is already in the water so I'm not able to check the boat for soft spots or leaks.

There is also a battery-operated bilge pump, but there's no battery in place (so I know it hasn't been used). The owner was not knowledgeable about sailing or the boat in general, so I wasn't able to get much information out of him, which is part of my concern. Also, the boat was in the water during Hurricane Sandy; the sail cover was ripped during the storm, but the owner claims the boat was fine. The parts we can see seem fine, but I just want to make sure the water I saw in the storage compartments isn't a warning sign.

The owner is asking $2,700 for the boat, which includes a $900 value for the summer slip (no trailer included). Any thoughts on if the water I found is a serious problem? Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,
Oceania

 

[topcat0399]

I recommend you get familiar with the aspects of surveying a boat before you buy - or find someone that is. An owner that is looking to unload a boat won't always be forth coming.

Trust me - I leaned the hard way. Now I know what to look for because I had to fix it all. There is all kinds of internet help available on this subject that I neglected to utilize in advance.

Look at the condition of the sails (expensive to replace).

Take a blunt instrument (like the handle end of a plastic handled screw driver) and knock on the decks EVERYWHERE - above and below. With a little practice you can easily hear whats soaked inside and whats solid.

Use a flashlight and look around inside under and above everywhere you possibly can on the boat. A mirror can help in very tight places. Look for lines where water has been sitting (like bathtub rings).

Wiggle all of the hardware such as stanchions grab rails and such. Walk every inch of the decks and look for soft spots. A soft spot isn't necessarily a war stopper - it depends on where it is and what it supports.

What I'm saying is to go into it with your eyes wide open - not blinded by excitement and romance. Re-coring a bunch of decks is not romantic at all - but might be worth it if you really really like the boat.

It is not at all unusual to have topside leaks in a boat that age - its more of what the cause is and what its going to take to fix it and how willing you are to do the work or pay someone else to do it. A hull leak is one thing and fairly easy to find and fix - topside leaks are insidious - especially if you plan to sleep in the boat for any extended periods (wet sleeping gear always sucks).

I leaned all of this the hard way - when I didn't have to. The information was out there; I just failed to educate myself prior to making out the check.

Anything can be fixed if you have the will. Armed with knowledge I'm sure we would have bought a different boat but - shes ours now and she will probably live to be 100.

Hope you find a boat that suits you - sailing is addictive and even with all of the pain and aggravation and expense we suffered we can't get enough of wind waves and water.

Happy sails.

 

[Erieau]

Re: water under the settees
Water in my bilge tends to run up through drainage holes into the lockers under the settees during hard sailing (heeling puts the bilge water above the lockers), and then doesn't fully drain back down.
How water gets into my bilge in the first place: through the cockpit locker lid. It then drains down under the cabin liner into the bilge.
I live with it.
Check the through-hull under your galley sink for water coming in from below. If that's not leaking, then you're okay. Leaks from above are hardly worth worrying about, as you can fix them at leisure.

 

[Indysailor]

In a hard rain, water overruns the ledges beneath my cockpit locker lid and runs to the bilge.This may be the case or something else. Check the bottoms of the bulkheads for softness and rot, which will indicate more than just occasional leaks. You want to be especially careful about the places where there is hardware coming through the deck such as lifeline stanchions, chainplates, etc. Feel these places from inside the cabin, or douse them with water from above and see if any comes through. These are areas of potential deck rot or in the case of the bulkheads, a future replacement job. Chainplates leaks on these boats are pretty easy to spot due to discoloring of the teak in that area, but probe up near the cabin top as well.

 

[Ward H]

Oceania, Welcome to the O'day Forum.
I think the guys who posted already pretty much got you covered on where and what to look for. One more thing I did not see mentioned was take a small screwdriver and check the bulkheads for soft wood. Do this around the chain plates and at the bottom of the bulk heads to check to rot. Wood that has been wet is not a problem. Soft wood means rot. This is repairable but takes time.

Might sound gross but when I had water in my bilge I took a taste to find out if it was fresh or salt water. Like the others said, a lot of ways for water to enter that is not a big problem as long at the bulkheads are ok. I had some leaks which took a while to find and it would be common to find 2 to 3" in the bilge until I got them fixed.

I looked at a 22 O'day in Forked River. The owner told me he knew nothing about sailboats, just played around with it. Couldn't answer any question about anything. I took that as a warning sign. If he really knew nothing, then the boat was not properly looked after.

Try to look at a few other 22 and 23 O'days to at least compare condition and market price. Having the slip for the summer does add value to the deal but that also means it is a $1900 boat.

Where on the BB will you be sailing out of?

Ward

 

[kpgraci]

Also check the cockpit drain hose. If it leaks it will dump water in the settee area and then into the bilge. It is difficult to access so some have installed an access panel in the transom (cockpit side) to gain access to the drain tube.

$1900 for an Oday 22 in good shape is a fair price, assuming it is in good shape. Oday 22's in excellent condition go for around $2500, while average but sailable ones can be found under $1500.

 

[Oceania]

Thanks

Thanks everyone for your advice, I'll definetly look into the things you mentioned. The guidance will be helpful going forward when I look at other boats as well, so I appreciate it!