BUYING! H34! (my boat thread)

Feb 26, 2009
716
Oday 30 Anchor Yacht Club, Bristol PA
Everything fell into place. broker showed, up surveyor showed, up, pre-inspection went well. It was splashed, we took it for a run! Perfect day for it (Monday August 2nd) everything works, sails nice, points well, GPS, autopilot, refrigeration, air conditioning all work,

At the end of the day, watching the bilge fill & pump about every 2 minutes, owner said it's probably a through hull.
Personally I have my doubts and believe it's the keel joint!

Owner went back that night and worked on. (Like I believe that?) Yesterday I went back to the boat, the bilge still fills up to about 4" in 10 -15 mins, too much for my comfort level!

The soap bottle is holding the float switch down.

So unless they find some magic fix after they pull the boat I'm probably going to walk away from this. Sadly I get to lose a substantial amount for the survey, I'll probably get all my deposit money back, sometimes you just have to cut your losses.
 

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Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Require owner to repair to your satisfaction and inspection. Let him pay to splash the boat again. Reconsider purchase if all checks out?
 
Jan 19, 2010
1,169
Catalina 34 Casco Bay
Share the survey with the owner.. ask him to pay for the survey.. If he won't, it's your prerogative to publish the survey and spread the word long and wide about the boat. The boat's value will plummet. By him reimbursing you, he can now fix and sell with a good conscience. BUT, should he decide to sell the boat without disclosure of the survey, he is setting himself up for a fraud complaint.
 
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Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Sorry to hear.. A bummer to have invested time and energy and dollars and have it fall apart..
 
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Feb 26, 2009
716
Oday 30 Anchor Yacht Club, Bristol PA
Surveyor called me told me not to buy the boat which I kind of already knew.
I am opened minded on the possibility of repairs being made. But at $600 in and out for a boat of this size I don't imagine the owner doing anything.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
It's a shame about the money but if a surveyor tells you not to buy a boat I would take that advice and try to consider the money lost as being well spent to avoid the headache of a boat that has problems.
If it were just a thru hull that should have been discovered in a few minutes.
 
Feb 26, 2009
716
Oday 30 Anchor Yacht Club, Bristol PA
It's a shame about the money but if a surveyor tells you not to buy a boat I would take that advice and try to consider the money lost as being well spent to avoid the headache of a boat that has problems.
If it were just a thru hull that should have been discovered in a few minutes.
Thought I said that lol
 
Sep 30, 2017
69
Hunter 34 Gunpower Neck - Aberdeen, MD
does the owner or the surveyor know the source of the water intrusion? should be very easy to identify, there are only so many sources
 
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Feb 26, 2009
716
Oday 30 Anchor Yacht Club, Bristol PA
It's a shame about the money but if a surveyor tells you not to buy a boat I would take that advice and try to consider the money lost as being well spent to avoid the headache of a boat that has problems.
If it were just a thru hull that should have been discovered in a few minutes.
Easy to say but not so easy find to do on a boat with a grid during a non-invasive survey. I certainly can't be dismantling somebody else's boat so it's a waiting game that yes I've lost some money but the owner stands to never make any money.
I have already stated that I'm ready to walk and not by the boat unless I hear some positive news.

Is it unreasonable ladies and gentlemen to expect a dry bilge in a "old" (1986) Hunter 34??
 

dmax

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Jul 29, 2018
969
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
Is it unreasonable ladies and gentlemen to expect a dry bilge in a "old" (1986) Hunter 34??
Completely dry bilges in old boats are hard to come by - "acceptable" sources of water would be the stuffing box when the engine is running and deck leaks when it is raining. These are fixable and common. Water leaking in when the boat is just sitting there is not acceptable and could sink you boat if the bilge pump fails.
 
Sep 30, 2017
69
Hunter 34 Gunpower Neck - Aberdeen, MD
Easy to say but not so easy find to do on a boat with a grid during a non-invasive survey. I certainly can't be dismantling somebody else's boat so it's a waiting game that yes I've lost some money but the owner stands to never make any money.
I have already stated that I'm ready to walk and not by the boat unless I hear some positive news.

Is it unreasonable ladies and gentlemen to expect a dry bilge in a "old" (1986) Hunter 34??
if the leak is coming in “within” the pan, should be easy to find. keep in mind the H34 has a false bilge. from the photo the current owner has not removed the false bilge ( search forums for pictures of this issue)

did the surveyor check all thru-hulls for water intrusion? tracing that much water back from the bilge to source should be easy to do

where does the boat sit right now? i’d drive there and find the source myself - I love solving problems
 
Feb 26, 2009
716
Oday 30 Anchor Yacht Club, Bristol PA
It has one of those plastic stuffing boxes too survey noted slight misalignment but only drips a little bit one underway doesn't drip when stationary.

When I first looked at the boat and made my offer it was right after a major downpour rainstorm.
The bilge was dry the boat was dry no evidence of any rainwater intrusion. BUT at the end of the day in the morning of the next day the water coming into the bilge seems too clean for Bay water. But it's not for me to test that theory it will be interesting in the next few days to week to see what I hear back
 
Feb 26, 2009
716
Oday 30 Anchor Yacht Club, Bristol PA
if the leak is coming in “within” the pan, should be easy to find. keep in mind the H34 has a false bilge. from the photo the current owner has not removed the false bilge ( search forums for pictures of this issue)

did the surveyor check all thru-hulls for water intrusion? tracing that much water back from the bilge to source should be easy to do

where does the boat sit right now? i’d drive there and find the source myself - I love solving problems
I'm sure you mean well, but you can't be trespassing on somebody's property without permission, we all checked (per my first post) none of us could find any leakage at any of the through hulls, only the owner is saying that, which I don't believe. And the false bilge has been cut open, the ( bottle is obscuring)

it's one of the reasons I made an offer on the boat.
 
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Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Note: the 34 has a Lot of bilge discharge hose volume and a small bilge. If the hose is cracked or the bilge pump check valve is leaking back, the bilge pump will cycle continuously until the hose or valve is repaired. The pump fills the hose and the switch shuts it off. The water leaks back slowly into the bilge and the pump turns back on and the cycle repeats. If the bilge water discharges immediately (stbd side toe rail) as the pump kicks on, then the boat really does have a leak, if no or very little water exits, it is a recycling problem.
 
Aug 10, 2020
29
Hunter 34 Austin, TX
I would walk away. Especially since the surveyor recommended that as well.

Dry bilge in a H34? Absolutely! I replaced the stuffing box with a dripless and my bilge was bone dry.... until I've installed an AC that drains into the bilge :)
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,075
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Not much of a decision - getting insurance for a boat a surveyor failed would be unlikely if not impossible. And since they usually miss stuff, who knows how bad a choice this boat may be.
 
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Sep 30, 2017
69
Hunter 34 Gunpower Neck - Aberdeen, MD
shouldnt the surveyor indicate why the bilge isn’t dry?
did the surveyor check the potable water system?
if the water isn’t bat water perhaps the fresh water system has a small leak

i’m happy to help the owner diagnose this
if the root cause is found and you’re happy with the fix, everyone wins
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Surveyor called me told me not to buy the boat which I kind of already knew.
That is why you paid for the survey. To get a second educated opinion. Any one with a little bit of boat knowledge can look at a boat and form an opinion. "Man I really like the looks of that boat, let's buy it". The Survey is to go beyond the looks of the boat and attempt to identify the workings of the boat, compare the condition of the boat to others that are on the market and to a standard of condition that is safe to use on the water. Then the surveyor renders an opinion. Looks like your opinions are in sync.

Is it unreasonable ladies and gentlemen to expect a dry bilge in a "old" (1986) Hunter 34??
No it is not unreasonable. Some boat owners work hard against mother nature to attain this goal. Others put up with the water and improve the size and capabilities of their bilge pumps, while at the same time looking for the source of leaks and patching them like wack-a-mole.
 
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