I am seriously considering a 1977 Catalina 27 with the dinette-version interior. To my eye, the hull seems great; the upper section has the normal dings and dents. Different marine surveyors I have called have told me a wide variety of things to be be concerned about for with boats of this vintage (in particular with aging of the core). Anyone have some experience with this kind of boat NOT passing a survey for insurability? If so, are there options for getting the seller to do the repairs necessary to get the boat to be able to pass a survey? I am buying the boat for pleasure crusing only (no racing) and for light use (8-10 sail trips /season). Thanks!
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Don't let the Previous Owner Do it...
Have the boat surveyed, then discount necessary repairs from the purchase price. This way, you can be sure that all repair work is done properly by a marine mechanic (or by yourself if you are handy). I did this with my 1979 Catalina. It surveyed fine, but some items needed fixing and they were dedcuted from the final price. Saved some money this way. Best Regards, Rob
Have the boat surveyed, then discount necessary repairs from the purchase price. This way, you can be sure that all repair work is done properly by a marine mechanic (or by yourself if you are handy). I did this with my 1979 Catalina. It surveyed fine, but some items needed fixing and they were dedcuted from the final price. Saved some money this way. Best Regards, Rob
Problems
I did not have my boat surveyed before buying her. I bought/borrowed several DYI survey books and made a checklist. Of course there's no way I was near as thorough as a real surveyor but it was ok for my purposes. I have had absolutely no problems in getting insurance for my boat. I WOULD recommend hiring the services of a surveyor though. Some things to look for: coring - wet coring can/will lead to rot, a HUGE problem - all deck hardware should be rebedded; chainplates - if they haven't been upgraded to the Ubolt, they should; rigging - if it's original, it's probably in need of replacement; bulkheads - the upper chainplates are attached and usually are rotten due to leakage - they'll also possibly need to be replaced; spreader brackets - if they're the original aluminum, they should ALSO be replaced cuz of sudden and catastrophic failure; through-hulls - I believe Catalina was still using the volcano method for their thru-hulls at this point - they should be replaced with proper thru-hulls; engine - I have an outboard so someone else should be able to give you better advice here. Those are some of the basics. But don't let this list overwhelm or depress you - you can take these repairs in stages. Besides, that just spreads out the outlay of moolah!
LaDonna PS: I have a '73 and absolutely love it!
I did not have my boat surveyed before buying her. I bought/borrowed several DYI survey books and made a checklist. Of course there's no way I was near as thorough as a real surveyor but it was ok for my purposes. I have had absolutely no problems in getting insurance for my boat. I WOULD recommend hiring the services of a surveyor though. Some things to look for: coring - wet coring can/will lead to rot, a HUGE problem - all deck hardware should be rebedded; chainplates - if they haven't been upgraded to the Ubolt, they should; rigging - if it's original, it's probably in need of replacement; bulkheads - the upper chainplates are attached and usually are rotten due to leakage - they'll also possibly need to be replaced; spreader brackets - if they're the original aluminum, they should ALSO be replaced cuz of sudden and catastrophic failure; through-hulls - I believe Catalina was still using the volcano method for their thru-hulls at this point - they should be replaced with proper thru-hulls; engine - I have an outboard so someone else should be able to give you better advice here. Those are some of the basics. But don't let this list overwhelm or depress you - you can take these repairs in stages. Besides, that just spreads out the outlay of moolah!
LaDonna PS: I have a '73 and absolutely love it!My survey experience
I just went through getting an older C27, and I got lots of help from this site. I had a '78 tall rig all picked out, but when I got the survey done, it turned out that there was lots of delamination of the deck, and the bulkheads were rotten. The latter is not a big deal, but the former is a massive job to fix right, if possinble, and the surveyor said that the boat would never get insured as it was. I got out of that deal, and found an '82 that got though the survey with only the demand of the replacement of wasted keel nuts, which the owner did at his expense (also replaced the fuel pump ditto). The surveys are not cheap, but considering the aternative, they look pretty good! I am really enjoying my new boat- hope you will the doing the same soon! Good luck.
I just went through getting an older C27, and I got lots of help from this site. I had a '78 tall rig all picked out, but when I got the survey done, it turned out that there was lots of delamination of the deck, and the bulkheads were rotten. The latter is not a big deal, but the former is a massive job to fix right, if possinble, and the surveyor said that the boat would never get insured as it was. I got out of that deal, and found an '82 that got though the survey with only the demand of the replacement of wasted keel nuts, which the owner did at his expense (also replaced the fuel pump ditto). The surveys are not cheap, but considering the aternative, they look pretty good! I am really enjoying my new boat- hope you will the doing the same soon! Good luck.
moisture meter rental
I'm considering purchasing a 1977 Catalina 27. I went to see the boat last week. There are no blisters on the hull and the deck has no cracks or stress marks around the stanchions. The boat has been out of the water for 2 years and there was water in the storage compartments under the port setee. I assume this was coming from the chainplates? Would you recommend a boat of this age and what is it worth? Also is it possible to rent a moisture meter and where?
I'm considering purchasing a 1977 Catalina 27. I went to see the boat last week. There are no blisters on the hull and the deck has no cracks or stress marks around the stanchions. The boat has been out of the water for 2 years and there was water in the storage compartments under the port setee. I assume this was coming from the chainplates? Would you recommend a boat of this age and what is it worth? Also is it possible to rent a moisture meter and where?
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