Just had my offer accepted on a Hunter 340! Now the real work begins to complete the survey! partial haul out, and sea trial. Please share your experiences with things to be sure to look for with the professional surveyor. This will be my first boat purchase so I’m very excited and anxious at the same time. Thanks
New “possible owner” of 2001 Hunter 340
- Thread starter doccjt
- Start date
A lot rides on the ability and knowledge of your surveyor, particularly for a new boat owner. Choose wisely.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,176
Welcome to the SBO forum. Exciting times. Try to keep a critical eye on the boat during the survey. You will be living with all that is revealed and some things that will pop up later ( missed on the survey). Leave the rose colored glasses at home. You are looking at the boat for what it is not. If it lives up to your needs and expectations, you will have plenty of time to enjoy.
Welcome!
Put your attention into selecting a good surveyor. When we bought our boat, I was too inexperienced to see much with a critical eye!
Also, be very clear about what the surveyor excludes from his inspection - many will exclude the engine, for instance. Then you can decide whether to employ a second expert, or test and take the risk yourself.
Good luck with your new boat! We have chartered the 340, and really enjoyed it.
Put your attention into selecting a good surveyor. When we bought our boat, I was too inexperienced to see much with a critical eye!
Also, be very clear about what the surveyor excludes from his inspection - many will exclude the engine, for instance. Then you can decide whether to employ a second expert, or test and take the risk yourself.
Good luck with your new boat! We have chartered the 340, and really enjoyed it.
I have a '96 336 (which has the same hull mold). There are a few things I would keep my eye on on the 340, just off the top of my head:
good luck
- Rudder play - check how much the rudder moves around when you move it forward/backwards and side/side
- Wet rudder - blisters on the rudder or it holding water
- Hull blisters
- Keel crack at keel to hull joint
- check for play in the cutlass bearing
- Tank sensors - these usually fail and are easy to replace.
good luck
If you can, establish a dialogue with the certified marine surveyor before they begin, then walk around with him asking lots of questions. Have him verbalize any concerns and then follow-up with him once. he has produced his written report. The report should list each item of concern and whether or what should be done before and after the sale is consummated. You can use these items as a condition of sale. In our case there were three frozen through hull valves that I insisted be replaced by the owner before the sale was finalized. The rest of the issues were minor and I decided to repair them myself after the sale closed.
Terry's right.
While he is doing the survey. BE THERE. YOU must be there. YOU. With the surveyor.
Get the drift?
Take notes yourself, too. Photos help.Good luck, nice boat.
One other point. During our survey it took a bit of prodding with our surveyor. I had my list of all the systems aboard our boat and I wanted to make sure each one was checked. Most surveyors focus on boat integrity; anything that might cause the hull to fail, such as though hulls, core rot, etc.. They seem less concerned with unrelated systems. I made sure that each system was checked, requiring extra effort, including the most important, the anchoring system:
1. Why won't the freezer get cold? Turns out it was low on refrigerant; an easy fix.
2. Why won't the main cabin heat pump come on? We had to dig to locate the unit only to find that it was missing. Well, it was in the shop being repaired because the PO ran the unit with the through hull closed causing it to freeze up.
Just two of several examples that were checked during our survey. That was in March 2002. Since then we have sailed Belle-Vie thousands of miles all over PNW waters with no regrets. To this day I make sure to stay on top of all the systems to keep them in good working order.
1. Why won't the freezer get cold? Turns out it was low on refrigerant; an easy fix.
2. Why won't the main cabin heat pump come on? We had to dig to locate the unit only to find that it was missing. Well, it was in the shop being repaired because the PO ran the unit with the through hull closed causing it to freeze up.
Just two of several examples that were checked during our survey. That was in March 2002. Since then we have sailed Belle-Vie thousands of miles all over PNW waters with no regrets. To this day I make sure to stay on top of all the systems to keep them in good working order.
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Look in archives on the Hunter 340 under Jim Seamans/Java. He was a guru on that 340. He is deceased now