New sailboat owner!

[Blueskies]

Dear Squadron,

I certainly agree with the comments on good ground tackle, the rule I go by is twice the hull length chain, and enough rode for at least 8 to one in 20 ft of water.

Don't think the survey cost would have been worthwhile, unless it helps in reducing your insurance costs.

I have never had a problem with my [Origo] alchohol stove or oven. They work fine - with a non pressurized system, you won't have to worry about gas leaks or an explosion. About as complicated as an alchohal lighter. But whatever makes you feel better - you certainly don't want a fire on the water.

Hope you have a lot of fun with your new boat.

 

[petersea]

He has already purchased the boat so at this point a survey is not going to determine if he buys the boat or not. As I read the original post it was more about asking what items to check then advice about getting a survey. Some of the response appear to go a little to left field of the requested answer. At this point a pre purchase survey verse a insurance survey will not check the same things and more then likely the boat will not require an insurance survey if added to a home owner policy or even if separately insured (even if possible) due to value. Some where each buyer will need to determine his or her comfort level in their own ability to inspect something they buy as being good or bad. There is a financial factor that enters here based on how much a person is willing to spend without a third party opinion of fitness. I would not have that particular boat surveyed but rather gone over it with a fine tooth combs myself, looking for any defects. Maybe ask a knowledgeable sailing friend if i had any specific questions (maybe even post the question here in this forum) Some have found out that they know as much or more then the surveyor they hired and Maine Sail's link the pre inspection info would make a reasonable handy person as qualified as a "qualified" surveyor.
In my opionon I would not have had this boat professionaly surveyed.

 

[sailingdog]

I would highly recommend going over the boat using the information in my Boat Inspection Trip Tips thread, which has been mentioned previously. This will give you a fairly decent baseline to figure out what the boat needs done to it.

As for ground tackle, if you're serious about anchoring out, get at least 1.5x the LOA in chain, and then enough nylon rode to make up 200' or so of rode total. On a boat the size of yours, this should allow anchoring in 15-20' of water at about 8:1 scope. Letting out more scope than 8:1 generally doesn't really add much. Get a decent anchor—either a Manson Supreme or a Rocna—as your primary hook.

Don't forget that the anchor is a very useful piece of safety gear, as using it can prevent a problem from turning into a disaster. For instance, if you lose your engine, dropping the anchor can often give you enough time to fix the engine without having to worry about going aground or hitting other boats. If you go aground, deploying the anchor via your dinghy can often prevent it from becoming a hard grounding, and may allow you to kedge off.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I suggest buying a copy of Don Casey's "Inspecting the Aging Sailboat." Since you already own this boat, Casey's book could be of help in discovering anything amiss that you may need to have repaired or replaced by you or a pro. The two boats that I have owned that were (1) "small," (2) relatively inexpensive, and (3) relatively old were boats that I surveyed myself. The key items to get a full understanding of are hull and rig integrity and the reliability of the engine. Good luck with your boat.