Survey Botch?

[Drhoppy]

Hello All:

I'm new to this site and, hopefully, will be a first time sailboat owner. I'm in the process of buying a 2000 Hunter 260. It has the swing keel, water ballast and wheel steering. The sale is pending it passing a survey.

So the survey was done yesterday and while discussing the results with the surveyor, I asked about the water ballast system. After a long pause, he said 'this boat doesn't have a water ballast system'. Now, I know I'm not the "expert" here, but shouldn't a surveyor know something about the model he's inspecting? So far as I know, the water ballast system was standard on this model, right? Granted, the ballast tank in this model (as I gather from the owner's manual I was able to download myself) is integral to the hull and not visible, but the controls are.

My question is, should I be concerned about the accuracy of the rest of the inspection report, or just give him a pass on this?

 

[justsomeguy]

Was the boat pulled out of the water for your survey?

 

[Drhoppy]

Yes. It was thawed out indoors for a few days on the trailer prior to the inspection.

 

[justsomeguy]

How is the water allowed to enter/exit the ballast chamber?

Can you tell that I'm not familiar with this boat?

 

[Drhoppy]

The schematic from the owner's manual shows a gasketed plunger on the bottom of the hull just below the companionway. The air intake and plunger control is directly behind the companionway step and the tank is located below the cabin sole.

 

[Joe A]

Unbelievable... Who chose the surveyor you or the seller?

 

[Drhoppy]

I did. Certified from BoatUS.

 

[Jeff]

The controls for my 1996 H26 were hidden under the bottom companionway step. The wooden step flips open to reveal the tank vent and large wing nut to open and close the water inlet. I assume the same is true for this boat. The tank is completely hidden as you say. The only evidence would be the water inlet located under the same companionway step area on the bottom of the hull. I would want to verify that the tank isn't compromised in any way before buying the boat. That should have been a major inspection point for the surveyor on this boat.

 

[justsomeguy]

I did. Certified from BoatUS.

Ouch for BoatUS.

 

[Drhoppy]

Jeff, that sounds like the same setup from what I see in the manual. I didn't see it myself when I looked the boat over, but I'm not the professional. I hired a surveyor to find problems I couldn't or wouldn't.

I'm thinking I should ask him to redo that portion of the inspection to make sure the tank is intact. It would require quite a long drive for him and a loss of time, but that is what I paid for, right?

 

[BigEasy]

Possible suggestions are to contact Hunter customer service and provide them with year, model, & Hull ID # to determine if indeed this boat has a water ballast keel. If it does,
ask about maintenance issues etc. Also, check on the Hunter Owner's site for information regarding potential problems with the water ballast system, if your prospective boat is water ballasted. Also, you can speak to managers at some of your local boat yards to determine if they have experienced failures & repairs on these keels. If you confirm a water ballast keel thru Hunter, I would have surveyor reinspect at no additional cost to you. Who knows, perhaps there were some keel alternatives for this particular model. Obviously you are serious about this boat since you had it surveyed; I would do some due diligence to determine exactly what kind of keel it has.

 

[gettinthere]

I've dealt with 2 boat us surveyors. Not impressed with either...at all.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

I would consider demanding that he return to perform the necessary inspection on his dime. If he hasn't been paid yet, he will probably be perfectly willing to comply, seeing that he should be pretty embarrassed for the oversight. I think it is somewhat understandable, and I wouldn't necessarily use the oversight as judgment on the rest of the survey. He may simply not be familiar with this boat having never run across one before.

 

[Drhoppy]

They required payment in advance, Scott. As you said, I don't want to be too harsh on the guy, but definitely feel I didn't get everything I paid for . . . yet. This is why I'm not naming names. I'll see what he'll do for me.

 

[YVRguy]

Frankly I think you're entitled to request a total re-do by a surveyor who is familiar with that model.

 

[Ron20324]

I can't envision water ballast and a swing keel, but maybe it's there?

 

[BigEasy]

If this boat does have a water ballast keel, I wouldn't hesitate to ask him to redo the survey.
Of course, it is questionable if he knows anything about the system. Also, I wonder how many surveyors would be familiar with the Hunter system???

With respect to Boat US surveyors. I hired one in South Carolina to have my pre purchase survey done. He was very knowledgeable and pointed out many things that I would have probably not noticed initially, such as chafing of water hoses in the engine cooling circuits.
He also climbed the mast and inspected all of the mast head & rigging. Very thorough inspection; I was very satisfied with the survey.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Get in touch with Crazy Dave Condon (sp?) on this site. He KNOWS.

 

[Scott B]

I can't envision water ballast and a swing keel, but maybe it's there?

Owner's manual shows water ballast and a centreboard.


http://www.marlow-hunter.com/export/Owners-Manuals/240 260 Owner's Manual.pdf

 

[centerline]

I can't envision water ballast and a swing keel, but maybe it's there?

what some people call a swing keel may actually be a centerboard... but its possible there could be a weighted keel installed as well


and.. its understandable that not all surveyors can know everything about every boat ever made, but I think any surveyor worthy of the title would at least visit the internet to familiarize themselves with the boat they are getting ready to survey....