Anyone got any tips on what to look at when buying a fibreglass yacht on a swing mooring

Do not buy it off a swing mooring without the vessel being slipped, either at the vendor's expence or your's no matter how cheap the vessel is being offered.

That is not an order, just my advice. But then again, they (who are "they") say that advice is only worth what you pay for it.

This one comes for free so it is obviously worth nothing. You pays your money and you takes your chances. Good Luck Sunshine.

dkturnbull said...

Anyone got any tips on what to look at when buying a fibreglass yacht on a swing mooring

Are you looking at buying the mooring as well as the boat. Is the boat simply a mooring minder or is it being sold as a "viable" boat. If you are buying a mooring with mooring minder then you can work out its "value" to you without going to the expense of survey and slip etc. If you assume the worst and are prepared to purchase in that condition then you can save yourself some dollars. If you think you are looking at a viable boat then you probably need to do a fair amount of research into its true value and condition by way of survey etc.

I have a slightly different approach , bit ol' school but might help.

Firstly have you found the "lady" your hearts set on?
Inquire how long since she was last slipped , and also some history on the boat.

Are you able to get her out of the water for an inspection/survey? My advice would be to at least inspect under the waterline weither it be via slipping or grab ur mask , a torch and a paint scraper and jump over the side - Basicaly looking for porosity holes in the hull.
Does she take on water?

Like frant and Ramona said - do as much reaserch as possible - speak to people.

Cause at the end of the day its your coin and you want to be armed with facts and knowledge about what your buying.

K

SandS said...


if you want to buy the mooring as well as the yacht , get the mooring surveyed as well as the yacht

Not so sure about everyone advising you to rushing into survey so quickly. eg When buying a mooring you are basically buying the "licence". The actual hardware will make up a very small amount of the purchase price. You can ask the vendor for the maintenance history on the mooring and base your offer on what you think it is worth based on its "real estate" value, licence value and hardware value. If the chain is "brand spanking new" you might add your offer as being subject to adjustment following a dive inspection based on rectifying discovered defects. But don't fork out for a diver before all of this if your nay or yea to purchase depends on how rusty the chain is.

Similar for boat purchase. I don't think any vendor will slip a vessel and allow a survey unless a deposit and sale price has been agreed subject to adjustment/full deposit refund on survey results. You have to do the leg work long before thinking about a survey. The vendor/broker should describe the condition of the vessel and include a full inventory of items included in the sale. YOU should make sure that things are as described and according to the inventory. YOU must then work out how much it is worth to you based on comparable boats etc and how this compares with the vendors asking price. You should know from studying Trade-A-Boat and Boatpoint etc the full market history for the last 12 months. This will allow you to make an offer subject to survey which you will pay for! If the vendor has said that the engine is seized and the boat sold "as you see it" then you don't stand much chance of of price adjustment and you might even have trouble getting your deposit back as the surveyor hasn't discovered anything that was not disclosed by the vendor prior to your offer. Basically don't buy a piece of junk expecting it to be a hidden jewel if you are going to be disappointed with a piece of junk.

Havent negotiated a price yet still doing research on boat it is the crossfire in my pics. engine seized and insides need a tidy up and some ropes replaced.

will the trailer still suit it as it has a fixed keel and is 26 feet long and how well would it handle the ocean

dkturnbull said...

will the trailer still suit it as it has a fixed keel and is 26 feet long and how well would it handle the ocean

I thought you were referring to the Crossfire 20. These were built in fairly large numbers. I don't know anything about the 26. Looks like a scaled up 20 though with a pop up cabin. Looks like it has a high aspect ratio keel, fractional rig and is basically a harbour racer. What is the beam? The one advertised is an attractive boat though the inside is a mess but all there.

The trailer I have is for my 26 foot yacht which is fixed keel and almost 10 foot wide. Its not for road transport, just to travel the short distance to my place from the ramp for anti fouling etc.

Richiefish said...

If you're paying full price get a survey.(usually little more than an osmosis check on small grp boats) Surveyors dont inspect motors or rigging.Usually they just tap around and look busy to justify thier outrageous charges. But then they have a disclaimer saying they are not responsible. In fact I think surveyors now call this kind of thing a "pre purchase inspection"...For a big savings bargin you could try a "as is where is" offer. Good luck.

I think a survey for a vessel under 10 grand a waste and would not even consider it for a 50 grand vessel. As you mention, very little is covered by a survey. The owner would want at least a deposit to allow a surveyor near his boat, especially with a hammer on a GRP boat.

Best bet is a nit picking mate with no financial interest and stars in his eyes.

Ramona said...

Richiefish said...

If you're paying full price get a survey.(usually little more than an osmosis check on small grp boats) Surveyors dont inspect motors or rigging.Usually they just tap around and look busy to justify thier outrageous charges. But then they have a disclaimer saying they are not responsible. In fact I think surveyors now call this kind of thing a "pre purchase inspection"...For a big savings bargin you could try a "as is where is" offer. Good luck.

I think a survey for a vessel under 10 grand a waste and would not even consider it for a 50 grand vessel. As you mention, very little is covered by a survey. The owner would want at least a deposit to allow a surveyor near his boat, especially with a hammer on a GRP boat.

Best bet is a nit picking mate with no financial interest and stars in his eyes.

no survey on a 50 grand boat? i am not a shipwright and if i was going to part with 50 big ones then 1000 is pretty cheap. if you asked the owner if they minded if you had a survey then they said yes they did mind then i would be looking for another boat.

cisco said...

sleek1 said...
no survey on a 50 grand boat? i am not a shipwright and if i was going to part with 50 big ones then 1000 is pretty cheap.

A survey for $1,000 is cheap but who does them for that price??

For an experienced yacht owner/buyer, a survey is generally a waste of money except for the purposes of valuation for insurance.

That is where the rub comes in.

Surveyors are a sore spot for me. 26 years of annual surveys, minimum costs of $1,000. Dealing with idiots. First 10 years or so they used to work in pairs to reduce the violent incidents. Insurance surveys are different, when I had insurance in the early eighties I paid 2 grand for a survey that consisted of a bloke drinking a cup of coffee in the wheelhouse!

Mooring surveys however are worth the bother. Local boating authorities will have a list of recognised "experts".

The boat is sound and a lot of money has been spent on her, The mast however has snapped a few years ago and has been welded, the owner was told that a weld would be "ok" but it is not, Call Whale spars and ask how much a replacement stick will cost before you lay down your cash.

cisco said...

Ramona said...
Surveyors are a sore spot for me. 26 years of annual surveys, minimum costs of $1,000. Dealing with idiots. First 10 years or so they used to work in pairs to reduce the violent incidents. Insurance surveys are different, when I had insurance in the early eighties I paid 2 grand for a survey that consisted of a bloke drinking a cup of coffee in the wheelhouse!

Mooring surveys however are worth the bother. Local boating authorities will have a list of recognised "experts".

You have got that right re surveys Ramona.

Re the mooring survey I also concur. It is my understanding that even if someone picks your mooring up illegally, if it fails and there is property damage or loss, the registered holder of the mooring can be held legally liable for the loss.

It seems to be a ridiculous idea but that is what was being said around Cairns some years ago when I had a Marine Parks Permit that included two mooring permits.

But are you talking about a "condition" survey to determine whether you are going to purchase the mooring (IMO a waste of money) or an inspection and maintenance work on the mooring you have just purchased and which should form part of your ongoing maintenance.

all i did was get the details re moorings from the local authority (nsw at the time).
Also i dont know why all these stories of bad surveys are coming out. mr lees did mine in brisvegas, and he was brilliant. spent hours on it, checked every nook and cranny, and was a reasonable price, with a report about 15 pages long!
the sailing fraternity is fairly close knit and a little bit of a chat to a few locals got the best guys almost every time.