And so it begins....

[5teve]

Well Survey has been completed... and I havent got the reports yet..

Basics are

Engines -

Pass the low orbit test - not much blowby but blowby consistent with the age / use of the engines
Port engine runs hotter than the starboard - 4 deg cooling - 15 deg combustion (measured on manifold)
one engine sits higher than the other - see note later..
Genset has slight water weep - owner was aware as he couldnt get the correct seal at the time.
other than that - very little smoke apart from for 10 secs of very light - light grey smoke on startup - no apparent smoke under full chat.
Revs topped out at 2900rpm - so maybe a little under propped as I think 2800 is the max? Boat hasnt been out of the water for a good 18-24 months but the bum was very clean.. (it had been dived a week or 2 before)

Hull inspection

No general concern about the cracked internal mouldings.. apparently easy but awkward to fix..
Hull is in generally good condition - no blisters - few cosmetic gel coat cracks - few fasteners need replacing due to rust (probably used 304stst)
Underside is good - but was noted that the p brackets have probably been damaged in the past due to 'new' glasswork inside and build up on the outside. Apparently in Perth there are 2 types of boats - those that have hit the reef and those that are going to. - We think this explains the difference in engine heights - as chances are they had to adjust the height to realign the shafts once repair was done.

Everything else was pretty much good - no major concerns and they have seen far worse.

Also noticed that the front aircon works - but the newer saloon system doesnt - The fan kicks in briefly - starts to cool and then fan stops with a burning type smell (so I am told) its a cruisair system and SMX controller

Its also a huge boat out of the water! to me anyway

Few more pics have been added to the end of https://goo.gl/photos/NDweBvjRJHWwWQFB8

Steve

 

[ph321]

Sounds like the results are about as expected. In the photos it looks like it needs a good detail and a few maintenance items sorted and it will be good to go. I wouldn't be looking to add pitch to the props, better to be slightly underpropped than over. Were the rpms based on the original guages? Not sure how trustworthy they are.

Have you finalised the deal now?

Paul

 

[5teve]

From my point of view i think the results were better than expected... especially the very unfussed opinion of the cracked internal glasswork. I was surprised the underside was so 'clean' for want of a better description.

My thoughts are with yours on the over proppedness.. i can alway back the throttles off, but I cant unload the engine if its over propped. It was also running fairly unloaded - about 200l of fuel - probably the same of water also. Adding all our cr@p to it filling it up with 1200l of diesel and 400l of water and having the black water semi full also (maybe 300l? cant find the specs) i'm sure the revs will come down a fair way.. it also gives me some head room for any weed growth - Yes they were original gauges..

It does need a good polish, the underside blasting and re-antifouling and a heavy duty clean on the inside and deck - it would be useable pretty straight away.. but would plan to lift in the near future and get all the hull work done and glass work if I had time. With the genset running I could probably do the glass prep outside the marina and drop back in once the dusty stuff is done!

Oh and carpets - they would have to go straight away!

Not done the deal yet waiting for reports to come through - as the owner is a friend of a friend we have direct access to the boat and negotiation.. survey was done by us based on no offer being made - just a good chat about what we wanted etc. The owner is a very straight forward honest kind of bloke. I'm very keen - my wife is worried about how much of a time pit it will be..

Steve

 

[ph321]

There is probably a fair bit of time involved in getting the things you want done finished but once it's up to standard it shouldn't be too bad. A friend had a similar era Riviera 32 with twin 6BTs and the ongoing maintenance requirements were fairly quick & simple compared with a lot of newer boats. Having said that there is plenty of truth to the "hole in the water / BOAT Break Out Another Thousand" sayings with a boat of this size.

Paul