Squirt1877
New Member
Hi everyone,
My first post. Have stalked this forum from a distance previously but now find myself need some assistance on a potential boat purchase.
I am seeking advice prior to going ahead with the purchase of a Fairline Targa 37.
It is an ex med boat, having spent 16 years of its 17 year life in the med. As with any boat that has spent significant time in the med the hull could do with some attention cosmetically (bit of sun damage and a few bumps and scrapes) and the cockpit cushions have seen better days. I expect some can be cleaned but some will need to be replaced.
The teak has been ruined by some sort of previous chemical treatment and over scrubbing so will require replacing. I am happy with going down the Flexi teak route to save on future maintenance but I am unsure if prices for Flexi teak fitting include deck preparation, would anyone know what costs might be involved in removing old teak and prepping the cockpit and swim platform?
It is fitted with Volvo's KAD44 engines on outdrives. Records show props and one drive were replaced 3 years ago - in absence of facts available, is it sensible to assume due to an under water collision or could this be down to a galvanic corrosion issue? I am thinking it is possible but would guess that both drives would be replaced if this was the case. Further only 8 months ago there is a separate invoice for 4 new propellers and the mechanic states "The propellers have all suffered from galvanic corrosion and it is our recommendation to replace both sets of propellers with the J-Series propellers". This second observation has been made after the vessel was moved from the med to the UK. There is then an invoice for a drive inspection with a report showing that the drives were in poor condition and bare aluminium was showing in places. The mechanic scraped the worst of the corrosion and flaky paint off, lightly sanded then treated with anti-rust, lacquer and antifoul.
Having seen the vessel today, the paint on the drives is very flaky again. Is this indicative that there could be an issue with the boat when connected to shore power? i.e. there is an earth problem and there could be damage to the internals.
It is currently out of the water so I have been unable to trial at sea however there is a note to say one engine suffers from a squeaky belt. Could this be more complicated than expected, perhaps supercharger related? I lack experience of these engines (always had petrol previously). Appreciate a sea trial is the only way to be sure.
I have also noticed from the most recent service notes that there was a leak suspected to be from the port engine oil cooler. Does anyone have experience of costs involved in replacing an oil cooler, should that be the course of action that is required?
A lot of people have warned me to have the exhaust manifolds checked out before purchase and ideally they should have been replaced around 10 year old or 1,000 hours. I cannot see a record of this having been done ever and the boat is well past 10 years old and has over 1,200 hours on her. What would peoples approach be to this?
It has been used as a charter boat previously but unsure if its ticket is still valid. Its part 1 expired earlier this year. Does anyone know how to establish if the vessel is still coded and what finance maybe outstanding on it, if any? In my experience vessels are commonly on the Part 1 register when finance has been used to purchase the vessel.
In the service history it was noted that the engine pulleys were badly corroded and required replacement. Any ideas what cost would be involved here?
To end on a cheery note the saloon has recently had new cushions and carpet, it could be a lovely vessel and it is ideal for what my family is after.
Look forward to hearing advice from you all.
Thanks in advance.
My first post. Have stalked this forum from a distance previously but now find myself need some assistance on a potential boat purchase.
I am seeking advice prior to going ahead with the purchase of a Fairline Targa 37.
It is an ex med boat, having spent 16 years of its 17 year life in the med. As with any boat that has spent significant time in the med the hull could do with some attention cosmetically (bit of sun damage and a few bumps and scrapes) and the cockpit cushions have seen better days. I expect some can be cleaned but some will need to be replaced.
The teak has been ruined by some sort of previous chemical treatment and over scrubbing so will require replacing. I am happy with going down the Flexi teak route to save on future maintenance but I am unsure if prices for Flexi teak fitting include deck preparation, would anyone know what costs might be involved in removing old teak and prepping the cockpit and swim platform?
It is fitted with Volvo's KAD44 engines on outdrives. Records show props and one drive were replaced 3 years ago - in absence of facts available, is it sensible to assume due to an under water collision or could this be down to a galvanic corrosion issue? I am thinking it is possible but would guess that both drives would be replaced if this was the case. Further only 8 months ago there is a separate invoice for 4 new propellers and the mechanic states "The propellers have all suffered from galvanic corrosion and it is our recommendation to replace both sets of propellers with the J-Series propellers". This second observation has been made after the vessel was moved from the med to the UK. There is then an invoice for a drive inspection with a report showing that the drives were in poor condition and bare aluminium was showing in places. The mechanic scraped the worst of the corrosion and flaky paint off, lightly sanded then treated with anti-rust, lacquer and antifoul.
Having seen the vessel today, the paint on the drives is very flaky again. Is this indicative that there could be an issue with the boat when connected to shore power? i.e. there is an earth problem and there could be damage to the internals.
It is currently out of the water so I have been unable to trial at sea however there is a note to say one engine suffers from a squeaky belt. Could this be more complicated than expected, perhaps supercharger related? I lack experience of these engines (always had petrol previously). Appreciate a sea trial is the only way to be sure.
I have also noticed from the most recent service notes that there was a leak suspected to be from the port engine oil cooler. Does anyone have experience of costs involved in replacing an oil cooler, should that be the course of action that is required?
A lot of people have warned me to have the exhaust manifolds checked out before purchase and ideally they should have been replaced around 10 year old or 1,000 hours. I cannot see a record of this having been done ever and the boat is well past 10 years old and has over 1,200 hours on her. What would peoples approach be to this?
It has been used as a charter boat previously but unsure if its ticket is still valid. Its part 1 expired earlier this year. Does anyone know how to establish if the vessel is still coded and what finance maybe outstanding on it, if any? In my experience vessels are commonly on the Part 1 register when finance has been used to purchase the vessel.
In the service history it was noted that the engine pulleys were badly corroded and required replacement. Any ideas what cost would be involved here?
To end on a cheery note the saloon has recently had new cushions and carpet, it could be a lovely vessel and it is ideal for what my family is after.
Look forward to hearing advice from you all.
Thanks in advance.
