Flipper - update & not good news

[alec]

Great sympathy with your situation.

Difficult to offer any further constructive ideas.

Just a thought, how about buying a cheap boat for around £1500, there are loads around. You have the mooring and a full season in front of you . You could still keep sailing and have some fun till everything is sorted out !

It is likely to be a small boat, but you are in a great position to enjoy the Colne and Blackwater . And we may even get a summer this year !

Wishing you better luck in the future.

 

[michael_w]

I've been in the same boat.

My Albin Ballad was mortally wounded when the mast step failed. This allowed the bulkheads to tear away from the hull and the keel to start flapping about.

Looking at her dispassionately, the only real way she could be repaired was to be placed in the original mould and the deck removed. The original mould was destroyed years ago...

I sold her as a repair project for £ 5,000. She had £7,000 worth of sails onboard. The new cruising main had been used twice. Sad and a considerable monetary loss. I felt that even if she was repaired to an adequete standard, I had lost confidence in her. Deep breath and start again.

My useless surveyor did a runner to the south of France and short of sending heavies round to put forward my point of view there was little that could be achieved. Navigators and General gave me the two fingered salute as far as a claim for "latent defect" and said sue the surveyor. Needless to say they don't insure me now. The recurring theme was "Don't throw good money after bad".

An alternative to sale was to travel to Scandinavia, buy another Ballad, strip all the gear off mine and dispatch the remains to landfill or scuttle at sea.

Get her sold and get a new boat. Do remember to strip her of anything useful, she's a repair project now, not a going concern.

 

[Jomo]

Can't imagine the pain Peter. I know what I would have felt if Limbo had started to fall apart around me.

 

[eastcoastbernie]

Hi Peter

Nothing I can add that others haven't already said.

Really dismal news.

On the plus side, GJW appear to have a very good reputation and, rumour has it, they feel the force of the forum.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that they are as helpful and co-operative as they are said to be.

Good luck!

 

[Gargleblaster]

Having had stress cracks repaired in my keel, I think I know how you feel. It is amazing what a forgiving substance fibreglass is when placed in the hands of a professional. Your problems can be ground out and new fibreglass laid that will probably end up stronger than the original.

I made the mistake after mine was done of saying 'I couldn't see where all the money had gone', even though it cost me just under £1000. The professional firbreglasser was asked by a friend of mine 'whether his work would be good enough for my first Atlantic crossing in Glayva'. His reply was to the effect of that it would not be his work that failed.
Talk to a professional fibreglasser that someone else recommends to you as a quality workman, I'm sure he can cheer you up.

As someone said there are plenty of cheap fibreglass boats around. I saw a Halcyon 27 that had belonged to a Youth Sailing Trust [so probably in pretty good nick] passed in on Ebay recently without a bid at £4,950. Just the thing for a Jester Challenge with her long keel and folkboat lines. I had trouble not bidding on her but I know what my wife would say if I end up with too many boats again so I managed to curb my enthusiasm.

 

[tillergirl]

It's hard to find the words but I hope it helps to recount a TG tale.

Quite a few years ago, it was obvious that I needed to replace the teak deck. When I bought her, I was aware that the caulking needed doing but after repeated attempts to get the decks water tight, it was clear that something more serious was afoot. So off came the decks and I was faced with replacing the gunn'les, some half beams, a large part of the beam shelf (serious structural stuff) and some frames. All at exactly this time of year when everybody was throwing off their jumpers and passage plans were being made. The thought of all the work depressed me; the cost of it terrified me and the loss of a season's sailing just made it all worse.

As she was, she was worth pretty well nothing. However, I had a thought about it overnight - well the following week - and came to the conclusion that if I did the repairs aided where necessary with professional help at least in the end I would come out of it with something. So I got my mind into the frame where I expected no sailing for the season. I got the yard to sort me out a summer space where I could do the work conveniently and just started away at it.

In the event, it turned out to be quite a magical summer. Yes, I had to turn away from all our chums having fun. But as work progressed it became pleasurable rather than a duty. There was great satisfaction in getting her sorted out, perhaps in some parts better than original. There was a sense of achievement as I learnt new skills - scarfing three 14' x 14" planks for a new gunn'le each side; improving on little details of design; learning to ben serious bits of wood. SWMBO and I even had a two week holiday (one of our best) in the deckless boat under the tapaulin in the yard.

And the result. Well something better than I had bought. The replacement decks saved her life, there is no doubt about that and I now know everything about her. I am, of course, bonded to her in some juvenile way but the year out was worth it. Not perhaps in financial terms but in other ways that people might scoff at when they see their boat as the latest this or that. You have had Flipper for 6 years? That says something about her suitability to you. I have the same feeling with TG. She isn't fast nor close winded but I know lots about her and have confidence in my ability to do most sensible things with her and for her to look after us. And that's worth retaining. It's where the pleasure is.

My experience with legal solutions is that it just makes the lawyers richer and the client bitterer. It's not for me to make suggestions in that area, nor indeed to encourage you into financial suicide. But I would like to suggest that a major renovation does has its up sides.

 

[wingdiver]

Just a quick note to say how sad this news is.
It may look better after a couple of days once you know the full options.
There are too many tales of boats being surveyed and when there is a major problem no-one being culpable and the poor owner being left hanging. It is really time this sort of thing was tightened up maybe with some kind of bond system or compulsory professional indemnity insurance before marine insurers will accept someones survey.
Not sure if it helps, but you may find one of your other (home) insurance policies or even bank cards has legal cover associated with it that could pay for some solicitors fees or other costs.

 

[ditchcrawler]

Sorry to hear your bad news.I hope you get support from your insurers.You may remember you bought the Delta from me.

 

[Jezlyn]

Peter, having been there and seen and heard what Colin had to say my heart goes out to you. It must be devastating to hear that your pride and joy is in such a sorry state. Colin is superb and you made the right choice of asking him to look at Flipper. As a friend it would have been very painful to deliver such bad news. It is said that GRP boat is beyond repair if you have the will and the money to do it, the money being the main issue, and it is a daunting project for the DIYer. Good luck with whatever decision you make. I am sure that you will be back on the water soon, even if its just painted naval grey!

 

[pyrojames]

Really sorry to hear that. I would find it soul destroying to have that reported to me about my boat. If you feel the need for a sail, drop me a line.

 

[Mariner69]

I am sorry to hear that, in addition to the problems with the yacht, the surveyor is not insured.

I work for a maritime survey company (not touting for business as we don't touch yachts under USD 1M and made of steel) and we are obliged to carry professional indemnity insurance for our benefit and that of our clients; surveyors do make mistakes from time to time.

I don't know where you learnt that he is uninsured but it might be worth following up since you have a claim which is not going to be cheap.

The surveyor is likely to own a house, car or other tangible assets which you can claim against. I also worked in the law and insurance so if you want to PM me for (free) advice, please feel free.

Why would I assist? Because the professional surveyors like myself and others have to pay in excess of GBP 6,000 per annum to ensure we, and by extension our clients, have adequate insurance cover. We are too expensive for yachties but we still face competition for business from those without the insurance overheads undercutting us.

 

[moondancer]

Peter,

As others have said - terrible news.

You might want to think about the third option that John mentioned. A freelance GRP expert, and there are a few on the East Coast, woud be much cheaper than a boatyard and might be a realistic proposition.

Certainly worth a try. Can PM you the name of someone who has done work for me if you want.

Brian

 

[Jezlyn]

Re: Flipper - update & not good news

I beleive that the services of the surveyor in question are relatively inexpensive, and this is why he gets a lot of work. He is certainly not a member of the IIMS nor I believe a member of the YDSA (at least he doesn't advertise the fact). A pre-requisite of membership of either organisation is the holding of PI insurance.