Joining you soon (fingers crosse

[enterprise]

I would say that your survey would be average to good for a boat 20+ years old, structure of boat fine, bolted on bits showing wear and tear.
I would take some of the slight jobs like extinguisher and gas hose out of date, plus the VHF u/s etc on the chin and concentrate on reducing the mechanical problems highlighted.

First I would ask the vendor if they wished to have the repairs done on your behalf,however insist on having replacement parts and not workshop repairs to the originals, if they decline then have a couple of estimates drawn up from local repair shops, make a reduced offer using the estimates as reason, by making a wildly reduced offer might sound good to you but if it's way more than the repairs the vendor will think your just taking the --ss.

 

[NeilT]

Didn't mean to give the impression that the offer wouldn't be realistic just mustn't get caught up in the moment and wear the rose tinted specs.
Have spent the whole afternoon on the phone getting prices and options and have been working out what I NEED fixed to use the boat as I figure that will be better received than "fix the lot"
As you say I don't need VHF on the Thames so I've ignored things like that.

Plus on a fair number of the jobs I only took parts prices into account as I'm more than capable of fitting/sorting it myself and I will get to learn the boat much better that way.

 

[NeilT]

Well it seems it wasn't ment to be - the seller didnt like my offer although the broker thought it fair in the light of the survey.
So the search continues.
Thanks again for all the wise words.
N

 

[apollo]

Well it seems it wasn't ment to be - the seller didnt like my offer although the broker thought it fair in the light of the survey.
So the search continues.
Thanks again for all the wise words.
N

..then the seller is a fool, let him pay another year's mooring fee.

There are plenty of boats for sale, widen your search.

 

[NeilT]

Thats exactly my attitude - we have had the 'learning curve' now and to be honest although I'm out of pocket for the lift and survey it was well worth it not to make a huge mistake on this one!
Fairly relaxed about the whole episode because when I do arrive at Bray I want to come out and play not be stuck on the pontoon with every spanner I own for company.

 

[No Regrets]

The trouble is with neglected Boats, all a survey ever shows is the tip of the iceberg!

The following few years will see all kinds of nasties appearing, all which you end up paying for! There's usually enough of those on decent vessels without added excitement...

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

The trouble is with neglected Boats, all a survey ever shows is the tip of the iceberg!

The following few years will see all kinds of nasties appearing, all which you end up paying for! There's usually enough of those on decent vessels without added excitement...

No lie bwana, but we still love our boat! Latest discovery is that adjusting the starboard stern gland either requires a special spanner due to space, or someone with differently functioning elbow joints than myself.