Off to the Med

[c_j]

Well Majorca actually, but only Thursday28th Friday and back Saturday to have a look at a few T48's.

Is there a meeting of the Forum in Majorca during this period?

Chris

CJ
chris@stone.uk.com

www.stone.uk.com

 

[tcm]

No meetings in Majorca planned this year, tho maybe Italy a week or so later and southern France next year.

Anyway, tellus about these t48s. Specifically, tellus the boat names and we may able to shed some light. Or, given the experience hereabouts, light some shed.

 

[c_j]

Cool Runnings
Coral
Storm Shadow
and AN other which I do not have the name for yet.

CJ
chris@stone.uk.com

www.stone.uk.com

 

[tcm]

The tcm Majorcan T48-hunting Companion

Don't know the boats in detail. here though is a useful guidelet.

This is for a slightly-more-detailed t48 test (once you feel you have found a niceish one in terms of colour etc). I have assumed this is dealer-sold boat, likely for overseas/med boat.

Take: a music cd, and (if poss) a handheld gps. CD is more important.

Price Note: of course, as you will know, until the UK goes even further down the toilet, these boats are popular, with already two on the forum looking actively it seems. So, there won’t be any utter giveaway bargains. Best colours for canvas top is blue, other colours go manky too quickly, and this not a matter of taste imho. Best resale with blue hull, but this more a matter of taste of course. Inside options show best light and airiness with cream berber carpet, and leather sofa, with blue upholstery and stad gloss cherry. Majorca a good place to buy imho: no damp problems like in uk, and better and more willing support from british types for fixing than in france, it seems imho.

Preliminary
Book lunch/dinner at Purto Portals, Bismarque restruant, tel 971 67 72 25, looks a fortune but isn’t. Proceed to check out the boat(s).

First.
Once on board, in the outside cockpit, find how to adjust height of cockpit table. Pull lever and push the thing very far down and leave it there to see where it is when you get back up.
On the way down, check there is water in tank on dash meter – this needs keys in dash.
Down below, turn all elec. connections on. In kitchen , turn on hot water tap: if hot, they have already run the engines a bit: run off the hot water, only 11 gals won’t take five minutes, when goes cold turn off and later can check if hot water element works.
Saloon table: using the adjusty thing, push the saloon table down if it has adjustment for same check as cockpit table above.
Find the airco in saloon and main cabin (separate units) . These sometimes work as a fan, but soundas though they are working fine . So, turn to very very cold (if it’s a hot day) or very very hot (if it’s cold). When feels hot/cold during inspection, change temp to opposite. Check each area has reached f hot and f cold, before switching, and should be noticeable in side five/ten mins, just okay for a 20 min poke around. Check the outlet vents themselves: the mdf type can go all cracked with constant use, and look crap, not critical but worth putting on his spares list rather than ££ later.

Fwd cabin
Bedside lamps shd be on short arms for later models : early models had long flexy arms which nod down and burn bedsheets if left on.
Mattresses: option is sprung, highly desirable, far better than foam.
Doors: they are a bit interconnecty: standard overwinter problem is if afloat they clatter against each other and scrap off the varnish, requiring er clever sort-of stripe thing along the doors to hide the scrape. Check fit, lock and bend (if any) of the doors: a right bugger if these don’t shut.

Bogs.
Shower cubicle perspex should spin nicely, not be too clunky.
Teak shower trays sometime go bendy but can be sanded down. For gods sake don’t liftem as it takes ages to gettem back down. Or, lift them and leave salesman to refit it while you move on.
There’s no grey water tank, and water from showers sinks exhaust straight to outside. Check out pump: fill sink (in loo without struggling salesman) with water using plug. When all quiet, let out water: the humming noise of pump from under master cabin noise should be there and then water coming out. If no noise, means filter blocked and wet lazarette. Access to shower pump lazarrette is under carpet, under forward end of saloon, not a job for quickie inspection tho, and that is all that is in that little section.
The porthole hatch inners, esp in the showers where more damp air, can go rusty just around the lower edges, and looks nasty. Probly won’t fallof for 20 years tho.
Badly fitted WC’s are shown by blackening teak around the bases, not a DIY job.
The rusty bog screw in loo seat are cos they are not stainless, easily replaced.
Electric bog switches should buzz very happily, the same noise in each, and working fine even though it can wake up anyone at night. Screaming means there’s a metal summink down there trying to be macerated.
The metal venetian blinds in bogs are not marinised, so metal parts are ornery metal, so if check these work and aren’t rusty. Not a fortune to replace tho.

Throughout:
Cracked or tarnished stuck-on mirrors are a right bugger to replace. Get them to do this as the salesman will think it dead easy, whereas you have to find mirror shop, get big car etc etc.
All the light switch surrounds are v lightly “black-chromed” and not very marinised which can go rusty and getting spares takes months.

Common for hot water element to fail. I had four. As soon as hot water is all run off, turn off the tap, and let it heat up. 11ish gals of water in hotwater tank should noticeably warm up fairly quickly. Running off the hot water first is cos they’ll have run up the engines and that heats the water anyway.

Saloon:
Curvy showers are sealed with silicon. In the saloon, have a good grope of the carpet around the curvy bits on outside of showers, to check if it is damp. Good sales bodge is to hide wiffy carpet with luxury overcarpet (nice option to have actually) , nice on the feet and good for hiding massive red wine stains, coffee accidents etc. er unless the spills are on the overcarpet in which case the overcarpet wil have been stashed, so if no overcaarpet in evidence ask if there’s an overcarpet, and bet that it is manky if bollox explanation like the owner likes to keep it nice, so ask to see it and factor in.

Companionway door can be a bit sticky, but regular silicon spray sorts it out: it shouldn’t be very light: but companionways door is plastic and can go crazed. The inside lock of the door needs to work: otherwise feels iffy sleeping behind unlocked doors at night for London types anyway, get shown how to work it: the lock on the companionway door should be set unlocked, then manual lock works inside, but this isn’t often explained which results in screwdriver attacks on inside.

If there’s an overcarpet, in saloon, lift it to find lazarette. Inside it should be dry at the bottom. Holding tank (a plus) if any will be hiding half the volume of this lazarrette. Shouldn’t a be monster bog pong, a bit seems standard, and should be clean and dry. The macerator switch on dash can be checked whilst this lazarette is open

There should be covers for the sink and hob, unless they’ve been dropped, in which case the Avonite ones snap in half, so standard on later is non-matching plastic covers. There’s no drain hole (or too small) in the little clever storage place for these covers at the side, so have a look down there. Note that only weeny small plates can fit in the plate storage: nothing you can do bout this.

Now check if saloon table gas strut has gently risen up, which if it has, means it is effed. In any case (as part of deal, and this will cost him nothing) ask to swap the crap flimsy standard t48 saloon table which has stupid flaps, for a nice fixed rectangular table from a phantom, eg from a phantom 43 etc. which means you can eat downstairs if massively hot or cold upstairs, and rest elbows. Ask to see the table on a phantom anyway. Then, let the idea sink in. The big table in a phantom 38, for example, is ace for a 48 but too big on a 38 so a swap might be not too difficult to agree.

Rear cabins.
Check again if mattresses are foam or sprung. Sprung costs an extra 1000 quid all round from fairline, worth having. Ask how much the upgrade if possible, or expect less comfy nights. Curtains are best in dark material, if not check for mildewiness.

The bed surrounds, which go around each bed, can fall off, cos crap self tappers hold them on. Not a massive job but much easier if you find it now so they do it. Test them by wobbling the surrounds. Don’t sit onnem too hard cos that will bustem even when new.

Interesting test of useage is under the companionways stairs. Many never find the little hatch under lowest stair, nor laundry bins under the next two stairs up, needs a strong pull under second to lowest stair cos the gluey self adhesive foam hold it firmly shut.



Outside.
The cleats are sited badly on t48, so just outside the cleats the ropes rubb the grp. Stainless steel rubbing strake bits for the ropes to rub on instead of grp show a loved boat as they are not standard even an option, but a later Good Idea.

The blue hull discolouring problem is only really noticeable at the rear, where blue faces sunwards. If you are okay about this bit, rest is likely ok, damage permitting.

Windows wipers and especially windows washers are dead easy to stand on and get busted.

Sunpads can look greeby, fairly cheap material, easy to dryclean tho or replace.

Opertion of hydraulic rear hatch and of passarelle is best checked at least twice: “ooh show us how it works” and the “ooh let me have a go” is one way to get two shots unless it’s an okay guy.

3-4 years is all it takes for enthusiastic boat cleaner to wear through the teak veneer on the swim platform.

Get price to replace if plywood base is starting to show, cos it soon starts to get a bit splintery underfoot.
If going out, check anchor up/down. Water over decks can spoil the relay which is up front, not in engineroom. The foot switches often fail too.

In the cockpit icebox, check the cooler is getting cold, should be able to nearly freeze things, early ones were useless.

Best barbecue option is retrofitted with a washable tray, not the sexy but quickbreaking black-glass dietrcih non-marininsed thing.

Likewise best passarelle is retrofitted, as fairline options are ££ and worse backup.

At sea.
If the broker has taken down all the bimini for a sea trial, it will look better and sound very quiet. Standard med running is to keep bimini up all the time. Canvas zips etc should be okay on just second hand boat, 96-97 will need replacing if not already done.

With ropes off, can check wear on grp around the cleats, can even go right thru gelcoat.

Should be nothing much to worry at sea. Pilot should be able to get boat in out smartly, easy handling boat.

Open boat with no dedicated dashboard cover means check all instruments work very carefully, of course, incl radar and gps AND rear cockpit speakers (that’s what your cd is for).

Ask if chartplotter chip if exists is inlcuded, otherwise 100-200 quid and bad feelings as I’m sure it was there when we went on seatrial….

Correct water temp when warmed boat is around 83degreesC, definitely under 90.

Even weedy engines should crack 32 knots or more on v flat day, but with a lot of diesel/water/ barnacles, 28 knots tops is okay. Note this speed consumes twice the diesel than 22knots, but what the heck at seatrial anyway. Full accelration should be grinny, enough to threaten throw anyone on swim platform off.

Price: you will forget this once paid of course. Good backup and (most important) a berth somewhere as part of the deal (you have to pay, but he find the space) , unless you have this sorted. It's standard to expect 10k off, unless totally fabulous. Charles Keily at cala d'or is a good chap. Steve the threatening looking boxer/biker at santa ponsa is a bit more ducky and divey. But all have peters behind them, and sort most things.

After lunch/dinner you will know that the right place to ask for a berth if staying in Majorca is Puerto Portals.

 

[EME]

Re: The tcm Majorcan T48-hunting Companion

Could you just knock a test script up for a S/hawk 48 as well please.? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<font color=blue>I am WHAT I say I am</font color=blue>

 

[c_j]

Re: The tcm Majorcan T48-hunting Companion

~Thank you so much for that, I was already armed with your first draft anyway but the only problem I have now is that I have only allowed two days! All of the boats are year 2000.

Thanks again,

I will report back next week.

CJ
chris@stone.uk.com

www.stone.uk.com

 

[JohnR]

You mean that I will be in the bar at the Club de Mar all on my own. Leaving on Friday to get away from the grey gloom for 10 days, then back for Christmas, the LBS then back again to Mallorca. What a lousy rotten life.

 

[tcm]

Re: cool runnings

i have definitely seen this boat somewhere, the rubbish name is impossible to miss. Sure it is 2000? Was it in south of france?

 

[whisper]

Re: The tcm Majorcan T48-hunting Companion

Good Grief !! You must be The Dealer's Nightmare - where on earth did you learn all of these wrinkles from and/or for how long did you have this model of boat? You ought to take on the role of inspecting all forumee's potential boat purchases. It would be an interesting job but unfortunately, with this lot, you are most unlikely to receive a living wage.

 

[tcm]

Re: aha right

word on the street is that Cool Runnings has been in south of france for a while, now in Majorca.

Perhaps the resale prices in cote d'azur are totally crap with hundreds of potential buyers now offering far lower than asking price? But in fact this phenomenon is entirely due to Learner researching the spreadsheet...

 

[jfm]

C-J:
I'll be in Golfe Juan, Monday, for the day, if you can stop by!

TCM: Fab survey guide. It will now be bootlegged around the 'net and all S.Coast Fairliney surveyor types will use it! One thing to add. The headlinings below are the usual vinyl over 4mm plywood. Each year Fairline tried different things to hold em up. Mostly velcro, or variants on velcro. Many experiments failed, sometimes becos the velcro was too weak and sometimes it was strong but it peeled off the plywood becos the self-adhesive was crappo. So, check the headlining isn't coming off, and if it is (a) ask em to fix it and (b) check the 12v lights becos the headlining is held up by them when it falls down, and busts the wires

The Phantom table is a good tip. As a spare part from F'line, a cherry P43 saloon table top (without the leg) is £850!

 

[tcm]

nightmare customer

umm i had it for nearly five years. I just fixed up the boat as it went wrong, which ws quite often I suppose. Now, i am causing nightmares for another manufacturer but who at least does seem to be able to hack it. For example, the white chairs on new boat have gone a teensy bit paint cracked around the joints. Solution: new teak chairs with varnish, not paint.

 

[Guest]

Re: The tcm Majorcan T48-hunting Companion

Take you two days to digest TCM copious notes I reckon. What knowledge that man has and what time to spare, think I'll quiz him when looking for my new boat.

"The Med has got me" (no not the Medway the other Med)

 

[c_j]

Re: cool runnings

There are apparantly a couple of T48's called this, Surprising I thought until I was walking around Cobbs at Poole and what do I see, a boat called Cool Runnings! (not a T48)

It obviously means something that I am not aware of.

CJ
chris@stone.uk.com

www.stone.uk.com