Putting an offer on a Sealine, how low to go?

Neil1300r said:
Tuesday for sea trial with VG. Deposit obviously still fully refundable at this stage
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While on the subject of low ! Assume air draft at Windsor etc is not a problem ?

Did manage to get a Fairline Brava 37 under bridge with a fixed radar arch but with all the stainless stuff removed , seem to recall we may have gone under and come out the other side with a streak of bridge coloured paint on arch.
The only other bridge to come a cropper was Hammersmith, when a radio aerial might have lost the top 12 inches.
Amazing what you can do with Gaffa tape.
 
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oldgit said:
While on the subject of low ! Assume air draft at Windsor etc is not a problem ?

Did manage to get a Fairline Brava 37 under bridge with a fixed radar arch but with all the stainless stuff removed , seem to recall we may have gone under and come out the other side with a streak of bridge coloured paint on arch.
The only other bridge to come a cropper was Hammersmith, when a radio aerial might have lost the top 12 inches.
Amazing what you can do with Gaffa tape.
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Not even a problem at Cookham Lock Cut Bridge. Although could be interesting the first time. Can fold the spotlight down and aerials. One of the advantages of a sports cruiser over a flybridge. Should be OK up to Abingdon.. I may resort to a piece of bamboo tied to the pulpit the first time on some of the lower bridges, just for peace of mind.
 
Neil1300r said:
Thanks for the offer of help, having looked at your old boat I may be contacting you about the dashboard modifications and cockpit upholstery.
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I covered the upgrade to the dash here

Other options such as vinyl wrap are a lot less expensive but the original needs to be in good condition, which ours wasn’t!
.
 
Survey done.
Osmosis!
Everywhere, except the transom
And other issues, including one that requires one of the engines to come out to fix - VolvoPaul doing a great job as usual and spotting a problem not seen by other engineers
Weekend off, not looking at adverts / other boats. Both feeling depressed ( well not that depressed, we are aware its first World problems)
 
Let me guess on the engine, either very rusty oil sump or exhaust horn.

The osmosis thing ... high moisture readings in a hull aren't necessarily a bad thing unless there are blisters all over the place. The boat is just a bit heavier 🙃
Any boat kept on fresh water for a long time is likely to absorb water.
Salty water, less so.
 
Neil1300r said:
Survey done.
Osmosis!
Everywhere, except the transom
And other issues, including one that requires one of the engines to come out to fix - VolvoPaul doing a great job as usual and spotting a problem not seen by other engineers
Weekend off, not looking at adverts / other boats. Both feeling depressed ( well not that depressed, we are aware its first World problems)
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Just get out there and look...your next boat is out there somewhere , it may not be what you first thought you wanted, a case of weeding out the dross, the tired and the stuff being unloaded due a seller having had enough and looking to unload his money pit onto the next mug.
Good chance the next shiney boat will have you thinking whats lurking under the surface and wondering £££££££
Whats the chances that seller was totally unaware of that osmosis or am I being a suspicous old git..... :)
 
Neil1300r said:
Survey done.
Osmosis!
Everywhere, except the transom
And other issues, including one that requires one of the engines to come out to fix - VolvoPaul doing a great job as usual and spotting a problem not seen by other engineers
Weekend off, not looking at adverts / other boats. Both feeling depressed ( well not that depressed, we are aware its first World problems)
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That's a shame, it looked a tidy boat in the video - you can probably find some osmosis on most older boats somewhere, but "everywhere" sounds like more of an issue.
 
Grumpydev said:
That's a shame, it looked a tidy boat in the video - you can probably find some osmosis on most older boats somewhere, but "everywhere" sounds like more of an issue.
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Cosmetically it looked better in the flesh than the video. We fell in love with her, which made the survey results worse. Been advised to try and find a boat that has spent all its time in saltwater. Apparently fresh water significantly increases the risk of Osmosis. The boat whilst being at Hythe only moved there last year from The Thames
 
I was quite surprised to hear that an S34 has osmosis problems, not something that I have heard of before now.

The good news is that a lot of S34s were built so if that is the boat you like another will crop up.
 
Neil1300r said:
Cosmetically it looked better in the flesh than the video. We fell in love with her, which made the survey results worse. Been advised to try and find a boat that has spent all its time in saltwater. Apparently fresh water significantly increases the risk of Osmosis. The boat whilst being at Hythe only moved there last year from The Thames
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Yeah, thankfully ours has always (to my knowledge) been in sea water - there's a couple of little finger nail sized blisters on one side, but that's it.

I imagine running the engines constantly pootling at river speeds won't be too great for them either.
 
Greg2 said:
I was quite surprised to hear that an S34 has osmosis problems, not something that I have heard of before now.

The good news is that a lot of S34s were built so if that is the boat you like another will crop up.
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Second Sealine we've found with it in 3 months. Luckily we only paid for a survey on one of them. The other was a S37. Both spent all or a significant proportion of the life in warm fresh water - The Thames
 
So, what happens to these boats now? Spend time ashore to dry out, drill out the blisters and eventually fill with epoxy? Or does it have to be a very expensive gel coat peel? Or, just leave it and get on with enjoying it and hope a new buyer does not insist on a survey. Pity the poor owners what a dilemma.
 
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Grumpydev said:
Yeah, thankfully ours has always (to my knowledge) been in sea water - there's a couple of little finger nail sized blisters on one side, but that's it.

I imagine running the engines constantly pootling at river speeds won't be too great for them either.
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Am I right in thinking these blisters COULD be no more than air trapped between the matting and the GRP?
 
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