Survey done, what to do?

ralph s3

New Member
Joined
10 May 2021
Messages
21
Visit site
Hi All,

I have a had a survey done on a boat with KAD32 engines and Volvo 290 DPE drives. A couple of items are causing me concern and I thought I would ask the forum.

Both legs need a full service and new anodes which I assume would be about £1,000. However, there were a couple of other items noted.

1. The starboard drive shims are missing from the intermediate housing and the pivot pin bush is missing. I assume these could be replaced during the service but If the boat has been used without the shims in place could this have done any further damage to the drive?
2. Apparently the port side drive is very quiet in forward & reverse and a cone may be required. I assume this could be addressed while the drives are being serviced but any idea how much extra this might add to the standard service?

Thanks Ralph
 
If it were me I'd take the engineers report back to the seller and get them to address the issues as part of the sale.
Or get them to discount the sale price to reflect the extra costs involved in making the repairs you've highlighted.
 
"get them" or walk away!
we had a similar situation total bill was over £7k fortunately this and other work was covered by the reduced prize but hindsight would have preferred not to have had all the hassle
 
Hi All,

I have a had a survey done on a boat with KAD32 engines and Volvo 290 DPE drives. A couple of items are causing me concern and I thought I would ask the forum.

Both legs need a full service and new anodes which I assume would be about £1,000. However, there were a couple of other items noted.

1. The starboard drive shims are missing from the intermediate housing and the pivot pin bush is missing. I assume these could be replaced during the service but If the boat has been used without the shims in place could this have done any further damage to the drive?
2. Apparently the port side drive is very quiet in forward & reverse and a cone may be required. I assume this could be addressed while the drives are being serviced but any idea how much extra this might add to the standard service?

Thanks Ralph
I think your surveyor is getting mixed up with this model of drive compared to the earlier model drive , this has come up before same yard same surveyor.

Trim pin bush the white plastic one , service item no problem.
Cone clutch is part of a drive rebuild , more than a service item .

sorry I couldn’t make your original request to survey the engines and drives ,m you probably wouldn’t be on here asking these questions as your surveyor should really be giving you the correct information, it’s what you have paid him for .
 
I would suggest asking the seller to service and carry out any repairs to the satisfaction of an independent engineer then complete the sale for the agreed price. If the seller disagrees walk away.
You obviously like the boat and will 'loose' your survey fee, but that is why you commissioned the survey. Walking away will avoid subsequent problems getting the work done and checked even if the price is reduced and may cause the seller to reconsider.
 
Many boats in certain areas have been Surveyed many times by the same Surveyors. With the Survey I was given from the Previous owners which was only about 2 years old it talked about the Windlas not working (The boat had not got one) It talked about one engine running hotter than the other (There was only one Engine) and several other non relevant points. When I walked around the same yard I saw an S32 that had been for sale for a long time (I was buying a little S24) When I read my boat survey again I realised that it was an edit of the S32 Survey and a very poor edit at that.

I am not saying that all surveys are as bad as the one I was given but I do feel that you need to read them with a level of scepticism.

On my S24 with the same KAD32 and Stern Drive (One only of course :) ) I had similar work to what you might need including a service and the Price was on the order of £3,500 incl VAT. That was on the Norfolk Broads where things like that can be significantly cheaper however

Hope this helps
 
I would suggest asking the seller to service and carry out any repairs to the satisfaction of an independent engineer then complete the sale for the agreed price. If the seller disagrees walk away.
You obviously like the boat and will 'loose' your survey fee, but that is why you commissioned the survey. Walking away will avoid subsequent problems getting the work done and checked even if the price is reduced and may cause the seller to reconsider.

I do not disagree with what you have said but in the UK boats are selling in no time and using a process much like one would use buying a second hand car. It is a Sellers Market at the moment
 
Looking back at an invoice I had for a new clutch cone and it appears to have been a few hours labour and £350 or so for the parts (cone and dog). That was part of a drive service that included new bellows, etc.
 
Many boats in certain areas have been Surveyed many times by the same Surveyors. With the Survey I was given from the Previous owners which was only about 2 years old it talked about the Windlas not working (The boat had not got one) It talked about one engine running hotter than the other (There was only one Engine) and several other non relevant points. When I walked around the same yard I saw an S32 that had been for sale for a long time (I was buying a little S24) When I read my boat survey again I realised that it was an edit of the S32 Survey and a very poor edit at that.

I am not saying that all surveys are as bad as the one I was given but I do feel that you need to read them with a level of scepticism.

On my S24 with the same KAD32 and Stern Drive (One only of course :) ) I had similar work to what you might need including a service and the Price was on the order of £3,500 incl VAT. That was on the Norfolk Broads where things like that can be significantly cheaper however

Hope this helps
£3500 for a single engine and drive service with a replacement clutch is a lot.
 
£3500 for a single engine and drive service with a replacement clutch is a lot.

That was a couple of years ago and I think that also included the engine service and other work on the Drive. At the time I thought it was not too bad given the sort of numbers I offton hear on here. Maybe I was had who knows :mad:
 
Many boats in certain areas have been Surveyed many times by the same Surveyors. With the Survey I was given from the Previous owners which was only about 2 years old it talked about the Windlas not working (The boat had not got one) It talked about one engine running hotter than the other (There was only one Engine) and several other non relevant points. When I walked around the same yard I saw an S32 that had been for sale for a long time (I was buying a little S24) When I read my boat survey again I realised that it was an edit of the S32 Survey and a very poor edit at that.

I am not saying that all surveys are as bad as the one I was given but I do feel that you need to read them with a level of scepticism.

On my S24 with the same KAD32 and Stern Drive (One only of course :) ) I had similar work to what you might need including a service and the Price was on the order of £3,500 incl VAT. That was on the Norfolk Broads where things like that can be significantly cheaper however

Hope this helps

what’s an S32?
 
Top