Holding tanks: Most sellers make sure the holding tanks are completely empty and flushed to minimize odour. There is not time on a survey to fill these tanks and make sure the system properly empties them. Heads can be tested, macerator pumps can be turned on to verify power up, but the end-to-end system can rarely be tested. Note: overboard systems are usually not tested on surveys since the vessels are almost always within the three mile limit. During the survey of a new 46’ boat the holding tanks were empty during the survey, so it was verified that macerator pumps ran and seacocks and ‘Y’ valves worked. Later while on the initial voyage, we found that once the tanks were full, the macerators didn’t pump overboard, they were failing under load.
Leaking Tanks (fuel, water, holding): Detecting a leak in a tank can be a surprising challenge. Most often, the undersides of tanks are not visible or accessible. The best that can be done is to inspect the bilges and holds for signs of leaks. Example situations are:
• The tank is empty. Surveyors do not run around and fill water, fuel and holding tanks. They have what they have when they arrive. • The leak is on the top of the tank, and/or above the current fluid level in the tank. This leak won’t be found until the tank is filled. • The leak is in an inaccessible location and too small at survey time for the fluid to migrate to a visible location. If the vessel hasn’t really been sailed in a long time, and you then take it right out on a 1,000 mile voyage home, that small leak may now work open to a larger one.
• The leak was small and “quick” patched by the seller to stop the leak short term, so no leaking during survey. Then you start sailing the boat and the fix fails and the leak reveals itself.
This is why we note things like: stainless steel tanks have a life span of 20 years. If we’re surveying a boat with older stainless tanks, we’re going to note that, beyond any leaks we may have found, the buyer should monitor and be ready to replace those tanks sooner rather than later. This is also an area where we see the intrinsic build quality of the vessel makes a difference. The higher quality vessels have tanks that are problem free for much longer
periods. While we have seen boats built to the “low cost market point” have tanks already leaking after only four years.
Outboards: When possible, we will start the outboard on our surveys. However, it is almost never possible to run them under load (eg actually run around the marina in the dinghy) and never possible to run them for any length of time. There have been times when the outboard started ok on the survey, but some weeks later, when tried for the first time by the buyer, it wouldn’t stay running. Luckily, outboards are rather simple machines and if they’ll start on the survey, any additional repairs are usually minor and it doesn’t take much work to get them operational again. If the vessel is a power boat driven by large outboard(s) then we always direct the buyer to have an engine survey done by an outboard mechanic certified on those engines.
Corrosion: A good Surveyor will spot any clearly visible corroded parts and get a sense for the overall level of corrosion on a vessel. However, we surveyed one 1996 boat that had sat with no attention for two years in Florida. We noted to the buyers where we saw minor corrosion on wiring and some fittings and, that due to the vessel’s age, they would likely find more as they started to use her. Some of the hose clamps looked fine, but as noted above, a Surveyor may feel a clamp by hand, but we don’t (generally) put tools on things. As the new owners of the 1996 vessel started tightening hose clamps, that visually looked fine, many of the screws started to break off the clamps from corrosion. On a 39’ sailboat that we surveyed, the overall corrosion level was minor, and the engine space hose clamps looked okay. About eight days into a 19 day trip from the West Coast of Florida to the Chesapeake Bay, we were doing our regular log checks of bilges, engines, etc and found water trickling into the bilge. When we checked the engine, we found the hose clamp holding the engine intake hose to the siphon loop had failed and popped off, this hose joint was the source of the water trickle. A quick replacement with a new clamp solved the problem. Even when you’ve had a great survey, bring proper spares and do regular checks, especially on the first voyage.
THE REPORT | MAR 2024 | ISSUE 107 | 69
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