<STRONG>attached mail follows:</STRONG><HR><P> Want photo's? Go glass unless money is not an issue. I would really be worried about the hull. I have never seen one of those barrier coat jobs that actually fixed the problem. Boats seem to either blister or not. My 1977 has NO blisters. NONE. I went through a lot of boats finding her. I don't want to scare you but I spent $9,000+ on surveys before I found a boat. Here is what I learned: 1) Pre-survey the boat yourself. This will require old clothes, a flash light, notepad, and four hours. 2) Looks for problems and decide on whether the last owner was detail-oriented and non-cheap on maintenance. That engine should be covered in fairly new replacement parts (last two-three seasons) like exhaust risers, hoses, and belts. If they fail this test stop at this point. $1800 saved. 3) If you got this far go of a sea trial of one hour plus. Operate everything repeatedly. Make a list of everything that does not work. How's the motor? Estimate the repair costs. Multiply by four. 4) If you are not scared off yet, do a short haul. ($200). Spend 60-90 minutes on the bottom. PUSH! Does it flex? blisters under paint? All scraped up? How is the prop? Perfect? How is the cutlas bearing? Does the shaft wiggle? (You hope not) Are the Zinc's fresh? 5) Have your wife look at it... Does she like it? If you pass all the above tests THEN hire a surveyor! Using this method you can pre-survey 8-10 boats for less than the cost of the one boat you just went through. Be careful with you boat you are looking at. Major hull repairs are very serious and expensive business. It is really tough to operate a boat without a hull and there is no telling what will pop up once it is ripped open. If you go for it, I would suggest getting a repair estimate and marking down the price of the boat 2-4 the cost of the repair estimate. Once they rip open the hull they will find other things. Cut no corners on the repairs. Don't have the present owner fix it for you. They will likely be too interested in keeping costs down, not about the likelihood of the hull lasting another 20 years. Hope I have helped and that you do not think I am paranoid. Charles Bell Owings Mills, MD ----- Original Message ----- From: <JE1449@aol.com> To: <trawler-world-list@samurai.com> Sent: Thursday, August 05, 1999 9:17 PM Subject: teak decks & a wet bottom > Hello out there: > > I just surveyed an 1988 albin 36; $702.00 for the Surveyor, $600.00 for the > engine guy and $252.00 for the boat yard, I can't do this too often!!! > > The bottom of the hull was wet: 16 on a scale of 1 to 25. The Surveyor said > this was "manageable" if she is out of the water 1/2 of the year to dry out, > probably won't get any worse. > > The expected deck issues; raised planks to be re-fastened and that allof the > caulking should be "reefed" and "re-payed" as he called it. > > My thoughts are as follows: > > Wet bottom: I think she should be peeled, dryed, expoxied and barrier > coated, what do you think? > > Teak Deck: I think the teak should be taken up, the fastener holes grinded > and filled, expoxied and then install treadmaster, rather than non-skidding > the deck. > Do you thinkthat the treadmaster is too hard on bare feet, etc...? > > The surveyor reccommended reefing , refastening where needed and re-paying. > I'm concerned that this is a temporary fix, and that if I am going todo it, I > should do it right and get rid of the teak, although I love it, it seems that > the initial beauty is over come by the heart ache of maintenance and > deterioration . > > Thanks in advance, > > JE >