Buying a Boat?

Maybe an older one? 

Ah, I know they don’t make them like this anymore!

A proper inspection of a boat is a matter of knowing where to look for the most common problems. A good Marine Surveyor makes it easier to know where to focus. Because many of the issues on older vessels involve rot, corrosion, and/or manufacturers' defects, most therefore are not covered by insurance. Discovering issues early can help you avoid expensive headaches later.

An inspection is no substitute for a marine survey; if you're buying a boat, hire a professional after you've conducted your own checkout. Some tips you can do on your own before bringing in a surveyor follow.

Hull and Deck

The most serious structural issues on runabouts and center consoles are soft transom cores. Water that gets into the transom and can eventually compromise the hull's structural integrity. Professionals use the handle of a screwdriver or a small plastic hammer to tap on the transom to listen for signs of softness, which is something you can do as well. Start at any fitting below the waterline; a healthy ring means a solid core, while a dull thud often signals a soft spot. Stains around poorly bedded fittings, such as transducers or tie-downs, often indicate water slowly leaking out of the transom, another warning sign. If you suspect a problem, contact a professional. The repair is not a job for the average boat owner because it involves removing the affected core from between the fiberglass sandwich.

Decks and floors can also suffer from water intrusion. Leaking fittings, such as railings and cleats, will cause the deck core, either balsa, wood, or foam, to absorb water and delaminate. A delaminated deck feels soft underfoot. Floors often rot around seat bases, where water has leaked past the fittings. Mushiness and wobbly seats can indicate deteriorated plywood in the floor.

Gelcoat and Paint

Gelcoat is a very thin coating over fiberglass (to make it look glossy) and easily cracks wherever excessive flexing occurs, such as on unsupported decks or cabin roofs, or where the boat structure makes a sharp angle — at cockpit corners, for example. Though usually not serious, it can indicate that a "hard point" from an internal structure like a bulkhead is pushing from within and can reveal places in the hull or on deck that have weak supports. Gelcoat cracking in the hull can indicate minor collisions or trailering mishaps, though on lighter-built boats, they are often unavoidable. Crazing on a relatively new boat might call for a professional investigation. It's possible to re-gelcoat bad areas, but the cracking will almost certainly return unless the area is reinforced.

Do Some Research

Before buying a boat, do a little homework and search the available databases by make and model,

It's also a good idea to check the USCG recall database: http://uscgboating.org/links/recalls-and-safety-defects.php If a boat you're looking at (or your own boat) is listed in the database, call the manufacturer with the Hull Identification Number in hand and see if the recall has been addressed. There's no expiration on recalls, and if the work hasn't been completed yet, the manufacturer is obligated to do it.

Marine Surveys

 So you are buying a boat. You think you have a budget in mind, and now you are out attending all the Fall Boat shows. That used boat looks so good and its much less than that brand new one. Well new or not, a survey is a good idea.

Too many complaints to Consumer Protection start with "The seller said that everything worked fine, but when I launched the boat, I found all kinds of problems!" Unless you're looking at a simple, inexpensive boat, hire your own expert to inspect it.

A condition-and-valuation survey is a snapshot of the condition and value of a boat; think of it as an independent document that speaks for the boat. Marine surveyors will check the condition of AC and DC electrical systems, plumbing and thru-hull fittings, deck hardware, propane and fuel systems, steering and controls, and safety equipment. A proper marine survey will be an in-depth written report that evaluates the boat according to U.S. Coast Guard regulations and to American Boat & Yacht Council and National Fire Protection Association standards. A knowledgeable surveyor will also know if a specific make has a history of major problems. A survey is a useful tool for buyers to negotiate a price based on what repairs or upgrades the boat needs. Surveys are sometimes required for insurance and financing, but most buyers should get one even if it's not required — it can easily pay for itself by uncovering potentially expensive repairs, and it gives you a firm value from which to negotiate.

Post-Hurricane Safety Tips

Stay alert for extended rainfall and subsequent flooding even after the hurricane or tropical storm has ended. Continue listening to a NOAA Weather Radio or the local news for the latest updates.

• If you have become separated from your family, use your family communications plan or contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit the American Red Cross Safe and Well site. The American Red Cross also maintains a database to help you find family members. Contact the local American Red Cross chapter where you are staying for information. Do not contact the chapter in the disaster area.
• If you evacuated, return home only when officials say it is safe. If you cannot return home and have immediate housing needs, text SHELTER+ your ZIP code to 43362 (4FEMA) to find the nearest shelter in your area.
• For those who have longer-term housing needs, FEMA offers several types of assistance, including services and grants to help people repair their homes and find replacement housing. Visit the FEMA site to apply for assistance or search for information about housing rental resources.
• Drive only if necessary, and avoid flooded roads and washed-out bridges. If you must go out, watch for fallen objects; downed electrical wires; and weakened walls, bridges, roads, and sidewalks.
• Stay away from loose or dangling power lines and report them immediately to the power company.
• If you had to evacuate or even shelter in place, perform an inspection by walking carefully around the outside your home and checking for loose power lines, gas leaks, and structural damage. If you have any doubts about safety, have your residence inspected by a qualified building inspector or structural engineer.
• Avoid drinking or preparing food with tap water until you are sure it is not contaminated.

Make safety part of your Labor Day weekend plans

The Labor Day holiday weekend is a busy boating weekend. Patrols will be out in force looking for people who are boating while intoxicated and operating in an unsafe manner. In an effort to increase safety, Coast Guard and local officers will be working over the holiday weekend. Boaters are asked to do their part by remaining alert for other boats and swimmers, and being courteous on the water. With more boats on the water, it is even more important to pay attention when operating a vessel.

Remember: If you choose to drink alcohol, don’t operate a vessel. Alcohol consumption slows reaction time. Pay attention to the boats around you and ask your passengers to assist with this. Evasive maneuvers should be made early and deliberately. Check your vessel’s navigation lights before heading out at night, and be sure to have spare bulbs on board. Avoid overloading your boat with too many passengers, and observe day and nighttime speed limits.

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Let there be light!!

Aqualuma Spreader Light 4

Well known in the field of LED underwater lights, Australian manufacturer Aqualuma also manufactures some rather stylish spreader lights. Ideal for use on most boats, the Spreader Light 4 is available with either a flush- or bracket-mount option. The bright white light, rated at 8,000 kelvins, is perfect for illuminating decks and working areas on boats of all sizes. A miserly current draw of less than 1.5 amps means that the lights can be left on for extended periods without fear of draining the battery. The body is constructed of aluminum protected by a very neat powder-coated finish to prevent corrosion. The lens is a scratch-resistant polymer that's super tough and durable

Need Backup?

Simrad HH36 VHF

For the smaller boat, or as a backup to the main unit, having a portable VHF on board is a great idea.

The HH36 from Simrad is a fully functioning portable radio that's waterproof, so it's ideal for center-consoles and open boats that tend to get wet. It floats, too, so it won't sink to the bottom if you drop it in the drink. It's DSC compatible; program in your boat's MMSI number, and even if you can't speak, you can activate the distress button on the front to summon help in an emergency. A large backlit display shows the channel you've selected. Best of all, you can display your track and position utilizing the built-in GPS. The HH36 is switchable between outputs of one and five watts, and Simrad claims a battery life of 11 hours on low setting, so you should be able to get out and back on a daylong excursion without recharging!

Feeling a little dry?

Docktail Bar

When you return to the dock after a hard day's boating, there's nothing quite so nice as a refreshing drink while the sun sinks in the west. The trouble is that many boats are simply not geared up with some convenient place from which to serve drinks. The Docktail Bar is a simple but clever device that satisfies the problem of where to place and secure adult beverages while you serve your guests. Made from white Starboard, the same stuff used to fashion everything from fish-filleting stations to transom steps, the Docktail Bar is designed to be slid into a convenient rod holder, which holds it in place while you mix and serve the drinks. It's available in several different configurations and mounting options, so there's sure to be one that fits your needs. No rod holder, no problem: Go with the suction-cup mount.

Need help seeing?

Deflecting the light, with this handy, fun plexi-bottom bucket, lets you look before you anchor.

Fun article by Don Casey

If you're boating in clear water, it can be useful to view the bottom. For example, discovering that the seabed under the boat is rock, deep weed, or scoured coral before you try to anchor can avoid a lot of pointless frustration. Unfortunately wind chop and light reflection usually obscure your sight. All that's required to see into the water is a glass panel to "flatten" the surface. A dive mask will serve, but unless you wear it and stick your head in the water, your view is soon compromised by water slopping over the short skirt and onto the top of the glass.

The better tool is a look bucket. For little money, you can make one better than most that are commercially available. All you need is a stiff plastic bucket, a disk of clear plastic, and appropriate adhesive. A five-gallon paint bucket is the usual bucket choice because it's stiff, has a sharp angle between bottom and side, and features a protective lip around the base. However, a smaller bucket (2 1/2-3 gallons) can be easier to handle. The clear plastic can be acrylic or polycarbonate and should be not less than 1/8-inch thick; thicker is better because flexing can make the bond between the bucket and the plastic fail. I use marine or structural glazing silicone for gluing the lens to the bucket, but you can also use polyurethane (3M 5200) if the lens is acrylic (but not polycarbonate). Flexible epoxy can also bond and seal the lens.

1. Cut a disk of clear plastic to the inside diameter at the bottom of the bucket. Using a utility knife or a hot knife (better), cut out the bottom of the bucket, leaving a one-inch rim. So the buoyancy will compress rather than test the seal, some people bond the plastic outside the bucket, but this typically makes it untrustworthy as an actual bucket unless you add mechanical fasteners. I prefer setting the lens into a bed of sealant that extends up the side of the bucket to provide both tensile and sheer strength.
2. Hold the circular lens in place and trace around the cut circle of the bucket with a sharp blade to cut the protective film. Peel away the perimeter piece, leaving the middle. To provide a better gripping surface for your adhesive, use 100-grit paper to sand the exposed plastic around the circumference of the lens, including the edge. Also, sand the mating surfaces of the bucket. For a neater job, mask the bucket wall above the level of the lens.
3. Apply adhesive sealant liberally to the lip and side of the bucket, then set the lens in place. Weight it lightly; you want the lens to make full contact but you don't want to squeeze out all of the adhesive. The seal needs to be thick enough to absorb some flex during use.
4. Allow the adhesive to cure fully, trim away excess sealant, and peel away the remaining film and any masking you did. Your bucket is ready for "look box" duty while still functioning as a bucket for washing or bailing. 

What causes boats to capsize?

In a word, instability. Boats are inherently stable until something causes them to become unstable. And that something is weight — where it is and how much it is determines when a boat will tip over far enough to capsize or fill with water.

A capsize is defined as a boat rolling over onto its side or completely over; swamping typically means that a boat fills with water (often from capsizing) but remains floating. So to simplify, we'll use the term capsize from here on. As mentioned, boats capsize because they become unstable, but there are three main reasons for that instability: too much or unbalanced crew or equipment weight; leaking water, which also creates too much weight; and bad weather, which causes instability as a boat is rocked and filled with water.

We Hope It Floats

There is always a very real possibility of injury when passengers unintentionally go in the water with nothing to hold onto. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has addressed this by requiring monohull powerboats built after 1972 under 20 feet in length to float when filled with water. This is a good thing, because without it, most of the small boats in the study would have sunk out from under the crew, leaving nothing to hang onto while waiting for rescue. The bad news is that boats larger than 20 feet that don't have built-in flotation will eventually sink if capsized, and even smaller boats with flotation can still sink if grossly overloaded. (Note: Boats up to 26 feet built to the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) standards adopted by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) also have flotation). Inboard and sterndrive boats have less rigorous basic flotation requirements than outboard-powered boats. If your boat was built before 1972, it wasn't required to — and probably won't — have flotation at all.

Which Boats Are More Likely to Capsize?

Small boats are most likely to capsize. Almost 10 percent were 8-footers, mostly dinghies, and capsizes here often didn't cause much damage. But the biggest group, according to a BoatUS study were the 15-19 footers, representing 41 percent of all capsizes. These boats were typically fishing boats, often with large, hard-to-drain cockpits, sometimes out in poor weather, and were sometimes overloaded.

The next most common group are boats in the 20-24-foot range, representing a quarter of the total; half of those were outboard-powered 22-footers. Larger boats tend to be more stable and rarely capsize, though there were several boats over 38 feet that capsized.

Why They Capsize

Nearly all capsizes can be assigned one of three causes. The most common is too much or poorly distributed weight. Small boats are much more susceptible to an extra person or two or a couple of heavy coolers aboard than larger boats. Older boats especially may have gained weight over the years as more gear is stored aboard. On boats with cockpit drains, an extra beefy friend or a second cooler might be all it takes to make the water come back in through the drains, filling the boat. While most of these under-20 foot boats are required to have flotation, they also must have a capacity plate that states how much weight and how many people can safely be aboard. Pay attention to this number, and keep in mind that the number of seats in a boat is not always an indication of the number of people it can carry safely. Exceeding the capacity limits, even in calm water, is asking for trouble; and in many states, operators can be ticketed for it. All it takes is a stiff wind, a large wake, or an unbalanced load to flip over.

The bottom line is that loading too much cargo or too many passengers in one part of the boat can affect its stability, even if the total load is within the boat's maximum capacity. Weight needs to be evenly distributed, especially in smaller boats. One other thing worth mentioning is that capsizes can also be caused by modifications that affect the stability of the boat. Even a small tuna tower can severely change the center of gravity, especially on a smaller boat.

The second major cause of capsizing is leaks. Sometimes it's as simple as forgetting to put the drain plug in; other times it's leaking fittings. Water sloshing around in the bottom of the boat affects stability and waves or a wake can cause it to flip. Tying the drain plug to your boat key is a simple way to remember the plug. On the other hand, leaking fittings that can fill the boat with water are usually out of sight, often in livewells and bait boxes. Several claims were reported when an owner installed a livewell fitting using cheap PVC pipes and valves, and at least one livewell had no shut-off valve at all with no way to stop the ingress of water once it began leaking. Any fitting that penetrates the hull needs to be closeable and should be made from stainless steel, bronze, or Marelon. One more thing the claims revealed: Some livewells are plumbed in such a way that they'll flood the boat if the valve is left open while underway.

Many older outboard-powered boats have low transom cutouts that can cause the boat to flood simply by slowing down too quickly, especially with excess weight in the stern. Newer outboard boats have a well that reduces the risk.

Some boats have cockpits that drain into the bilge (generally considered a poor design), requiring the use of a bilge pump to even stay afloat. Bilge pumps are designed to remove nuisance water only, not to keep a boat from sinking. If your boat's cockpit drains into the bilge, be aware that if the bilge pump fails, your boat can fill with water and capsize or sink.

Weather is another major cause of capsizes, sometimes in concert with overloading. Small boats are easily overwhelmed by modest waves or even wake, especially if they've got a full load and sit low in the water. A sudden squall can flip even a larger boat. Check the weather forecast before you go out, and keep a weather eye on the sky. In most areas, NOAA broadcasts continuous weather via VHF radio. If you're within range, smartphone apps can show you detailed weather maps, including radar, which can indicate approaching storms. Weather changes quickly on the water, so at the first sign of bad weather, head back to the dock. If you're caught out in a squall, have your passengers stay low near the center of the boat to maintain stability.

Based on an article in BoatUS

Can I search the title history for a boat I'm looking to purchase?

When you buy a used car, chances are you may have used a service such as Carfax to try to learn something about the car's history. Unfortunately, there's no comparable service for boats.

Vehicle-history services can query state databases for title history, but not every state requires titles for boats. And even if you did get the history, unlike car titles that are "branded" if a car has been totaled, very few states brand boat titles for rebuilt, sunk, or totaled boats. Also, boat dealers and insurance companies don't report warranty work or claims to a single accessible database.

If you want to learn about your boat's title in a state that has them, you can look up the agency online and ask. It's not always easy, but it may save you some hassle. A seller can show you his title (in states that have them) that will note if a boat has a current lien on it, so at least you'll know a loan will have to be paid off before title can be transferred to a new owner.

If a boat is federally documented, you can do a free search in the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) database. You won't get much more than ownership information with that, though, unless you pay $25 for an abstract of title, which also shows liens.