Hello all, New to the forum. I'm currently looking at a 1980 58' MY. Admiral and I did a cursory look and we both like the boat. I want to go back and take a deeper look before making an offer. Obviously I intend to get full survey and engine inspection contingencies as part of the offer. I'm looking for advice on what to look for or at before the offer? This boat has extensive detailed records that have been kept up since new. Interior has many recent upgrades and very clean. Exterior has minor cosmetic needs. My most recent boat was a 34' express cruiser with gas motors, so this is my first foray into this class of boat. Thanks in advance.
Biggest issues on these boats is rotten balsa core in the decks and flybridge. Not a huge structural problem but costly to fix. Warning Signs will be soft spongy decks as well as core juice leaking out. A few spots is no big deal, large areas can be a problem electrical system was pretty good but make sure it hasn’t been butchered before survey, ask to see a cold start (guessing 8V92s) and watch the smoke. It should clear quickly. Any heavy lingering grey smoke ideally means low compression. otherwise these boats are pretty bulletproof
Pascal, Thank you for the response! I'm aware of one deck soft spot so far. Approximately 1x1' near the saloon entry door. I'll be extra diligent during survey to watch for more. The broker pointed out the binders full of documentation and stated that the electrical system was particularly well-documented. I'm aware that this boat had the old gennys removed and replaced with a single 23 kva genset. I'm not sure if the DC voltage has been modified. I believe this year model was originally 32V ? Engines are 8V92s as you guessed. I'll ask for cold-start demonstration as you suggest. I also have a recommendation for who to contract for a pre-purchase engine inspection. It may seem an unusual peeve, but I'm sensitive to "boat smells," so I want to get a close look at the head/holding tank systems. I didn't really examine them on the first walk-through. I like your vote of confidence regarding bulletproof Hatts. I've seen that sentiment elsewhere and hopeful this one turns out to be my future bulletproof boat. Thanks again! Rob
Yes all hatts up to the 90s had 32v systems. Not ideal but it works. You just have to spend a little more time finding bulbs, pumps etc. The black water system on these boats is pretty good as the tank as fiberglass which doesn’t permeate like poly tanks. Hoses may need to be replaced, a good sniff will tell if it has the old original GalleyMaid raw water heads, odors are more likely but upgrading to modern fresh water heads (Raritan elegance or Atlantes) is a good option and not too expensive. new genny a big plus. personally I really like doing a quick sea trial before surveys. This way you can be sure the boat runs fine and is even worth surveying. Have this in the contract.
I didn't look to see which brand of head is currently aboard, I just noted that they're electric. So, I plan to get Peggie Hall's book about boat sanitation. I'm familiar with vacuflush systems, not so much with electric heads. And this boat didn't have particularly bad odors, I tend to be hyper-sensitive to it. The admiral laughs at me about it, but it also means she doesn't have unpleasant odors to contend with! Agreed on sea trial. My past survey Capt did the sea trial prior to survey/haulout and I plan to use the same guy. Thanks again for the good advice!
My 1970 53 MY was converted to Vacuflush in the late 90s. They were ok. Two years ago I replaced them with Raritan Elegance and like them much better. I ve run boats or had friends with the original Galley Maid and they re just way too much of a pain
I had a vacuflush system on my boat for the two heads. Constant source of repairs and maintenance. I ripped the whole system out last year and replaced with two Raritan Elegance units with the SEA Fresh system. One of the best upgrades I’ve done! I did a thread on this when we did the upgrade if interested in details.
