Survey a Free Boat article on janice142

Free Boat offered by Boatyard

What could possibly be wrong with a free boat? Now the boatyard will tell you that when you take title to the vessel they will be charging/collecting storage fees. Instead of having a liability taking up space without any income, they will be getting your storage fee/payment until the boat launches.

Sounds great, right?

WRONG!

If this boat was such a great deal, there are skilled workmen at the boatyard who would have jumped on it, fixed what is broken and then sold her for a profit. Or maybe even lived aboard themselves. They have not done so.

There is a reason. Actually, there probably are a multitude of reasons and all of them come back to a basic dollar bill. This boat will take too much money to become seaworthy, or even lake-worthy. It is usually a bad deal.

Hire a Surveyor, but NOT for a full-blown survey.

Me, who hates to part with perfectly good money, is advocating you hire a professional to take a look at this free boat. This initial visit is not for a full-survey though. No.

Instead what you need is someone with more years experience to take a look at the boat for obvious issues that would make the boat a bad choice. He can be your eyes too, especially if you are a long way from the boat.

Prior to my purchase of Seaweed, I hired a local surveyor to visit the boat and tell me if the pictures shown online were current. On a boat far from your locale, neither you nor I know for certain if those photos were taken this past month or ten years ago.

This visit cost me $75 in 2008 so figure on $100 or so today for the same service. The surveyor probably spent less than 15 minutes on the boat and was able to give me a professional assessment that the boat was worth pursuing.

Equally probable, he could have said "forget this one" and that would have been valuable to me as well. I was paying for local knowledge and felt it was worth the money spent.

The "real" survey should find things like this HOSE ISSUE ↓ on a Westerbeke generator.

Undoubtedly your free boat will need some items.

There is one book I advise all folks who are getting serious about the nitty-gritty of boat ownership to buy. That is Don Casey's This Old Boat, and do purchase the latest edition. In it Casey describes not just what needs fixing and how to do so. The most important aspect he explains is how to prioritize the projects. This Old Boat, Second Edition will help folks get on the right track when problems seem insurmountable.

Before you own this free boat get yourself to West Marine or Defender and pick up a catalog. There are some pieces of equipment that the boat will not come with. Or, if the gear is there, it will not work. Know that if these items functioned, someone would have taken them by now for their own boat. The catalogs will offer prices too, which is helpful.

You will need:

A battery (at least one)

A bilge pump

Storage at the boat yard -- fees vary. Does the yard allow you to sleep on your boat?

Dockage at a marina. Are you allowed to live aboard at the marina?

A boarding ladder so if you fall into the water you can save yourself.

Of course if you're going to be anchored out, you will also require:

Oversized anchor, chain and rode. Some areas with changing tides need two anchors for a secure hold on the bottom.

Anchor Light (LED version so it will not use too much of your available battery power)

Charging system for the battery -- solar, gasoline generator or wind generator

And I would suggest an anchor ball (black, be legal -- even if no one else is!)

Seaweed displays an anchor ball, plus both solar panels and a wind generator recharge my batteries that provide power for the anchor light -- along with the other accoutrements of my rather decadent lifestyle.