Hull Survey of a Teak & Oak 1945 Motor Boat

Today's most interesting survey was of a timber house boat, which was inspected whilst dried out on the grid at Strand on the Green, Kew, London. Whatever role Venture was originally built for, no one really knows as there were few details or records available to describe her history. The details on her stern show that she was built for the Royal Navy and measures 40.5' length overall.

Her hull was constructed from double diagonal teak planks, with a total thickness of 1", fastened to bent oak frames with copper nails and roves.

She was purchased by her current owner in 2007 and photos show that she was open-decked, with a simple wheelhouse mounted over the single Perkins 6354 diesel engine. The owner then fitted her out with decking made from 18mm eastern hard plywood, with laminated Douglas Fir deck beams. Iron knees secured the hull sides to the thwarts of the original construction and would have given Venture much of her stiffness. In the new fit-out, the knees have been kept, but much greater stiffness has been added by the new deck and superstructure.

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Insurance Survey of 1976 Westerly Berwick

Our lousy Sussex weather held off long enough for me to undertake this recent Insurance Survey at the Littlehampton Harbour Masters' workshops, just next to the River Arun and opposite Littlehampton Marina.

The Westerly Berwick was designed by Laurent Giles. These aft-cockpit, bilge keel sloops were built between 1973 and 1980.

Marine Survey of a Westerly Berwick in Littlehampton, West Sussex

This particular Berwick was made in 1976 and was powered by a relatively new Perkins KD28 diesel engine. Her hull was in reasonable condition, although the hand-painted topsides were rather faded. She didn't have too many defects that would cause her owner too much labour before her Spring launch. The most was significant is shown in the photograph below, which shows some of the cracks in the fore-stay chain plate. There were a number of well developed cracks on the two vertical plates that support the bow roller. The image shows the two cracks on the port side plate. This plate also supports the fore-stay; therefore the security of the entire rig depends on the strength and integrity of this plate. In consideration of the fact that cracks have occurred in similar locations on each of the vertical plates, it is likely that these cracks are predominantly due to cyclical loading from the vessel’s mooring chain when she is on her summer mooring. The cracks on the port side plate (the one in the photo) may also be due to cyclical athwartships loading from the jib when she is sailing.

The recommendation to the owner was that the bow roller fabrication is repaired in order to return strength to the two plates. This repair should include the welding of doubler plates on each of the existing vertical plates.

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Pre-purchase Marine Survey of Fisher 34 at Birdham Pool Marina

A few days ago I had the pleasure of performing a marine survey on a very well maintained Fisher 34, Mark III - a masthead rigged motor sailing yacht with integrally moulded full-length keel. She was built by Northshore Yachts in 1999.

I usually find that boats made as recently as this are often very light in construction, but not so with a Fisher. These days the Fisher boats are made to order and my guess is that in order to make a boat to this high standard and with such a sturdily built hull, Northshore Yachts have to charge a premium. This makes them less competitive with the lighter motor sailers on the market and are therefore made to order.

Fisher 34 Mk III at Birdham Pool Marina

The new owners seem to be very happy with her. I'll look out for this boat when I'm down at Ramsgate Marina, her new home.

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Pre-purchase Survey of 24' Jeanneau Eolia at Emsworth Yacht Harbour

Fantastic weather today for a pre-purchase survey of a Jeanneau Eolia. These masthead rigged cruisers were designed by Phillipe Briand and have a cast iron keel with iron centre-plate. This particular boat was built in 1985 and was fitted with a Yanmar 1GM inboard diesel engine.

24' Jeanneau Eolia

As well as being a Marine Surveyor, I am also a boat owner and have had the pleasure of sailing my 24' Westerly GK24 for the last sixteen years or more. The GK24 is similar in length to the Eolia, but this Jeanneau had considerably more headroom than my 1970's cruiser / racer. Additionally, the layout of the Eolia was more aligned to larger yachts of her era: A double berth beneath the port cockpit seating, a good sized galley area, a well appointed heads compartment and quite an acceptable forward facing chart table. The cockpit was a good size, with a large cockpit locker on the starboard side. The forward living space however was more like a smaller craft: Simple saloon seating along each side that joins up towards the bow, which also serves as a fore peak v-berth.

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Insurance Survey of Holman & Pye Designed Red Admiral Sailing Yacht

I have just had the pleasure of performing an insurance survey on a very nice 36' fast sailing cruiser/racer. The vessel was a Holman & Pye designed Red Admiral, built in 1979 by Halmatic and fitted out my McGruers. Her lines were typical of Don Pye's designs of the time: fast, handsome and embodying the best aspects of the IOR Rule to produce a fast cruiser.

Holman & Pye designed Red Admiral

There's a saying that all boats are a compromise, but as my client has owned her for nearly 25 years, the Red Admiral nicely fulfils his requirement for a fast, safe and adequately spacious cruiser.

My task was to perform an Insurance Survey so that my client could present the report to his insurance company, thus allowing him to re-insure the vessel for a further ten years or so. My client also wished to have a detailed professional inspection carried out so that any defects or safety issues could be highlighted to him. The recommendations in the report then formed the basis of the vessel's winter maintenance schedule.

The boat survey was performed on two separate occasions. The mast was climbed and the rigging was inspected whilst she was afloat. Similarly, the engine was run with the propeller engaged, whilst she was still on her mooring. The remainder of the survey was carried out several weeks after she was lifted ashore for the winter. This allowed a thorough inspection of the hull to be made.

Thanks to the owner's meticulous attention to detail and desire to keep the vessel in good order, the recommendations were few but significant. They were the sort of defects that result from slow deterioration of the part's material and would not be apparent unless inspected closely:

• The gas hose was perished.
• A PVC skin fitting was degraded by UV light. As the fitting was close to the waterline, I recommended that the fitting was replaced with a Bronze or DZR Brass equivalent.
• An engine fuel hose was cracked.
• The lines that tie off the jackstays were old and degraded.

She was certainly one of the nicest boats that I have surveyed recently, but I may be biased in this respect as she has similar lines to my much smaller Westerly GK24, built in the same era.

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Insurance Survey of a 1988 Fairline Carrera

It was a cold grey morning when I arrived at Birdham Pool to inspect this boat for insurance purposes. The Fairline had been squeezed tightly between other boats in the yard and there was a significant amount of surface water lying around. It looked as though this inspection was going to be uncomfortable, considering the dull weather and wet surroundings. However, I always find that surveying a well cared for boat always seems to lift the spirits. The deck and cockpit still had a dulled finish, but the topsides were extremely well polished and in great cosmetic condition. A short while later the owner arrived and he was able to explain a little more about her history. This boat had spent most of her life in her berth and hadn't got out of the harbour much. We don't know why she'd been re-engined, but my guess is that the neglect had ruined it, rather than any extensive use.

The new owner was now giving a lot of his spare time to bringing her up to a high cosmetic standard. The list of sales and labour receipts, not to mention new gear on board, showed me that her owner is also giving a great deal of thought to her safety inventory. New items included fire extinguishers throughout, emergency flares, life-rings with lights, back-up outboard motor, VHF/DSC radio, refurbished skin fittings & hoses and overhauled cooking gas system. To add to these, my survey findings will lead to a few more safety-related recommendations. These will include the overhaul of the manual and electric bilge pumps, fitting of a carbon monoxide alarm, fitting of a lpg alarm, replacement of a number of mild-steel hose clips with stainless steel ones and replacement of a heavily crazed navigation light. None of these are too onerous, but all are important for the safety of the crew and vessel.

Pre-purchase Survey of Westerly Storm at Marchwood, Southampton

Between 1986 and 1993, Westerly Yachts built 142 of the Storm 33. These cruiser / racers never really took off as a One Design as they had difficulty with keeping up with the lighter boats in light winds. As a cruising boat though, they were more successful as their size made them well suited to a three-cabin layout. The forward cabin is spacious, with a hand basin on the port side. The saloon has plenty of room, with more storage space than her modern equivalents. The galley on the port side is well laid out, with a large, forward facing chart table on the starboard side, just forward of the heads. The aft cabin makes very good use of the space under the cockpit sole and port-side seating. Once I had removed the numerous fenders, buckets and warps, I could comfortably fit inside the stern locker, an area where I usually spend at least half an hour of my survey time: There's always so much to inspect here, often with access for inspection of fuel tanks, stern gear, steering gear and the quality of the hull-to-deck join.

Westerly Storm 33

This Storm was one of the very early ones and she had a cast iron fin keel, masthead rig and Volvo Penta 2002. Her survey report turned out to be a bit on the dull side as there was very little about the boat that was in need of attention.

Both the current and future owner of this Storm are members of the Westerly Owners Association, the largest yacht owners' group in the World. A Westerly owner since 1995, I am also getting to know and like these boats better through my day-to-day survey work. Fieldhouse Yacht Surveys also offer an attractive discount to WOA members, so consider joining them when you are looking for a survey on your potential Westerly buy!