By the Skin of our Teeth: Getting Insured in Time for a Tropical Storm

I'm not sure how much time lapsed between us getting the letter telling us we were unceremoniously dropped by our insurance company and the first tropical storm of the season, but it wasn't a lot. That said, I did sort of drag my feet a bit on getting a new policy and, being that insurance falls under my field of "bases to cover", it was a pretty significant ball drop when I realized - as Hurricane Danny headed straight for our boat - that we were without coverage. I needed to fix it, and according to the severe weather tracker on wunderground.com, I had approximately seventy-two hours to do it.

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Let me preface this story by telling you that this is NOT a post demystifying marine insurance. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm pretty sure that's impossible. Insurance and all it's various branches (tentacles?) is - to me - like alchemy, and comprehending an insurance policy (yawn-shudder-yawn) is only slightly easier than decoding the hieroglyphics on King Tut's sarcophagus. [If you are looking for a more comprehensive guide to boat insurance, here's a good start: Compare Boat Insurance and here is an AWESOME post written by the same Jody who save's us later in the story: What Marine Insurance Companies Don't Want You to Know]

What this post will teach you, however, is that it really pays to have very thorough friends and to complain to those friends via Facebook chat that "having an uninsured boat in the path of a hurricane really sucks".

For your enjoyment, I have included 'play-by-play' meme's made specifically for me during the time of this debacle (via chat) by my friend Peter who seriously knows how to make me laugh out loud.

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So there we were, dropped by our insurance company because they "no longer cover live-aboards", when a little storm named Danny spun up in the Atlantic. I had been asking various companies for quotes prior to his arrival, and was given ranges anywhere from $2,500 (reasonable) to $5,000 per year (insane!). The caveat was that all of these policies required an insurance survey aged two years or less. The last survey done on our boat was "past it's prime", as it were, and a new one was going to cost us over $1,000. Gulp. "Is there any way we can get coverage without getting a new survey?" Scott asked me, visibly irritated at the notion of parting with a very large sum of money. I shook my head. "Not according to these various companies I've been talking to, no," I told him in defeat, gazing blankly at the glow of my inbox. Reluctantly, he lined up a surveyor to come and look at our boat on Tortola.

By now "tropical storm" Danny was a full-blown hurricane and projected to go over our boat on Monday morning (if there is one cool thing about hurricanes, it's that - most of the time - they give you some warning). Our coverage was hedging on one thing and one thing only: a new survey. "Scott, when is it going to happen?" I asked, doing nothing to mask my impatience. Turns out, lining up a  swift survey was easier said than done on Tortola during hurricane season. "Benson said he'd try to do it tomorrow (Thursday), if not Friday first thing" he replied. We were cutting it close. "The thing is" Scott added, "there's nothing we can do about it now, so we might as well just not worry about it." It's amazing how I can simultaneously love and hate him in a single instant. I mean, he had a point, but still...

I hopped on my computer to do a little work and started online chatting with my good friend and cruising buddy, Jody, of  Where the Coconuts Grow. One thing you must know about Jody that you may or may not pick up from her beautiful blog is that she is THOROUGH. The woman knows how to cross a "t" and dot an "i" unlike anyone I've ever known. When I told her of our debacle during our chat session, she started asking questions about the quotes we had gotten. Questions, of course, that I had no answers for. She mentioned things like "consequential damage" and "Lloyd's of London" and noted that our quotes had "crazy high deductibles." She then suggested I contact her guy, Kent, at the Pegasus Insurance Group, the company that they had just recently switched over to. "I want to say Pegasus would accept a survey that was 3-5 years old" she wrote me. Skeeeert. To modernize an old favorite, "$1K saved is $1K earned."

I emailed Kent immediately and went to bed hoping he'd get back to me ASAP. Our survey was scheduled first thing the following morning...

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The next morning Scott let me sleep in, which turned out to be a bad thing since I didn't get to check my email to see that Kent had replied at 6:30am and that, yes, they would accept our old survey.

"Stop the surveyor!" I yelled as I ran out of the bedroom, hair a mess and sleep still in my eyes.

"What?" Scott looked at me like a crazy person.

"Jody's guy...he...they...insurance...the company....will accept our old survey!" keep in mind I had literally just rolled out of bed. (Have I mentioned I am not a morning person?)

Scott immediately sprang up grabbed his phone. "This would have been nice to know two hours ago" he grumbled as he dialed the number of our surveyor, "I hope we're not too late."

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Long story short - we were late but not too late; the surveyor had been on our boat but, lucky for us, only for a bit. He said it was easy and not much trouble since we'd "put her away so meticulously" (there's really no other way when you store your boat in the hurricane box during storm season).

We were off the hook.

Later that afternoon, we got our new quote - with coverage binding the next day - from Pegasus. $2250 for the year with year-round coverage as live-aboards in the 'hurricane box.'

We were getting insured. And just in time for Hurricane Danny to fizzle out to nothing more than a little rain shower.

But his big sister Erika was following right in his path, and she allegedly packed a punch.

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It's definitely unnerving at times to keep your boat in "Hurricane Alley" during storm season, but having insurance definitely helps us sleep a little better.

Huge thank you to Kent Urbine of Pegasus Insurance Group. He went above and beyond the call of duty for us and his customer service is exemplary. Also a huge thank you to Jody of Where the Coconuts Grow. She saved us a LOT of money. Definitely owe her a drink (or ten!) when we meet back up in the BVI's in November!

Deck Work

Our deck is now filled with this good stuff!

When we got the marine survey for our new boat, we were a little unhappy to find out that the results showed some moisture in her deck.  This is not an uncommon phenomenon but it can be a real pain in the butt if it's not dealt with properly.  A fiberglass boat's deck is often put together like a sandwich.  The part you walk on is the top piece of "bread", the coring in the middle is the "meat", and what you see from the interior is the other piece of "bread".  This 'core' is made from any number of materials and when moisture penetrates it - usually through a poorly bedded deck item like a stanchion, cleat or windlass - it creates weak spots that might not be obvious until too late because coring is famous for hiding and misleading leaks.

You would never have known our deck had moisture in it when you looked at her.  In fact, her deck looks pristine.  Walking around, we didn't feel any bubbles or soft spots or anything to indicate any problems. There were no obvious signs of leaks from the interior either.  Like anything though, sometimes issues lurk below the surface where the naked eye cannot see.  Enter:  the Moisture Meter.  The moisture meter works like a stud finder, but instead of finding studs, it gives moisture readings.  If it wasn't for our survey, we would never have known we had a soggy deck.  Point for technology!

Because Scott and I are not interested in DIY'ing with this boat (if you are just joining, start at the beginning of this blog and you'll see we did PLENTY of DIYing with our first boat!) we were able to negotiate the price of the boat down to compensate for this hefty repair.  As with anything boat, there are probably a trillion ways to fix this issue depending how much time and money you have.  The man we hired to do our work suggested fixing our deck from the inside rather than the outside and chose to replace the coring (the stuff between the outside and inside) with Divyincell H60.  It's got to be better than the plywood tiles that were in there before!

See the moisture up there?  This kind of moisture was prevalent in the bow and both gangways.

Wet and rotten wood removed.

Re-cored and re-glassed.

The interior is a construction zone!

The deck work is complete, and the interior cabinetry is now being put back in the boat.  Now onto the next projects!!  Sure feels good to know things are getting done while we're not there...

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

To Peel or not to Peel?

I remember the first time my computer got a 'virus'.  It was my freshman year of college and the dawn of the computer age.  One day while typing away on page nine or ten of a fifteen page essay, the screen on my computer suddenly went black while white squiggly lines danced across it.  "What the...?" I said under my breath in confusion as I started frantically hitting keys.  A half hour later one of the "techie" guys on our floor confirmed it:  my computer had a virus.  "What do you MEAN my computer has a "virus"?!?" I asked accusingly.  I literally could not wrap my head around the fact that a piece of equipment could get 'sick'.  It just didn't make sense.

While I don't remember the first time I heard about boat blisters, I remember having a similar reaction.  "What!?!  Boat's get BLISTERS?!" I mean, that just seemed weird.

A "gelplane" for gelcote peeling

The short answer, is yes:  boats can get blisters.  Like a blister on your heel, a boat blister is a raised bubble filled with fluid.  They are certainly not uncommon, nor are they the end of the world, but you do want to take care of them for they have the potential to hurt you and, if left unattended, they only get worse.  Blisters on a boat (usually) occur below the waterline when the sneaky water molecule permeates the paint, gelcote and (ultimately) the fiberglass.  Water and fiberglass react, causing a little science project otherwise known as "osmosis", to occur on your hull.  I'm no expert, but from what I understand when fiberglass gets wet, it gets weak and you should fix it. To fix it you must remove all the layers of paint and gelcote in order to expose the fiberglass underneath.  There are a number of ways to do this; paying a professional to do it with a handheld powered planing tool is the more expensive (and significantly easier) one.

When we did the marine survey on our new boat, the surveyor uncovered some areas of moisture in both the deck and the keel.  While he saw no indication of blistering of the hull*, he strongly suggested we peel the bottom of the boat down to the fiberglass to see what we found.  The owner of the boat yard said the bottom looked okay, that we might be able to get away with sanding and a few more coats of bottom paint but he said there was definitely "something" going on.

Hmmm...what to do?

Peeling and repainting is not a cheap project (about $12K for a 44 foot boat), but luckily we negotiated the price of the boat down to compensate for this.  Never prone to skimping when it comes to caring for our boat(s); instead of "pocketing" the saved money, we decided to peel the hull.  Agressive?  Perhaps. While nary a blister was uncovered, there was an area of wet fiberglass in the keel that needs to be cut out, re-glassed (essentially built back up) and faired (smoothed out).  It was a good thing we peeled.  We now know exactly what we are dealing with and the 'problem' is easily fixed.

Now that the fiberglass is exposed, we let the boat "dry out" for about thirty days (our hull has very little moisture in it, so thirty should suffice) with periodic fresh water rinses in between to draw out moisture (yeah, seems counter-intuitive, but it works).  The yard will then do weekly checks with a moisture meter to determine the dryness of the hull.  Once the hull is dry, they will re-apply the gelcote and bottom paint.  If you paint your boat before you let a wet hull dry out properly, you will have a virtual blister party on your bottom.  No one wants a blister party on their bottom, no one.

Asante with her bottom peeled.

A closer look at her bottom.   Cheeky monkey!

Moral of the story:  a blister on the bottom of a boat isn't going to respond to a band-aid any more than a computer virus is going to respond to an antibiotic. 

Here's a more scientific and explanatory article on the blister issue for those interested.

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

* Like bourbon and whiskey, not all boats with osmosis have blisters, but all boats with blisters have osmosis.

More Surveys...

This is not 'the' engine, but one of the many we inspected during our search.

The engine survey came in yesterday.  If you are keeping track, that is a total of three very thorough surveys we have had done on this boat we're looking at.  One survey to look at the rig (because 'regular' marine surveys do not go aloft).  Another survey to look at the boat in general (aka the 'standard' marine survey).  And another survey still to test the engine (because, again, a regular survey will not analyze oils and run compression tests and whatever the heck else they do when they do an involved engine survey). That's a lot of investigating.  It is also a lot of paperwork.  We are nothing if we are not thorough, you gotta give us that.

Luckily, the engine - despite being the original Perkins - has relatively low hours and is in good condition.  Phew.  We were kind of holding our breath after our last survey.  Regardless of the decent engine survey, this whole "boat buying" thing is hard.  Really hard. The decision is not an easy one - there are so many variables and scenarios.  More than once Scott and I have considered throwing in the towel.  We keep going back and forth, back and forth.  Add to that the mind boggling logistics of the whole thing and our minds really start to spin.  And now, because Scott's gone back down to the islands to skipper the boat he works on, all of this is going to be decided by text messages between us.  Furthermore,  I am now the point person in the whole deal.  Not that I have a problem being the point person, but I was more than happy to give Scott the reigns on chasing down quotes and brokers and yards while I sat back and played with baby girl and blogged.  Sigh.  I sure miss him like crazy.

Either way, there is an acceptance date looming over our heads and a decision will have to be made one way or another, sooner than later.  This saga, despite how it might seem, will come to an end!

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

The Marine Survey

By nature, a marine survey is supposed to uncover problems with your boat.  That's what you pay them for.  So when a boat goes to survey, you should brace yourself because (if you have a good surveyor) issues, be them big or small, will rear their ugly heads.  If they don't, it could be reason for concern.  Our recent survey uncovered a few large issues that total about 25K worth of "complications".  Let's do some math: $25,000 - $1,500 = $23,500.  Yeah.  I'd say paying for a survey was worth it.

Marine surveys are one of those things that some boaters scoff at.  I'm not sure why, but there are people who feel they can inspect boats better than professionals or that the professionals who inspect boats aren't worth their salt.  I'm sure both of these scenarios are true in some circumstances, but for us - we have found neither to be the case.  In our humble opinion this is too big a purchase to take a gamble on.  I mean, we'd never buy a home without a home inspection - why would we buy a boat without a boat inspection?  Seems like a no brainer to us.  When we "inspected" the boat a couple months ago, she looked "pristine" (minus a few minor issues that we noted).  Guess that goes to show what the heck we know.  At the moment, I am literally thumbing through a ten (count that, ten) page report detailing the surveyor's "recommendations".  Sa-weet.  One line item reads "replace stainless steel anchor shackle with a conventional galvanized swivel and shackle" while another notes that there is significant water damage in areas of the balsa core deck.  These are just two extremes to be found among the eighty-six that were listed.  Eighty-six. In restaurant speak that means you're out of something.  As in, "Eighty-six the prime rib".  Sigh.  Is it time to eighty-six this boat?  Hmmm....

The big question now is, will the owner compensate us for these issues by agreeing to lower the price of the boat?  This remains to be seen.  While we don't want to nickel and dime and be difficult, 25K is not chump change and we're not ready to eat that.  We're doing some research and getting a bunch of quotes at the moment - so we'll see how this whole thing pans out.

Either way, it's not the end of the world.  Everything happens for a reason and if this boat is meant to be ours, it will be.  If it's not, it's not.  It's really that simple.

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

Sea Trial

"Trial" is right.  It was an uphill battle, that is for sure.

We had to cancel and reschedule our trip not once but twice.  A tropical storm got in our way the first time, then there was the rigging issue forcing us to reschedule again.  When we finally did make it to the airport, our flight was delayed two times.  The cause of the last delay?  The bathroom door had come off of it's hinges.  I mean, come ON!!  When we landed two and a half hours after we were supposed to at 2am, Scott and I were exhausted.  It didn't end there.  After 3 hours of restless sleep, the morning of the sea trial we awoke to thunder and lightening - the kind that makes you think Armageddon might be near.  It was not looking good.  "Maybe it will break" we thought out loud, right about the same time the nice weather lady echoing through the hotel lobby was saying how the violent storms were here to stay for the week.  Awesome.  When we went to our rental car to meet with the broker, it was the one car in the lot literally surrounded by a puddle of rainwater that was six inches deep.  After forging that obstacle "Oregon Trail" style, we got in the car and sat in silence until I said, "Do you think the Universe is trying to tell us something?"  Scott just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.  This was getting ridiculous.  The icing on the cake, however, was when we were stopped at some train tracks on the way to the yard where I joked, "I'll bet it's a freight train".  Sure enough it was a freight train and not only that, but it STOPPED on the tracks for a solid 15 minutes before continuing on at a snail's pace.  It was at this point where I said, "The Universe is DEFINITELY trying to tell us something".  We were beyond the discouragement and laughing at this point.  If we saw a pig fly by at that moment, I don't think we would have batted an eye.

Things began looking up after some delicious fish tacos (my new favorite dish) and a quick check of the weather radar.  There it was: a little patch of blue in a sea of red, green and yellow - we all saw it and knew that it was now or never.  We had a window!  We went back to the boat and within 15 minutes we were underway, bound for the Ocean.  It turned out better than any of us could have possibly expected.  The Universe, it seems, was just trying to make us fight a little for what we wanted.  And everyone knows you appreciate the view from top of the hill even more after a big struggle to get up there, right?

Today is the engine survey and marine survey, however pouring rain and lightening is delaying things (again).  The deal is far from over, but we're feeling pretty good about it.  It's very exciting!  We'll keep you posted...

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

Have You Checked Your Rig Today?

Put this into the "Things that make you go BOOM!" category. Photo courtesy from this site.

No sooner had I hit "publish" on my last post when I got a call from Scott;  "Cancel everything,"  he said sternly, "The sea trial is off".  We were supposed to be on a southbound plane tonight at 7:51pm and sailing tomorrow by 10am.  Point for travel insurance!

This morning, our rig surveyor (separate from our marine survey, which was scheduled for Friday after the sea trial) found cracks in a swage terminal at the top of the mast.  This is not good and must be fixed before we sea trail.  For those of you who do not know what a swage terminal is, I have included a picture above (the arrows point to a hair line crack).  To put it very simply: swage terminals house the shrouds which, in turn, hold up the mast (aka the 'rig').  When swage terminals go bad, rigs fall down.  When rigs fall down, it's a very, very bad very, very expensive day.

Upon first hearing this news I was pretty bummed.  Not only was I excited to go down and sail our potential new boat, I was anxious to move forward and either solidify this deal or move on.  Now it seems we'll have to postpone another two weeks.  Sigh.  After a little more thought, however, I realized this is really good news.  Better to find this problem now (when the owner must pay to fix it) as opposed to later when we are underway.  I shudder to think.  Typically, when cracked swage terminals are discovered, the entire standing rig must be replaced.  This is very good information to know before we buy this boat!

Which leads me to my next point:  The importance of a rig survey.  Most of the time a regular marine survey will only inspect the rig from the deck of a boat, they will not go aloft.  Because we are buying an older boat our wonderful broker buddy, Allen, highly recommend we get the rig fully inspected separately.  We (thankfully!) took his advice and the few hundred dollars the rig survey cost has now paid for itself two fold.

This information isn't only relevant to folks buying boats either!  If you have a boat and cannot remember the last time your rig was properly inspected, it might be time to think about it lest you end up with a boat without a stick.  Typically, they say standing rigging should be replaced in full every 10-15 years if a boat is used in the tropics and cruised extensively.  If you feel confident doing it yourself, you can check out this article which highlights what to look for.  If you would feel better having an expert, there are plenty of rigging companies that will do it for you.

So, while this does put a little wrench into the schedule of things, this also puts a little wrench onto our potential new boat's rig, and THAT is a good thing!

Love,
Brittany, Scott and Isla

Top 10 Tuesdays: 10 Things to Look at When Inspecting a Boat

Awww...this is me inspecting under the cushions of Rasmus three years ago.

Scott and I have looked at a good number of boats the last couple of months.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, boat buying is certainly different the second time around!  While we still have a lot to learn, we know enough to be dangerous which has helped us a lot in this process.  Looking for a boat is not unlike looking for a prospective home (or so I hear...) - you want to make sure a) you're not getting a lemon b) you're getting what's "right" for you and c) you will love it for years to come.  This is a pretty daunting task, and one that should not be taken lightly - especially if you plan on sailing that boat to far off corners of the globe.

Many of you have written asking about what, specifically, to inspect when looking at boats.  A blog follower turned us onto his incredibly thorough and fantastic post about Boat Inspection Tips which I highly recommend.  Between his great insight and our own experience and research - we've come up with a few items that should be checked out when looking at a boat.  Of course this list is not finite, and by no means does this take the place of a proper marine survey (similar to a home inspection), but here are:

10 Things to Look at When Inspecting a Prospective Boat

1. Overall Look - This is the "first impression" and the easiest thing to see.  Has the boat been cared for?  Does she look nice both inside and out?  Is the woodwork peeling?  Is the gelcote cracking?  Are there rust streaks around all the hardware? Are the cushions in good order?  You can learn a lot about how the previous owner cared for his or her boat by this first look.  If you don't like what you see on the first impression, you can be pretty certain you're REALLY not going to like what you see when you start digging around.
2. Anything that opens and closes - Portholes, hatches, seacocks and cupboards...open and close a few of each.  Check the portholes for water damage, and see if the seacocks move with relative ease.  You don't need to check them all, but a good sampling should tell you what you need to know to start. 
3. Rigging - look for corrosion, chafe, and anything that is misshapen.  Run your fingers up and down the shrouds for smoothness and uniformity.  Look up the mast track - does it lean one way or another?  Do the swage terminals of the shrouds look to be in good shape?  How about the running rigging - do the halyards look old and frayed?  Do things run freely?  Replacing these items can get expensive!
4. Deck hardware - Do the winches move properly?  Can you pull on hardware and does it feel secure?  Do the handrails on deck look clean or rusted?  Check the cleats - does the bedding look solid or could water enter anywhere? A little poking and prodding here and there can tell you a lot.
5. Bilge - take a peek into the bilge if you can.  Most bilges will not be bone dry, but can you see any oil in the water?  This might indicate a leak in the engine.  If there is an abundance of water you might want to make a note and inquire about it.
6. Inspect for water damage - Scott and I went on one boat where the headliner was rotting away in the far corners of the aft cabin.  No bueno!  Leaks on boats are not good and can lead to a LOT of very expensive problems if they have been left untreated for a long time.  Headliner is notorious for hiding leaks, but look for discoloration or saggy spots which are telltale signs that water has come through.  If there is no headliner, look for discoloration in wood or any signs that water has come in - stains, rust, and streaks are all things you want to keep an eye out for.
7. Under the floorboards - I can't be sure, but I think the number one cause of boat's sinking is bad plumbing.  Take a peek under the floorboards to see the condition of the hoses.  Are they properly labeled?  Do they make sharp turns?  Are they dangling freely or secured well?  Do they look old and cracked?  Are the hose clamps warped and rusted? Replacing hoses is an expensive task.  Trust us, we know!
8. Control Cables - the steering and shifting should move freely.
9. Electrical panel -  This is perhaps our favorite thing to look at because we spent a LOT of time re-wiring Rasmus.  Check to see if the wires look neat and tidy.  Are they zip-tied and labeled?  Is there a wiring diagram? Trust me, when you want to fix a broken pice of electronic equipment later you will be very thankful that the wiring is done well and not a rats nest! 
10. Engine room - I think I might have mentioned it before, but you can learn a lot about a boat by looking inside it's engine room.  Is it organized and neat - or does it look like a mess of hoses, wires and gear?  Do the hoses look cracked?  Do the engine mounts look secure?  Do the belts look degraded?  You don't want any of the above to fail when you need them!

Like I said, a proper marine surveyor will look at all of the above, but a marine survey is not cheap.  You can eliminate an unnecessary survey on a bad boat by doing a little work yourself not to mention you'll learn a lot in the process!

What have I missed?  What are the areas that you like to look at when inspecting a boat?  Please share in our comments!

Love,

Brittany, Scott & Isla

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner!

A lot of you (okay, all 3 of you who actually read this) have been asking about how the survey went – waiting with bated breath since I left you hanging with my last post (humor me, will you?). Well – the survey came back EXCELLENT. We are happy to report we are not dealing with a lemon, but a beautiful, wonderful mango (not sure what is on the other side of the fruit spectrum, but since mango is my fave – I’ll go with that).

Let me back up a little and give you the full serendipitous turn of events…So, as it turns out – in all the research we have been doing on the Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus 35 Scott came across an online scuttlebutt where there was a post from a fellow Rasmus owner named “Rourke” from Chicago. Well, Scott actually used to work with a fellow by that name and thought…"Hmmmm, could it be??” So he called his Rourke and sure enough, it was him! Scott’s old friend is also a proud owner of a Rasmus with a ketch rig! Small world right? Oh – it gets smaller...

So when we contacted the gentleman that our broker suggested for the survey, he gave us the trusted name of Marc Nugent who ALSO happens to be yacht club friends with Rourke. This little ship of ours is connecting all sorts of dots!

So Rourke was all excited to see a sister ship to his, and since he knows the boat so well he accompanied Marc on the survey. All day long Rourke was excitedly calling and texting Scott with updates: “She looks like she’s been kept in a time capsule!” “This boat has me all excited for things I want to do with my boat” and all sorts of other “ooooohh’s and aaahhhh’s”. We were very happy.

Then the actual survey came and one of the very first lines reads: “The vessel was found to be in above average to pristine condition with no major damage”. It goes on for twenty-six pages explaining in very nautical and specific terms, why.

So folks – GAME ON!! We are so, so, so excited and I have to say – I am so, so proud of myself for having found such a gem of a boat! But, as I said before – if you want something bad enough, the universe conspires to give it to you. Thank you universe!!

Sea trial in 2 weeks!! Then….it’s OURS!! Closing date: June 21st!!

And the Survey Says.....

So today is the day our Marine Survey is taking place. It's a bit of a nail-biter day for us, for today our boat can be given a "pass" or a "fail".

For those of you who don't know - a marine survey, as defined by chubb.com is "An independent evaluation of a watercraft's value and condition by a professional marine surveyor. A complete marine survey consists of: (1) Accurate and detailed description of watercraft; (2) Fair Market Valuation of watercraft; (3) List of deficiencies and recommendations for repair." Basically, our trusted surveyor friend, Marc Nugent of Traverse City, is going to tell us whether or not this boat is worth buying - according to his expertise and opinion. Yikes.

Marine surveys are extremely critical, particularly when buying an older boat. While things might look pretty and shiny on the outside, that might not be the case on the inside (a cliche that rings true in so many areas!). It is the surveyor's job to uncover whatever "ugliness" lurks beyond the teak and fiberglass. Two of main things to uncover are whether or not the hull has any blisters (more common in fresh water boats and a real pain in the butt) and if there is any hull moisture (while boats get wet, you don't want them to absorb water!). These two things, depending on the degree, can greatly compromise the value and performance of a vessel - as can a myriad of other issues not mentioned here.

So today, our little baby is getting tested. She will be poked, prodded, metered, and scrutinized. If she passes - we move forward! If not, well...depending on the severity of the findings we either a) re-negotiate price b) have the owner fix said issues or c) walk away from the boat. It sounds harsh, but it is how it has to be - and yet another reason why you are never to fall in love with a boat. Until the deal is done, of course.

Fingers crossed!

Brittany & Scott