Buying a once-sunk ship?

[Chuck G.]

Howdy, all -

I'm thinking of buying a 1995 40' Mainship Sedan Bridge. For various reasons, I want this particular model.

The thing is, it was sunk 6 years ago during Hurricane Floyd. She was down for three days. Insurance paid for everything and she was completely rebuilt.

There's a real up side to this and a possible nasty down side, so I thought I'd get the group's opinion.

The up side is that practically everything on the vessel was replaced, nor has it been used much since the refitting. The engines have 200 hours on them. In a way, it's almost like buying a 2005 model.

There are also a number of extra goodies, such as trim tabs, Halon fire suppression system, depth finder, Garmin GPS sounder, Furuno radar, nice looking radar arch, searchlight and a fairly new bimini.

The worry is what they might have missed when they cleaned the vessel after the sinking. I'm thinking specifically of the bottom of the gas and water tanks. (I believe the surveyor said they were aluminum) I'm sure they washed down the sides, but getting to the bottom of the tanks would take specifically-designed equipment. This happened in Jamaica, so I wouldn't expect the equipment to have been very high-tech.

Plus, there are those little nooks and crannies that never really get washed out unless you're right on top of the them with the power hose. Even if they had some special upturned nozzle, it would have been awkward and they really wouldn't have been able to see what they were doing.

The problem is that I have no idea what effect salt has on gas tanks. Is it a valid worry, or should I snatch this baby up?

Thanks for any input,
Chuck

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

aluminum does not like constant exposure to salt water, thats the reason for flushing engines. i the wash down they probably flooded the bilges, thus rinsing the bottoms well enough. i would take the sinking into consideration in the purchase price. was it repowered or the engines rebuilt?

 

[F_R]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

The thing that really takes a hit during submersion is the electrical wiring. Any wire, anywhere, that is connected to the positive side of the battery will corrode VERY quickly due to electrolysis. Unless it has all been dealt with, expect trouble in the future. One way of dealing with the damage is to cut a few inches off the wire to get back up to where the insulation protected it, and splice on a new piece. That's OK, but creates a lot of splices to give potential trouble.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

If every inch of wiring wasn't replaced, stay away. Electrical problems will be your constant companion. Might not be this year. But it will creep up on you.

 

[Chuck G.]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?


Thanks for the feedback. The engines have been replaced. Tashasdaddy, that was a good point you made about the washdown. Hopefully, they filled the vessel with enough fresh water to wash out those dreaded nooks and crannies.

As far as the wiring goes, it was "re-wired", but one wonders if ALL the wiring was replaced. It's one thing to replace the visible wires and the main wiring harness up to the helm, but what about all the small, individual wires, like the ones that run to the room lights and wall outlets? The owner has all the invoices, so I'll have to pursue that end of things.

Any more thoughts, lay 'em on.
Chuck

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

So how much is a once sunk 40' Mainship going for nowadays? What kind of bargain are we talking about here?

 

[Lou C]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

And why was it not used much since the rebuild...
another issue is will the sinking and rebuild have any impact on what you can insure it for?
If you buy it and need to sell it, you have to disclose that, will you ever be able to sell it?
Some things to consider.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

F_R pretty much nailed your concern about the lights and things (my opinion) having worked with wiring in harsh environments for 45 years.

If a wire corrodes such that current ceases to pass and the light goes out, you should be able to cut back till you find (reasonably) clean copper and remake your connection to the light....with a little jumper if necessary.

I think the copper will protect it'self with copper oxide...the green coating copper gets on it. Where the problem would be would be in the interconnections between the copper wire and a lug (tim/silver plated) or other attachment mechanism.

I have seen really old wire, that was under insulation that was oxide coated. I assume that the oxidation got started before the copper went thru the encapsulation (insulation) process. Otherwise there really isn't any way for it to occur (if the insulation is intact). For terminal installation, removal of the oxide, by scraping (the circumference even though wire is usually stranded and there could be oxidation between the strands) with a knife, is usually adequate. You are only interested in the part that will contact the attaching mechanism (lug, screw, what have you).

Going to bet that most of the interfaces are accessible so you probably aren't going to have to worry about tearing out a bulkhead or anything like that to get at a corroded wire.

Besides, at power line frequencies, the entire thickness of the wire carries the current....including the center, non corroded part of the wire, so even if the surface is corroded where you can't see it, it is of no real concern other than a slight reduction in the "ampacity" of the wire.

One thing however, is that if you are loosing a connection via oxidation (corrosion) there will get to be a point where the resistance of the joint will become excessive and with current passing through it, overheating will take place. Unless you are talking about lots of current (say 20 or so amperes for a guess) it will merely bake the insulation and make it dark and brittle. Not really a problem as long as the wire is not in motion where the insulation can flake off and the wire short to another or some grounded component.
----------------------------------------------------
Fuel tank: I don't think an aluminum tank is a problem like steel tanks. Alum tanks are usually made out of high tensile strength sheet alum which resists corrosion (due to strengthening metals added ) significantly better than the "cast" aluminum of which outboard engines and lower units are made from; night and day.

Case in point is an alum boat. They use 5052 or better marine alum which, I'd bet anyone in the fuel tank business would use, especially if they are a big enough company to build a 40' yacht....www Tempco and see what they have to say...I know they build fuel tanks for smaller boats; don't know about larger ones.

Check out the older alum boat hulls. Lone Star Boat Co. was building alum boats (back here in Texas), and there was Alumacraft and Starcraft, to name a couple more, when I first entered boating back in the '50's and those boats are still in use today; some welded, but most riveted....rivets, where you have hidden crevices (which your tank probably doesn't have on the bottom) that can collect salt water and corrode.

I think tashasdaddy just sold one a couple of months ago.

They get a protective oxidation film on them and that's it. Take a piece of steel wool and rub for a minute and the shine is right back there.

Go for it!

My 2c

Mark

 

[Chuck G.]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?


Howdy, all -

Thanks for the interesting further comments. To answer a few questions:

- Lou, it hasn't been used much since the rebuild because the old geezer who bought it only drove it to church on Sundays -- no, wait, that was a different story. The old geezer bought for a bunch of grandkids that never materialized -- his son got divorced. He's now got some spiffy smaller thing for just him and his wife (and presumably his now-single son) and that's why he's desperate to get his dock back.

As far as insurance goes, as long as it's been certified by an AMS surveyor, it's treated like a normal boat. Yes, you have to disclose it during a sale, but you can make the argument that, if it's good enough for the insurance companies, it should be good enough for you.

- Tex, I'm into electrics and I concur with everything you said. It's not the wiring, per se, it's the connections that are the worry. And, as you said, with the low amperage, I wouldn't particularly view fire to be a danger.

As far as what you said about aluminum tanks, along with you, I'd hope/guess/pray that the manufacturers used 'the good stuff', given its importance.

- Ratman, you asked the question that makes this whole thing remain viable: the price.

Here's a list of the ten 40' Mainship SB's currently for sale in Florida:

$79,000 ('94)
$89,000 ('95) <--
$99,000 ('95)
$119,000 ('95)
$124,000 ('97)
$140,000 ('96)
$149,000 ('95)
$149,000 ('97)
$159,000 ('95)
$175,000 ('95)

We're talking about the $89K one. Given all the extras it's got, it really should be higher, but the guy's desperate to sell. For what it's worth, I'm not interested in the $79K boat. No radar, no extras.

The thing is, I sent an email to the $89K broker offering the absurd amount of $70K... and the owner had the audacity to accept it!

I went out to look at it last week, but turned it down. At the moment, it's in a boat show. While I was out there, the owner said to the broker something like, "I'm tired of this thing and I don't want it coming back from that show!"

Presuming it doesn't sell at the boat show, the broker thinks the guy might accept $60K, he's so desperate to get his precious dock back.

So now we're talkin' buying a boat worth roughly $125K, with brand-new everything and a bunch of extra goodies, for $60K.

The question is, with that kind of savings, isn't it worth taking a few chances down the road? Couldn't I scrape off a few grand and have an electrician go over every wire in the dang boat?

Chuck

 

[BOBPELL]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

Buy it for 60, cruise it to Belize and sell it there for 90.
No problem!!!

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

Like I said Chuck, go for it. It just keeps getting sweeter.

Mark

 

[JoeMan]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...RK:MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=140075196577&rd=1,1

This 150 "might" have been sunk once...ya think? But only a week's work and she's good to go...so we're told!! d ...that motor does look sweet up close tho...

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

That boat's way out of my league, but if I were in the market, I think I'd go for it. Substantial savings to take care of little things you find wrong after you buy it. And you'll still be in the black. I like the new engines part. Sounds like a bargain.

 

[seven up]

Re: Buying a once-sunk ship?

I've been watching your thread.
The only point I can think of is the hull coring and stringers. Where and with what. The deck core also. Being unfamiliar with the construction of this brand of boat that's about it.


Enjoy