Boat Survey and Paperwork Delays

Hauled out for repairs.

I had started to write about the survey process prior to moving aboard and then time just got away from me. Read a few previous posts and you can see what was occupying my time.

This first part is about our experience buying RoundAbout (Laura Ann)  in the BVI.

The survey: A boat survey usually takes 1 day, maybe 2 days, tops. The entire process involves the marine surveyor inspecting every inch of the boat, both in and out of the water. It includes the in-water portion of the survey, the sea trial, and haul-out for the dry dock inspection. The haul-out involves a power washing of the bottom and drying time. It is really important, as the surveyor can take moisture readings in the hull (something you don’t want to find at all) and it allows for a more thorough inspection of boat’s bottom systems and all other areas that are below the water line.

Geoff hard at work. Jared and Clive in the background.

We arrived for the survey mid-morning and our surveyor, Geoff, was already hard at work. We let him be, so he could concentrate. Upon this first part of the survey, it was discovered that the port engine had an oil leak and ended up needing to be removed from the boat for a complete overhaul due to finding further issues. This meant that after the first part of the survey was completed, they would haul the boat out, remove the engine, and then get to work on the remainder of the phase-out process. This was beneficial to us, as we would not incur the haul-out fees the buyer is normally responsible for.  It also meant that our survey would be stretched out over a week’s time, rather than 2 days.

The engine took awhile to repair and the sea trial ended up taking place about a month after the initial survey date. Not as neat and tidy as most surveys usually are. We were traveling across the US at this time, so Clive and Geoff went along with a few other company employees for the trial. We received a good report and we set a date to take ownership in a few weeks when the phase-out had been completed (there was a list of items that needed attention based off the survey report).

After we arrived on August 30th, we walked through the boat and took acceptance. The charter company was great in that if we were to find anything in the next few days that needed attention, to just let them know and they would take care of it. We didn’t find much beyond a couple of wobbly shelves, a corroded power cord, and some missing inventory items. They took care of these things the following day. We went on our merry way out of their marina and in to our slip at Nanny Cay. We mostly worked on hurricane prep though, and didn’t have time to enjoy our new home. A few days later, we were evacuating off the island as Irma (and later Maria) was heading our way.

Buying RoundAbout2.0 in Europe

Finding a surveyor: This time around was a bit more challenging. In the Caribbean, Clive knew our surveyor, Geoff, and he also came highly recommended by a lot of sailors we talked to.
In this case, we had to find one on our own. We did not know anyone who knew of a surveyor in Turkey. By this time, you probably know that Stef has mad skills when it comes to research. She can find out about anything and everything online, and so, she set about to the task of finding a surveyor. The one we chose had a lot of positive reviews on the forums and facebook groups we belong to, had a website, and was also on the list our broker came up with. After a few conversations via email, we hired him to conduct an initial survey on October 18th, so we could see what we were getting into with this new boat. We received a nice lengthy report with lots of photos. We appreciated his attention to detail and professionalism. After reviewing this report a few days later, we decided to move forward with the in-depth survey.

The survey:  The actual survey took place a couple of weeks later on November 3rd, (due to logistics of the busy yard schedule) and lasted an entire day. It began with the haul-out occurring the previous evening, so the hull would have time to dry out a little before the survey began the next morning. Starting at 5am, our surveyor worked all day and conducted the sea trial on the way back to the marina. The inspection lasted until 11pm. We received an email from our surveyor around midnight, his time, stating that no major issues had been found, and that the report would come along in a few days.

Negotiations: After we reviewed the report, we sent it off to our broker with the list of things our surveyor said needed repaired and servicing. While in the BVI everything on our list was repaired, this is NOT the case in the Med. We were told that boats in the Med are less used and are in really good condition. Um, nope! In fact, the boat was far from the condition we were told it was in. There are stress cracks in the gelcoat, fractures in the supports holding up the hard-top bimini, ripped rub-rails on the transom from hitting the dock, torn section on the genoa sail, chips in the gelcoat, saildrives and engines needed servicing, bleach stains on the galley table, among a few other items...and they won't include the inventory that was included in the BVI. Our surveyor said that for a charter vessel of 5 years, it was in good condition compared to other charter boats. Wow, if this is considered good condition, I'd hate to see what the other boats look like. We were very disappointed because we had such a great experience with the same company in the BVI and had set our purchase price for the boat in Turkey based upon this experience. Once we realized they do not do phase outs, we negotiated a lower price due to the amount of work we are faced with completing. The base has also closed down permanently, so the staff are not happy and obviously do not care about the quality of their work (as reported by our surveyor since we spoke with him).

 The next step was to send in the list of recommendations our survey had written up. The seller responded to fixing some of the gelcoat issues (which we aren't really confident about, but we will see how they look at delivery), two chafed lines, and a couple of other small items. After negotiating some more, we reached an agreement and set a date for delivery. This was supposed to happen the week of Thanksgiving. We booked our tickets and hotel and set off for New York (the only direct flight to Athens). The day before we were set to fly, we received a call that not all of the paperwork from the seller had arrived, and so we would have more delays. WTF?! We were beyond frustrated by this point, but what else could we do, but turn around and go back to Virginia to wait it out. We'd also have a home to stay in for Thanksgiving instead of a hotel.  We were told over and over that the documents were in the mail.

More emails and phone calls. I think everyone involved wanted this to be over already, no one more than us! Delivery was then set to take place after Thanksgiving--more delays!!! The hold-up was that we were STILL waiting for the seller's documents to arrive from France. Here we are in the middle of December and it took THREE tries for the seller to get the paperwork correct. Seriously.  Our broker got the head honcho of the company involved at this point, because, really? Three tries? At this point, I am amazed J and I did not take to drinking heavily due to all the stress!

We finally had everything in order as of Tuesday, December 12th. We received copies of all documents and the final piece was getting the boat's registry deleted from Guernsey and registered with Delaware (we will transfer registration over to the US Coast Guard). The stars had finally aligned and we were moving forward! But, we would not truly celebrate until we had inked those papers.
We were out to dinner Thursday evening (12/14) when we received a phone call that our documents were ready. Mind you, this was at 4:55pm and the banks closed in 5 minutes. They weren't supposed to be ready until the following day, but we weren't going to complain.

We HAD to get them notarized the SAME DAY, per instructions. A quick google search and Stef found a notary at a local UPS store. We boxed up dinner and promised the kids dessert after the paperwork was sent off.
Fortunately, it was a few minutes drive from the restaurant. 45 minutes later, it was all completed, scanned (so we'd have a digital copy) and on a UPS truck for delivery! Whew! We then drove back to the restaurant for dessert to celebrate!

We booked our flights and hotels on the drive home and then loaded up the u-haul to prepare for the drive to the airport the following morning. It was a 6-7 hour drive to Newark, so we wanted plenty of time to unload the boxes (we have 27 pieces of luggage--boxes plus we have 12 large backpacks) and return the uhaul and rental car.

From start to finish, it has taken over three months to get this deal done and a hell of amount of stress!

Delivery and moving aboard: 

Our SPOT gps tracking device.

We mailed a GPS tracking device to our surveyor who placed it aboard the boat on the morning of 12/15. While there, he took another look to ensure everything was done in according to our repairs agreement and we learned that NOTHING had been done as agreed.  Really, this was beyond frustrating! WTH people?!?!  The silver lining to this (because I always try to look for one and stay positive) is that at least we will know the work will have been done correctly, as we will be doing it or overseeing those who are. After more phone calls and emails, we will NOT be signing the release of liability until we are physically ON the boat! We did ask that the delivery take place under the seller's insurance though. There will also be the GPS tracker, so we can track RoundAbout's journey. After what we just went through, we are taking no chances and want to limit as much risk as possible. Once we see the boat in person, we will sign the remainder of the paperwork and set about moving in! We seriously cannot wait for this to finally happen!

Surprise, the registration documents needed to allow the boat to leave Turkey had not yet arrived to the captain. In our experience, our surveyor had to go pick up the package himself from the Fed Ex delivery agent. We have relayed this info to the company, so that the captain is aware he may need to go pick it up. /We kept checking every day, as we asked for and received the Fed Ex tracking number. It had arrived in Istanbul on the 19th, but just sat there.

We waited another week for the boat to be delivered to Greece and it was finally here two days after Christmas. We tracked the journey on our SPOT app and determined they were making 9-10 knots! The passage lasted about a day and a half in total and we arrived Wednesday morning to greet the delivery crew, meet our new home, and start moving aboard. But, that's another entire post itself!