[alberg30] Insurance, one experience

[FINNUS505 at aol.com]

From: FINNUS505 at aol.com

Hey Russ,
Yes, Boat/US required a survey when I bought Stargazer, so you're right, 
there is an up front fee there that is best avoided if possible, but....I 
wanted a survey anyway.  As Dirty Harry said to Hal Holbrook "A man has to 
know his limitations." !!!!  
After my 'career' of rebuilding old, wooden boats with my dad for so many 
years, when I went to buy the Alberg 22, I figured, 'a 22 foot fiberglass 
boat, that looks immaculate, what could be wrong?', and didn't bother with a 
survey.  I even broke the cardinal rule- I bought her in the water. (I can 
hear all the experienced salts on the line cringe. rightly so.)  We bought 
her in April, had a fantastic, great season sailing and cruising her up and 
down the Sound, and only hauled her when that 44 foot boat broke free and 
smashed her up a week before Thanksgiving.  Well,  after she was hauled and 
blocked up, the owner of the yard, who was a friend of mine, said, "What are 
you going to do about the bottom?"  The Bottom?; I was concerned about the 
deck damage, and dealing with that. "The bottom" Bill said gravely. "You're 
boat is badly pocked by osmosis."  And he took me over to the boat, and 
popped a blister in my face, to prove his point.  The bottom was covered, 
from bow to stern with blisters.  We spent the winter stripping off the 
gelcoat on the bottom, then let her sit to dry out, then had to wait until it 
was warm enough in the spring to replace the bottom with the West Program, 
which in 1990 was the best way of dealing with osmosis.  It was a miserable 
job.  We didn't launch next season until July 1!!!A survey would have 
revealed the problem, and then even if we had decided to still buy the boat, 
which we probably would have, we at least could have negotiated the purchase 
price to include the osmosis repair.  Live and learn, I guess.
The previous owner had kept the boat in the  water all year, only hauling one 
week in august to paint the bottom.  This of course made the blisters worse, 
the bottom never drying out.  I don't think he was aware of the extent of the 
problem. Fortunately, all of the blisters were superficial, none extending 
into the laminate. A 1979 hull, that was the time of the blisters. Stargazer, 
from 1967, has her problems (Groan- someday I AM going to have to do the toe 
rail!!), but fortunately, blistering is not one of them.
Speak soon, Russ, friends,
Lee
Stargazer #255

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