It has been a year since the survey. Anything could have happened in
that length of time

When the boat was surveyed, had it been out of the water all winter?
Do you haul boats in your area for the winter? Was this boat hauled
this past winter? Was the boat in the water last summer and was it
used? Did your friend put anti-fouling on the boat last spring? What
kind of anti-fouling is she applying?

Other boats in the marina might have had problems which your friend
did not hear about. If she was not able to discern whether there were
problems with the boat she was buying, it is also possible that she
missed that other boats in the marina were having problems.

Or the other boat owners might have put in place sufficient protection
against electrical problems and she failed to do this.

Or maybe the fault developed during the past year because of damage to
the infrastructure or because one of the newer boats in the marina
(maybe even your friend's boat) introduced electrical problems.

IMHO, if there were bubbles at the time of the survey, the surveyor
would have mentioned them, as that is one of the primary things that
they look for in fiberglass hulls. Not only were they not visible,
but sounding (not sure whether this is just tapping on the hull or
whether it was a moisture meter) did not find them.


"Mark" wrote:

A friend purchased a small cruiser last spring and had it surveyed. While
getting ready for this spring's launch and applying anitfouling wax she
noticed bubbles in the gelcoat. Contacting the person who did the survey,
they said they would have a look at it again on the 20th of May with her
regular mechanic. In the meantime....

1) The surveyor said the bubbles in the gelcoat were not visible last spring
and did not show up with sounding, and that maybe there was an electrical
problem at our marina that affected the hull (causing the bubbles to form).
She responded and said not other boats at the marina were affected. Could
this phenomenon occur, or what are other typical causes of bubbles to form
in the gelcoat?

2) Is there any recourse against the surveyor if the bubbles were missed
during the survey. (I believe the surveyor is from the Kingston or
Belleville area)?

Mark (the rail, canopy, & lifeline hook guy)
www.ripnet.com/vtf/prod03.htm