"Dave Brown" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:

Ran into a potential problem with the boat sale. The buyer's surveyor
discovered that the oil pans on the engines were in bad shape and need to
be replaced. I never noticed (although I never really personally
inspected them having owned the boat for less than a year) and the
surveyor I had when I bought it missed them completely.

Just for my own further education, how did he determine they were not
longer fit for service? Has the boat seen salt water? I have only ever had
to replace one oil pan in 33 years working on boats (and it was cracked)
so this is very interesting to me.





Dave, I don't know the answer other than what was reported to me over the
telephone.
The buyer's surveyor claims that one of the engines appears to have a
fiberglass patch on it's oil pan and claims that the other engine pan
appears to have a tiny leak in it.

Both comments surprised me because, although I never personally inspected
them with a mirror or anything, I never had any oil in the bilge or noticed
the "patch". As I mentioned, when I bought the boat last May, the surveyor
I hired did not notice it either. That doesn't mean it wasn't there, he
just didn't notice.

Your comments are of interest because in the past I have heard the same
thing, meaning the oil pans typically don't rust out normally. I *have*
heard that if the pan is damaged, or the paint is scratched badly during an
engine hauling event (for whatever reason) that the pan can rust
prematurely.

I'll find out more in the next couple of days and report back the findings.

Eisboch