The survey and sea trial was conducted on April 11, 2001. Attending were the owner and his wife, my broker, the surveyor and myself. We met at 0900 in Fort Pierce at the Harbortown Marina. The surveyor went over the boat at the dock for about 2.5 hours with me following his every move like a little puppy dog. I saw parts of a boat that I never knew existed, but I'm now happy they are there. He poked at hoses, sniffed at liquids, scratched on all sorts of surfaces, yanked on wires and generally inspected everything he could reach. He then ascended the mast to inspect the rigging and retrieve a flag halyard that was loose. After a short break for lunch we were off to the sea trial. Part way out the channel to open water we put up all the sails. The 140 Genoa really complemented the main and mizzen. It looked fabulous under sail. I wish I could have gotten a picture. The winds were about 10-15 and were perfect for a slight heel and a great ride. I suspect we were pushing pretty near hull speed. The gps had us going over 8.5 kn at one time, but I know we had some current helping us along. I had gone below to look over a manual when I heard the familiar cry, "ready about". As I came up the gangway I heard the engine race and the boat came about in a hell of a hurry. I jokingly commented to the owner, "I didn't know I was buying a Morgan!". He said we were in a 50' wide channel with a 41' boat and a quick turn was called for.
We returned to port about 1415 and put the boat on the hard for a peek at the bottom. I was surprised to find no blisters, but since the boat had been in cold, fresh water for much of its life, I guess that shouldn't be too surprising. The bottom and through-hulls are were fine shape. I can't say the same for the rudder, however. It was showing a split to the rear of the shaft about 6 inches long. The rudder was formed by molding the two halves separately and "gluing" them together. The foam inside of the rudder is probably waterlogged and the rudder will have to be removed, the two halves separated, the foam dried and the whole thing reassembled.
We found a few things wrong with the boat, but no show stoppers. It looks like the muffler might have frozen at one time, since it has hairline cracks that leaked when the engine was running at cruising speed. The oil cooler had a leak when running and the engine temperature never got up to normal. I suspect the thermostat has stuck open, or maybe there isn't even one in the engine. These problems are all fixable.
All in all, I'm
happy with my purchase and looking forward to many hours of work,
ah, make that fun!