Surveyor Recommendation on Cape Cod

[pbrenton]

Hi Folks,

I'm about to put a deposit on a 1997 Compac 27.  Anyone have a recommendation for a surveyor in the area? 

Likewise any tips about making sure a marine survey is "good" would be welcomed.  I have Don Casey's book "Inspecting and Aging Sailboat", but any Compac 27 specific things to look for would be appreciated. 

I think the process will be a survey on the hard in December/January then a sea trial in April/May when it's time to go in the water again.  I guess that means I should not work on the boat in the interim, since there maybe problems and I will have already sunk money into the boat that I might not want to buy after all.  Maybe it's worth putting her in and hauling out again to do the survey so I can get winter work done (there will certainly be something that needs the yard to fix!). 

Peter Brenton
Compac 23/2 "Ella J"

[Seachelle]

Hi, pbrenton!

Congratulations with the Com-pac 27! I've used The Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors' (SAMS) website to locate a surveyor. Here is a link to the place, on that website, where one can search by state: https://www.marinesurvey.org/u-s-states/

It looks like there are other marine surveyor organization websites online where one can search, too, but I've only used SAMS. 

All the best,
~ Chelle
SV Sunflower (Sunny) | 2021 Com-pac Legacy
https://sailawaywithchelle.wordpress.com/

[MHardy]

A good friend used the surveyor below to check out a boat (not a Com-Pac) on Cape Cod. The boat didn't work out for my friend, as the surveyor found and reported serious issues before completing the entire survey. That gets him good marks in my book.

Jeffrey P. Gonsalves, Accredited Marine Surveyor - SAMS
220 Smith Neck Road
South Dartmouth, MA 02748
508.264.6330 (M)
www.jpgys.com
jeff@jpgys.com

[wes]

Peter - I'm aware of two common problems with the 27, both of which I experienced on my own 1988 boat and am aware some others have experienced as well.

The first is hairline cracks where the cabin top meets the foredeck, leading to water intrusion into the foam core. It's a design flaw; the joint is inadequately stiffened and prone to flex a little bit, for example when a person steps onto or off of the cabin top around the forward hatch. I spent around $4k having my entire foredeck re-cored and the problem area stiffened from below with extra layers of fiberglass.

The second is a tendency to osmotic blisters below the waterline, especially if the boat never received a proper barrier coat and has been left in the water for extended periods. These are not difficult to repair but the work is tedious.

The 27 is a very fine boat, and I never felt these issues were deal-killers. I simply factored the time and cost to repair into my planning.

Wes

[pbrenton]

Thanks for the info, folks, and especially the tips from Wes.  Surveyor found, sea trial and survey in the next few weeks.  Then I?ll need to sell the ?23 up in Maine.