Van de Stadt 8m  Offshore Sloop                                                                                                

We recently carried out a survey on a GRP sloop fin keel built in the ’70s. 

The vessel presented well and we understood that a previous owner had spent a few years refitting the boat. All of the interior had been stripped out and reinforced with added bearers and re-epoxied all of the inside. The chap was also a keen joiner and re-built all of the furniture adding all those extra personal designs that improve so much the life aboard. Being myself a wooden boat builder too I was very appreciative of the details and quality of the refit.

Obviously no extra cabins have been added but the way every things nest together gives the impression of extra space. With a Vee berth in the front cabin and two seats / beds in the main cabin gives the opportunity for a couple to share the sailing experience with friends.

The rig has been kept as a sloop with an added Jib stay for stronger winds.

The vessel is steered by tiller and also has a wind autopilot which would tempt many people to go for long passage just to use it!

Any excuse for a long passage to warmer shores ?

Despite the price tag being slighlty higher than equivalent yachts, this one comes with a well thought-out interior design and practical rig.

We wish them plenty of enjoyable cruising

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd    (inc European Marine Surveys)          Tel :  01603 327 123        www.europeanmarinesurveys.com

Boat Safety Scheme

  Urgent Safety Notices Concerning Gas Equipment

Recall of Calor Lite® cylinders 2008-11

Calor Gas Ltd has asked the BSS to help notify boaters that there is an immediate product recall on all 6kg Calor Lite® cylinders manufactured between 2008-2011 inclusive following concerns regarding the potential deterioration of the cylinder. Find out more here immediate recall information

Do you have a Beko, Flavel or Leisure LPG cooker installed on your boat?

Beko UK has an urgent safety notice and has asked for support from the Boat Safety Scheme.

There is an on-going Beko campaign to find and fix dangerous older models of Beko, Flavel and Leisure gas cookers that can produce potentially fatal levels of carbon monoxide, if used incorrectly with the grill door closed. Find out more here: Urgent Safety Alert

Boats with LPG (butane and propane) aboard

If your vessel has gas aboard, please remember to prepare the vessel before its examination and ensure there is a supply of gas ready for the examiner to undertake the checks.

LPG cylinder lockers – boat owners must ensure the BSS Examiner can carry out careful checking of the LPG cylinder locker for condition, including the removal of all loose portable items, base protection mats, removable false floors and the temporary removal of connected LPG cylinders.

Discuss your LPG cylinder locker arrangements with your examiner in advance of the examination as this may require your attendance or you to make prior arrangements involving service agents.

LPG lockers not accessible enough to allow an assessment of condition will involve the BSS Examiner having to return to carry out the check with the obstruction removed.

The BSS Examination includes checks on any LPG system covering aspects of the storage of gas cylinders, gas system and the connections to gas appliances.

The complete set of checks can be read in Chapter 7 of the BSS Examination Checking Procedures (See page 40 of the PDF file).

Here is a diagramtic description of the BSS requirements linked to a boats LPG system. The numbers refer to the chapters and section in the BSS ECPs refered to in the link above.

How do we check your boat is free from gas leaks?

The BSS examination includes a test that checks that the gas system is free from leaks i.e the gas tightness-test.

However, we would like to stress that the system should be gas-tight (not leaking) all times, not just when the BSS examination is due.

For boat owners the simplest way of having that assurance is to install a bubble tester and use it routinely. The examiner can also use this device to check the system is gas tight too, if it is installed correctly.

Where a bubble tester isn’t fitted, the BSS Examiner must use a device called a manometer, this has to be connected to a gas test point.

The test point is simply a threaded opening into the gas system. It is sealed by a screw action nipple. To test the system, the nipple is undone, the manometer is connected up, the test is carried out, the manometer is then disconnected and the nipple is tightened back down.  It is tightened sufficiently to seal the test point once more to prevent a gas leak, but not so tight as to damage the seal and cause a gas leak.

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd.  Marine Surveyors & Consultants 
EMS also undertake Boat Safety Inspections & Engine Inspections

www.europeanmarinesurveys.com
Tel: 01603 327 123  

The importance of Boat Seacock Valves & their Accessibility

Definition:  A seacock is a valve on the hull of a boat or a ship, permitting water to flow into the vessel, such as for cooling an engine or for a salt water faucet; or out of the boat, such as for a sink drain or a toilet.

Seacocks are left open or are closed depending on the situation. Seacocks feeding into or out of a closed system, like the engine cooling system, are almost always left open. Seacocks connected to something open, such as a sink drain, might be opened up in port but closed when at sea. The reason for this is that when the boat is level, the drain or other opening will always be above the waterline, and so water will only flow out. At sea, when the boat rolls in the waves, the opening may sometimes be below the waterline. If the seacock is open, water may flood the boat.

During a recent survey, I came across a major issue. Luckily not related to the structure of the vessel   But the seacocks were not up to their job and inherently unsafe

The boat is fitted with four seacocks in or near by the engine space.

The engine seacock was seized and will probably be ok after servicing however the other three all displayed ‘safety’ problems

The water intake for the head has been mounted in a very difficult to reach part of the bilge. It is next to the chine all the way under the helm station sole board and even my extremely extended long arm couldn’t reach it. And it didn’t seam to be any easier access from the top unless one removed all the wires and useful bits from the helm station and unscrewed the sole board. So I don’t think this seacock has been serviced for a long time and all seacock must be easy to access and work on.

  Third seacock

The third seacock was actually a lot easier to reach and had been made redundant. Nothing wrong with that except it was capped with a wooden bung, the bung being ‘pushed’ into the hole

A wooden bung can rot or split or dry and is mostly used as a quick fix to get a boat to safety when a pipe or a seacock is leaking. But it shouldn’t be used as a definite solution. A right solution would be to secure the seacock with a bronze screw cap and keeping the seacock closed as well.

Seacock # 4   Wasn’t actually there   The pipe was directly fixed with one jubilee clip onto the skin fitting. Now would anyone feal safe about that ?   Knowing that the skin fitting was 1.25″ diameter.  Luckily the boat had one wooden bung but this was in use already on another seacock !

  #  4

Well joke apart, any through hull aperture under the water line should be made secure and safe but also maintained in good condition. A wooden bung of the right size should be attached to each seacock so one doesn’t waste time looking for the bag of bungs in a moment of rush. And make sure your bilge pumps are in working order!

On another boat, a sea going one, I’ve found a gate valve attached via a 6” long hose to a Blake seacock fitted onto the hull. Now what had happened I believe is that the Blake valve had seized and didn’t get serviced so some one found a solution by fitting an in-line valve six inches away from the hull.  Practical yes but not logical and not safe   The Blake valve should have been serviced or replaced in this case with another seacock and job done. As at the moment the boat hasn’t got a seacock fitted onto the hull.

Original seized seacock plus second seacock added in-line

So as you can see from those photos, whether you use one or two seacocks or maybe none! It doesn’t matter, what you have to remember is that seacock are here to stop water coming in! And so they need to be serviced and kept in operational condition.

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd    (inc European Marine Surveys)         

Tel :  01603 327 123        www.europeanmarinesurveys.com

RIVA 52 SURVEY    Pre Purchase Survey in (sunny) Spain

Following instruction from a Brazilian client –  Last month we undertook a pre purchase survey in sunny Ibiza, SPAIN

The flight to Ibiza was fine apart from an hour delay at Stansted, which means I would be running an hour behind the whole day.   That’s all right in the UK with normal working hours but in Spain !   Where they stop between 2 and 4 pm and the yard closes at 6pm, That didn’t leave me much time to run around a bigish boat and try to find something wrong about it

The boat was a Riva Rivale 16m (52ft) and was kept indoor at Ibiza Boat Center, a reasonably big yard where they mainly look after luxurious type of boats. Great to keep the boat indoor away from the weather but slightly hot under a tin roof. I am more used to be in cold wet shed on the Norfolk Broads. But hey !  a bit of sunshine is always good.

The local broker Andreas Moegle of Amo Yachts was very helpful in working out the local logistic. Picking me up at the airport and sorting out accommodation for my one night stay. Andreas is a busy broker who also runs a local charter boat company with all sort of type and size of boats.  If any one fancy a quick ride to Formentera  he would definitely find you the right boat. 

After having passed all the safety check and been approved to walk in the boat yard, I found a very well kept boat. Well that was just my first impression from the outside, and I kept the same impression the whole way through the survey. The captain came shortly after and took me through the history and details of the vessel. A very interesting chap who has been extensively sailing in the Mediterranean sea.

The Riva Rivale is a well built ocean going twin screw medium Vee design. The hull design is built for good speed and reasonable fuel consumption. Powered by twin V8 MAN Engine of 662kw each gives plenty of oomph to the boat to quickly sail from Cannes to Monaco for the aperitif! And if no mooring could be negotiated in the harbor, the Riva Rivale can store a tender up to 3.2m in the garage!

The interior design is practical and of a high quality standard. Riva had design this boat with the idea of the owner self-handling it so to enjoy full privacy when sailing, however a version comes with a crew cabin for when in want of a chef / sailor.

The survey was pretty straight forward, following my routine I have found very little to say about the boat. It has been professionally maintained since it was built in 2005 and apart of the usual necessary maintenance i.e valves, stern tube and packing glands not much was wrong with the boat. Structurally Riva boats are built to last and have great character.

Lunch was the hardest bit of the survey. I mean I normally do the survey in one go. Well there I had to stop between 2 and 4pm for lunch as the yard was shut for siesta.  Lunch was great with some great tasty local product or at least locally from the continent! But getting back into the engine room, cramped with two massive MAN engine and all the system of the boat nested all over the place and with just a small open man hole for fresh air, I was starting to feel slightly too big for the place !

However the engine space on this boat is really well designed. All systems come back there so no need to lift any cushions in the sitting room or dismantle half a galley to reach the water pump. Just not straight after lunch in a boatshed that is close to 37C

I managed to finish in good time before 6 o’clock and after having double check all my findings headed towards the hotel for a well deserved shower and a rewarding cool beer.

Now I could enjoy a bit of my Ibizean time, so I walked along the Passeo Maritimo keeping an eye on a few yachts and super yachts in case I saw someone I knew from my previous jobs in the super yacht industry. Unfortunately or not, no one was there, so that would be an easy evening for me. Had a nice meal in the old town and a bit of wander around and back to the hotel as every local people were just going out for their evening runs

It was really nice carrying out this survey in Ibiza.

Hopefully more of those European surveys to come and brighten our English winter days

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd.  Marine Surveyors & Consultants 
EMS also undertake Boat Safety Inspections & Engine Inspections

www.europeanmarinesurveys.com
Tel: 01603 327 123

From: Personal <[email protected]>
Date: 22 June 2014 00:01:31 BST
To: Louis Bodmer <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Our Unity     (# 00769-14)

Hi Louis,Thanks very much for your help today, you were extremely thorough and I shall recommend you when either my family or I make another purchase some time in the future!We bought the boat.Best regards,Tom

Tom Haslehurst MSc BSc (Hons)
Managing Director, Chapman & Haslehurst Ltd
Director, Dagger & Blade Ltd
+44 (0)7841262658

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd    (inc European Marine Surveys)          Tel :  01603 327 123        www.europeanmarinesurveys.com

On going training for European Marine Surveyors   –   We do not stand still

Training in wood boat construction

I am Louis Bodmer a small boat surveyor with European Marine Services Ltd and very happy to announce I have completed my course in wooden boatbuilding and restoration at the International Boatbuilding Training College (IBTC) in Lowestoft.

The college is renown for its outstanding facilities and approach to tuition.

The course consist of 47 weeks and is divided with the first 12 weeks in a joinery course where a highly experienced joiner has lead us to feel confident and skilled enough to take on any joinery work in a boat.

Following this first 12 week period, we were thrown straight into a fully functional boatyard.  With over twenty boat projects on the go and extensive facilities availabling include modern machinery along with a Woodmiser in the timber yard, we were able to work with and build any / all components required for the restoration of wooden vessel or new builds.

Well not quite!  We still needed good instructors and clear instructions! And both were there ! With three instructors on site and a ratio of 1 to 6 for teaching plus varied short courses covering lofting, engine and boat systems, timber knowledge, rope work, GRP courses and more, we were increasing our knowledge every day

The Lowestoft College is set up as a proper boatyard where owners bring their own boats to be restored.  Most of the time the boats are beyond financial / viable restoration from commercial yards and wouldn’t be repaired / rebuilt without considerable investment and would end up being lost.  And this is the beauty of it, while keeping the long tradition of wooden boat builder alive we also participate in keeping the maritime heritage of those yachts alive and not part of a bonfire!

The labour and expertise is provided by the students and college and the owners make a contribution towards materials.  It might take a bit longer to reach completion but it is a good way to keep every one afloat.

There is a definite joy and pride in the process of building and restoring wooden boats, from practical lofting to picking up the lines for the templates to building the components and enjoying the shape of her coming to life!  As well as some less productive day when nothing will fit and the kettle looks more friendly than a curved spoke shave!

When I first join the course, I had in mind it will help in my profession as a surveyor gaining the in-depth knowledge of a boatbuilder and it is certainly paying off ! As a wooden boat is probably the trickiest construction type to survey and now with those skills

Consequently I am more informed and professional when undertaking surveys and able to provide advice based upon training, expertise and background knowledge to EMS clients.

So after those long 47 weeks learning and honing skills, I have now finished with Distinction in the College Diploma and City & Guilds 2463 Level 3.

As a qualified surveyor and part of European Marine Services Ltd (incl. European Marine Surveys) I am based locally in Norfolk, East Anglia and am very happy to meet you when undertaking inspections and surveys plus recommendations regarding your boat

Information:             Lowestoft IBTC

For your information Andy the manager would more than happy answering any queries in regard to their courses.  Their website address is www.IBTC.co.uk

Please give him a call

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd    (inc European Marine Surveys)          Tel :  01603 327 123        www.europeanmarinesurveys.com

Broom 37 Continental            Worth buying at the right price            

A Rebuild Project 

We have recently carried out a pre-purchase survey on a 40 year plus Broom Continental 37 from the early 70’s.  The customer had some worries about the safe structural condition of the boat after having viewed the vessel and undertaken river trials on the Broads and so did we when we saw her afloat in Broom’s Marina

The vessel had a laid teak deck and it was definitely looking tired.  The gel-coat showed signs of fair wear and tear and little maintenance.

The internal joinery woodwork hadn’t been protected and sealed for many years and due to some water ingress through the windows was in a poor condition and the list carries on with packing glands in need of servicing or replacing, windows leak, usual seized seacocks and so on.

But all in all, despite the poor cosmetic condition and lack of regular maintenance and up-keep, the vessel was considered structurally good.

She had a small amount of osmosis being expected in a vessel of this vintage and having been moored on the rivers for some years.

This just shows how well and strongly Broom’s Boat are built.  It also shows that a boat is like a house and needs attention and TLC to preserve its market value.

Even more so in a boat !  The effect of water combined with a poor maintenance increases the repair bill far more than scheduled maintenance – which will help keep a boat at a good standard throughout the years.

The joinery woodwork would probably need to be partially renewed but this could be a nice project for someone with an appetite for joinery work.  Beside, it is a good opportunity to redesign the interior according to one’s need !

All in all, this boat displays a great potential as a family boat and perhaps live aboard.

It can be a great project for someone who can spend the time to put it right.  Obviously some professional help might be needed and we know from experience that any boatbuilder taking part into the renovation of such classic motor yacht will be proud of being part of it.

The Broom Continental is one of the hidden gems from Broom Boat Builders and should be stunning once done up.  

I am looking forward to seeing her all done up and sailing down the rivers

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd    (inc European Marine Surveys)          Tel :  01603 327 123        www.europeanmarinesurveys.com

Bayliner 3255   – With an unusual bow thruster

During last week surveys, I came across an interesting bow thruster on a Bayliner 3255.  As opposed to being built within a tunnel in the bow, the motor and props were externally mounted on the stem

I understand that these units are quite common in the USA being purchased off the shelf and can be DIY installed

     Not a recommended installation

So, as you can see from the above picture, all of the bow thruster is exposed.  And this is probably fine when sailing on the Broads (good for catching ropes etc) at a low speed but if one wants to enjoy a trip out at sea, two things are going to happen

1.     The bow thruster will almost certainly be out of the water when the boat is planing

2.    The chances of this unit suffering accidental impact damage are very high indeed

Since the vessel has twin outdrive propulsion and is reasonably small in length, It is better for the owner to practice control with the two engines and possibly consider removing the external bow thruster or investigating a way to have a bow thruster tunnel fitted.

Despite this slight concern, this boat was a good example of a Bayliner 3255.                     The interior was in a good condition with the usual fair wear and tear consistent with a vessel of this vintage, no osmosis was found and the boat was strongly built.

The usual questions were raised regarding the condition of the legs and since when buying a boat you are also buying one or two engines with it, we always recommend having a qualified marine engineer carry out an in-depth inspection of the out-drive units as they can be notoriously expensive to be put right.

Plus have an engine Oil Inspection Analysis which we offer as a service

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd    (inc European Marine Surveys)          Tel :  01603 327 123        www.europeanmarinesurveys.com

Boat Safety Scheme

A Marine Survey Service from – European Marine Services Ltd

IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING – BEKO, LEISURE & FLAVEL GAS COOKERS MANUFACTURED – PRIOR TO JAN 2009

If your cooker has been converted to run on LPG (bottled gas), please click here.

These appliances are designed for cooking purposes only and must NOT be used as a space heater, or for any other purpose. CHECK THE LIST BELOW TO SEE IF YOU OWN ONE OF THE AFFECTED COOKERS. Click on the model number to download an instruction booklet if required

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IF YOU OWN ONE OF THESE COOKERS

1. FOLLOW THE PRODUCT INSTRUCTION MANUAL AND DO NOT OPERATE THE GRILL WITH THE GRILL DOOR CLOSED

When the grill burner is on, the grill door must always be in the open position. If the grill is operated with the grill door closed, the air supply to the grill burner is restricted which can cause extremely dangerous levels of carbon monoxide to be produced which can pose a very serious risk to health.

2. ARRANGE FOR A FREE SAFETY INSPECTION AND MODIFICATION

If you own or use any of the models shown above, please call Beko on:

• UK Free phone 0800 917 20180800 917 2018
• Ireland Free phone 1800 25 29 25

Beko customer care centre is open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday. We will then arrange to carry out a free modification to your product to remove any risk When calling please have your full model number and serial number to hand – these can be found on the rating plate at the bottom front edge of the appliance (see below).

Leeward 18

I was recently asked to look at a Leeward 18 for a visual and verbal report upon its condition.

I have to say that this was one of those enjoyable marine surveys where even from a distance I could see that the boat was in really good condition.

The previous owner had kept a good schedule of maintenance for the vessel and her engine.  She has a Mercuiser sterndrive diesel engine and was visually well kept.

Those boats have been built for fishing purposes as well as leisure use.  The GRP hull is strongly built to a high standard.  She features a large aft cockpit with plenty of space for the fishing gears and also has a neat little cabin to be sheltered from the sprays when reaching the fishing spot.

The hull design allows the boat to plane and reach any destination in no time at all.  But also can be very easily trailed by road to get to further afield places.

Looking forward to more of these