Boat Purchase Update: The Survey

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I finally see my future boat in person for the first time — and get the stamp of approval from the Surveyor.

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August 22, 2022 was the day I went to Olympia to see my future boat and observe the surveyor I hired at work.

Getting There

Olympia is a long drive from my home in Malaga, WA. The survey was set for 1 PM and I planned on leaving at 9 AM. But my friend Bob, who was coming along for moral support, insisted that we leave at 6 AM and get breakfast at one of his favorite watering holes along the way.

With the excuse of waking late, I arrived at his home in East Wenatchee at 6:30 AM. I was driving my 2003 Honda S2000, which I’d bought new in 2003 and only had 67K miles on its odometer. It’s a crazy impractical car, but its a blast to drive and gets the best mileage of my three vehicles (which include a Ford F350 diesel pickup and a Jeep Wrangler). Bob dropped down into the passenger seat and we took off up Highway 2, top up.

His preferred restaurant just past Blewett Pass, Liberty Cafe, was closed on Mondays so we kept going. We wound up at a cafe in Cle Elum, which is right off I-90. I paid for breakfast and then, after topping off the tank, we got on I-90 and headed west.

From I-90, we got on route 18 and then I-5. We hit traffic. We managed to get off the freeway and followed Google’s directions on surface roads to get mostly around it.

We found Zittel’s Marina without much difficulty. It was a funky place with covered slips and a boat ramp that was apparently only usable when the tide was in. I couldn’t see the boat. Inside the office, one guy was quite friendly while the other told us flatly that he couldn’t let us down to look at it. I didn’t expect him to, honestly, but he could have been more apologetic about it. Attitude is everything.

We were nearly 2 hours early. There was nothing to do there, so I used Google Maps to tell me where the closest West Marine was. We made the 20-minute drive. We browsed the West Marine aisles — I like to know what’s available — and Bob bought a hitch pin for his boat hitch. The place was pretty empty so we chatted with the guys who worked there. Very friendly. Then on to Trader Joe’s, which happened to be in the same shopping center, to stock up on a few necessities. (There’s no Trader Joe’s anywhere near where I live.)

We got back to the marina at 12:50 PM. John, the broker, was waiting for us and Garrett, the surveyor, was already at the boat. We did our introductions and followed John down to the boat.

The boat looked great parked there under cover next to a Mainship.

A Brand New Used Boat

We walked down to the slip and climbed on board where Garrett was working with one of the cockpit compartment lids up. He was in good spirits — almost giddy, in fact — about not finding any serious problems so far. He did, however, mention and show me the battery connectors and recommend that they be better insulated.

From there, we started talking about the various components and systems. I was glad to learn that there were four house batteries and one engine battery, although I expected a separate battery for the thrusters. We opened the various compartments back there and both Garrett and John pointed out things. Although I’d brought along a notebook, I didn’t write a single thing down. I just absorbed it all, like a sponge.

Somewhere along the line, Bob and I got separated, with Bob going up to the command bridge with Garrett and me checking out the cabin with John. Everything seemed brand new. The refrigerator, microwave, stove, and possibly even the toilet had never been used. John said the bed, which had a mattress topper and fitted bedspread, had probably never been slept in. The boat’s engine had burned its 30 hours shuttling between the marina and a nearby island where the current owner had a home. This was confirmed later when they fired up the GPS and I could see the previous trips’ tracks. I found some minor issues, including a missing window handle and a slightly off-kilter door hinge.

I went up to the command bridge to take a look around. The helm had just one Garmin screen, but there was plenty of room for a RAM mount for my iPad. One option the owner had not bought was a Bimini top to provide shade for the helm and seats behind it. This is something I needed to have added before I shipped the boat east. Fortunately, King Marine Canvas, the company that makes them for Ranger Tugs, is based nearby and can have one made in the same color as the boat’s other canvas, a shade of tan. I’ll get it installed just before the boat is shipped out.

Inspecting the Bottom

By that time, the tide had come in high enough to use the trailer-based lift the marina has to get the boat out of the water. John started the engine and cast off. He backed smoothly out of the slip while sea lions (?) watched from the nearby breakwater. Some geoduck fishermen had come in with a catch and were using the ramp area, so we waited, letting the boat float with the engine idling. Finally, the big tractor backed the boat lift into the water. John steered the boat up to it. We all got out and the marina crew positioned the boat into the sling and lifted it. A moment later, the boat was coming up out of the water and onto the ramp.

I made a video of the boat being hauled out of the water. I thought it was fascinating.

They parked it in the parking area and we all went over to take a look. The bottom was coated with some slime but in otherwise good condition, with no sign of grounding. It had been painted in the spring. Some weeds were growing on various parts at the stern and the marina guys spent some time scraping it off. We debated power washing the bottom but decided against it. All that slime would come off when the boat started cruising.

Garrett did his thing, which included taking a lot of pictures and tapping all over the bottom of the hull with what looked like a golf ball on a stick. I watched the marina guys replace zincs on the bow thruster and got a lesson in what zincs were and why I should replace them any time the boat was out of the water. (Cheap protection for metal parts.) While I went into the marina office to pay for the haul out, they drove the trailer lift back down the ramp. I rejoined them just as the boat floated off the straps and I climbed back on board.

The Sea Trial

“Sea trial” sounds a lot more impressive than what we actually did; we motored away from the marina and out into the bay for some steering and speed/RPM tests. It was a gorgeous day — did I mention that already — with hardly any wind. The water was calm. The only other boat in sight was a sailboat.

Bob sat at the dining table while John took the helm and Garrett fiddled around in back with the engine lid up. John took the throttle through various RPMs while Garrett came up front and took photos of the engine computer’s readout, which included RPM and various temperature gauges. It was loud with the engine exposed and back door open but quieted down considerably when Garrett closed the back door.

John turned the steering full port and the boat turned smoothly. He crossed our wake and then turned it full starboard. He ran the boat at full throttle and it gave us an impressive 19+ knots. (Not quite 20 but pretty darn close.) He brought it to idle and then reverse; Garrett was listening for a transmission bump and, fortunately, didn’t hear it. The boat’s engine had just over 30 miles on it and the boat ran smoothly.

Finally, we took it back to the marina. John glided us into the slip, tied up, and killed the engine.

Finishing Up

Garrett wandered around the boat checking off a few more things on his extensive list. John and I chatted in the main cabin. Bob left the boat; soon I saw him chatting with some folks a few boats down.

The boat had no name. It was like new. It was almost as if I were buying a demo boat from the factory. I could name it anything I wanted to without some sort of superstitious ceremony. How weird was that?

We moved back out into the rear cockpit. Garrett returned and got down into the engine well to get oil and transmission fluid samples. They suspected that it was still on its original oil — the engine wasn’t even fully broken in yet. They told me how to change the oil, which seemed pretty straightforward, and recommended I change the transmission fluid at the same time.

I took another walk around the boat. John had already covered the helm screens and made sure all the lights were out. I wanted to take more pictures, but the light was bad in the covered slip. I knew that the survey would satisfy the bank and it was the only thing they needed to close; I had already been approved for financing. All they needed was Garrett’s report, which he promised later in the week. I didn’t realize it then, but the bank had decided to move up the closing date; I’d own the boat before month-end.

We left the boat, I pulled Bob away from his new friends, and we headed out to the parking lot. I wrote a very large check for Garrett and we said our goodbyes.

I was kind of giddy with excitement. The boat was everything I’d dreamed it would be.

Heading Home

It was a little after 3 PM. Rather than have a late lunch/early dinner locally and then hit rush hour traffic leaving the Seattle area, we decided to head right out and have dinner along the way.

Bob drove. He drives considerably slower than I do. I found a Thai restaurant in Auburn, about an hour from the marina, and let Google navigate us to it. We had a nice dinner, and both took to go boxes with what we couldn’t eat.

He drove the rest of the way home with a stop at the same gas station in Cle Elum where I topped off the tank again. It was around sunset when we got back to Bob’s house. He got out and I got behind the wheel. Thirty minutes later, I’d picked up my pups at a neighbors house and was backing into my garage.

It had been a long day, but a good one. I’d sleep well that night.