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Sea trial


Russ9294

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17 minutes ago, Russ9294 said:

Hi I'm buying a 2012 Narrowboat 320 hrs should I have sea trial is it recommended and is it needed or just run engine on Poonton 

Ask yourself if you would buy a car on the strength of starting the engine without taking it on a test run. I would be surprised if you would!

 

Howard

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36 minutes ago, Russ9294 said:

Hi I'm buying a 2012 Narrowboat 320 hrs should I have sea trial is it recommended and is it needed or just run engine on Poonton 

Running the engine is not going to show up any gearbox faults or handling quirks that it may have, excessive vibration, over heating problems, prop/rudder problems, only a good test will show these faults up.

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18 minutes ago, Russ9294 said:

 Thank you I never thought of it like that it's nice to have an honest answer

Whilst I agree with the previous post, its not a car. It will depend on your boat knowledge. I didn't take this boat for a spin or the previous five if I recall. This is a bog standard ford Mondeo shell ( colecraft ) with a standard Isuzu engine prm 150 and 18 by 12 prop. I have driven loads of boats previously with this standard configuration so new exactly how it would be and indeed is. I did test drive my very first narrowboat however and loved it and bough it and subsequently after a few years of experience realised it drove like a crock of poo :lol:

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1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

Whilst I agree with the previous post, its not a car. It will depend on your boat knowledge. I didn't take this boat for a spin or the previous five if I recall. This is a bog standard ford Mondeo shell ( colecraft ) with a standard Isuzu engine prm 150 and 18 by 12 prop. I have driven loads of boats previously with this standard configuration so new exactly how it would be and indeed is. I did test drive my very first narrowboat however and loved it and bough it and subsequently after a few years of experience realised it drove like a crock of poo :lol:

Pump out loo then? :-)

haggis

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5 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Whilst I agree with the previous post, its not a car. It will depend on your boat knowledge. I didn't take this boat for a spin or the previous five if I recall. This is a bog standard ford Mondeo shell ( colecraft ) with a standard Isuzu engine prm 150 and 18 by 12 prop. I have driven loads of boats previously with this standard configuration so new exactly how it would be and indeed is. I did test drive my very first narrowboat however and loved it and bough it and subsequently after a few years of experience realised it drove like a crock of poo :lol:

I do not disagree but I regularly get questions about tiller stiffness, vibration and even pulling hard to one side. Less frequently but still several times a year I get asked about "worrying" noises. Much depends upon the OP knowing how it should handle and sound but in my view a test run is essential. This should include a period running as fats as is sensible to test the cooling system. Far too many are undersized so overheat at higher speeds/powers.

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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

Whilst I agree with the previous post, its not a car. It will depend on your boat knowledge. I didn't take this boat for a spin or the previous five if I recall. This is a bog standard ford Mondeo shell ( colecraft ) with a standard Isuzu engine prm 150 and 18 by 12 prop. I have driven loads of boats previously with this standard configuration so new exactly how it would be and indeed is. I did test drive my very first narrowboat however and loved it and bough it and subsequently after a few years of experience realised it drove like a crock of poo :lol:

Of course a car and a boat are different, but the principle surely is the same. As you mention, you have a lot of experience of boats,  and therefore you are  happy to judge any new boat according to that background knowledge. However, I would say that most people have much more experience of judging a used car than a boat and the more "try before you buy" will be helpful to avoid any dissapointments later. :)

Howard

 

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I fell out with a well known Midlands  brokerage when looking over a boat for a friend....I asked to hear the engine run (It was a RN)...that resulted in a lot of huffing and puffing and mention of "we only usually do that when a deposit is taken"....I was somewhat forthright in my reply and begrudgingly the engine was run up....

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320 hours is fairly low. The engine presumably looks like new . If not be suspicious.  Hour meters can be replaced  and start again from zero.

In any case inspect the engine before and after the trial in case this shows up any oil or fuel leaks. There should be no leaks from such a relatively new engine. 

Are you not employing a suitably qualified and experienced surveyor to no only give the boat a thorough inspection but also to take it for a trial?

The boat should have a current boat safety certificate .

 

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If it's a private sale you may just have to convince the seller that you are a serious buyer, but the situation with brokers is more complex.  I have known brokers who are quite happy to let you take a boat out before any money changes hands, the majority I suspect will want a deposit first.  If it's one of those where the deposit is a nominal amount I don't think you can expect to get it back if you just don't like how the boat performs/handles.  OTOH where the broker wants say 10% you have to be sure the deposit is unconditionally refundable and you'll find a lot of them are not.   

I suspect a lot of the high volume brokers expect to make a sale without the buyer sea trialling the boat first.  

Edited by Neil2
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9 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

I do not disagree but I regularly get questions about tiller stiffness, vibration and even pulling hard to one side. Less frequently but still several times a year I get asked about "worrying" noises. Much depends upon the OP knowing how it should handle and sound but in my view a test run is essential. This should include a period running as fats as is sensible to test the cooling system. Far too many are undersized so overheat at higher speeds/powers.

Have to say I'd agree with you that a test run is essential if you want to minimize avoidable risks. I have seen boats that, on start up, smoke quite a bit but once put under load the smoking stops and the exhaust is as clear as one would hope for. On the other hand I've also seen boats start up with a bit of smoke but when you put the engine under load the smoking becomes ten times worse. I'd tend to avoid the latter unless I fancied a full engine rebuild in the near future.

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2 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

Have to say I'd agree with you that a test run is essential if you want to minimize avoidable risks. I have seen boats that, on start up, smoke quite a bit but once put under load the smoking stops and the exhaust is as clear as one would hope for. On the other hand I've also seen boats start up with a bit of smoke but when you put the engine under load the smoking becomes ten times worse. I'd tend to avoid the latter unless I fancied a full engine rebuild in the near future.

Or a new prop, surely?

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I'm not saying throw caution to the wind, but I've had to reflect on not having a survey and subsequent horrors in the engine department: these have included an alarming tendency to overheat, diesel leaking into the oil, a gear box failure and inadequate battery charging. 

It has to be said that none of this except the gearbox  became apparent until the boat had been from Lapworth to Manchester and back through Harecastle Tunnel, a trip that involved at least one fourteen hour day and about two weeks cruising. Even the gearbox didn't show notice until nearly at Bugsworth on the outbound leg.

I doubt a survey would have picked up much, and a two week long test cruise ain't gonna happen. If, however, I'd known the history of the engine I would have been a lot more cautious. I think it had been bought on eBay as part of the refit on the basis that "it works".

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2 hours ago, Neil2 said:

If it's a private sale you may just have to convince the seller that you are a serious buyer, but the situation with brokers is more complex.  I have known brokers who are quite happy to let you take a boat out before any money changes hands, the majority I suspect will want a deposit first.  If it's one of those where the deposit is a nominal amount I don't think you can expect to get it back if you just don't like how the boat performs/handles.  OTOH where the broker wants say 10% you have to be sure the deposit is unconditionally refundable and you'll find a lot of them are not.   

I suspect a lot of the high volume brokers expect to make a sale without the buyer sea trialling the boat first.  

We bought NC from a big broker and took her out for a river trial before any money changed hands and would not expect any less when we buy again.

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24 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Or a new prop, surely?

How does a new prop stop an engine smoking? (unless you fit a really small one so it never gets under load). A consistently smoking engine suggests to me possible worn cylinders/piston rings or worn/faulty injectors, what does it suggest to you?

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22 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

How does a new prop stop an engine smoking? (unless you fit a really small one so it never gets under load). A consistently smoking engine suggests to me possible worn cylinders/piston rings or worn/faulty injectors, what does it suggest to you?

That it's over-propped. 

If it doesn't smoke when revving out of gear I'd have thought too coarse a prop to be the most likely. But heck, I'm no engine expert. 

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