253. A cautionary tale of how buying a narrowboat went catastrophically wrong.
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- Опубликовано: 3 дек 2021
- This is the terrible tale of how a woman who'd always dreamed of living aboard a narrowboat on the canals has had her dreams - and almost the boat - sunk because, she says, she was mislead by the professional surveyor on whose advice she bought the boat.
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What is the point of a surveyor if he is not liable for his inspection.
Yeah exactly. It’s their job. If the surveyor can just make mistakes and don’t be held liable they can just take shortcuts to speed up jobs to get on to the next one and make more money. A bad apple or big mistake should have consequences, to keep up the industry’s standards. These kinds of stories stain the reputation of the industry. And make more people hesitant to get into narrowboating…
Would you rather have no survey at all or have a survey they may well find something wrong???? Of course, a surveyor can't be held liable for their inspection. They will do their absolute best, but are you telling me you expect them to check every single inch of the boat???? OK thats fine but your survey will now cost 20K....... you asked for it so don't complain.
Lewis... You might reasonably expect a surveyor to find the obvious. Older, steel boats are prone to common defects. Even these don’t appear to have been checked. One of these is hull thickness deterioration and pitting. Reputable surveyors will take responsibility for their work, at least until the next scheduled dry-docking. If building surveyors can be held responsible, why not marine surveyors? I wish her luck in her challenge for restitution and her future life on the cut.
As I have discovered there is a huge difference between the quality of marine surveyors . Don’t rely on seller’s survey and only go by personal recommendation .
The surveyor is liable and she is suing him. His professional insurance shoulf eventually pay, but it will take ages for that to happen.
Oh the poor lady, that’s terrible. I would hope the original Surveyor and his insurance would be liable. It would be interesting to see a follow up video and hopefully a happy ending for her.
The two happiest days of a person’s life are the day they buy a boat and the day they sell it.
Why would it have to be that way?
Makes no sense at all.
It's just a saying people say that can't afford a boat
I don't see the utility of a survey if -- forgive me -- if there's no liability for a bad survey. What is the point of it if you can't rely on it? If one is basing a huge financial outlay onan expert opinion that's paid for you should be able to sue the fella for messing up the survey.
Well said 👏
And any loan fees required for storage as the legal issues are resolved.
I sold a home thirty years ago, and the buyer hired an inspector, but all the fellow did while he was there was stand in my kitchen shooting the breeze with me, and enjoying a refreshing drink. After that he said " I don't see anything wrong with your lovely home." , and went on his way.
I don’t know UK law, but in the US there is a statue of limitations for this sort of thing. A bad survey that is caught within a year is different than one that gets caught after 3 years, as far as liability is concerned. (I’m not saying that is morally okay, but it is the way the law is written.)
exactly. Whats stopping me from pretending to be a surveyor and taking someones money when I have no clue what am i talking about. If the surveyor tells you that the boat is fine,and it sinks,i hope youd be able to sue his ass off for the entires boat worth.
David went full on reporter mode for this one, and provided a fantastic example of investigative journalism,well shot, good audio, good camera angles, perfect editing,(and he's on his own,making that content for us)and yeah he's making a point, a narrow boat isn't for most people,but the amount of work he has to put into a video like this deserves respect.
Couldn't agree more. It's such a shame that he had to leave 'professional' TV to show them how it could - and should - be done.
@@paulhaynes8045 David is just good at what he does,and the way he edits, narrates..it's almost like he knows what he's doing.....,
@@TheGhostofJTWalsh I couldn't agree more, his videos are head and shoulders above most RUclips videos in every respect!
David, you might pass on to Jenny that a quicker and cheaper fix would be to wrap the hull in a fiberglass shell. A wrap up to the gunnels could be done over a month in warmer weather or just tenting the boat and doing it sooner would save her thousands. Our 78 year old tug was like a chef's sifter after we scraped and exposed the metal. As we were on a shoestring budget, our options were to scrap, cut and replace the steel, or the alternative, wrap the hull in a fiberglass tub. We chose the latter. We spent approximately 1/8th the cost of just the steel for a completely new hull. Was it worth it? Were we her age and as ambitious, yes, the wrap would be the best alternative.
Really glad to see the gofundme got £9000 so far and this is half way towards that £20,000 esitmate. People are so kind.
I've just donated £127, exactly half my Saturday night taxi take in Swansea. It seemed the least I could do
Good on you Sir!
You have touched my heart and restored my faith in human kind,This is how we will rise above the negativity that has us all gripped in fear,Love and compassion for each other.God bless you John. Namaste.
I believe that the man that did the survey should have some liability.
What is the point of a surveyor if they don't have any responsibility of their reporting?
David is a good man helping a good woman. This kindness will prevail.
That’s terrible. Any update on the legal action would be appreciated.
It it were mine, I’d tune up my welding skills, then strip the interior fully inspect the hull and prevent a fire from the heat of welding.
Then I’d remove the old bottom and weld new in. I would not sleep well if the old rusted hull were under a fresh over plate.
Rust that flaky never stops.
Given the cost of boats currently, the repairs are still cheaper than new.
Wish I was local, it’d be an interesting project.
Maybe a viewer can assist?
She could make series out of the process to drum up interest and donations.
And a reputable marine repair facility could gain favorable business from participating.
….in a perfect world.
She had a full inspection, how you think she got a quote? As to taking out the whole bottom, which I presume mean everything below the water line. That basically a new boat, and you can keep cost below 30 grand?
What a heartbreaking story. I can't help thinking, was the faulty inspection a question of malice or incompetence?
It is very sad indeed
I would think both.
or laziness.
I think this was a very important video to make. It shows how risky buying a boat can be and especially how ruinously expensive things become when the boat is condemned.
This and another narrowboat vlog about a failed narrowboat, both show leaks in the bottom plate. The metal thickness is almost no protection against corrosion, because corrosion likes to concentrate on small areas and work through the metal in spots. Time to reconsider the convention of not inspecting and reblacking bottom plates. Bottom plates are where the critical failures occur, and they are very hard to repair. Retired heavy engineering maintenance and reliability engineer here. Re-plating over corroded metal is going to provide the perfect conditions for more and very rapid crevice corrosion.
Steel and water bad combination at best of times
Hi David
Thank you for highlighting Jenny's plight. I am sure that virtually all boaters will agree that we all have that squidgy feeling when we buy, having to rely on a surveyor (the Surveyor's Prayer: When she sinks, may she sink DEEP!) for his/her knowledge and expertise. I, for one, am happy to donate to her directly and I hope that your platform will encourage others to do the same.
Jonathan
Thank you for being a gentleman and friend to a fellow boater. It’s acts of kindness like this that make our community so welcoming and special. Good luck to Jenny.
Jenny sounds like a nice person. You hear these stories where people are sold lemons. I wish her all the best and will definitely buy some of her products. Thanks David for doing this vid.
This crap happens all the time. Marine surveyors are as sketchy as home inspectors. There is often no way to hold them accountable. I hope she wins. I have purchased many boats over the years. I used to encourage the surveyors to hurry. Not anymore. If the surveyor doesn't take at least 200 photos I'm asking questions.
There really should be some kind of certification process for surveyors like this. At least something that holds them accountable for gross negligence or incompetence.
@@raezzordaze8021 absolutely agree, boat owners rely on these clowns to spot anything that could potentially ruin their lives financially. Boat owners should have recourse if the inspector made mistakes or was just bone idle, they cost enough in the first place
There's and old saying in the US that holds true. The two happiest days in a boatowners life is the day he buys the boat, and the day he gets rid of the boat.
Please update us on Jenny’s progress with the boat, surveyor, insurance, et all. Our prayers go out for her!
Finally, i can see an advantage to being in the u.s. Our country is so litigious that were she here, she could have sued the surveyor, the previous owner, all other boat owners and everybody who knows how to spell boat before she even bought it. I hope Jenny gets to float again soon.
LOL
I’m so pleased you’ve given details of how to donate David. I really feel for Jenny. She seems so upbeat in the face of everything she has been through. From one boater to another I hope she raises enough to get her boat repaired. Catherine
Thanks for lending her a few minutes on RUclips. I pitched in a tenner. I think that's what you call it. I subscribed to boot! Good on all y'all that helped her out.
Should be able to claim off the professional indemnity insurance of the surveyor. Hope the insurers legal team sort it.
My heart sank as I watched your video David. I will gift Jenny to help her. Well done David for highlighting her plight.
Tis done.
Poor girl. I hope she has better fortune in the future. I donated on her website, and hopefully others will too.
This nearly happened to me and my husband last year. We fell in love with a boat, but refused to pay until we had a surveyor. We had to travel up the Thames to get a survey and thankfully we had a really good surveyor that told us it was good only for scrap. The plating was so thin under the engine, that if we hit a log whilst travelling there, we may not be here anymore. We paid for our survey and ran.
You should get in touch with James form “narrowboat that James built” channel. He paid less than 10,000 for a complete hull over plate earlier this year.
10ft shorter with a v hull cos its a springer
true but there were a lot of comments on the plating videos questioning the welding being done
@@markjones4704 …..and that would double the price ??
Surveyor should be held accountable for it
Lawsuit material for sure
David - hats off to you for sharing Jenny's story!
So sorry, I hope she can solve this big problem, poor girl, thanks to you David to cooperate in finding a solution 🤞🤞🤞❤
If it can be temporarily plugged and moved away from the home counties then it would be around £100 a month for hard standing (North Kilworth Marina charge 50p per foot per week) and overplating little more than half the £20,000 mentioned. Try Pete Gilbert at Charity Dock on the Coventry Canal for a quote, he's both good and cheap for narrowboat work.
Interesting
It was kind of hard to 'thumb up' this sad story. I wish Jenny the best of luck. It was nice of you to share her story.
Props to Jenny for sharing her story without being bitter about it. I hope the legal process can recover her losses while she's still young enough to enjoy her boat.
Very sad story Indeed. She's such a sweet person, you'd think fate wouldn't allow this to happen.
I wish her a positive outcome.
Saddest video ever from cruising the cut. Hope she recovers her dream.
Well if you can't trust the word of a professional surveyor, as she and her insurance company obviously did, you're sunk...literally! This has made me seriously rethink my long term plan to live on a narrowboat.
new plating over an rotten bottem is crappy practice, old bottomplates need to be cut out, so you can weld fresh steel directly to the ribs , assuming the ribs are ok , welder and barge owner for 40 years
Wasn't it just to get her to a yard to get her on the dry? A quick patch?
Good - someone who knows his stuff! I would have a survey done if I were buying a boat (for price negotiations as much as to know if it would sink the minute I tried to take it out!) - you kind of have to if you don't know the first thing about boats, other than: "Boat goes in water" :D ^^
yes as u know probably the best and then ok for 30 or 40 years ive seen concrete put in the bilges instead of ballast over a rotten hull six inches of conc and that was thirtty years ago with new stronger bearers and re bar interlocked there is not much left of the old hull left now after thirty years no leaks or cracks in the concrete have you ever seen it before ? we wonder if the boat will last another twenty years or have to be plated or rip conc out and put new in
@@HaddaClu she talking about overplating now for 20k and what she is sueing the surveyor for
Yes, but new plating is probably by far the cheaper option?
That is so sad. I’m sure many of your viewers will help her. Thank you for telling us about this.
What an absolute nightmare for this poor girl! Thank you David for letting us know what can happen!
I look at her and see myself. I found the boat I'd dreamed of owning since 1977. A steel Roberts Offshore 38. Paid a local surveyor to do the job, got a good review and bought her. That was December of 2007. I got a call from the yard to come pick up my furling gear as it had fallen off the mast. Literally wore out the top fitting. I checked the forestay furling. Same. Replaced that. Next; we were motoring into the dock,, and after shutting down, I noticed a glint of light coming up through the thumb hole in the floor. Lifted it up, Oil. Blown rear main seal. Overhaul on a 30 year old Volvo Penta? $10-15K. So a new engine was installed. While she was out, had the bottom sand blasted and found pits all over as well as a large section of chine with rust right through. The Surveyor missed a separate water system up forward, missed the grinding in the furling gear drum. Missed the fire that burned out the galley. Missed the rotted out chine. Seems he went down in December on a snowy day and took some photos, then retired to a bar to write it up. Most annoying thing, after I got the boat I found a copy of the last owners survey, done a couple of months before the same guy did mine. Two entirely different things. Unfortunately the mutt died before I could run him over with my truck. Want to see the whole sad tale, go visit sabredancing.com. It's now 2022 and I have a nightmare on my hands as I try to get her rebuilt. Had to completely strip everything out of her and replace EVERYTHING. New engine, shaft, prop, dripless shaft seal. New electronics, new stove, and large chunks of welding to replace the crap he'd built into her. At least I'm retired now. I have until the end of April to get her into the water.
How sad for this poor young lady, I do hope she receives some form of compensation.
I remember watching this vlog and hope you do a updated one on how Jenny and her boat are doing!
Tragic tale. The original surveyor should have professional indemnity insurance which in a fair world will pay Jennie. Only problem is that insurers are a generally committed to avoiding payment at all costs and will delay and argue to avoid their responsibilities.
" _insurers are a generally committed to avoiding payment at all costs and will delay and argue to avoid their responsibilities_ "...Absolute nonsense, insurers do not generally deny claims that are genuine and are covered by the policy conditions.
@@nickturner2813 My guess is that surveyors have limited third party insurance. Surveyors have, often extensive, liability disclaimers written into the agreement to undertake the survey.
Well done David - I don't usually donate to these sort of campaigns but this one touched my heart so happy to support. Hope Jenny gets all the support she needs - great start on the Go Fund Me link and shop orders are flying by all accounts. Terrific effort everyone
Feel so bad for this woman. My father always said that B.O.A.T means "break out another thousand".
On the upside, I know from experience that the feeling of relief from becoming a non-boatowner is permanent.
After building and repairing boats and ships as a plater for 40 years it makes me angry when so called experts weld doubling plates over rotten hulls.this practice was made obsolete on vessels years ago and is basically a bodge job covering up the poor steel which only causes more problems for the future.poor steel should always be cut out and inserted back. 20 grand for a bottom doubling job is also outrageous!
i thought that how can you weld properly to rotten steel it will sagg over time
That's the point you don't weld over rotten steel,as you've pointed out it does sag over time and the boat starts to corrode from the inside out .to do the job properly the internals need removing to gain access to the bottom plating then bottom is cut out in stages and new plate inserted.even doing it properly in this way would cost nowhere near 20 000 .
According to page 77 of this months waterways world, Aintree boats are offering a brand new 57ft cruiser hull for 18.5k Inc vat so 20k for overplating is either very expensive or perhaps false economy in my view.
Overplating tends to cost because the the other equipment that has to be brought in alot of the time a minor blasting of the bottom then skim coating to prevent any further rust then sections of plate full welds weld seal over the welds another coat of blacking then inspections and float test it cost some money when its all said and done.
Hello David, I just wanted to thank you for sharing Jenny’s plight with us. What a shocking story. I sincerely hope that the law will prevail here. Thanks to you, I have just visited her online shop and purchased a lovely item as my gesture of support. Good Luck Jenny.
Very few people do their job properly.
Makes you apreciate more those who do.
Great clip CC.
I hate how often the insurance companies get away with not paying for things that they swear they cover up front. When we bought our second home we had buyer insurance and it refused to cover a leak in the roof despite the fact that the previous owners had rigged up plastic piping to catch the leak and reroute it to drain through the balcony ceiling. Part of the process was that they sent an inspector who measured for signs of moisture infiltration.... 6 weeks after any rain had fallen. He obviously found nothing and they said 'no sign of an active leak'. It was surreal. We were able to force them to pay for some electrical work but only because we found hidden documentation that the fault was known by the sellers and not disclosed as legally required - they still fought it for months though.
Dont let the lawers slack on this. Go for evey penny you have paid and need to pay to get this boat back in the water, including all the fees incurred while the boat is up on the hard standing! Also the hardship that this has put you under!
The surveyer is a paid professional and lead her to believe the boat was sound when clearly it is not.
She is doing the bright thing by pursuing the Surveyor. She paid him for his professional services and relied upon that advice. He will hopefully have professional indemnity Insurance which is a policy that will provide him with an indemnity against professional negligence claims being made against him. That legal expenses policy she purchased could be invaluable but watch the wording - there is usually a "prospects of success" condition and also she needs to check that it isn't just a legal defence policy.
On the one hand, such insurance does ensure that anyone out of pocket due to the individual's failings as a professional is at least somewhat covered, and removes 'but what if some idiot sues me over something that was not at all my fault?' as a reason not to go into the business to begin with... on the other hand it does somewhat remove the most significant consequences to the professional in question in the event that they actually Do do a terrible job, thus reducing the incentive not to...
I'd imagine that the concerns you mention regarding the insurance are probably non-issues in this particular instance given that it sounded like the insurance was, in fact, already actually getting on with things on that front. Good advice for someone considering getting such a policy, though.
I hope you keep us updated no matter the outcome.
Its sad to see anyone in this situation. She is doing the right thing going after the surveyor. This is his profession and should be held accountable for the recommendations that he is paid to provide.
I have huge respect for Jenny, to share her story as a caution to other prospective boaters. As with others, I hope she wins in court and the 'surveyor' is drummed out of the business--also, that he learns a life lesson of his own and does better in the future.
In the USA we have “bonded” professionals in most every field. From tree services to home builders I always recommend going with a “bonded” agency. I’m hoping for a happy outcome for her.
What a sad situation… hoping justice prevails! Will you be filming a follow-up David??
Yes please @CruisingTheCut, an update please David?
There is an important lesson here that applies to all surveys. Instruct the surveyor, who is after all in your pay, that you will accompany them for the duration of the survey. In my experience some refuse and I then refuse to use them. I believe they are more thorough with you present and it also allows you to discuss a problem with it in front of you. There are downsides, you cannot claim ignorance, you were there, but your plan is to avoid problems in the first place.
That's great if you know alot about boat surveying. But you're hiring an expert because you're not an expert, so you trust that the surveyor knows more than you. Seems like the surveyor should be bonded so you're covered if the surveyor botches his job.
Can you keep us updated on the poor girls situation ?
Anyone heard anything about it?
Any update on the sad story?
This highlights the role of the Canal and River Trust, they claim responsibility for boat licencing which is very, very expensive, why arent they keeping a listing of reliable surveyors? Why arent they campaining for a clear legal framework on liability when purchasing a boat or insuring a boat for that matter? The more protections in place for a new boater the better, who else is going to do this 🤷🏻♂️
It's really not their remit, their role is defined in law and is mainly about maintaining the navigations.
This is terrible 😔. Jenny seems like a nice person. Nobody wants to see bad things happen to good people. The original surveyor should have to pay all of her expenses.
The surveyor needs to be sued,
She said so as much in the video. She has some legal coverage.
I was glad to hear Jenny got the legal cover insurance package. That's at least something, because the whole time up to that I was thinking, how does she sue that first surveyor and would the new surveyor back up her complaint. Narrowboating may be a niche way of life in Britain, but I bet many have been misled by home inspectors and have similar worries all over the world.
Oh no! Praying that it all gets resolved.
Thanks for posting. Hope Jenny's outlook has improved since. Her shop is full of perfect Christmas stocking fillers - an ideal way to show support.
This was perfectly timed, David. Perhaps now, a few weeks before Christmas, more people feel inclined to do some good and help Jenny to get her boat back in the water.
Well done David for putting this together, giving her a platform and exposing an issue that any prospective boat purchaser needs to take heed of. All surveyors should have indemnity insurance and it appears that is confirmed in this case. Many of the costs the young lady was talking about at the end of the video should be covered,at least in good part (and she might do better than that if she had an independent lawyer to give her advice). I hope she achieves an equitable settlement which should be to put her back where she was financially prior to the purchase (on the basis that she would not have bought it had she been informed of the true material state) plus her expenditure improvements plus the work and time on the hard and the overplating - minus a reasonable figure for her 3 years enjoyment of the boat. I wish her good luck.
Feel so bad for the lady. Almost as soon as the story started i thought "Sue the Surveyor!" - glad she has legal support and someone now fighting on her side,👏🏻👏🏻
I believe steel boats rust away from the inside. Double plating is not a long term solution. The gap between the two plates causes more corrosion issues.
You would think a 10 mm bottom plate sitting in fresh water would last a hundred years, but alas, was not to be.
I had an almost exact situation with a keel boat that i purchased....the surveyor gave it glowing comments and recommended purchase "a bargain at that price". subsequently, the yard found over $100,000 of structural defects not detected or ignored by the surveyor. I sued and was successful.....but the stress and anxiety made me hate the boat and as soon as it was repaired, I sold it . the new owners sailed it around the world. Sometimes buyer beware is not enough.....be careful out there.
This video makes me very sad. As a live aboard boater who did not get a survey before I got my boat I feel so terrible that it has happened to you Jenny. I really hope people can help you and you can float your boat very soon. It is such a beautiful boat too.
I hope the people watching this really try to help out.
And thanks for making a video to help her 🤗
Best of luck ❤️
Oh bless her heart. It's a shame this has happened to her. So glad she's gotten that extra insurance add on.
I always take out extra insurance when I buy a car/truck. We call it GAP insurance in the US. I just bought a new truck on October 2006. When I came disabled on February 2007 the GAP insurance paid my $568.00 truck payment until it was paid in full. So by paying that extra $6.78 for GAP insurance from November 2006 to February 2007, I got a free truck. I was so happy that I took out that extra insurance. It also paid your deductible if you was in a wreck of some sort. I think it's the best extra insurance to have & I will contenture getting it if it's offered.
Hope everything works out for her. Have a wonderful day, be safe, & God bless,
Chris from Missouri
Well done old chap, now come on everyone, donate, I just have, love from Australia 🇦🇺
So sorry to see this happen and hope Jenny gets it resolved soon. ❤ the gift ideas, on her website are great, they arrived beautifully wrapped, the rose candles smell lovely and the earring are wonderful too.
I will look although not much cash left after Christmas which has been rather stressful as my son got covid19 and I spent lots of money on food that hasn’t been eaten sitting in fridge…. But if purchasing a few candles etc helps 😊
Very very sorry for her
I had a similar surveyor when buying a house but thank God I pulled out
But it's not her fault as she said had a professional person who she thought could trust.
Hope the insurance pays out
Hello David, yes, an experience no boater wants to run into. Thanks for sharing this story , I gladly contributed toJenny’s fund..
Please keep us updated David, hoping for good fortunes for this nice lady.
Thank you for conducting this interview and posting the video. David has over 200,000 subscribers. Each of us who subscribe must have watched many of the videos because we enjoy them. If each of us donates a mere dollar or pound, Jenny will be in a position to buy a much, much nicer boat, and we can then look forward to many videos chronicling Jenny's adventures in the new boat.
Heart breaking news, I found her story upsetting, I hope leagal action bears fruit and its done on insurance, Good luck jenny.
You need to contact james... the narrow boat that james built.. he had to have his boat completly replated earlier this year . He may be able to advise you of cost etc. And stear you in the right direction..
Hi David. Sad story from Jenny, especially as she'd appeared to have done virtually everything correctly. Hope she can get something satisfactory sorted soon. Thanks for the vlog - very useful "heads-up" for others. George and Trish - CaravanningMacs
I’ve bought a flat in a building that hadn't been built properly. Insulation, fire barriers issues. Unsalable&unmortageable + £100 a month for 24/7 fire patrol. Most importantly, free holder, building company, government and surveyors - are NOT responsible.
Now this story is also very upsetting. There are too many “experts” in this country who just charge money and give a “worthless piece of paper” without any consequences or liability.
The people you purchased it from should be ashamed of themselves as well, my boat is over 30 years old and had a incredible amount of work done to the Hull thankfully, no problems yet but your situation worries me, I don't have much to offer you other than my van tools time and a willingness to work free of charge if you need any jobs doing please message, Steve & Lilly
Every new boater's nightmare. Poor girl :(. A bit lucky the issue was found in the dry dock though, it could have been much worse. Steel thickness is an issue in these old boats. I'd be inclined to sell it for what you can and buy different one. 20k for overplating (not a fan) seems a bit much when you could buy an alright boat in decent condition for 30k or so. Hope she is able to enjoy boating again soon.
Poor kid. Kinda reminds me of my daughter here in the states who bought a house while we were estranged that had termites. You have to have a termite inspection but they missed it. She came for help from me and I ended up replacing all her oak floors. Got nothing from the termite inspector, it's quite a racket. Hope Jenny is able to recoup at least most of her money.
Watching this was like living a horrible experience all over again. Bought a steal 42ft Flybridge cruiser in QLD Australia. Had it surveyed, all good no problems at all. Lived and cruised on it for two years with my family. Decided to do a mini refit. First job sand blast the hull, re barrier coat and antifoul. Within the first hour the tradesman stopped and showed me holes you could put your keys through. The paint had been keeping the water out! These weren't new holes, but ones that had been there and growing for a while. Further examination showed the entire 42ft was littered with holes and needing complete replacement. That would have required removal of 2 x 500li diesel tanks and an engine and other expensive items to enable the hull to be cut off and a new one welded on. The result.....our home which we owned outright and had lived on care free for two years was sold for scrap. We got $3,500 AUD for a boat that had been valued by the surveyor for 6 figures 2yrs previously. We were gutted and it took us nearly 7yrs to recover emotionally and financially. I wish Jenny all the luck in the world.
What the hell is the point of a survey if the surveyors aren't held responsible for doing bad work? This sounds like a government jobs program and not what it should be, protecting the safety of all users on the water.
As our very honest David has shown over the years, the never ending war with rust on narrow boats is very real. What you can see is very much the tip of the ice burg. Jenny's story should be an eye opener for anyone thinking of parting with large sums of money for 15-20 year old boats. We've only ever had a brand new sail away hull that we fitted out ourselves, but in todays market people are paying £50k plus for some pretty old boats. A professional surveyor should never recommend a boat purchase, only state the facts. Be cautious of the relationships between brokerages and surveyors. Boats are not like buying land and property, boats are a depreciating dissolving tin can that break down and require continuous maintenance/repairs. It is a wonderful world cruising the cut, but buyers beware!
Out of curiosity, what good is a surveyor if they aren't implicitly recommending a boat? It seems the whole thing is about having a professional assess and endorse the condition of the vessel? What am I missing?
Please do regular follow up videos to lett us know how she is doing, may be some one with steel working experience will donate their time and a steel company the needed plates(would be nice pr for them). You may not have the money to help her but you do have manny wonderful UK viewers/followers that have lots of knowledge and heart.
thickness testing is a small part of my job as a NDT tech. it takes very little time to learn how to do and a proper survey of an area that size would take about an hour AFTER CLEANING, which MUST be done before test can happen.
IF the report states that UT thickness testing was carried out the surveyor's insurance must surely pay as no evidence of cleaning (inspection patches that Jenny mentions) PROVES that unless done from the inside of the boat (where hull is inaccessible) no ultrasonic testing could possibly have occurred..(the sound waves used to perform the inspection simply cannot pass effectively through corrosion, mud air etc).
Poor girl. So trusting in this dodgy old world. She seems like the sort of positive, up-beat girl who will win in the end. I do hope so.
Can anyone from this community step up and provide hard standing while the work happens and/or cheaper plating services?
Absolutely, she's a really kind person and this would help her out immensely while she get's things sorted.
Thank you for sharing, and hoping all go’s well with the claim🙏✝️🕊🙏
What an absolutely horrible thing to happen to Jenny, very sorry to hear this, I hope she gets her much deserved compensation 🌼
Poor girl. I do so hope the insurance eventually comes through. Please can you keep us all updated. Many thanks, Ian.
fatchance even jenny states that POSSIBLE OUTCOMES FOR THE BOAT
One possibility for funding is that I can claim against the original surveyor’s insurance, unfortunately this takes a long time and the chances off a payout are low. If this does pay out I will be able to get the work done. by the way it is not a insurance claim its litigation against the surveyor who will be defended by solicitors and barristers if the insurer wants too challenge it best outcome 5k settlement out of court which will help with the go fund money now
This is a classic case for the County Court, Fast Track claim procedure. This is for cases up to £100,000. I hope his insurance was good.
Jenny has all my sympathy: that truly sucks.
That said, 250 a month is still way cheaper than rent, and 20,000, though horrendous, is fairly standard for doing up a flat/house.
In the end, she'll have a lovely boat, that's been done properly, and she'll have saved a boat for the world.
And eventually (a long way down the road), the surveyor's insuruer will have to pay out, and she'll ultimately get her cash back.
Stay strong, Jenny!
I doubt she's allowed to live in that storage yard, so she's probably paying double rent, for her and the boat.
It's not relevant what doing up a house or flat may or may not cost. She owns a boat, not a house, and if she pays 20,000 for repairs then that's 20,000 she's out of pocket. She bought a boat, which she presumably paid market value for, and is now having to pay 20 grand to fix defects that she should not have to.
Because you have the report in writing from the surveyor, he should be legally accountable up to a point, especially as he didn't actually physically examine the hull correctly.
There is no single independent governing or regulatory body covering marine surveyors. In effect this means that literally any old body can set themselves up as a specialist and start dishing out advice.
If they are members of one of 2 bodies, the International Institute of Marine Surveyors or the Yacht Designers and Surveyors Association it very loose oversight and more about providing Professional Indemnity insurance than close oversight of members. You can be a member of either organisation and not have formal qualifications i believe (though the offer training).
Fighting someone with Professional Indemnity insurance, especially in British courts is a very deep pocketed undertaking she could easily put in twice the 30 grand with no assurance she wins the case.
Best hope is the surveyors' Indemnity insurance firm see it will cost more to fight than just pay out and this never goes near a court room.
Wonderful that people have responded to this so generously, and it's just a nice thing to see in my RUclips suggestions of a morning! A cautionary tale I suppose, but also a good deed done for someone who suffered the effects of other people's lack of care.