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Marine diesel surveyor in SoCal

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Hey Gang remember me? I made an offer on a 1989 Pacific Seacraft 34 and they accepted. Sorry to say I have ventured from the Ericson fleet. My E-27 “Pride of Cucamonga” served me well for over 14 years and she’s still going strong with even more improvements from the new owners.

Survey and Sea Trial on the Pacific Seacraft 34 is a week from tomorrow. Christian Williams thanks for recommending Jim Wallace. He was also recommended on several other forums for a SoCal surveyor. I feel like I am in good hands! Now I am in need of a marine diesel surveyor. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff Asbury
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Jeff,

I enjoyed working with Martin Ball of Long Beach/San Pedro.

I've published his contact info several times here, just can't seem to find it. Maybe somebody else has used him recently.

Martin appears at minute 00:02:15 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7mpbcCa-u4

Nice new boat. But stick around, you'll always be an honorary Ericson.

(If you put zeros together on this forum, you get that funnyface. No idea why. Anyhow, "minute 2 fifteen")
 
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bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
I had a mechanic named Leif Johansen do my engine survey, recommended by Jim Wallace.

I never actually met him, but he did a thorough report and was quite willing to answer my questions when I talked with him.

IIRC the mechanical survey was $95, plus another $35 to do take an oil-sample and send it off for analysis.

He was based in Los Angeles. If you're interested, I'd be happy to dig out his contact info.

Bruce
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Thanks again Christian. Jim Wallace gave me this phone number for Martin Ball but he has not returned my voicemail yet. Martin Ball (310) 508-9036. Then there is this old link but I don't think the phone number is current. http://www.socalsail.com/bg/co/mjb-marine/

I also got a crazy high estimate for a engine survey from Chris at RS Marine in San Pedro for $500. Chris knew the boat and said he had done a valve job on it and put a new exhaust riser on. He also told me the the cutless bearing was replaced about a year ago at Marina Shipyard. The hours on the engine are kind of high at 2700 hrs. I pray it's not going to be a deal breaker. Not a lot of history on the boat because the owner passed away last August and we can't find much in the way of maintenance records.

Jeff,

I enjoyed working with Martin Ball of Long Beach/San Pedro.

I've published his contact info several times here, just can't seem to find it. Maybe somebody else has used him recently.

Martin appears at minute 00:02:15 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7mpbcCa-u4

Nice new boat. But stick around, you'll always be an honorary Ericson.

(If you put zeros together on this forum, you get that funnyface. No idea why. Anyhow, "minute 2 fifteen")
 

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Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Yes please send me his contact info Bruce! Much cheaper than the last quote I got!

Thank You!

I had a mechanic named Leif Johansen do my engine survey, recommended by Jim Wallace.

I never actually met him, but he did a thorough report and was quite willing to answer my questions when I talked with him.

IIRC the mechanical survey was $95, plus another $35 to do take an oil-sample and send it off for analysis.

He was based in Los Angeles. If you're interested, I'd be happy to dig out his contact info.

Bruce
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Leif has great reputation but is always busy. You could find him, probably, by asking The Boatyard in MDR.

Another source for Martin Ball is to ask Lon Bubeck at Flying Cloud Yachts in Long Beach, who connected me originally.

Why these well known guys are not on the Internet is just another dockside puzzle.
 

Tomwine

Member II
Martin Ball Marine Mechanic MJB Marine

Here's Martins number. Just talked to him yesterday. Great Honest guy. Long Beach San Pedro Area.
310 508-9036
 

Tomwine

Member II
James Wallace Surveyor

Hey Gang remember me? I made an offer on a 1989 Pacific Seacraft 34 and they accepted. Sorry to say I have ventured from the Ericson fleet. My E-27 “Pride of Cucamonga” served me well for over 14 years and she’s still going strong with even more improvements from the new owners.

Survey and Sea Trial on the Pacific Seacraft 34 is a week from tomorrow. Christian Williams thanks for recommending Jim Wallace. He was also recommended on several other forums for a SoCal surveyor. I feel like I am in good hands! Now I am in need of a marine diesel surveyor. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff Asbury
James is the best.
 

paul culver

Member III
Jeez, Jeff. We thought you was a toad. (Borrowed from "Oh Brother Where Art Thou").

Great to know you're still kicking and best wishes on your next hole in the water.

Paul
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Engine survey did not go well.

Well Martin Ball did the engine survey today.

Well bad news. The engine survey on the boat did not go well. The transmission was leaking badly. Also problems with the secondary fuel filter leaking. And to top that off the A/C Electrical system was not working.Engine survey did not go well.

Martin said that the vessel should not go anywhere until the transmission and fuel systems have been resolved. Not sure if I want to pursue this unless the owner is willing to repair the transmission.
 
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Alan Gomes

Sustaining Partner
Well Martin Ball did the engine survey today.

Well bad news. The engine survey on the boat did not go well. The transmission was leaking badly. Also problems with the secondary fuel filter leaking. And to top that off the A/C Electrical system was not working.Engine survey did not go well.

Martin said that the vessel should not go anywhere until the transmission and fuel systems have been resolved. Not sure if I want to pursue this unless the owner is willing to repair the transmission.
The good news is that you got your money's worth on that survey.

Regardless of whether the owner decides to keep or sell the boat, these are issues he will have to fix. Let him fix them and you can always revisit the deal later. It's a very good thing you had the wisdom to do a separate engine survey. Many buyers do not.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
The seller may want to make a deal with you to fix such known issues. And if you let the broker know, it will be knowledge he now cannot help but have.

"Hiding" known defects is a hard road for professionals. The broker may be on your side.
 

bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
The broker may be on your side.

+1

The broker knows that the boat won't sell unless the seller fixes those things, or makes concessions to a buyer.

And brokers don't like losing qualified buyers.

Since concessions in a selling price would also mean lower commission... all other things being equal, the broker will probably be "advising" the seller to get the problems fixed. And possibly to pay for a 2nd mechanical inspection afterwards so he can demonstrate they're resolved.
 

Kenneth K

1985 32-3, Puget Sound
Blogs Author
Just another thought--I've read several posts in the past from owners who have rebuilt their Hurth HBW 50 transmissions. The general concesus seems to be "never rebuild a Hurth".

I don't recall you saying which transmission this boat has. If its a Hurth, you might be better off with a cash concession and having the repair done yourself (if you still want the boat). Other owners can chime in on the expected cost of switching to a Twindisc (or other) transmission, but see this post on page 3 of this forum:
"35-3 replacing HBW-50 with Twindisc need model details."

The secondary fuel filter/housing sounds like an easy and cheap thing to fix. I personally wouldn't sweat that one.

The AC systems are not all that complicated on these boats, but the wiring can be very hard to get to. The seriousness of a fire hazard shouldn't be underestimated. If the PO has the AC fixed, I'd ask for an inspection from a good marine electrician. Or, get another price cut and fix it yourself so you know it's been done right.

Good luck.
 
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Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Sorry about my late reply. The broker has kept in touch with me and the needed repairs are being made to the transmission and engine issues. The seller will be paying for the repairs. As far as the AC electrical is concerned it just turned out to be the gage on the panel. Not sure why no one thought about trying to plug something into one of the outlets. Myself included. No it is not a Hurth transmission. It is a Kanzaki transmission on the 34 hp Yanmar. In the mean time I went down to Dana Point to check out another PSC 34 that has not been formally listed yet. Very nice vessel that had recently been refitted by PSC in North Carolina at the PSC yard. New rigging, new chain plates, new Bomar hatches, new teak floor down below (not teak and holly but solid teak), new teak sliding hatch, new fuel tank. But what it lacks vs the boat I made the offer on is all the electronics, radar, solar panels, stack pack main, life raft, dinghy and wind vane steering, auto pilot and so on. What it does have is a true maintenance history that the first boat lacks. The Dana Point boat is asking 79K and the accepted offer on the San Pedro boat is 62.5K.

Decisions, Decisions. Thank you for all of your replies! Christian I like your idea of having the seller also pay for a second engine survey after the repairs have been made.

Cheers and beam winds to all.
 
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