All Forums  Norman Boats  Well My Norman has ...............?  lessons learned part 2

Note: You must be registered in order to post a reply.
To register, click here. Registration is FREE!

Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by TonyOlsen[/i] [br]so engine mounted, unpacking the "bits and bobs " that come with it, oh here we go again... where are the instructions... oh there they are, still at the engine shop!!!!, no worries we can do this... what could possibly go wrong?, unpack the throttle quadrant and... this doesn't look right, I ordered one for the port side of the boat, and they have sent me one for the starboard side, its Saturday and no one from the engine shop is answering the phone, nothing more I can do, so I get hold of my new friend again (the bow rope) and tow it back into the marina. so far I have been out of the marina three times, and three times I have had to pull it back into the marina by its bow rope, so if any of you need instructing in the technique for pulling a boat into a marina just ask me, I'm becoming an expert, I now have a new ambition.... drive into the marina ... one day. So engine aside what else could possibly go wrong with our new boat, we went on holiday for 18 days and on our return we visited the boat, unlock the cabin door and the musty damp smell hit us straight away, our white leather cushions were dark in places and something growing on the stowage bay hatch, so scrub the leather, scrape the wood, sponge out the stowage bays, clean and dry, check for leaks, follow the water trail, seal the window ... problem solved. what else could possibly go wrong with our new boat, a week later we return to the boat, unlock the cabin door and the musty damp smell hit us straight away, check for leaks, no my repair hasn't failed, now it's coming in somewhere else, also the cushions are not recoverable this time so load the car, down to the council tip and dump the lot, temp repair new leak, go round checking fittings, it seems that almost every fitting is loose. even the leather lining on the bulkheads has to come out due to mold and another trip to the tip, we have a cunning plan ....find all the leaks, plug the leaks, cross fingers, pray for sun, and then at the end of the season get it out of the water for a proper repair job and repaint. We now have a cabin that has items we wish to keep in a heap in the middle, and another pile at home, no cushions, no curtains looks like its been burgled :), the cockpit looks like a bomb has gone off in it, and to top it all off, climbing in and out of the boat I have been using the pilot seat for support... big mistake...now its broken, broken but repairable. so enough negativity what are the good points .... well the horn works, and the boat floats and er, er, did I mention the horn works, 130db air horn that when activated they can hear us on the moon, oh and I have a new engine, just need to fit the throttle, connect the steering, connect the electrics and put some oil in it. jobs to do.... find all the leaks, repair all the leaks, replace/refurbish the windows, remove all metal work reseal and re-fit, re-build/update cockpit, replace the lining in the cabin, pay for new cushions, curtains and internal fittings (once the fleet Admiral has decided what colours/patterns she wants), find a rich relative and bump them off to pay for everything, either that or win the lottery, put retirement plans on hold until....to be decided. So what have I learned 1, when buying a boat ... always, always get a survey 2, its very easy to pull a boat along a canal 3, fellow boaters are very friendly helpful people 4, if you are going to buy a boat, view it during a heavy rain storm 5, make sure you have lots of spare money 6, if it floats or has breasts... its going to be expensive 7, when viewing a possible purchase take someone with you who knows more than water is wet. 8, and finally always get a survey done before buying ollie [/quote]   Click here to attach a photo to your post   Check here to include your profile signature.