Ok....we have bought a boat, lying somewhere in Antigua, and which we have never seen. From the data we have been able to get our hands on, as well as some of the pics....she looks good....reasonably anyway.....

By mid 2012, we had managed to effect transfer. The boat was now 'ours'. Happy christmas !
This meant that we could now enforce our right to access. You guessed it, the previous owner refused access until transfer....that SHOULD have been a warning !

While waiting for transfer, the surveyor had recommended a shipwright to effect any repairs we may have wanted done. Manfred Schweizer, the shipwright contractor, turns out to be an ex South African from Natal side.

Within a day or so of transfer, these gents are on KoD (Kormoran of Dart), opening up, clearing out and emptying.....

Oh boy !!

By end July the surveyor had prepared a formal report to determine the immediate list of deficiencies. This contained 43 items, in general terms, which were of concern to the surveyor. On initial reading, we grew very despondent !

His conclusion sums up the actual state of the boat "...The general condition of the vessel Kormoran of Dart is considered to be average to below average. It is apparent that the vessel was very well constructed and equipped at the time of construction. The basic structure and the technical / mechanical installations are in good repair but the vessel is not structurally sound at the time of this survey. There is an extended list of deficiencies and recommendation noted and it is the surveyor's opinion that many of these items are part of a neglected maintenance plan / program...."

Agggghhhhhhh !
Have we bought a lemon.....Were we thoroughly ripped off....... ! ?
At this stage we are experiencing sheer terror, or maybe anger, coupled with a level of despondency - of note !

A while after receiving the report, we came to the conclusion that the report, and the initial inspection, were in fact very similar....and if we thought carefully about it, not much had changed. A bit more detail, definitely more thorough, and some new items, but essentially still the same.
Well, at this stage anyway !

For more images see Favorites link titled 'Access'

I went back to the numbers. The shipwright and surveyor prepared a rough Bill of Quantities. We argued time. We debated costs.

Things were not looking good !

Oh poo ! (s)