Well the day (11-20-2013) has arrived for the all important survey on the GH-47 John Henry. We have made an offer on the boat and it has been accepted contingent on my acceptance of the survey. The survey of a boat is essentially the same as a house inspection is when you are buying a house. The major difference is there is more to inspect. On a boat, on which you are capable of living aboard (for a long periods of time) has many systems. The boat has to be independent. It has to carry and/or make its own water and also heat it. It must process or hold until pumped out its own waste water. Make and store its own electricity, heat and cool its own interior, all while being able to travel safely under its own power. And there is that safety thing, proper communication and navigation systems. The boat must have all the needed safety features required by the US Coast Guard, with all electrical power wired and plumbing installed to code. All of these systems must be capable of operating in an often wet, hot, cold and dry/humid, daylight and/or dark environment. It all makes for a really great adventure.....
As a purchaser you are certainly looking for a vessel that was manufactured to a high quality standard and has been well maintained with an owner that has paid attention to the detail (and that is where this GH-47 shines). It is obvious the original owners were anal, with a real disposition to take care of the boat). Also the construction of the boat must meet the requirement for the type of boating one plans to do. The boat you would want to have to cross the ocean would have a very different set of requirements, than a boat that will be primarily used to cruise inland waters with the occasional trip to the Bahamas or Dry Tortugas. For us, we wanted a boat with a shallow draft to reduce the chances of running aground in the rivers/lakes and the ICW. There is a big problem of shoaling in the Intercoastal Waterways (ICW). Dredging is low on the government priority list be it the ICW or Inland Rivers and Lakes. And many marinas like our own Inland Marina here in Evansville, only work to maintain a reasonable depth (5-to 7 feet). The GH-47 only drafts 3 FEET of water, making it an ideal boat to cruise the "Great Loop". It has a one inch+ solid fiberglass hull, to the rub rails, with keel protected props and is built with purposed quality and is very solid (in look and feel) We could have set the boat on the ground and it will stand up straight just like, in the water (how cool is that).
It is hull number 4 of only nine GH-47 boats built by Mirage Manufacturing in Gainesville Florida. We feel very fortunate to have been in the right place, at the right time, and are able to buy one of the nine (they don't come up for sale very often)! The company is owned by Ken Fickett who is also the Listing Broker for John Henry. That has special benefits given Ken's intimate knowledge of the boat as the boats builder. Mirage has manufactured hundreds of boat from sail boats to sport fishing boats to trawlers like the N-37 and N47 and the GH-37 and GH-47. The GH-47 is approx 47 foot long, 16 foot wide, and weighs in at +/- 32 tons. It is powered by two 75 horsepower Yanmar diesel motors and has a top speed of 8.5 Knots (9-11-MPH). At top speed it only burns 3 gallons of diesel fuel per hour. If interested you can learn more detail at: http://www.greatharbourtrawlers.com/gh47.html
This is a picture of John Henry taken by the present owner in the Bahamas. The boat we are buying is in the foreground, the boat behind is a N-37 also built by Mirage. As you will see for its length the boat is very spacious. It has three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths (heads) both with showers and one with a full size bathtub (more on that later)!
Here the boat is being readied to be hauled out. Not to be taken lightly with a 30+ ton boat.
In the slings and out of the water awaiting a bottom scraping and powers wash.
Scrap off three years of barnacles and gunk (the boat has not been used for three years, the owners had an illness in the family that required them to abruptly stop boating and return to Texas). So it is in need of a good detail and wax, but that is yet to come. For now its scrap and power wash so the surveyor can do the hull survey (check it for damage and or any needed repairs to the bottom, the props and shafts).
Now power wash the bottom, then power wash the exterior of the boat.
And after the hull survey it is back in the the water...
and now...
Next, its off to the sea trial to run all the systems and prove out the mechanicals on the boat. Remember that once you make a written offer, the survey is your last opportunity to discovery what is broke or breaking, and assess if anything found is a deal breaker. Until you accept the boat (contingent to the survey) you can still reject the boat and get a return of your deposit. Once you accept the boat its yours, with all the joys and expenses ownership will bring. Boats are just like houses, everything is broke (just not yet). The cost of owning the boat is largely set at the time you buy it. Cost like insurance, taxes, dockage, upkeep and fuel expense can be estimated. Take fuel for example... a boat that burns 3 gallons of fuel per hour (3 X $4.00= $12 per hour) is a much different operating cost that a boat that burns 30 gallons per hour, (30 X $4.00= $120 per hour). The 30gph boat will certainly get you there faster (with a great big wake) but every mile per hour of extra speed has an additional cost.
My work and everyday world has been like running 100 MPH everyday, (for 40+ years)...in the future...traveling a 9 MPG for some reason, seems just right, when your cruising without a hard and fast schedule, on a big...heavy....boat!
Next the balance of the survey.....
