moisture meters question

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Sir Thomas of Cannondale - 26 Aug 2007 15:01 GMT

got a boat for sale. this potential buyer show up ... he starts going all
over "my" boat with his moisture meter.

I dont' say anything but I was a little put out.

Does this do any harm to my boat?

The meter man was trying to impress his younger companion I think.

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Matt Colie - 26 Aug 2007 14:50 GMT

Sir Thomas,

You did not say what kind of boat or moisture meter.

If it is a wooden hull and the moisture meter was a pin probe type,
then yes, he had to pierce the finish every place he put the meter.

If it is a plastic hull, the only little meter that will work is an RF
reluctance type and it is completely non-intrusive.

The value of the latter type had currently been called into question by
some, but I have found mine to be more-or-less reliable.

Matt Colie
Lifelong Waterman, Licensed Mariner and Pathological Sailor

> got a boat for sale. this potential buyer show up ... he starts going all
> over "my" boat with his moisture meter.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> The meter man was trying to impress his younger companion I think.

Reply to this Message

Sir Thomas of Cannondale - 26 Aug 2007 15:55 GMT

It is a fiberglass/plastic boat.

I must say I was laughing a little after meter man left. He didn't know
anything about aux engines, sails, rigging,
design, bottom paint, deck paint, on and on ..

But he had his METER. Wow.

He kept giving his younger companion the look. As in "look at me, look at
the meter, oh boy"

I kept saying "you dont expect to purchase a yacht for next to nothing and
not have any projects do you"?

Unfortunately, I am finding that the buyers are full of "well, I'm going to
need to do this and do that
and my cousin bought a 100' ship for $10 dollars on ebay and what with the
market and all and I think
that I should get the boat for free".

Duh?

=====

> Sir Thomas,
>
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>>
>> The meter man was trying to impress his younger companion I think.

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Matt Colie - 26 Aug 2007 19:13 GMT

Well,

I have seen this sort of thing a lot.

The great joke to me is when the little guy with a moisture meter puts
against solid laminate and gets a reading up scale because of bilge
water or even condensation.

By the by, I carry a Tramex Skipper (~400$us) and a 10$ soft faced
hammer - Which one do you think I count on to give me a better
indication of hull condition?

I was there as a favor to the owner. He wanted to see a sail (a as in
one and one only). The surveyor picked out a completely bagged out #1 (
(bag is marked OLD 1 DW only) that had just been cleaned and he shrugged
and said he didn't see any problem.

The owner wasn't there. The surveyor left and the prospective buyer
looked at me and I very plainly told him the the only sail he had looked
at was a total loss and could at best be recut for an awning. He should
go find a good surveyor (I gave him the names of three clients that had
recently had good surveys done) and make arrangements to come back. I
would have told him more, but I was not sure of my status other than
having the keys to the boat.

He came back with another man about a week later. The owner and I were
there and the two of them went over that boat with a fine tooth comb.
Both the owner and I made sure to collect this man's card.

The prospective did make a good offer.

Matt Colie

> It is a fiberglass/plastic boat.
>
[quoted text clipped - 44 lines]
>>>
>>> The meter man was trying to impress his younger companion I think.

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Boat Forum / Building / August 2007

moisture meters question