Marine survey FV 312

waterboy

I had a moisture and percussion test completed on my 2004 Fiesta Vee 312. The boat had been surveyed 5 years ago and the moisture levels were deemed negligible.This recent survey,by an accredited marine surveyor, revealed readings of 70 and 80% respectively on the inboard port and starboard stringers.I am in total shock as there has been virtually no water ever present in the bilge other than during the winterizing and draining the engines,which is allowed to drain out of the hull drain.The transom readings were in the acceptable range.I am at a loss for the root cause,if true,as to these findings. I am not convinced that the stringers are wet.The surveyor commented to me that this is common in all boats 10-15 years old as boats have a service life of about 20 years.Anyone have similar experiences as this? 

l-skynyrd

Maybe you should post what year and model boat you have. Putting a genric question

up here will not get a good response.

brianluck

waterboy said:

my 2004 Fiesta Vee 312.

Skynard he did post his boat info. I personally have not read much about rinkers being known for stringers to go bad. Not like wellcraft who has a few models which a costly stringer replacement is expected when owning that model

Capt Ron

A second opinion might be a good idea in this case..... I have come across a lot of incompetent surveyors in my days of boating. There more incompetent ones than good ones....

waterboy

Is there any material in either the fiberglass/gelcoat composition encasing the stringers or within the wood stringers that would cause a moisture meter to give false readings??

frodo13056

I've read several articles on this very topic and all say basically the same thing - moisture readings are unbelievably inaccurate, and in most cases are completely unreliable. A lot of the variances depend on the type of moisture meter, who is using it, etc. http://www.yachtsurvey.com/moisture_meters.htm Best bet would be to drill a small hole around 1/8th inch and catch all the chips and analyze them for moisture if you actually believe the moisture readings. Moisture tests on boats is just like soil tests for termites - you can analyze soil from areas that clearly do not have termites, yet the testing most always shows "traces" so you wind up shelling out bucks for "termites" when it is unneeded. I have very little faith in "marine surveyors" - I've seen and heard too many stories where supposedly "professional" surveyors have missed major and pretty obvious issues and the folks paying for the survey are simply out of luck because any contract you sign with a surveyor basically says that if they miss anything, too bad for you - you have zero legal recourse. /end of rant :-)