£1,000,000 spent ...

[XDC]

Really?

Can't see where the monies gone.

Save the Elena Maria Barbara! - Classic Boat Magazine

 

[ridgy]

You can't see much from those pictures but a 98 foot wooden boat...see tally ho for an appreciation of how time evaporates doing something even half the size.

The storage fees alone must be substantial.

 

[XDC]

I've watched TH since day 1 and the costs are mounting way beyond what I imagine Leo must have anticipated.

Leo told us the price of the bronze parts and I've got a vague figure in my head of $30,000.

But what would the timber cost be? $50,000? $100,000?

Massive expenditure on transport, tools and consumables but he's not far from finishing the planking and he has the wood for the decks so say $200,000 to date with presumably free storage.

That's a long way to go to get to a million, plus the purchase price, plus the estimated cost to finish ... probably close to 1.5 mill.

 

[ridgy]

Leo has free storage, mostly free labour, and he isnt costing his own time which will be 5 or 6 years when all done. I got the impression that this schooner is being done by a yard or at least paid labour.
I wonder how much Pellew cost.

 

[ridgy]

Some more info:

Custom Built 96ft Elena Maria Barbara to purchase - youarerich.net.

and

Where did the Elena Maria Barbara topsail schooner originate from?

So only actually 58' on deck, the other 30 is a massive bowsprit.

One of my favourite phrases is definitely applicable here... ‘It is the business of the wealthy man To give employment to the artisan.’

 

[XDC]

Thanks. Like the quote. ?

 

[Capt Popeye]

Yep a great project for sure, just hope that all prceeds to final fruition, given time; how much is the Masts , rigging, sails etc going to cost ?

Might I ask why rebuilt in Hard Woods when originally in soft Woods ?

 

[Bajansailor]

She reminds me very much of Bob Williamson's Russian schooner 'St Peter' which has been living in English Harbour, Antigua for the past 25 years or so.
Schooner St. Peter to be in Pirate Sequel - ALL AT SEA

 

[ridgy]

Yep a great project for sure, just hope that all prceeds to final fruition, given time; how much is the Masts , rigging, sails etc going to cost ?

Might I ask why rebuilt in Hard Woods when originally in soft Woods ?

So that it doesn't have to be rebuilt every 10 years?

 

[bedouin]

So she was built in 1995 and started a massive refit 10 years ago - in 2010.

Surely there must have been something seriously wrong with the initial build for her to require a 10 year / £1m refit after only 15 years.

 

[Keith 66]

If she was built from cheap materials & suffered from poor or no maintenance for most of her life thats plenty of time for major rot to set in.
Costs of ripping out & replacing structure on wooden ships tends to run away quickly.

 

[bedouin]

If she was built from cheap materials & suffered from poor or no maintenance for most of her life thats plenty of time for major rot to set in.
Costs of ripping out & replacing structure on wooden ships tends to run away quickly.

But in that case wouldn't it be better just to put a match to it and start from scratch?

 

[Capt Popeye]

So that it doesn't have to be rebuilt every 10 years?

Vessels built from Soft Woods last many many years; my first wooden boat was over 30 years when i bought her; kept her about 5 years; used to see her locally for at least the next 20 years or so; selected Soft Woods have a very long life

So why build her from Hard Woods ?

 

[DownWest]

Wasn't the Brittania 'replica' scrapped over poor construction? Also built in the eastern block (Russia?)

Ships were built to last ten years or so back in the days before antifoul and copper bottoms. Worm and rot. They expected to make the construction cost in the first or second trip, after that, profit.

 

[Keith 66]

But in that case wouldn't it be better just to put a match to it and start from scratch?

Quite possibly! but when someone has paid good money for something the temptation is to keep going no matter how bad it is.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Quite possibly! but when someone has paid good money for something the temptation is to keep going no matter how bad it is.

It's called "sunk cost idiocy". ?

 

[38mess]

Apparently she was left every winter covered with snow when she was in Russia.
The refurbishment looks first class

 

[Slon]

If she was built from cheap materials & suffered from poor or no maintenance for most of her life thats plenty of time for major rot to set in.
Costs of ripping out & replacing structure on wooden ships tends to run away quickly.

the cost of repairs is here, but I do not know if you can believe this information.
Ballpark Estimate for Elena Maria Barbara

 

[ridgy]

To answer the original question you can see how they might have burned through a million at those prices.
50-70k for electrics? 50k for craning in?

 

[Keith 66]

Interesting to see 50k for craning in, according to a quick online search a 500 tonner would be about 7.5k a day, you cant just set them up in a day so 5 days & thats 37.5k straight away, add permits road closures insurance & i can well believe it.
In other words you can go out & buy a boat like that thats up & running for half the price.
That makes her effectively a worthless white elephant.