New (to us) boat! SQ58

[dustywings]

We have had our Riva 38 for 10 wonderful years but would now like to expand our horizons and have some adventures and to that end a bigger boat is required. I have been through the usual process of looking at something then seeing one just a little bit bigger and repeating that process again and again. Eventually I reached the point of what has for me been a hugely admired boat….a Squadron 58, which I have now purchased! She is a 2003 boat (Hull # 39) that was exhibited at the Southampton show then sold to the person I have purchased it from. She has been very well looked after with great service history (1000 engine hours) and a good spec. New (real) teak decks were fitted in 2016 along new exterior upholstery and many other good updated items. Like all Fairlines of this era the wall and head linings are beginning to fail so we have the legend that is Ed Engel lined up to replace them all in November taking the opportunity to bring them right up to date at the same time. Thanks already to jrudge for some early advice on some refurb points following his own experiences with his 58.

She is/was in Croatia and the ultimate plan is to have her in the Med however it is likely that I will have to be UK based next year so we are shipping her back to the UK and she was actually loaded onto a ship yesterday bound for Poole.

To say I am excited about getting my hands on her is an understatement, anyway here are some photos and I will try and add more when she arrives plus show Eds work with the interior.

A special thanks to my brother, Mystere Marcus, who has been hugely helpful in the purchase process assisting where I was not able to do so, including a day in Croatia!!

 

[petem]

It's a beautiful thing! Deffo change the steering wheel though!

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Sq58 is a fantastic boat - some might even say iconic . Congratulations.

 

[Sneds]

Very nice, congrats.looks massive inside and love the inside stairs!

 

[kashurst]

Excellent choice, lovely boat. Please can you post pics of the interior refurb.

 

[benjenbav]

Looks terrific!

 

[Portofino]

Runs well .
Should make a good base somewhere in the Med .
I like the simplicity of the straight 6 ,s straight shaft set up .No hilo to maintain, simple passerelle crane for tender deployment.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Upl1o7MVemI

You might want to eventually get rid of the pale carpet ? Go for solid flooring and in the winter scatter rug(s) .

The upstairs besenzoni legged aft table / sunpad conversion are a PITA .
When up as table they rock and twist and it’s a fag storing and moving about with cushions .
Much prefer solid fixed table and fixed dedicated sunpad area -when in Med use mode - nit picking I know .

Those Bowman hatches over the master bed eventually leak , well it did on the Sunseeker .Bowman supply a re seal kit new o rings for the catches .
Thing is you arrive to find stains on the bedding , water marks .Agian i would not design a boat with the hatch over the mattress .Over the floor behind the bed fine so when it leaks the water hits the floor - wood hopefully?
But near enough to the edge of the bed so the beds a step in a escape scenario.

Any how wise choose and good luck with the refurb work .:encouragement:

 

[markc]

Fantastic! Hope you have great times on her!

 

[rafiki_]

She looks great. Very best wishes for many happy hours on board.

 

[MapisM]

Congratulations, she does look beautiful indeed.
...but... You were lucky enough to find her in one of the nicest cruising areas of the whole Med, and instead of enjoying her there and then, you loaded her on a ship?

 

[jrudge]

Well done. Welcome to the iconic boat club !

Porto. Wood floors don’t work on the s58 as the floors comes up for maintenance. It could be done but you would see several non sensical joins. ( aka dogs dinner)

 

[dustywings]

Thanks everyone for your kind words and yes I will detail the interior refit once we get going.

 

[dustywings]

Congratulations, she does look beautiful indeed.
...but... You were lucky enough to find her in one of the nicest cruising areas of the whole Med, and instead of enjoying her there and then, you loaded her on a ship?

It is a very good point but unfortunately I am not going to be able to leave the UK for a while (on health grounds rather than legal!!) hence bringing her home but the year after she will be bound for the Med.

 

[Ian.S]

Looks great,congratulations. Were the engine hours any concern to you? I know a lot depends on service history etc.

 

[dustywings]

Looks great,congratulations. Were the engine hours any concern to you? I know a lot depends on service history etc.

No not at all, i think 1000 hours is still relatively low, always hard to benchmark of course do you look at the average of say 100 hours per year, or as an alternative try and relate it to a vehicle and multiply the hours by say an average speed of 50 which gives 50,000 miles which for a truck engine is a drop in the ocean. As you say service history is important of course for peace of mind going forward.

 

[Ian.S]

No not at all, i think 1000 hours is still relatively low, always hard to benchmark of course do you look at the average of say 100 hours per year, or as an alternative try and relate it to a vehicle and multiply the hours by say an average speed of 50 which gives 50,000 miles which for a truck engine is a drop in the ocean. As you say service history is important of course for peace of mind going forward.

Thanks for the reply. The only reason I ask is that for some reason I seem to disregard anything with over 1000 hours (don’t ask me why) and if I didn’t I’d get a lot more for my money!
I’ve just been looking at the pictures of yours on the brokers website, looks beautiful I bet you are a very happy man.
With the other thread running at the moment on discount, it would be great to know if you got any and if so how much. You can pm if you prefer. Best of luck with her,she’s a beaut.

 

[Phildorset]

A super looking boat!
Poole - maybe to here at Cobbs Quay? or just as part of the repatriation/delivery maybe and en route to somewhere else?

 

[andy59]

Wow , congratulations thats a lovely looking boat . Must admit to admiring the 58 as they look to be a lot of boat for the money .Hope the delivery and refurb goes well and will be looking forward to seeing her filling up Newtown Creek :encouragement:. BTW did you view the one in southampton ?.

 

[MapisM]

I am not going to be able to leave the UK for a while (on health grounds rather than legal!!)

Sorry to hear that. All the best for a fast and full recover, and enjoy your new toy anyway, in the meantime.
Sometimes us Med boaters (many Brits included) tend to dismiss those who go boating much further North, but that's unquestionably much better than no boating at all - in fact, one of my most interesting boating experiences has been in Finland, no less! :encouragement:

 

[MapisM]

Thanks for the reply. The only reason I ask is that for some reason I seem to disregard anything with over 1000 hours (don’t ask me why) and if I didn’t I’d get a lot more for my money!

I see that you are relatively young to the asylum, so you might not be aware of the many debates on this subject that we had in the past - a search surely would bring up several examples.
But in a nutshell, yes, it is true that when the hours on a pleasure boat reach the 4 digits, there is a sort of step down in the market valuation, compared to similar boats with less hours clocked.
Otoh, each and every true expert will confirm you that this makes no sense at all, from an engineering standpoint.
So, assuming that the ordinary maintenance has been done regularly, high hours boats are actually an opportunity, in terms of real value.
Fwiw, the boat I bought last year was one year younger than the one in this thread, and had 40% more hours...