Advice on possible project

[Daydream believer]

The sail might be replaced cheaply with secondhand from a racing boat.

Easier said than done. One has to be in the know with lots of sailing friends/contacts.
A newby would not have these & working in an isolated spot would rarely meet any.
Would need to be a member of a friendly yacht club which would also help with refurb. But membership whilst not sailing all adds to the cost.

 

[doug748]

There's about a foot of water inside, as the hatch was wide open!

But it's going to be free...?

It's starting to look a really, really bad idea.

And I am one of natures optimists : -}

.

 

[Rappey]

Unless you have the skillset to do everything needed yourself then it could work out as a very expensive project and therefore better buying a boat "ready to go"
I have rebuilt a fair few boats in my time, not for profit, but just because i enjoy doing it and enjoy a good challenge..
There are just so many things that you may come across that could potentially write off the boat, Such as saturated encapsulated wooden reinforcing , saturated foam/balsa core (unless its solid grp) Sunken mast step etc..

 

[Mark-1]

Another vote for "walk away" from me. The cost of restoring that is going to be a multiple of the cost of a ready to sail boat.

If you're retired and are more interested in a project boat than in sailing then you'd be better off finding an "iconic" or "cult" boat to restore so you have a strong market when the time to sell comes.

Best of luck whatever you choose to do.

It's starting to look a really, really bad idea.

Starting?

 

[Aja]

Marion.

This boat has been sitting beside the hotel for a good five years. I pass it often. Unless you have done a restoration before and know the costs involved to get on the water cheaply I would look at other sailable boats first. There are plenty around.

Donald

 

[superheat6k]

... But it's going to be free...?

Just be very careful, and remove the rose tinted spectacles. Boats in this condition can easily achieve a considerable negative value, and literally are far more trouble than they are worth.

And once she is yours and you start pouring the cash in, remember how much you expected to pour in, then double it and add a a bit for luck, then think about adding a good deal more !

But at the end of it all you may have a boat worth, well, what you paid for it !

(Note perhaps not what you spent on it !)

 

[bedouin]

There's about a foot of water inside, as the hatch was wide open!

But it's going to be free...?

Sorry in that case free is far too much. With that much water inside there could be massive issues - even if you want a project boat for next-to-nothing there must be better opportunities than this one.

 

[guardian]

As mentioned on the other thread, people (both buyers & sellers) are realising alot of boats (esp 60's / 70's brit cruisers for example) are essentially worthless relative to the cost of making them seaworthy. I've lost count hearing of boats changing hands for dinghy money and in a couple of cases, (think they were both probates) - free and both these boats pre- GFC were £20-25K boats.

I still think theres an opportunity for a spares business in the midst of this, in the form of a couple forty foot containers & a website.

 

[Stemar]

There's about a foot of water inside, as the hatch was wide open!

But it's going to be free...?

In that case it's way too dear! Don't walk away, run as fast and as far as you can

I once had a narrow escape from a project like that. It didn't look too bad at first but, on closer inspection, the easy fix would have been to rip all the wood out of the inside and start again. Oh, and then you've got the engine and gearbox or, rather, you almost certainly haven't.

 

[richardabeattie]

I don't think anybody has mentioned location. If it is not on your doorstep don't do it! There's only one possible reason for spending more on a restoration project than on buying a better boat. Cash flow. With restoration you spend more money but over more time.

 

[Wansworth]

You have to go into this with eyes wide open and brain engaged preferably with a knowledgeable mate,it can be a winner but time is on your side,no rush

 

[Aja]

I don't think anybody has mentioned location. If it is not on your doorstep don't do it! There's only one possible reason for spending more on a restoration project than on buying a better boat. Cash flow. With restoration you spend more money but over more time.

I seem to remember that this is possibly a trailer, which possibly hasn't moved for a good number of years.

Donald

 

[MarionS]

UPDATE...been back to look at it, with wellies this time, and it's really bad inside. There's at least 6 in The engine is under water and the trailer is basically unusable. It would need to he craned onto a different trailer for a start, as it's about 20 miles away from us

So we're definitely going to leave it

Thanks for all your help, it's been really appreciated.


Marion

 

[MarionS]

Didn't do that post well..meant to say 6 in of water inside...

 

[Bajansailor]

Well, that is good (in a way) that she turned out to be so convincingly bad - it would have been much more difficult to say no if you could see positive aspects to her.
But as the saying goes, 'there are many more fish in the sea' - or boats on land (and on the sea) looking for new homes.
Try doing an 'advanced' search on Yachtworld - you can put in as many constraints as you like re location, size, type, price etc.
Advanced Boat Search

And with Apollo Duck -
Boats for sale, used boats, new boat sales, free photo ads - Apollo Duck

And the Yacht Market - although here they do not appear to have a box for 'location'.
Search Boats for Sale | TheYachtMarket

 

[Rappey]

Many thousands of boats have reached the point where they are no longer wanted .
Quite a lot of them are still in a sail able condition and are given away.
Many just need a good clean and paint.
A 26ft snapdragon with working diesel inboard was recently given away. Nothing really wrong with it but the hassle and time involved in selling low value boats is often not worth the aggrevation.
Point being you can get a much better boat than one in this thread for next to nothing

 

[jwilson]

Hi all,

Hubby and I are looking at taking on a project yacht that needs a lot of work. We're told this is a Bruce Roberts 27 but it doesn't look like any we've seen online.

Any thoughts?View attachment 83762

I've never seen another boat the same model. That in itself doesn't rule it out as unlike cars there are very few (frequently no) model-specific parts on boats. However you say there were blisters on the deck, one sail was shredded and there was a foot of water inside. If you want to spend 2 years of weekends doing quite hard work and spending maybe £3,000 at least to get it up to a state where it can be sailed, or would fetch £2,000 if sold, go for it. You will learn a lot in the process. If you want to sail, buy a better boat.

If it's got a foot of water in the bilge the ply bulkheads will probably be delaminating and/or rotting. Blisters on deck are not a good sign. The fact that the prop turns just means the gearbox isn't seized - the engine might be. Used sails can be fairly cheap, but engines, rigging, upholstery and storage are not.

Last year I tried to help someone give away a clean, tidy 24 ft fin keel yacht with a known design, good performance, decent sails and rigging, working inboard diesel - no school/charity wanted it. In the end it sold for a lot less than you'd spend fixing the one you're looking at.

 

[Kelpie]

Someone in Invergordon is selling an Invicta 26 on a roadworthy trailer. Brand new sails. Asking under £5k. No connection, just thought it seemed like a great buy.