Contest 34

[Concerto]

Truest statement ever.
On my previous boat, I spent about 80% of the purchase price to get her up to snuff.
Getting current boat up to standard, will require about 45% of purchase price.
Progress - of sorts.

Concerto will have cost about 125% of the purchase price with all the labour provided myself. At the time I bought her, I did negotiate a keen price but the market has fallen over the past 4 to 5 years but Covid has reversed the slide in price. I know if I sold today I would never get my money back but I still intend to keep her for at least another 10 years. This means all my hard work will be for my benefit and will make her very to look after over that period with minimal expense and will still be very easy to resell.

 

[V1701]

Assuming the hull itself is sound and things like the mast, boom, winches, internal woodwork, etc. don't need replacement or repair the trick in buying an older boat is to have as many of the big ticket, long term consumables already in place as possible, so engine, sails, standing rigging, bunk cushions and canvas work roughly in that order according to expense to replace. A lot of people would probably add electronics (chart plotters, wind instruments, AIS, etc.) to that list and it depends what you want but I think they can be a bit of a red herring in that a complex and expensive suite of modern electronic gadgetry whilst nice to have is not really necessary. As long as you've got a working depth sounder, VHF and a compass you can (and plenty of people do) go round the world mostly using Navionics on a tablet for navigation. A means of self steering if you're sailing alone or longer distances but that can be added later.

The rest is less about money (although all the bits and pieces do of course add up) and mostly down to having the time and inclination to sand and revarnish woodwork where necessary, repaint non-slip areas, polish the hull, go through the electrics and replace/renew wiring, etc. as required, properly and I mean properly scrub and clean everywhere - and on a 40 year old boat there will likely be areas that have not been cleaned for almost that long if you look hard enough. If you do your own maintenance, fixing & upgrading you'll save a lot of money and learn some new skills & none of it is rocket science so that's a biggie as well.

All depends on you and how much pride you take in your boat, how much you enjoy and will be able to use her, etc. but owning one makes llittle financial sense when all said and done. With boats as old as the ones you're looking at worrying about resale values isn't really relevant - if you keep it well, update a few things and declutter and clean it properly when you do come to sell then you'll likely not lose much, maybe even sell it for a bit more than you paid...

 

[Bellinos]

Truest statement ever.
On my previous boat, I spent about 80% of the purchase price to get her up to snuff.
Getting current boat up to standard, will require about 45% of purchase price.
Progress - of sorts.

Good grief- maybe I should cut my cloth or wait and save. I would really hate paying mooring fees and insurance and not get to play . Is it the case that much of this was your preference rather than necessity? I mean is it usual in buying a boat that unless you budget for another 50% you risk not enjoying it until you have done essential work?

 

[Bellinos]

Assuming the hull itself is sound and things like the mast, boom, winches, internal woodwork, etc. don't need replacement or repair the trick in buying an older boat is to have as many of the big ticket, long term consumables already in place as possible, so engine, sails, standing rigging, bunk cushions and canvas work roughly in that order according to expense to replace. A lot of people would probably add electronics (chart plotters, wind instruments, AIS, etc.) to that list and it depends what you want but I think they can be a bit of a red herring in that a complex and expensive suite of modern electronic gadgetry whilst nice to have is not really necessary. As long as you've got a working depth sounder, VHF and a compass you can (and plenty of people do) go round the world mostly using Navionics on a tablet for navigation. A means of self steering if you're sailing alone or longer distances but that can be added later.

The rest is less about money (although all the bits and pieces do of course add up) and mostly down to having the time and inclination to sand and revarnish woodwork where necessary, repaint non-slip areas, polish the hull, go through the electrics and replace/renew wiring, etc. as required, properly and I mean properly scrub and clean everywhere - and on a 40 year old boat there will likely be areas that have not been cleaned for almost that long if you look hard enough. If you do your own maintenance, fixing & upgrading you'll save a lot of money and learn some new skills & none of it is rocket science so that's a biggie as well.

All depends on you and how much pride you take in your boat, how much you enjoy and will be able to use her, etc. but owning one makes llittle financial sense when all said and done. With boats as old as the ones you're looking at worrying about resale values isn't really relevant - if you keep it well, update a few things and declutter and clean it properly when you do come to sell then you'll likely not lose much, maybe even sell it for a bit more than you paid...

Thanks; it seems to me from the different views that if I choose do I can sail a shed for a bit but to look at expensive stuff very critically
1) engine
2) sails
3)Winches
4)rigging
5)hatches?

have a missed anything?

if I get it the telly is coming out so that would fund some sandpaper ?

 

[Koeketiene]

Good grief- maybe I should cut my cloth or wait and save. I would really hate paying mooring fees and insurance and not get to play .

Oh, unless you're really unlucky, you do get to play.
It will be whilst you start playing that you find which bits need replacing.

When you buy an older boat, she may be cheap(er) to buy but the replacement of big ticket items (such as engine or sails) always lurks around the corner.

First rule of boat ownership: it always costs more and takes longer than you think.

 

[Bellinos]

Ah that sounds like houses and campervans Roger that ?