Is self build worthwhile?

[Tranona]

[we owned it for about 10 years, but bought it for !0K nearly new. It's builder said, on the water it had cost 17K I sold it in very good condition for 4K.She is one of the boats on Selway Fishers Web site. So much to say, too much for a one fingered typist. We loved her.QUOTE=ukdiving;528944]There is very little coverage today in the mags on building your own boat and one could be forgiven for believing it has gone out of fashion. Self build used to be a very common way in to boat ownership but is it so today?

Being in my 50's I have always hankered to have a go and am sure I would find it a satisfying experience but would the end result (assuming I made a good job!) be saleable? How do self builds stand for re sale price compared to the cost of materials? How does cost of build compare to say a relatively new pre-owned factory produced vessel of same size?

I guess the real question is does self build make financial sense? or (apart from the satisfaction) is it a financial lemon and simply better to look in the used columns?

I appreciate that figures and comparisons are going to depend on many variables but I would appreciate any comments form those with experience.

I have been looking at the Selway Fisher plans for the Ailsa 22, a wooden 22 foot trailer sailer. Has anyone experience of building this? Does anyone know what the finished result is like to use?

Any feedback appreciated.

[/QUOTE]

Welcome. You don't have to bring up old threads - best to just ask your question on a new thread.

Anyway the answer to your basic question is that no, it is not an economic proposition to build your own boat. Only do it if you like the idea of spending every spare hour for the next 3 years or so up to your neck in wood and epoxy. Very difficult to sell a self built boat for the same reason it is not economic to build one. The secondhand market is stuffed full of perfectly usable boats of that size that can be bought for less than the cost of raw materials of a self build.

So build a boat if you like building boats. Buy a complete working boat if you want to sail.

 

[coopec]

I'm building a f/g ketch and although I think I have done a good job I do not think it would sell for more than the cost of the materials. Furthermore when I make a mold for (say) the instrument binnacle I get to use the mold once whereas the commercial boat-builder could use the mold 100 times. When someone spends $A400K on a boat they undoubtedly want a pretty yacht so they can brag to their mates. I find most amateur boats are not pretty although they may well be seaworthy

 

[maxcampbell]

I have yet to meet someone who has gone this route and would do so again.

We'll have to meet up sometime. I built the boat in my avatar, then built a cruising dinghy, and would do so again.

I loved the project of building the boat, and I love sailing a boat that I know so intimately. It does give me a boost when people are surprised if I tell them I built her myself.

 

[DownWest]

We'll have to meet up sometime. I built the boat in my avatar, then built a cruising dinghy, and would do so again.

I loved the project of building the boat, and I love sailing a boat that I know so intimately. It does give me a boost when people are surprised if I tell them I built her myself.

It works better for small boats, I am on my third, as the time scales go down as a cube root to displacement. And, (Max...) kits help. A read of the Wooden Boat Forum gives a good idea of the many projects that people attempt. But you have to love building things.
DW

 

[parbuckle]

Nine year old thread.

Lazurus! Is that you?

Yes my Lord.

 

[PCUK]

It's not self build that is avoided, it's wood perhaps even worse wooden self-build. All my boats have been either self-build or self-rebuild and I always made a significant profit to allow me to go onto the next one. As there is no labour component in the build cost the boat costs a fraction of a production boat.

 

[Monique]

Look at what THIS CHAP IS DOING... THINK ABOUT HIS TIMELINE and he began with a useable hull...

http://www.fisher30.lackeysailing.com/project.html

 

[oldgit]

Different scale but......
My boat was self built.I bought it from the the owners son who finally finished it.
The boat could have been bought at LIBS in 1973 ready to go for £25.000. Have the original boat show brouchure with the price in biro on the front.
My boat was started in 1974 with the arrival a hull and topsides,it was launched in 2005.
The boat came with every last receipt for every last nut,bolt and washer .....it totalled not far short of £80.000.....excluding the 35 years labour.

 

[PCUK]

Yes, idiots self build as well!

 

[30boat]

I rebuilt my previous boat and my present one as well.It took me three and a half years for the first one but that was ok because I needed a project and couldn't afford a decent boat at the time.The present boat ,a Westerly Fulmar,took about 5 months of solid work to bring up to shape because it had been neglected for years.I got it for less than half of the market value of the time so it was worth it.I wouldn't do it again and certainly wouldn't build a boat from scratch.A quick googling will produce loads of good second hand boats that need little or no work.