yondcassius
Member
My first post for months and I'm going to whinge.
I've spent the winter earning brownie points by working on the house. I've also been softening up the wife: months of PBO & YM left lying around, asking "What do you think to this yacht?" etc etc. By February she's beginning to like the idea, as long as it's a safe boat, and says "perhaps we should go and look at a few when the weather picks up".
Time passes. Yesterday I agreed to take swmbo to argh Ikea Nottingham (the sacrifices I have to make!). As we were about to leave the house she suddenly asks if we'll pass anywhere that sells boats. I was about to remind her that Grottingham is 80 miles inland when I remembered seeing ads for a place further up the M1 near Chesterfield. We decided to go there first. Perhaps Ikea wouldn't seem so bad after looking at boats!
Leaving the boatyard car park we began walking round the many ("up to 300") 'boats' on offer. The excitement soon faded. The Wreck of the Hesperus was missing but every other wreck was there. Call me naive but I couldn't believe the state these boats (sail, power and dinghy) were in. Swmbo said they made her feel riffy (dirty) just looking at them, muttered something about a barge pole, and hurried back to the car to wait for me.
The boat exteriors were grim enough but the interiors defy description. 30 minutes later, I also returned to the car and an ominously silent wife. Dreams shattered, we drove to Ikea. And I was right, Ikea didn't seem so bad after looking at those boats!!!
We'd both thought a secondhand boat might need tidying but (regardless of price and age) those yachts looked ready for the tip. They ranged from 10-30 years old and were priced up to £20k. Without exception they were all filthy, many with visibly damaged, badly repaired hulls. Rubbing strakes broken, hanging off or completely missing. All boats had paint/varnish peeling off in swathes, foul smelling deck lockers half full of water/oil/petrol and crammed full of rubbish -empty lager cans etc. All the interiors reeked, in one case with fumes from a visibly leaking engine. Internal fittings, bunks, cookers, sinks etc were filthy. Timber linings hanging off, plywood coming apart, paintwork/varnishwork peeling. Sails, winches, ropes lying in heaps everywhere. In four boats the forecabin was quite literally stuffed full of sails and other gear. Goodness knows how the owners got it all in there.
Do these owners seriously expect to sell their boats in this condition? Or are all boats for sale presented in such a state?
Did I inadvertantly take swmbo to a yacht scrapyard by mistake or should I expect anything secondhand and over ten years old to be in a dire state. What about boats less than 10 years old will the interior still need fumigating/ripping out?
Prior to yesterday's nightmare we planned to tour the south coast brokers in the coming weeks. Now I'm not so sure it's a good idea.
Is there such a thing as a secondhand (sailing) yacht that's safe to show to a woman? How do I rekindle her enthusiasm?
Are yachts that are ready to sail without requiring major work sometimes advertised?
Should I take up ferret spotting instead?
Answers on a postcard please
Regards Deeply Depressed
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I've spent the winter earning brownie points by working on the house. I've also been softening up the wife: months of PBO & YM left lying around, asking "What do you think to this yacht?" etc etc. By February she's beginning to like the idea, as long as it's a safe boat, and says "perhaps we should go and look at a few when the weather picks up".
Time passes. Yesterday I agreed to take swmbo to argh Ikea Nottingham (the sacrifices I have to make!). As we were about to leave the house she suddenly asks if we'll pass anywhere that sells boats. I was about to remind her that Grottingham is 80 miles inland when I remembered seeing ads for a place further up the M1 near Chesterfield. We decided to go there first. Perhaps Ikea wouldn't seem so bad after looking at boats!
Leaving the boatyard car park we began walking round the many ("up to 300") 'boats' on offer. The excitement soon faded. The Wreck of the Hesperus was missing but every other wreck was there. Call me naive but I couldn't believe the state these boats (sail, power and dinghy) were in. Swmbo said they made her feel riffy (dirty) just looking at them, muttered something about a barge pole, and hurried back to the car to wait for me.
The boat exteriors were grim enough but the interiors defy description. 30 minutes later, I also returned to the car and an ominously silent wife. Dreams shattered, we drove to Ikea. And I was right, Ikea didn't seem so bad after looking at those boats!!!
We'd both thought a secondhand boat might need tidying but (regardless of price and age) those yachts looked ready for the tip. They ranged from 10-30 years old and were priced up to £20k. Without exception they were all filthy, many with visibly damaged, badly repaired hulls. Rubbing strakes broken, hanging off or completely missing. All boats had paint/varnish peeling off in swathes, foul smelling deck lockers half full of water/oil/petrol and crammed full of rubbish -empty lager cans etc. All the interiors reeked, in one case with fumes from a visibly leaking engine. Internal fittings, bunks, cookers, sinks etc were filthy. Timber linings hanging off, plywood coming apart, paintwork/varnishwork peeling. Sails, winches, ropes lying in heaps everywhere. In four boats the forecabin was quite literally stuffed full of sails and other gear. Goodness knows how the owners got it all in there.
Do these owners seriously expect to sell their boats in this condition? Or are all boats for sale presented in such a state?
Did I inadvertantly take swmbo to a yacht scrapyard by mistake or should I expect anything secondhand and over ten years old to be in a dire state. What about boats less than 10 years old will the interior still need fumigating/ripping out?
Prior to yesterday's nightmare we planned to tour the south coast brokers in the coming weeks. Now I'm not so sure it's a good idea.
Is there such a thing as a secondhand (sailing) yacht that's safe to show to a woman? How do I rekindle her enthusiasm?
Are yachts that are ready to sail without requiring major work sometimes advertised?
Should I take up ferret spotting instead?
Answers on a postcard please
Regards Deeply Depressed
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