Project boat form bear hull

fredrussell said:
To the OP, if you want a good example of how a bare hull rebuild invariably goes do a forum search for “bought a never splashed Colvic Countess”. That should put you off forever. He’s currently working on a Photon Drive for it but the photons keep escaping from the jam jar he’s collecting them in.
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I'll save you bother of searching. if you have a couple of days spare read this. Bought a Never splashed Colvic Countess 33 on eBay, Looking for infos You'll thank me later. :)
 
Over 20 years ago I went this route and sat down with a builder of "we sell hulls - you finish it yourself "models. In a short time he persuaded me only to proceed if I had skills and a determination to finish even after several seasons working at it. He sold me off his product and I am eternally grateful for that, and now I pass on this experience to you.

Find a boat in good condition and reckon on some engine rebuild work, instrumentation, good used sails, and upholstery. You will then be able to rely on this vessel to get you home in one piece, and will find some resale value when ready to part company. Your time afloat will be maximised - isn't that what it's all about?

Every yard has a hull going through agony where it's a race between failing enthusiasm and resources. Fancy joining in?

PWG
 
Pembrokeshiresailor, welcome to the forum, I think JM and others have given you the best advice, walk away from this 'bare- boat deal' and look for a a good used boat in your price range, there are plenty of them.
Starting from hull only you can treble the amount you think it will cost you to get it to a seaworthy condition and from my experience of fitting out a boat years ago even with four of us working on it, the time taken was a lot longer than we anticipated.
Unless you want to spend your time 'boat-building' rather than sailing keep away from bare hills.
 
There seems to be in every boatyard across the country someone's broken dream rotting away. It's a mammoth undertaking refiting an old hull as others have said. In our yard when I was a member of a yacht club were at least three projects, the owners would show up on Saturday morning, do about 5 minutes work and disappear to the bar to get*"** faced.
Plenty of good boats out there at your budget ?
 
If the OP is reading the thread, I should add a few comments. In the late 1960's and early 1970's it was very normal for people to fit out smaller yachts, but I doubt if many actually saved any money but lost lots of sailing time. My late father fitted out a 34 yacht in the late 60's and took just over a year. Towards the end of the 1970's he still had a desire to build a yacht from scratch. We settled on a 30ft design and we ended up building 2 from plans in glassfibre over a male mould. One was a racing yacht and the other was a cruising version. We worked alongside the house and every weekend we had 5 or 6 people working and 2 to 3 during the week. The race boat was launched in 8 months and the cruiser took anothe five months to complete. Never again would I consider building, or fitting out, a hull and deck. Buy the best condition boat you can find, even if it is the most expensive, as it will cost you less in the long run.

As I have a lot of boat building skills, in December 2013 I bought a tired but structurally sound Westerly Fulmar and have been renovating it ever since to a high standard and it is still not quite finished. I hate to think how many thousands of hours I have worked on Concerto, but it is more about finding the right boat and making it exactly to my requirements. My budget for the refurb was £12,000 but it has now cost about £25,00, plus the original purchase price. I enjoy sailing and I enjoy working on a boat. Due to the work I have been doing I was asked to give a talk at the RYA London and SE Conference in January. This is the PowerPoint presentation to give you an idea of how much Concerto has changed. https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/3/3f/Concerto.pdf In September next year Concerto will be the Westerly Owners Association boat at the Southampton International Boat Show when she will be 41 years old but not looking anywhere near as old as that. In 2022 I am planning a singlehanded trip around the UK to include the Orkneys and Shetland as I have every faith in Concerto getting me round with minimal trouble as so much equipment has been renewed or upgraded.
 
Concerto said:
As I have a lot of boat building skills, in December 2013 I bought a tired but structurally sound Westerly Fulmar and have been renovating it ever since to a high standard and it is still not quite finished. I hate to think how many thousands of hours I have worked on Concerto, but it is more about finding the right boat and making it exactly to my requirements. My budget for the refurb was £12,000 but it has now cost about £25,00, plus the original purchase price. I enjoy sailing and I enjoy working on a boat. Due to the work I have been doing I was asked to give a talk at the RYA London and SE Conference in January. This is the PowerPoint presentation to give you an idea of how much Concerto has changed. https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/3/3f/Concerto.pdf In September next year Concerto will be the Westerly Owners Association boat at the Southampton International Boat Show when she will be 41 years old but not looking anywhere near as old as that. In 2022 I am planning a singlehanded trip around the UK to include the Orkneys and Shetland as I have every faith in Concerto getting me round with minimal trouble as so much equipment has been renewed or upgraded.
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i did more work or about the same amount on my jeanneau, took 2 years
 
You fellas(I assume) are a really miserable bunch! Is everything we do just time and money? No, it is not! Sailing is a ridiculous means of transport, like horse riding or running a steam engine. It has had its day but people do it in their millions. Why? because it is fun! Sailing is fun, and so is bringing back on old hulk from the dead or building from scratch. The feeling you will get from sailing a vessel you have restored will be quite different to that from the feeling of sailing a new or second hand purchase. There are many disadvantages and it will take longer, cost more and be more effort than you imagined, but whether or not it is worth it is down to you. I have never met anybody sailing a boat they renovated or built say ‘it wasn’t worth it’. It will be. I sail a very simple dinghy that cost me more to build in time and money than one or two better sailing new dinghies but it was worth it. I am also half way through a renovation that should have been finished years ago and that will be worth it, too. People who have never made the sacrifice and put the effort and time into a project of their own will not understand and they will also never feel the rush of feeling there will be every time you step aboard to go for a sail in something people told you would never sail or never sail again. Good luck!
 
machone said:
You fellas(I assume) are a really miserable bunch! Is everything we do just time and money? No, it is not! Sailing is a ridiculous means of transport, like horse riding or running a steam engine. It has had its day but people do it in their millions. Why? because it is fun! Sailing is fun, and so is bringing back on old hulk from the dead or building from scratch. The feeling you will get from sailing a vessel you have restored will be quite different to that from the feeling of sailing a new or second hand purchase. There are many disadvantages and it will take longer, cost more and be more effort than you imagined, but whether or not it is worth it is down to you. I have never met anybody sailing a boat they renovated or built say ‘it wasn’t worth it’. It will be. I sail a very simple dinghy that cost me more to build in time and money than one or two better sailing new dinghies but it was worth it. I am also half way through a renovation that should have been finished years ago and that will be worth it, too. People who have never made the sacrifice and put the effort and time into a project of their own will not understand and they will also never feel the rush of feeling there will be every time you step aboard to go for a sail in something people told you would never sail or never sail again. Good luck!
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Yours is an excellent post, but it perhaps misses the point slightly? If the OP enjoys boat building, then he can fill his boots fitting out the hull he's found.

That wasn't his question though and if he thinks for one nanosecond that he can fit it out for a very few thousand £ then hopefully this thread has disabused him of that vain hope.
 
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The amateur boat refitter or fitter out of a bare hull will I m sure report that “now if I did it again”. Invariably you only get one go at doing it and it’s a shame because the mistakes made in the first attempt would save time and money an give more pleasure If you had the opportunity to do it again?
 
john_morris_uk said:
That wasn't his question though and if he thinks for one nanosecond that he can fit it out for a very few thousand £ then hopefully this thread has disabused him of that vain hope.
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That's the point. If I enjoy faffing around with GRP and wood and electrickery, then a project like that is just what I need to keep me out of Milady's way. It also allows the cost to be spread over time, buying bits when the budget allows and Milady isn't looking. That fact that it'll almost certainly cost me twice as much as buying second hand is irrelevant.

If I want to go sailing, it's the last thing I want.
 
davidpbo said:
Not near Goostrey, Cheshire was it by any chance?
I often wondered what happened to that boat I used to pass. There was another one one behind a house on the Buxton to Ashbourne road for years.

There was a long thread similar to this, something like "Bought a never splashed *****".
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I remember the Goostrey boat near the dip in the road and the private school. iirc it had a doghouse/deck saloon and looked somewhat larger than 30ft. May have been constructed of steel.

Having worked in the industry and seen many yachts fitted out by professional craftsmen I too would avoid the Colvic at all costs unless you have a particular desire and skill to complete the job. You also have to ask yourself there is a reason that it has sat there unfinished for all these years.
 
Ground work must be done first…..locate cafe /bar. Or pub,supply of materials,car parking,electricity,it’s better to transport nearer home etc which is what I did
 
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