Robertsons Golly for sale

[Chiara’s slave]

and wooden....

Which usually means it’ll be on sale with an astronomic asking price for 2 years, whilst it sits and moulders, uncared for, on a mid river pontoon somewhere, then gets offered to someone for the price they offered when it was still in salvageable condition.

 

[DoubleEnder]

That can happen. Probably not to this one

 

[Chiara’s slave]

That can happen. Probably not to this one

It happened to Kelpie, last time around, so fame doesn’t seem to help that much.

 

[Frogmogman]

Which usually means it’ll be on sale with an astronomic asking price for 2 years, whilst it sits and moulders, uncared for, on a mid river pontoon somewhere, then gets offered to someone for the price they offered when it was still in salvageable condition.

Reading the description on Sandeman’s site, it sounds as though the restoration 15 years ago was extremely thorough and mind bogglingly expensive. Highly unlikely that you could buy a knackered old wooden boat like this and restore it for less than the asking price.

Sandeman say the boat is tucked up all cozy indoors, ready for a new owner to slap on some anti fouling and take her sailing. Let’s hope that they can find someone who wants to take her on.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Reading the description on Sandeman’s site, it sounds as though the restoration 15 years ago was extremely thorough and mind bogglingly expensive. Highly unlikely that you could buy a knackered old wooden boat like this and restore it for less than the asking price.

Sandeman say the boat is tucked up all cozy indoors, ready for a new owner to slap on some anti fouling and take her sailing. Let’s hope that they can find someone who wants to take her on.

Tucked up indoors sounds promising. Kelpie though, got sold needing a restoration, had over a million spent on her, then still languished in the hamble with the new varnish ruined, til the previous owner's offer to rescue her was eventually heeded. It’s common. She has a feature in Classic Boat about the restoration. The new mast they had made at vast expense is in 2 jagged halves, after a race in Falmouth last year. Now she’s in a shed, hopefully to emerge later this year.

 

[Blueboatman]

Gotta love a cold moulded, varnished hull.

 

[Malish]

Gotta love a cold moulded, varnished hull.

love - yes, own - no, unless money is not an issue

 

[Blueboatman]

love - yes, own - no, unless money is not an issue

The IOR-ish shapes would be a deal breaker to me

 

[Frogmogman]

Opposition definitely falls in the category of boats I love to admire, but have no actual desire to own.

 

[dunedin]

Which usually means it’ll be on sale with an astronomic asking price for 2 years, whilst it sits and moulders, uncared for, on a mid river pontoon somewhere, then gets offered to someone for the price they offered when it was still in salvageable condition.

Yes, but Opposition looks to be stored indoors. But might be easier to sell if trucked to the South of France.

She was a common sight on the Clyde a couple of decades back.

 

[Richardab1967]

Now up for £15k on facebook. Robertsons Golly

 

[alahol2]

Now up for £15k on facebook. Robertsons Golly

£10.5K Today...

 

[ducked]

Old lags will know all about this boat, here is a video from a few years ago:

The asking price has drifted since and now available, asking £3,000:

Ohlson 38 for sale UK, Ohlson boats for sale, Ohlson used boat sales, Ohlson Sailing Yachts For Sale “Robertsons Golly” Ohlson 38 - Apollo Duck

What a cracking boat for someone equipped with youth and spirit.

.

Jeez.
If "youth and spirit" are the prerequisites for THAT, I wonder what they are for mine?
Petroleum spirit maybe.

 

[YachtGoblin]

Hey folks, I'm the new owner of the Robertsons Golly, bought her at the yard yesterday.

I didn't realize this boat had such an extensive history until I stumbled on this post and now I'm going down the rabbit hole learning everything I can about her.

Thought I'd give an update on my plans since there seems to be some interest. As surmised by others in the post, I'm fairly young (or I like to think so) and I'll be reviving the golly with my brother. We've got the funds and the time to do the work that needs doing.

I am going to rename her. I think I have the perfect name that maintains her prestigious history while acknowledging how.. spicy it is and how much work it's going to be. I introduce to you Robertsons Folly.

So far on my to do list I've got:

- Source a 25-30hp engine (Perkins is top of my list but it fluctuates)
- Standing and running rigging
- Hull work & paint
- Plumbing (some pipes burst in winter at some point)
- Sea toilet
- Shower
- Anchor
- Resealing everything I can get my hands on
- Redo the wiring
- Upholstery
- Guard rails and netting
- 400w solar setup
- deep clean
- undecided on a wind-vane
- rudder need re-laminating
- interior needs panelling in the master berth and some of the living space
- and there's almost certainly more I'm missing right now

Most of the work will be done by me and my brother minus some of the more intricate work that we're not adequately prepared for such as fitting the engine and the standing rigging, but with a (limited) background in yacht repairs and general contractor work we have a fairly solid idea of the scope of work and can handle pretty much everything else and will work on it close to full time.

We'll be doing whatever we can to retain all her best features & history while modernizing her and making her a comfortable and reliable live aboard boat for blue water cruising. If you've got questions or suggestions please fire away.

 

[YachtGoblin]

Here's 3 between £21K and £30K all better fitted out and equipped than you could possibly hope to get RG with less than £50K

https://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats-for-sale/make-ohlson/model-38/

We shall see

 

[Blueboatman]

Well, good luck to you and your brother.
Will you be
moving the boat to somewhere inexpensive/a barn to do the work?

Lots of advice willingly and perhaps too willingly available on here, such as sourcing ex ships lifeboat engines and sending away the old standing rigging for affordable like for like replacements.

Good luck, I enjoyed reading the boats early adventures .

 

[Mark-1]

Hey folks, I'm the new owner of the Robertsons Golly, bought her at the yard yesterday.

I didn't realize this boat had such an extensive history until I stumbled on this post and now I'm going down the rabbit hole learning everything I can about her.

Thought I'd give an update on my plans since there seems to be some interest. As surmised by others in the post, I'm fairly young (or I like to think so) and I'll be reviving the golly with my brother. We've got the funds and the time to do the work that needs doing.

I am going to rename her. I think I have the perfect name that maintains her prestigious history while acknowledging how.. spicy it is and how much work it's going to be. I introduce to you Robertsons Folly.

So far on my to do list I've got:

- Source a 25-30hp engine (Perkins is top of my list but it fluctuates)
- Standing and running rigging
- Hull work & paint
- Plumbing (some pipes burst in winter at some point)
- Sea toilet
- Shower
- Anchor
- Resealing everything I can get my hands on
- Redo the wiring
- Upholstery
- Guard rails and netting
- 400w solar setup
- deep clean
- undecided on a wind-vane
- rudder need re-laminating
- interior needs panelling in the master berth and some of the living space
- and there's almost certainly more I'm missing right now

Most of the work will be done by me and my brother minus some of the more intricate work that we're not adequately prepared for such as fitting the engine and the standing rigging, but with a (limited) background in yacht repairs and general contractor work we have a fairly solid idea of the scope of work and can handle pretty much everything else and will work on it close to full time.

We'll be doing whatever we can to retain all her best features & history while modernizing her and making her a comfortable and reliable live aboard boat for blue water cruising. If you've got questions or suggestions please fire away.

Good luck.

The proposed rename is genius, that really is having your cake and eating it.

 

[YachtGoblin]

Well, good luck to you and your brother.
Will you be
moving the boat to somewhere inexpensive/a barn to do the work?

Lots of advice willingly and perhaps too willingly available on here, such as sourcing ex ships lifeboat engines and sending away the old standing rigging for affordable like for like replacements.

Good luck, I enjoyed reading the boats early adventures .

Thanks! We'll be keeping her where she is for now until we can get her on the water and then we'll be doing the remainder of the work while moored. The previous owner covered close to a month of yard standing, and I'm going to cover a few more at least.

I appreciate those pointers on both engine and rigging. I'll be digging into these topics more over the next couple of days as I come to terms with the work before me haha

 

[Tranona]

Hey folks, I'm the new owner of the Robertsons Golly, bought her at the yard yesterday.

I didn't realize this boat had such an extensive history until I stumbled on this post and now I'm going down the rabbit hole learning everything I can about her.

Thought I'd give an update on my plans since there seems to be some interest. As surmised by others in the post, I'm fairly young (or I like to think so) and I'll be reviving the golly with my brother. We've got the funds and the time to do the work that needs doing.

I am going to rename her. I think I have the perfect name that maintains her prestigious history while acknowledging how.. spicy it is and how much work it's going to be. I introduce to you Robertsons Folly.

So far on my to do list I've got:

- Source a 25-30hp engine (Perkins is top of my list but it fluctuates)
- Standing and running rigging
- Hull work & paint
- Plumbing (some pipes burst in winter at some point)
- Sea toilet
- Shower
- Anchor
- Resealing everything I can get my hands on
- Redo the wiring
- Upholstery
- Guard rails and netting
- 400w solar setup
- deep clean
- undecided on a wind-vane
- rudder need re-laminating
- interior needs panelling in the master berth and some of the living space
- and there's almost certainly more I'm missing right now

Most of the work will be done by me and my brother minus some of the more intricate work that we're not adequately prepared for such as fitting the engine and the standing rigging, but with a (limited) background in yacht repairs and general contractor work we have a fairly solid idea of the scope of work and can handle pretty much everything else and will work on it close to full time.

We'll be doing whatever we can to retain all her best features & history while modernizing her and making her a comfortable and reliable live aboard boat for blue water cruising. If you've got questions or suggestions please fire away.

Congratulations. Words of warning - double your budget and at least double your expected time, and you will still need to spend more and it won't be ready when you think! I am in the final stages of a similar level refit on a slightly smaller boat with a similar mixture of my own labour and outside contractors. Remember a boat of that size and complexity would cost upwards of £1/4m to build today and all the bits you need will cost in proportion to that and NOT the market value of a complete functioning boat of the same type. An average condition boat like this will sell for around £30k - and your list of works already gets near that and to turn that into a "comfortable and reliable liveaboard boat for bluewater sailing" will cost at least double.

Your chosen name is apt - a folly! So, take a step back and really do some hard sums before your commit. Even if the boat was free (I hope actually they paid you to take it on!) it really is not a practical or economic project unless you want to create the perfect example regardless of cost and time.

On a more constructive note. Your first item needs careful thought. These boats were woefully underpowered when built. You need 35hp to deal with the heavy displacement and get hull speed. A 25-30hp just won't cut it. A Beta 35 would be a good choice if buying new. If looking at used a Volvo 2040 (which is a Perkins) is worth looking for. However there is more to powering a boat than the engine. You need to start from the propeller and stern gear and you will probably need to change this if it was linked to an old style engine such as the MD2 that was commonly used originally.

Sorry to sound negative, but I have seen too many projects (including my own) run away with time and money. If you really want a boat at the level you are aiming for look for one that is already in commission and working which might cost £25-30k and improve it - which will cost you the same again but still less than this boat is going to cost if you ever get it done.

 

[YachtGoblin]

Congratulations. Words of warning - double your budget and at least double your expected time, and you will still need to spend more and it won't be ready when you think! I am in the final stages of a similar level refit on a slightly smaller boat with a similar mixture of my own labour and outside contractors. Remember a boat of that size and complexity would cost upwards of £1/4m to build today and all the bits you need will cost in proportion to that and NOT the market value of a complete functioning boat of the same type. An average condition boat like this will sell for around £30k - and your list of works already gets near that and to turn that into a "comfortable and reliable liveaboard boat for bluewater sailing" will cost at least double.

Your chosen name is apt - a folly! So, take a step back and really do some hard sums before your commit. Even if the boat was free (I hope actually they paid you to take it on!) it really is not a practical or economic project unless you want to create the perfect example regardless of cost and time.

On a more constructive note. Your first item needs careful thought. These boats were woefully underpowered when built. You need 35hp to deal with the heavy displacement and get hull speed. A 25-30hp just won't cut it. A Beta 35 would be a good choice if buying new. If looking at used a Volvo 2040 (which is a Perkins) is worth looking for. However there is more to powering a boat than the engine. You need to start from the propeller and stern gear and you will probably need to change this if it was linked to an old style engine such as the MD2 that was commonly used originally.

Sorry to sound negative, but I have seen too many projects (including my own) run away with time and money. If you really want a boat at the level you are aiming for look for one that is already in commission and working which might cost £25-30k and improve it - which will cost you the same again but still less than this boat is going to cost if you ever get it done.

No need to be sorry for sounding negative. It's fair feedback tinged with personal experience. It's appreciated and I agree that I'm going to hit countless roadblocks along the way and probably end up spending more than I'd like.

How about I come back to you in a couple of months and let you know how it's going, rather than making any (probably woefully incorrect) grand statements now.