Shady Update

Peter, first of all I really feel for you, having like you been building my boat for the last few years I could not imagine right now how you must be feeling. Money is nothing when you start to think of all the work you have done. Little bits and pieces, even a new hasp on a locker, all now for what?

we have as a family lost a few boats over the years and it is the little things IMO that make it worse, the new torch you got for Christmas left on the shelf never to be seen again, the new binoculars or the pilots with your own notes and diagrams added in the margins.

The big things are easy. I hope you have not lost too much from Shady, even though sodden I am presuming everything remained inside.

I was down your way through the storms and it wasn't pretty, I was watching a few boats off Boddinick and Fowey and was worried for their owners sake, the way some were being hurled around their moorings was frightening.

Even though I would be devastated in your position, I am not sure which way I would turn. If you do repair, will you ever have full trust and confidence, will you end up on the mooring on a foul night monitoring every creak, every knock, will she ever be that safe haven again.

I have not had chance to get to TC yet, but as we a very sheltered and I took the sails off and removed dan buoys etc for winter I am comfortable that nothing untoward is afoot, but I might telephone the next door boat in the morning to see if they are about.

Good Luck, I just read your bio, you wrote looking for the perfect boat, maybe she has given you that chance?

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Poter, just one point. When a yacht has been sunk no amount of drying out will get the plywood dry behind the GRP bonding where the various bulkheads etc are bonded into the hull. In this case there are a lot of structural plywood bulkheads and partitions which may well go go rotten in the next few years behind the bonding. So take a deep breath and walk away with the best settleemt you can negotiate.

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Hi Poter

Loads of good advice here but for what it's worth I though I'd add mine after a few days reflection.

As you can probably now see for yourself, from a pure financial sense keeping Shady Lady is not the best answer. However, she obviously means more to you than purely a pound sterling value. So I guess it's a question of working out the worst case scenario in financial terms and see what the numbers are. This means estimating for her repair on the high side and for her resale value on the low side. Personally, if I was considering buying a boat with a 'history' it would need to be at least 30% cheaper than it's rivals to hold my attention and stop me walking away. Some people wouldn't even consider such a boat at any price, others might be less bothered if the standard of repair was top notch. But that's just my view.

Whatever this figure turns out to be, you need to decide whether your emotional attachment equals or exceeds this figure. If Shady Lady was already your boat for life then there would be a strong case for reinstating her. But if, as you indicated, she was actually just a stepping stone to a bigger, better Moody, then maybe this is an indication of the right way to go.

If it was me, I would do as most others have advised i.e. take the best settlement possible, salvage as many personal possessions as possible and start again, hopefully with something slightly bigger.

And I hope that one day in a few months time you might find yourself enjoying a sundowner in the cockpit of your next boat and seeing that despite this terrible experience, it is possible for the darkest clouds to have a sliver lining.

Good luck with your next steps and keep us posted.

Regards
Rob

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