Supply of old boats

Lakesailor said:
There is the proposition of doing something because you enjoy doing it, and refurbishing things falls into that category. However it can still be a bloody expensive way of doing things.
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Plus quite a few...I was offered a Swedish motor sailer recently; 27ft. But a look at the problems made me shudder. Still, I now have the job of getting her back to useful condition for the owner. It is less shuddering if one gets paid for the work.
 
DownWest said:
Plus quite a few...I was offered a Swedish motor sailer recently; 27ft. But a look at the problems made me shudder. Still, I now have the job of getting her back to useful condition for the owner. It is less shuddering if one gets paid for the work.
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Big plus one, when you're being paid its a different story but as i'm starting to realise this with my project when its weekends and evenings (and the occasional week when works quiet) month after month it wears you down, plus the insane costs of just about everything because its for a 'marine' application.

Apropos ebay there are some proper chancers where starting bids and boat projects are concerned, although i was informed by a mate of mine the other week of a Westerly Pembroke that went for £1000 that'd been sat at the back of his clubs yard for 10+ years and am told was in very reasonable condition, so i guess if you get it right you can have your cake etc.
 
It all depends on whether you want to go sailing or spend your time working on a project. If you're not bothered about going sailing for the foreseeable future, buy a project - if you want to go sailing, don't.
 
l'escargot said:
It all depends on whether you want to go sailing or spend your time working on a project. If you're not bothered about going sailing for the foreseeable future, buy a project - if you want to go sailing, don't.
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My idea was to get a boat that could sail in the summer but needed improvement in the winter. Pretty much worked as planed except of course the costs!

That said, if I'd tried to spend the £30k on a boat I'd have had to borrow. Paying for things as I went, over 4 winters, meant I got the boat debt free.
 
l'escargot said:
It all depends on whether you want to go sailing or spend your time working on a project. If you're not bothered about going sailing for the foreseeable future, buy a project - if you want to go sailing, don't.
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That's very sound advice.

As much as i've missed sailing every weekend, i've also thoroughly enjoyed the refurbishment work. I can imagine that if it was a chore, then it would quickly become a weight around your neck.
 
There is a Hurley 22 fin on the bay for a fraction of the cost of what he spent to bring it up to spec. Fresh engine and ready to go.
 
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Is there a happy medium for those of us starting out and not awash with cash? When my daughter was learning to drive we bought a cheap 13-year old Fiesta, no two panels the same colour and most with dings. I made sure it was safe by overhauling and checking brakes, steering and wheels/tyres. Pretty it wasn't but it did the job.

Is it possible to get a small sailing boat along the same lines? If I can attend to the safety the cosmetics can follow as long as I can get it to sail.

That Fiesta was brilliant. With a couple of L-plates on, everybody gave it right-of-way and kept well clear. I wonder why :p

Does that work with an old boat as well? I'm quite happy to put the old L-plates on it :D
 
Hello Jungle Jim.

Of course it applies to old boats. As a new owner Just don't get involved with a clapped out project or a wooden boat.

Most things can be improved by spending little more than time, a lot of time in some cases but only if you insist on perfection.

On an economy old boat things like new sails, engines, instrumentation, running rigging, upholstery and resprays are just daft and as good as throwing money away. A quick fettle and go sailing is the cry.
 
Jungle Jim said:
Is there a happy medium for those of us starting out and not awash with cash? When my daughter was learning to drive we bought a cheap 13-year old Fiesta, no two panels the same colour and most with dings. I made sure it was safe by overhauling and checking brakes, steering and wheels/tyres. Pretty it wasn't but it did the job.

Is it possible to get a small sailing boat along the same lines? If I can attend to the safety the cosmetics can follow as long as I can get it to sail.

That Fiesta was brilliant. With a couple of L-plates on, everybody gave it right-of-way and kept well clear. I wonder why :p

Does that work with an old boat as well? I'm quite happy to put the old L-plates on it :D
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I've got an Anderson 22 for sale which sounds just like that.
 
My boat is 41 now (I've had it for 28 years) and I don't worry about the cosmetics. It looks great, if you are far enough away to pass safely. But it is sound, if lacking many electronics that others seem to consider essential. Look for sound early GRP boats around 20-26 foot - say 1k5 to 5k. It should have a fairly recent engine, reasonable sails & running rigging & smell OK when you slide the main hatch back the first time after a while. Go for a sail with the seller to see how easy it is to sail.
 
I took the summer off for various reasons and decided to give my Hurley 22 a good going over with a view to a long trip. So far I've removed and rebedded all of the deck fittings, serviced the winches, taken the windows out, rebuilt 2 of them and rebedded them all, removed the stemhead and smashed out a previous set of bodged repairs underneath it, glassed up the front couple of feet of the deck and bows from underneath then rebedded the stemhead, removed and rebedded the pulpit, replaced the deck level nav lights and fitted them with leds, removed the skeg as it was leaking and cast in new bolts then rebedded it, changed some of the running rigging and obtained new standing rigging (yet to fit), bought a new headsail and cruising chute, repaired a damaged keel shoe, rebedded the woodwork around the main hatch as it was leaking, painted the tabernacle, fitted solar panels and a new battery, rebuilt the galley tap and yesterday I antifouled it.
 
So I was a bit gutted when 2 lads walked past it up on the hard yesterday as I was down below looking for a spanner and one said to the other 'It's a great shame - this boat has been looking worse and worse all summer' so I stuck my head out of the hatch and gave them a seriously hard stare.
 
doug748 said:
Most things can be improved by spending little more than time, a lot of time in some cases but only if you insist on perfection.

On an economy old boat things like new sails, engines, instrumentation, running rigging, upholstery and resprays are just daft and as good as throwing money away. A quick fettle and go sailing is the cry.
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But if the last three owners have had that attitude there is some serious work to do. I have just bought a non-boaty project and whilst it was in use regularly and succeSsfully, everything I look at needs some proper attention. That suits me as it was the right price and it's just labour and a few bits and I'm in no hurry.

BruceDanforth said:
So I was a bit gutted when 2 lads walked past it up on the hard yesterday as I was down below looking for a spanner and one said to the other 'It's a great shame - this boat has been looking worse and worse all summer' so I stuck my head out of the hatch and gave them a seriously hard stare.
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Many a true word spoken when you thought the owner wasn't listening. :D
 
Tam Lin said:
There will always be boats that are worth restoring, in this case the boat had a nearly new engine. You have to pick your boat carefully, if everything has to be replaced then it's going to cost you and it is better to buy a well maintained model and pay the cost up front. Of course it also depends if you like doing boat projects or going sailing!
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My last boat was a Twister bought for £10400. Spent a winter living aboard and refitting and then lived aboard and cruised her for three years. Sold her for £22500. Estimate I spent £2000 on the refit.
Half a dozen people viewed her before me and dithered. I did the deal on the spot. You must act quickly and you must refit to a very high standard and be prepared for a lot of hard work.
 
I bought a project boat in wood, a 28' honeybee. I day sailed it the first summer and the tiller came away in my hand. Over the winter I stripped her down, replaced rotten planks and some structural timbers, refurbished every part of her including the beta 20hp and then launched her in late spring. Biggest cost was sand paper and paint. I had some old teak lying about for much of the work (made a nice folding table for the saloon) and the odd bit of mahogany salvaged from an old conservatory. We spent the money saved on safety equipment and now have a very sturdy and reasonably smart boat.

cars are different. It is harder to make them safe. I am not sure I would want a child of mine driving a 13 year old car. The way I look on it they WILL have a crash and old cars simply do not have the protection of modern ones. I saw a crash staged between two Scenic's, one new and the other 7 years old. They put a crash test dummy family in them and crashed head on driver side (most common). The old car was destroyed as was everyone in it. The new car only tightened the seat-belts, it didn't consider the crash serious enough to deploy the airbags! Boats are easier to make 'safe'.
 
Possibly to be able to bodge up a small boat and get on the water and experience the freedom of the seas is one of western mans last freedoms...... soon there will be MOT s
 
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