Supply of old boats

basic said:
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.
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Good deal for everyone. The vendor got shut of a tired boat, the eventual purchaser got a vessel refitted to a very high standard, and your value comprised both sailing satisfaction and 10 grand profit (assuming your labour has no value)

Sorted!
 
I think there's a world of difference between restoring a boat and fixing up a boat to get afloat. A restoration would be very difficult to make financially viable so the owner is usually emotionally attached to the boat (or stubborn!)

I think if you take any boat that's been lying in a yard and get it afloat it instantly increases in value once it sails. The trick is to pay very little for it, and remember to pay for what it is (a manky yard bound wreck) rather than what it can be ( a floating, capable boat).

For some people with minimal savings, it can be more viable to spend a little to buy a boat and using the existing income to get it shipshape rather than saving for years to buy something decent. The timescale can be the same, but you learn a lot about boats when you have to fix one up.
 
ronsurf said:
I think there's a world of difference between restoring a boat and fixing up a boat to get afloat. A restoration would be very difficult to make financially viable so the owner is usually emotionally attached to the boat (or stubborn!)

I think if you take any boat that's been lying in a yard and get it afloat it instantly increases in value once it sails. The trick is to pay very little for it, and remember to pay for what it is (a manky yard bound wreck) rather than what it can be ( a floating, capable boat).

For some people with minimal savings, it can be more viable to spend a little to buy a boat and using the existing income to get it shipshape rather than saving for years to buy something decent. The timescale can be the same, but you learn a lot about boats when you have to fix one up.
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I agree with that completely. While I have certainly missed some sailing while refitting Phoenix, I will also have the luxury of knowing every single inch of the boat inside out.
 
ronsurf said:
I think there's a world of difference between restoring a boat and fixing up a boat to get afloat.
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It depends on your definition of restoring. I think I said refurbish, in connection with boats.
The bottom line is could you get a boat into sailable (and saleable) condition.
There was a Jaguar 22 with outboard and trailer available nearby for £1500 or best offer. It was afloat, but very manky.
Even if you got it for £800 it would be very easy to get close to the price of a clean and tidy one in good fettle (about £2.5K).

At the bottom end of the market the margins would be very narrow and it it turned out to have bottom rot (some Jaguars go a bit wobbly near the keel) you could be into a loss-making project.
 
Lakesailor said:
Even if you got it for £800 it would be very easy to get close to the price of a clean and tidy one in good fettle (about £2.5K).
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OK I don't know Jaguars but put it another way if you bought it and spent a couple of days cleaning it. Replaced nothing and sailed it for 3 years getting £200 pounds for her at the end of that you would of had 3 years cheap sailing... Plus allot for people with that mind find that after 3 years with a little work and a little money the boat is worth a little bit more than they paid for her.

It depends on your view the work your prepared to do and your disposable income. If I was going to pay £100k for a boat I would want to know how much she is going to cost me. If I am spending less than £1k if I only get a 50% return but allot of pleasure that's fine by me.

IMHO the big loss looser is to take the £800 pound boat strip it and do a full refit thinking your going to make money. Unless you REALLY know how to choose your boats even then I doubt you will get rich.
 
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