What a shame

ylop said:
- ordinary cruisers stopped worrying about 1 def of pointing or 0.5knots top speed a long time ago.
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I beg to differ
I hate being overtaken by yachts of any size. Yes, I care about every kt of speed & have spent a few pennies chasing it. I know a few friends who feel the same. When we have a club cruise there is always a sense of who gets there first. Some will even sneek off the mooring early to get to the other end first.
 
The thread though is about getting a few extra years of life from (suitable) old boats without incurring excessive cost, and encouraging / promoting to new people with limited means who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford a boat - as the old PBO / YM - when a Snapdragon 24 was a big boat and a trip from Benfleet to the Medway was a big adventure - and if they want to go quickly, get a quick boat - Sonata's etc cheap.

Agree though when the time comes, boats should be properly recycled with parts saved to keep other boats going for a few years more
 
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My annual running cost including mooring, general maintenance and club with dinghy storage is less than the cost of a single cup of Costa Coffee each day ( = £1314 - £1606? ! ) so that is something people taking on an older boat in reasonable condition can aim for. Very good value when you look at it that way.

If I wanted to splash out on a marina that would be equivalent of another 2 cups per day - makes even that cost good value.
 
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Egret said:
My annual running cost including mooring, general maintenance and club with dinghy storage is less than the cost of a single cup of Costa Coffee each day so that is something people taking on an older boat in reasonable condition can aim for.
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Its fascinating the difference we all have of our time and how we spend our money.

I have never understood the need for the coffee shop, we make our own. We wash our own car and do our own gardening - which means we don't need a gym membership.

I fiddle about with things marine, like anchors. If someone, say a member here, wants a comment on ground tackle I'll answer in full. What would I do instead? I've had made half a dozen rodes, with HT chain, and advised on re-gal of anchors, shackle quality etc and where to buy (its not so easy in Oz).

This morning I'm off to see a man about an anchor for an individual kitting out a 14m cat who met me when I gave a lecture on snubbers at a local yacht club.

I don't get paid, so to some (many?) I'm wasting my time. But I, made a good lifetime choice, have a supportive wife. I note the comment on wives being expensive - who chooses such wives.....?

Jonathan
 
When I bought my second Stella I paid £2200 It would have sunk in seconds if put in the water. I stored it in my workshop & having a joinery works I had all the facilities available that the average punter would never have. I spent £14000 refurbing & plus sails, winches,rigging, fixed & running ., not counting machinery costs & cost of timber such as oak etc taken from the company stock, or transport, using the company haulage contractor. Paint & fibreglass ( a big expense)was purchased at a commercial discount which a retail purchaser would probably not get.
It took me 2 years working most weekends but 3 years to launch as I built myself a house at the same time. I also employed 2 shipwrights in my works & they undertook some detailed works on the planking repairs that I did not have time. Their skills easily shortened that process by a couple of days.
After 3 years sailing I sold it for £9000 . The surveyor commented on high quality of finish
For the average punter I hardly think that it would be economically worth the hassle. I was lucky as I lived 100 yds from the boat & had it in the dry & all the gear to hand. Never had to put tools away each time & that saving alone is good. The cost saving in storage was high.
 
Of the four boats I’ve owned, two made a profit, one was a give away and one gave me a nervous breakdown..

And they were all massively fun and life affirming and life changing too.

In addition, if you were to take time off and have a sailing jolly and rent yer house out, then that- net- finance must count for something too..

Now I see so so many people walking around looking into a phone and unaware of every life’s detail playing out all around them, I just don’t think the entrepreneurial/ diy/ roll your sleeves up and have a go/ do something different/ live your own life culture is prevalent anymore. Hence all the coffees, mini luxury weekend breaks, film subscriptions, you tube patroon donations.. ya da ya da..
I feel old😳
 
ducked said:
Sad story. I fancied a Hurley, particularly the headroom on the 24, and went to look at a cheap 22 at Aberdour, but was put off by the encapsulated keels, which I hadnt thought of until I saw them. They looked intact, but the design seemed inherently vulnerable to abrasion by a drying mooring unless on very soft mud, and subsequent hidden corrosion. I wondered about adding steel or plastic shoes, but eventually decided to just look at boats with exposed ballast keels. These could have problems too of course, but I thought I would have a better chance of seeing them.

No known issue on the Trident keels (apart from surface rust) seen in the initial clean up, but its early days. There are cases where hidden rust on the bilge keel inserts levers the hull apart.
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Ha! Well I have to admit I didn't see a lot of positives in the situation at the time - but a lot of lessons learned and I'm glad I learned them with a 22fter and not a 32fter!

I think I got away lightly!
 
Blueboatman said:
Of the four boats I’ve owned, two made a profit, one was a give away and one gave me a nervous breakdown..

And they were all massively fun and life affirming and life changing too.

In addition, if you were to take time off and have a sailing jolly and rent yer house out, then that- net- finance must count for something too..

Now I see so so many people walking around looking into a phone and unaware of every life’s detail playing out all around them, I just don’t think the entrepreneurial/ diy/ roll your sleeves up and have a go/ do something different/ live your own life culture is prevalent anymore. Hence all the coffees, mini luxury weekend breaks, film subscriptions, you tube patroon donations.. ya da ya da..
I feel old😳
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All the twist and turns and good and bad choices landed me here inGalicia……….boatless,again!
 
Wansworth said:
All the twist and turns and good and bad choices landed me here inGalicia……….boatless,again!
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Hey, whilst rebuilding a hurricane damaged sail away in the US, I was ‘lapped’ by people who had sailed round the world in a beautiful home built steel vessel and enjoyed it so much they rented out their Cornish home again and set off a second time.. Each their own eh!
And then there are the old guys who didn’t stop when they met ‘the one’ .. and lament it over beers in paradise.. funny old world
 
I wasn't thinking of major project boats, just ones that are basically still OK for a few years more, with a good clean and some minor work.
 
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Someone mentioned Tally-ho up above, though I didn't really clock the context. This might be a model for one approach to the original problem posed by the OP, and one that a forum could usefully contribute to coordinating.

For example, there was a guy on Gumtree looking to pass on a mostly restored SCOD because of declining health that I would have offered to (hopefully) help if I hadn't been committed to return to Taiwan (I'd have liked the boat but wouldn't have felt equal to the responsibility), and the Tally-ho example suggests I might not have been alone. A plastic classic wouldn't be quite so motivating, but OTOH it wouldn't require such rarified skills either.

Much lower level of committment, and a chance to dip toe in water without going thigh deep in the mud. Of course there would still be a need for management, decision making and expenditure, so the renovation of actually abandoned boats "by committee", while perhaps possible with sufficient support, might be too difficult, but where an owner is simply overwhelmed it might be useful.
 
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Egret said:
I wasn't thinking of major project boats, just ones that are basically still OK for a few years more, with a good clean and some minor work.
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I had a bit of a poke around some of the freebie Facebook sites last night (I dont like Facebook and dont normally touch it) and while many of them are pretty far gone a few of them are puzzlingly intact, assuming they are genuine. Of course these dont stay available for long.
 
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Wansworth said:
All the twist and turns and good and bad choices landed me here inGalicia……….boatless,again!
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Now that's a thing to ponder on, "what if" and at which turning point in your life do you start? For me there have been several identifiable ones that would undoubtably have changed my life and no doubt many that I don't recognise when someone or something rolled the dice behind my back.
 
Daydream believer said:
What a boring entry to sailing. No wonder there are less coming in to the sport from the younger fraternity
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Not for a novice. He’ll think he or she is having the time of thier life. One persons achievements might be so different to another’s persons but individually they may be more significant. Realistically we all have our own goals.
An example was listening to people saying how boring doing the RTIR was. To me it was a chance of a lifetime. To another it might be watching from the shore!!
Steveeasy
 
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