What to do with an old boat.
- Thread starter PeterV
- Start date
steve yates
Well-Known Member
Its a bit late now, but those three years marina fees would have paid for it to be reengined and any rot in cockpit cut out and replaced. My pal bought a composite twister for 10k, its cost him 30k over the last 4 years. To ne fair he has had a new suite of fancy electronics and a brand new beta engine for that, but it also included 3 expensive weeks in the shed while the carpenters cut out and replaced any sections of rot.
So 40k spent on a 10k boat.
On the flip side, he has a beautiful seaworthy boat that turns heads everywhere he goes, and it will last him out his next 15 years of sailing. So he doesn’t care ( too much) about the cost, he was originally going to buy a motorhome, he reckons this was a far far better use of the money. I think he was right.
If your pal wants a boat and wants to sail, and could find a club with cheap moorings, he could throw another 15k at the boat and have years of fun. If he keeps her in reasonable nick he could get 10k back when he sells her on.
If he dithers, before he knows it he will have forked out another 18k on marina fees down the line.
So 40k spent on a 10k boat.
On the flip side, he has a beautiful seaworthy boat that turns heads everywhere he goes, and it will last him out his next 15 years of sailing. So he doesn’t care ( too much) about the cost, he was originally going to buy a motorhome, he reckons this was a far far better use of the money. I think he was right.
If your pal wants a boat and wants to sail, and could find a club with cheap moorings, he could throw another 15k at the boat and have years of fun. If he keeps her in reasonable nick he could get 10k back when he sells her on.
If he dithers, before he knows it he will have forked out another 18k on marina fees down the line.
Poignard
Well-Known Member
I bought my composite Twister in 1997 and started sailing her straight away.
The first time it rained I found water trickling through the joint between the mahogany coachroof and the GRP deck. Further exploration showed extensive rot in the coachroof and cockpit coamings. (The surveyor I employed had failed to notice this!)
Her second season was spent ashore and I cut out all the rot and inserted new mahogany. I also lifted out her 1983 BUKH engine, brought it home and overhauled it.
In total I had her for 27 years but only lost one season's sailing. After the major repairs described above, any other major repairs and improvements were carried out during winter lay ups.
Apart from paying someone less than £100 to help me resheath the coachroof top, and another £100 or so for a small repair to the bow after I had knocked a bit of it off on the corner of a pontoon, I never paid anyone to do anything apart from occasional replacement of sails and rigging, which I would have had to do with any yacht I owned for that length of time.
I did pay to have the engine cylinder head skimmed and new valve seats fitted, and I spent about £2,000 on engine parts over the years; mostly on the big overhaul in her second year of ownership. Considerably less than the cost of a new engine. That engine was still running fine when I sold the boat a couple of years ago. Her current owner is quite happy with the 43-year old BUKH engine, and when I met him last month he told me he has no plans to replace it
So, the boat didn't cost me much over the 27 years.
BUT, the important thing is that I could do the work and, very importantly, I enjoyed doing it.
If I had had to pay people to do it, it would have not been worth it.
I am very pleased to have been able to save a fine yacht from the scrap heap, and I had a lot of pleasure sailing and maintaining her.
Her new French owners came to stay with us recently and they are delighted with her.
The first time it rained I found water trickling through the joint between the mahogany coachroof and the GRP deck. Further exploration showed extensive rot in the coachroof and cockpit coamings. (The surveyor I employed had failed to notice this!)
Her second season was spent ashore and I cut out all the rot and inserted new mahogany. I also lifted out her 1983 BUKH engine, brought it home and overhauled it.
In total I had her for 27 years but only lost one season's sailing. After the major repairs described above, any other major repairs and improvements were carried out during winter lay ups.
Apart from paying someone less than £100 to help me resheath the coachroof top, and another £100 or so for a small repair to the bow after I had knocked a bit of it off on the corner of a pontoon, I never paid anyone to do anything apart from occasional replacement of sails and rigging, which I would have had to do with any yacht I owned for that length of time.
I did pay to have the engine cylinder head skimmed and new valve seats fitted, and I spent about £2,000 on engine parts over the years; mostly on the big overhaul in her second year of ownership. Considerably less than the cost of a new engine. That engine was still running fine when I sold the boat a couple of years ago. Her current owner is quite happy with the 43-year old BUKH engine, and when I met him last month he told me he has no plans to replace it
So, the boat didn't cost me much over the 27 years.
BUT, the important thing is that I could do the work and, very importantly, I enjoyed doing it.
If I had had to pay people to do it, it would have not been worth it.
I am very pleased to have been able to save a fine yacht from the scrap heap, and I had a lot of pleasure sailing and maintaining her.
Her new French owners came to stay with us recently and they are delighted with her.
Last edited:
winch2
Well-Known Member
Old deep keelers have literally been strangled out of the market. Even a good deep water mooring is going to set u back 3.5K pa, plus a long row/motor to get to it. Pity as they are all good, well designed boats.
Poignard
Well-Known Member
Minerva
Well-Known Member
I can totally see the appeal in purposefully owning a beautiful classic boat like the twister to breathe new life into and enjoy for many years to come. However the owner were taking about has shown what would appear to be diddly squat interest and neglected it into the grave and now finds himself 2 weeks to get rid.
One can only imagine the only way that’s happening is either via a skip or scuttling the thing. For the sake of the environment I hope it’s the former.
newtothis
Well-Known Member
That's fine for a fishing boat, but how big a hole would you have to drill for the mast to do this with a yacht?
toothless
Well-Known Member
Is it the twister 'Rimfire'?
I went to look at her a few years ago if so, thinking she looked a bargain from the adverts. Her deck was rotten, the cockpit wood rotten, rot rot rot everywhere. She was at Deacons on the Hamble - she was at the time in the yard but was paying the triple fees fine as she had been stood for so long. The owner was in his 90s and couldn't face letting her go.
Honestly, I think she was only good for scrapping. Which is terrible to say as I would absolutely love a Twister. Nice Blakes heads though which was probably the most valuable bit!
Purple Velvet
Active Member
Absolutely, but if the owner is going to use it, then it is irrelevant of course.
Baggywrinkle
Well-Known Member
This ....
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Over the year we owned our little Snapdragon, we probably spent several times her value on maintenance and upgrades, but the pleasure we got from her was more than worth it.
PeterV
Well-Known Member
I’ve checked and found several rotten areas both sides of the cabin and on the cabin front. I’m advising him he has 2 options (no, she’s not Rimfire)
1. Get her lifted out, and advertise her for sale for £1 to an enthusiast /nutcase, then if she doesn’t sell, pay to be scrapped.
2. Pay for her to be scrapped.
I can’t see any other way ahead.
1. Get her lifted out, and advertise her for sale for £1 to an enthusiast /nutcase, then if she doesn’t sell, pay to be scrapped.
2. Pay for her to be scrapped.
I can’t see any other way ahead.
Fr J Hackett
Well-Known Member
A handy fire
Blueboatman
Well-Known Member
If it was a car you’d push it into the back of a shed and let the grand kids pull it out in 30 years time for mega bucks
But it’s not
So unless someone has a hobby interest and some undercover storage for free, the options are indeed sad.
I wish I had something a bit more positive to write.
At least try an afternoon to get the engine going as that is one big ticket bill to any prospect?
But it’s not
So unless someone has a hobby interest and some undercover storage for free, the options are indeed sad.
I wish I had something a bit more positive to write.
At least try an afternoon to get the engine going as that is one big ticket bill to any prospect?
Mark-1
Well-Known Member
1 will be twice the cost of 2, and 2 still might be necessary after the attempt at 1.
It's simply too late. It needs to be scrapped before 31st.
toothless
Well-Known Member
All very sad. Nice boat but once they get too far gone it is over sadly.
Ribtecer
Well-Known Member
Lovely
Babylon
Well-Known Member
Old decayed boats are just litter. The value they might once have had as dreams and as functional vessels no longer exist in their physically-degraded shells of fibreglass, metal and wood. They are a burden to whoever has the responsibility for them, and there's nothing sad about breaking them up.
But there's also another aspect too: there are lots of quite horrible wrecks on Hamble mid-river moorings which, as the years roll by, are never ever moved or cleaned. They're just there to "keep the mooring in the family" I've been told.
But there's also another aspect too: there are lots of quite horrible wrecks on Hamble mid-river moorings which, as the years roll by, are never ever moved or cleaned. They're just there to "keep the mooring in the family" I've been told.
PeterV
Well-Known Member
I was patrolling the Hamble weekly during covid, checking on club members boats and was astonished at the state of some boats. One had a broken rudder, we phoned the member and spoke to the widow. It was her husbands boat and she didn’t know what to do with it. We told her to sell it quick on eBay before it deteriorated further. It’s still there, she’s still paying the mooring fees.
My experience with the Twister this week has given me a bit more insight into why there’s so many neglected boats.
My experience with the Twister this week has given me a bit more insight into why there’s so many neglected boats.
potentillaCO32
Well-Known Member
I remember talking to the manager at rice and coles as my boat was there being worked on. This must have been 10 years ago. His yard had the normal field of dreams wreck section. The owner of a westerley griffon had died and he spoke to the widow about overdue fees and what she wanted to do with the boat. She thought her husband's yacht that he had been paying storage fees on for a decade was worth about 60k. She was shocked when the yard manager said she would be lucky to get 1k for it. Annual storage would have been multiple times boat value for well over a decade.
I think this is typical. Many parts of yard field of dreams are owned by care home residents !
I think this is typical. Many parts of yard field of dreams are owned by care home residents !