Will Someone Please Talk Me Out Of This Expensive Refit Lunacy?
- Thread starter Aigle d'Or
- Start date
Concerto
Well-Known Member
There was a link to my photo file in the post, but here it is again.
http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/ConcertoFulmar32/library/?sort=3&page=8
Here are a few photos of the changes.
Concerto at purchase
Just before 1st launch after 5 months work
In her berth at Chatham Marina 2016
Moored at Salcombe 2017
Sailing on the Medway Sept 2017
However if you want to read exactly what I have done to Concerto, then there is a long thread on the Westerly Owners Forum, now the second most popular thread on the site with 12,300 hits.
https://www.westerly-owners.co.uk/woaforum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2748
The interior is my next major project. The main things to do are reinforce the aft end of the keel rib as later boats had additional strengthening. Then remove the head lining from the forward cabin, fit new side lockers and reline. Strip all the woodwork back to bare wood and re-lacquer. Fit a new gas cooker, the gas supply has already been changed. Change some lighting and fit some LED strip lights. Add a calorifier for pressurised hot and cold water, and possibly a shower as well. Make the cool box into a fridge. That will just about complete all the improvements.
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youen
Well-Known Member
Can you tell me what its included in the 40k Sterlings,osmose,engine new shrouds,new chainplates..,.?
Tranona
Well-Known Member
If you read the first post he tells you what he thinks he will do with that money, and it includes none of the things you mention. Many of us would say even his modest list will cost more than his budget unless he does it all himself.
Your items alone if you had a yard do them would come to something like £15k. Complete refurbishments of a CO32 like the examples shown in earlier threads are likely to cost in excess of £100k - almost as much as a new boat of similar size.
youen
Well-Known Member
Can you tell me Which year more ribs where added
youen
Well-Known Member
I mean on the Fulmar
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion.
Javelin
Well-Known Member
As I think has been identified a refit decision has to made with the heart and not with the head.
It is an investment in quality of life.
I liken it to my decision to quit a well paid corporate life for one where I get to play with boats on a daily basis, in an idyllic location.
In terms of financial rewards I have suffered greatly but in terms of quality of life its the best decision I've made in my life.
That said there are plenty of ways to mitigate the financial pain.
In your case the biggest pain will be the yard man hours spent on your pride and joy.
These can vary from £25 to £75 per hour depending on yard and location.
An example is the cost of the respray of the decks and coach roof which is relatively small in comparison to the £1500 or so needed for removal and refitting of all the fittings on the deck which invariably requires all the internal headlining and trim to be removed to gain access.
I'm sure other yards like ourselves encourage owners to carry out as much of the donkey work as possible to reduce the overall labour cost.
Yes it will be difficult to mitigate the cost of a new rudder but on the purchases make sure you get prices through the yard using their discount rather than sourcing yourself and paying through the nose.
I bought new electronics and a new set of sails last year for my girl for a value not far off whats she's worth,
I certainly don't regret it.
It is an investment in quality of life.
I liken it to my decision to quit a well paid corporate life for one where I get to play with boats on a daily basis, in an idyllic location.
In terms of financial rewards I have suffered greatly but in terms of quality of life its the best decision I've made in my life.
That said there are plenty of ways to mitigate the financial pain.
In your case the biggest pain will be the yard man hours spent on your pride and joy.
These can vary from £25 to £75 per hour depending on yard and location.
An example is the cost of the respray of the decks and coach roof which is relatively small in comparison to the £1500 or so needed for removal and refitting of all the fittings on the deck which invariably requires all the internal headlining and trim to be removed to gain access.
I'm sure other yards like ourselves encourage owners to carry out as much of the donkey work as possible to reduce the overall labour cost.
Yes it will be difficult to mitigate the cost of a new rudder but on the purchases make sure you get prices through the yard using their discount rather than sourcing yourself and paying through the nose.
I bought new electronics and a new set of sails last year for my girl for a value not far off whats she's worth,
I certainly don't regret it.
Seven Spades
Well-Known Member
I would strongly urge you not to spend that money on your C32, you won't get the money back. I would seriously look at upgrading to a Starlight 35 or 39, my 39 is for sale. They sail brilliantly, just like your C32 but you have much more comfort we have had ours for over 10 years now and it is fantastic.
Aigle d'Or
New Member
Thanks everyone - many of your comments have been enormously helpful . Javelin said "an investment in a quality of life" - this has resonated strongly with me. There is a strange romanticism with boats. I'm sure a Starlight 35 or 39 is a better boat in many ways, but when I look at a Contessa 32, her lines attract and excite me. Weirdly it is a little like looking at a beautiful woman. I was out sailing this weekend enjoying the gorgeous weather and this gave me some time for serious thinking and reflection. Spending money on boats is bonkers - spending any money at all is bonkers. But only as bonkers as spending money on a holiday. Once you move beyond the idea of a boat being an investment (which perhaps they were before mass build and GRP came along) and accept Javelin's point, if you have money and want to do that with it - why not? Of course a boat is an investment. It's just the worst investment you will ever make..
So then it's about, is this the best way to waste 40K on a boat? Are there more enjoyable ways to waste 40k sailing?
On this, I shall ponder. And look at some boats. Also I notice Gigi is for sale...
So then it's about, is this the best way to waste 40K on a boat? Are there more enjoyable ways to waste 40k sailing?
On this, I shall ponder. And look at some boats. Also I notice Gigi is for sale...
iLens
Well-Known Member
Good luck, whatever you decide.
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Not clear on whether you love the Contessa 32 or your Contessa 32?
If the former why not buy another 32 that someone else has done the work on and taken the financial hit?
Something like this?
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/1972/Contessa-32-3061748/United-Kingdom#.WeSBA0nTXmmqA
If the former why not buy another 32 that someone else has done the work on and taken the financial hit?
Something like this?
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/1972/Contessa-32-3061748/United-Kingdom#.WeSBA0nTXmmqA
Mister E
Well-Known Member
For me I am not thinking of or boat as an investment at all. If we get any money back it is a bonus but we are not planning to sell at all.
We could charter but that would just be money spent.
I could not spend days sitting on the boat for weeks in the summer just enjoying being where we happen to be if I rented for the cost.
How much is it to purchase a caravan with a sea view? Let alone a building.
We could charter but that would just be money spent.
I could not spend days sitting on the boat for weeks in the summer just enjoying being where we happen to be if I rented for the cost.
How much is it to purchase a caravan with a sea view? Let alone a building.
Robert Wilson
Well-Known Member
As a Javelin30 owner I can almost grudgingly accept that the CO32 are even more beautiful than the Javelin30
It is so good to see how a superb refit can make a boat look even better than brand-new.
Fabulous paint job. I wish mine had turned out so well, but there again I did mine in the open air under a massive polythene cover.
lw395
Well-Known Member
I would agree with that.
I also think the Co32 is grossly over-rated as a yacht.
Huge genoa is hard work for the crew and the boat is slow. Nothing elegant about old masthead rigs IMHO.
Cramped inside. Wet to sail.
They used to have some value for class racing, but when did they last get half a dozen on a start line?
If you've got one and it's the boat you know, like and trust, fair enough, but IMHO, a much better use of £40k would to be to take half a year off work and go sailing in it.
doug748
Well-Known Member
Aigle d'Or
New Member
Yes I saw that one - hardly any info about what they've actually done and no photos to show. I suppose I could call them but then it's a long way to go
Aigle d'Or
New Member
slow? That is not my experience. They are average down wind with only white sails up (but fast with a spinnaker) but upwind or on a reach I am almost never overhauled by anything. And as it gets rougher, few stand a chance of getting anywhere near me. Often, on a windward cruise over 20 knots down the coast, I find I am only only boat under sail. Everyone else is motoring. And I'm usually going faster. They are a bit wet to windward but a good spray hood takes care of that. I'd rather sail than motor any day. Cramped? Well yes, but the boat was designed from the outside in not the other way around. Hull shape first, then accommodation. The genoa is easy with a 44 winch. If short tacking and it's a bit much, that probably means there's plenty of wind and you can furl some to make life easier. And you'll still be going fast.
Aigle d'Or
New Member
Robert Wilson
Well-Known Member
Sounds like the Contessa and Javelin are very similar then. There's one just near me (actually there is only three of us up here with sails :disgust
and sadly I have to accept the Contessa is a bit faster than me. Perhaps its skipper is a better skipper........
