You want to talk project boats

[Wansworth]

A little known secret of the Nic 55 is that while she will heave to like a pilot cutter, unlike a pilot cutter she can also spin on a sixpence, and, in the hands of an expert, which I am not, she can travel backwards under power in full control…

Ray Wall was a great designer!

I am sure your get the hang of it

 

[14K478]

I am sure your get the hang of it

Here’s a snap of Andrew and his Nic 55 Quailo III which he gets in and out of his berth on the Hamble with no trouble (but he has added a bow thruster and moved the engine to get good prop wash over the rudder) …

 

[Wansworth]

Here’s a snap of Andrew and his Nic 55 Quailo III which he gets in and out of his berth on the Hamble with no trouble (but he has added a bow thruster and moved the engine to get good prop wash over the rudder) …View attachment 209763

Yes prop wash over the rudder is essential,I had a long keel forty footer that with judicious use of prop wash was fairly easy to maneuver keeping in mind the effect and positioning the boat………I also had an Albin Vega which didnt and was a beast

 

[14K478]

Yes prop wash over the rudder is essential,I had a long keel forty footer that with judicious use of prop wash was fairly easy to maneuver keeping in mind the effect and positioning the boat………I also had an Albin Vega which didnt and was a beast

As built there are two and a bit metres between a Nic55’s prop and her rudder; I’m sure the water leaves the prop with the best of intentions but by the time it gets to the rudder it has forgotten all about it!

This long keeled boat with a tiny engine and the prop on the port quarter just ahead of a barn door rudder was amazingly good at turning to port, and would do so in her own length (this got me out of a very awkward spot in Dordrecht, once!)

Starboard was effectively out of the question, however, and if motoring into the wind in a stiff breeze the bows would blow off and we had to do a quick 360 to port to recover… luckily nothing ever got in the way…

 

[Minerva]

I can see this be a new benchmark when someone asks about the viability of taking on a project boat!

“it’s easy if;
A) you have endless funds
B) you are a well renowned yacht designer
C) you employ a whole squad of professional boat builders and mechanics to under take the work. “

I can’t wait to see what he does with it! I bet it will be stunning!

 

[Wansworth]

I can see this be a new benchmark when someone asks about the viability of taking on a project boat!

“it’s easy if;
A) you have endless funds
B) you are a well renowned yacht designer
C) you employ a whole squad of professional boat builders and mechanics to under take the work. “

I can’t wait to see what he does with it! I bet it will be stunning!

It blows up the argument that doing up an old boat is not worth it,obviously someone thinks it is and why shouldn’t theowner of a Macwester 26 no think it worth it?

 

[Stemar]

It blows up the argument that doing up an old boat is not worth it,obviously someone thinks it is and why shouldn’t theowner of a Macwester 26 no think it worth it?

As I see it, the amount of work and expense would be similar. The end product, OTOH, is not.

 

[Mark-1]

I can see this be a new benchmark when someone asks about the viability of taking on a project boat!

“it’s easy if;
A) you have endless funds
B) you are a well renowned yacht designer
C) you employ a whole squad of professional boat builders and mechanics to under take the work. “

I can’t wait to see what he does with it! I bet it will be stunning!

Don't forget D) You require a boat over 50 years old to compete in classic yacht races.

Without D I'd argue it's still not worth it.

 

[14K478]

As I see it, the amount of work and expense would be similar. The end product, OTOH, is not.

I think this applies generally.

At an extreme, consider the Fife 29 metre racer Mariquita.





The first picture is pre-1939, the second one shows her as a houseboat in Woodbridge in the 1950s and the last two show her as she is now.

An extreme case, but it’s not so much the size as the quality, and, in the case of a racer, whether she can race.

 

[Minerva]

Don't forget D) You require a boat over 50 years old to compete in classic yacht races.

Without D I'd argue it's still not worth it.

Perhaps. I've been watching Sailing Magic Carpet's restoration their Cape George 36. I am not an easily envious sort, but I would dearly love to have (or had) the skills, time, money and lack of competing demands(i.e before having a career & Family) to undertake such a project and end up with such a stunning boat. I imagine the sense of pride must be tremendous.

 

[Mark-1]

Perhaps. I've been watching Sailing Magic Carpet's restoration their Cape George 36. I am not an easily envious sort, but I would dearly love to have (or had) the skills, time, money and lack of competing demands(i.e before having a career & Family) to undertake such a project and end up with such a stunning boat. I imagine the sense of pride must be tremendous.

Yeah you're right. Some things are beyond meaningfully measurement in time amd money.

 

[Wansworth]

This subject has been discussed recently and words like “value” or” worth” are used to justify the restoration or not. would my “Macwester 26” if it was built of wood in 1934 be “ worth” restoration.My point is to somebody it could have “value”………

 

[Fr J Hackett]

This subject has been discussed recently and words like “value” or” worth” are used to justify the restoration or not. would my “Macwester 26” if it was built of wood in 1934 be “ worth” restoration.My point is to somebody it could have “value”………

The answer really lies in purpose, if the boat was a racer as above and could compete then potentially it would have value on the other hand if it was to be a family cruiser then depending on the state of neglect and repair required potentially it has no value as for whatever money was required to get it on the water one could almost certainly buy something that would fulfil the purpose cheaper.