Ahh, a story as old as time. I love her! I can change her! Why won’t she love me :-( All is
lost.
A four part Greek tragedy.
This story has played out in
boatyards over and over. If you want that experience go for it. It will cost more and take longer than can be imagined. It may never sail again and will be one of those boats you walk by
on the hard and think “what happened there.”
Typically after a year of trying to get the 10.00/hr professionals to show up, assuming they are not poached by any of the other 10 new owners vying for their attention you will either:
A. sell her for about what you paid for her to an optimistic 20 something and his girlfriend with big dreams. They will continue the saga ending in the same place or to add insult to injury will finish and go off to post the pictures of faraway places that you were suppose to be in.
B. Once the divorce and bankruptcy are finalized you’ll get a part time gig at the yard where you have now resided for 18 months and become one of those guys with a Presidente in his hand at 8am.
C. You will get her “seaworthy” but that little voice in the back of your
head as you pound into 6’ sets and a 25knt headwind will never shut up, ever.
I’m just having fun now. You may pull it off but there is a big cost. The guys I’ve seen do it are boatbuilders or deep in those trades. They don’t ask questions like this because they don’t have to.
Compare to
buying a wrecked car at
auction. It’s you and the guy from the auto body shop bidding. Which guy most likely to make the best decision and bring the car back to life in 3-4 weeks at a number where it can be
sold at a profit? Think of the
learning curve to get to his position.
One final thought,
sale time. I bought a custom cat and just overcoming that objection was challenging. Imagine the
documentation you would need to prepare to convince the next owner to pay anything close to what you put in it. Did I mention the insurer?
So my
advice. If you like the boatyard life go for it. If you want to go cruising pony up a bit more and go cruising. Ya never get those years back.
Good luck!