Insurance/Salvage

[ksmith]

Hope you all don't get tried of answering questions.

I came across a 82 Catalina 30 for a very low price. When I talk to the person who is selling he indicated: he had purchased the boat from a insurance company. the problem with the boat was it took on about two feet of water. He is too busy with some other insurance projects and wants to sell the boat. He has clear title.

I am skeptchtial not aware of insurance companys taking a beating, though my current boats history is very simular it was purchased to obtain the inboard Yanmar nothing else much wrong with it other than, to me normal stuff; electrical update, cushions recover, varnish and more varnish etc

Anyone with experience on this

[psteele235]

Take a very close look to determine why it took on about two feet of water. If it was a grounding etc there may be some damage to the hull, stringers etc.

[ksmith]

Never thought of that. The pictures did not show a hole. Figured it was at the slip. Failed bilge pump. Will dig deeper.

[Pblais]

Hope you all don't get tried of answering questions.

We just don't know how to stop. Go figure. Not a problem.

Some details and digging would clearly be in order. When the insurance company "totals" a boat it can often be purchased quite cheaply. Fixing it up though usually is at a point that the company prefers to pay off the insured and recover anything it can on a sale. If they think so it's because they investigated it and came to the conclusion not to throw good money after bad.

They screw up from time to time, but not most of the time. You can't be an insurance company screwing up most of the time. Might be great or might be your worst nightmare. Funny how being suddenly "too busy" got to the top of the priority on a boat bought cheap. You'll need a keen eye to say no to this one. If you really can't tell then you need good help or run away fast. This is not amateur experience time. Little details can add up to large dollars. It needs a complete looking over.

[ksmith]

You certainly hit most of my concerns.

Insurance Companys are not as a rule stupid about money. On the other hand they are limited to having everything done out of house (so to speak). IE No friend who sews and can get a employee discout at the fabric store, no one in the office is going to measure the standing rigging and rerig while the mast is down, no one in the office is going to strip and revarnish the teak, etc. Those kind of things do not come cheap when hired out.

Your other point is what worrys me. My lack of knowledge is staggering.
Did the owner leave his boat unattended, bilge pump not pumping or a hose gone bad or a thru hull. Lot to consider.

Want to go for a ride Wednesday

[Pblais]

Afraid I can't go that far for just a ride.

You can look yourself and look for signs of where the water was. It's almost impossible to remove all the stains so look in the darker corners if they are not obvious. I bet they are obvious. Look for poor attempts to fix anything as they should be obvious too. There really are an unlimited number of things possible and even on a boat not subjected to this type of disaster can have the same problems even if not actually expected or disclosed.

There may be more Catalina 30's out there than almost every other of boat made in modern history. It means a few things. You can always find one cheap. You might find parts easily. You'll find a lot of experience so that means help is available. They are popular too.

Given all that if the boat really isn't in that great a shape great you could shop some place else and be money ahead, time ahead, have a better boat, and with fewer problems. If this was a rare find of an unusual and desirable boat then you might invest in something like that.

I would go look and see what you can. Maybe take a few pictures and get a feel if it just plain looks like it has potential. Then do a quick yachtworld.com search on Cat 30's and see what is out there for sale now. Given a pool of older boats of a similar design I say always go with the best one out there. Buying the ugly sister does not save you that much money.

It follows the topic of the "free boat". We used to have the topic come up regularly but it has not for a while. The free boat bleeds you to death slowly and completely. Then you pay to have it hauled away. You just don't want to pay this seller to haul his free boat away. Once one owner is drained the rest follow even quicker.