SHOULD I buy this boat? 35FT Steel ...

[topfrog007]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Thank god the forum is talking the same language on this one, because I wouldn't touch it either. If you wanted one of these to sail off in a few years time I think it would be cheaper and less painful to have a new hull built and sprayed then fit it out yourself. Lets be honest, that interior is terrible, so its all going to come out to treat the rust and then need completely replacing. It would be easier starting with a fresh new basic hull.

However, why are the topsides so dented? that is shocking and whilst you could shot blast and stop the rust, those panels will always show.

Finally I do like the idea of using the propshaft to stop the wires handing in the bilges and getting wet

Sorry, but keep looking, there is the right boat out there for you, keep looking you will find the right one.

Pete

Agree about the interior coming out, didn't even notice the wires and propshaft either! The topside isn't dented, just looks that way from the pictures.

Originally Posted by bangkaboat

You'd have to completely strip this boat, sandblast, steel repair, then repaint & refit. Do you want to spend time rebuilding her? If so, it may be worth it. In this economy, however, I'd suggest searching for better value for your money. That is a lot of work!
Mike

Yeah it would be a lot of work, we're prepared to do a lot of work if it's a good deal. I figured a 35ft boat for 1,000 was a good value, but I'm quickly realizing it's not!

Originally Posted by doug86

so, if you have 5-7 years left before cruising, think about an entirely different tactic: instead of buying a cheap fixer boat that you will invest hours and hours of nights and weekends, why not actually take part time jobs, work those nights and weekends for an actual wage, and save every dime that you earn. You can "buy" boat improvements that are already paid for by a previous owner for about twenty cents on the dollar. It's the best bargain in boating.

That's good advice, never even thought of that. Just to clarify: Your saying to work extra, save up money, buy a used maybe out of date boat when we get ready to leave and then have it refitted with used but in good condition equipment?

Originally Posted by conachair

Metal boat maintenance-A do it ... - Google Books


page 14 for some hints what to look for.

Reading that now, thanks!


Since this boat appears to be not a good choice, does anyone know of any that are better deals that are for sale?

[sww914]

My neighbor at the boatyard bought a 50' steel boat at a bargain price. He's been welding and grinding 6 days a week for 14 months, the hull is done. He's out of money and all he has left to do is replace the interior, rewire and replumb every system, paint inside & out, replace the prop shaft & rudder shaft and all associated bearings, fabricate a steering system, put the mast up with new wire, replace every line, buy electronics, buy sails, outfit the boat with cruising gear, and go. Maybe I forgot a couple little things?
The engine & generator run well.

[topfrog007]

Originally Posted by sww914

My neighbor at the boatyard bought a 50' steel boat at a bargain price. He's been welding and grinding 6 days a week for 14 months, the hull is done. He's out of money and all he has left to do is replace the interior, rewire and replumb every system, paint inside & out, replace the prop shaft & rudder shaft and all associated bearings, fabricate a steering system, put the mast up with new wire, replace every line, buy electronics, buy sails, outfit the boat with cruising gear, and go. Maybe I forgot a couple little things?
The engine & generator run well.

I'm interested! Although I can pretty much tell its out of my price range. What's the price? If you don't want to disclose can you PM it to me?

[doug86]

Originally Posted by topfrog007

That's good advice, never even thought of that. Just to clarify: Your saying to work extra, save up money, buy a used maybe out of date boat when we get ready to leave and then have it refitted with used but in good condition equipment?

No, what I meant was that you will find plenty of boats for sale where the current owner has already put lots of time and money into. I'm saying that the refit is mostly complete at the seller's expense, and you save $$ due to his having to depreciate all the improvements to make a sale.

Your money is better spent finding the most complete boat you can, and even if you only earn $12/hr, the previous owner will be selling his sweat equity at about $5/hr.

Think of it this way: Would it make sense to take a day off from a $200/day job to do a job that you could hire someone to do for $100?

[Bayside Bert28]

Originally Posted by sww914

My neighbor at the boatyard bought a 50' steel boat at a bargain price. He's been welding and grinding 6 days a week for 14 months, the hull is done. He's out of money and all he has left to do is replace the interior, rewire and replumb every system, paint inside & out, replace the prop shaft & rudder shaft and all associated bearings, fabricate a steering system, put the mast up with new wire, replace every line, buy electronics, buy sails, outfit the boat with cruising gear, and go. Maybe I forgot a couple little things?
The engine & generator run well.

A very helpful metaphor that may save somebody an enormous amount of time, aggravation and money.

[sww914]

Originally Posted by topfrog007

I'm interested! Although I can pretty much tell its out of my price range. What's the price? If you don't want to disclose can you PM it to me?

He's not selling, I was just trying to give you a picture of his particular hell.
He says he will finish the boat but I can't see how. He thought he'd be cruising by now when he bought the boat.

[the bookie]

It was definatley made with the right stuff! 3/4 plate on the keel? and 3/8 on hull to a 1ft above waterline?Plenty of steel to be forgiving! It might be a good deal if you have the time to work on her. Do your research on her and take a look behind the foam to see if it was a job done at a later refit and even so it still will be fixable. Alot of people especially fiberglass boat owners see rust and think catastrophic failure if a stringer or frame is badly rusted but that's not the case and it can be fixed alot easier than with a fiberglass vessel.If that vessel was near my home i'd probably buy her myself for 3500 dollars. I'd put her on stands and gut her out. 3/4 inch is alot of steel and I don't care what anyone says because that keel will be standing long after the rest of the boat has turned to dust. Navy welder put her together? I wouldn't rule it out quite yet. I own a 45 steel ketch and I know people who brought back worst than what I'm seeing in those pics,However they like me were commercial fisherman and knowlegable with steel and it's associated chipping and grinding etc. 3/8 inch plate WOW I don't think I know of a sailing vessel of 35ft that was built with steel that thick. You might just have yourself a diamond in the rough. You'd be suprised how easily it can be shined up and brought back. she looks like a stout built vessel that's for sure. You'll have your work cut out for you for sure. Does that engine turn over? where is this vessel located?
WOOD IS GOOD AND GLASS IS FAST BUT STEEL IS REAL! Regards

[bangkaboat]

I'd suggest that the 3/8" plate to waterline is an error. The Aquarian is designed with 3/16" to above waterline, and, if I recall correctly, was designed with a wood cockpit & coach-house. If there is enough equipment in very good condition to equal 3 or 4 times the asking price, you may just want to consider the shell a freebie, but the amount of work is within range of building new.

Post your area - unless you did & I missed it - and maybe you'll hear from members in the area who know of other projects.

[Dale]

I would take the advice of most of the posters in this thread. Walk away and find another boat. There are tons of them out there. It is a buyers market.

Good luck.

[topfrog007]

Originally Posted by the bookie

It was definatley made with the right stuff! 3/4 plate on the keel? and 3/8 on hull to a 1ft above waterline?Plenty of steel to be forgiving! It might be a good deal if you have the time to work on her. Do your research on her and take a look behind the foam to see if it was a job done at a later refit and even so it still will be fixable. Alot of people especially fiberglass boat owners see rust and think catastrophic failure if a stringer or frame is badly rusted but that's not the case and it can be fixed alot easier than with a fiberglass vessel.If that vessel was near my home i'd probably buy her myself for 3500 dollars. I'd put her on stands and gut her out. 3/4 inch is alot of steel and I don't care what anyone says because that keel will be standing long after the rest of the boat has turned to dust. Navy welder put her together? I wouldn't rule it out quite yet. I own a 45 steel ketch and I know people who brought back worst than what I'm seeing in those pics,However they like me were commercial fisherman and knowlegable with steel and it's associated chipping and grinding etc. 3/8 inch plate WOW I don't think I know of a sailing vessel of 35ft that was built with steel that thick. You might just have yourself a diamond in the rough. You'd be suprised how easily it can be shined up and brought back. she looks like a stout built vessel that's for sure. You'll have your work cut out for you for sure. Does that engine turn over? where is this vessel located?
WOOD IS GOOD AND GLASS IS FAST BUT STEEL IS REAL! Regards

Yeah originally those numbers caught my eye, the current owner said they were accurate. I guess the only real way to tell would be to have it audio gaged.

The 3500 is not the cost of the boat, it's the cost of the boat and ALL costs for getting it blocked up at my house.

The engine is seized.

Maybe I should purchase an Audio gauge/Ultrasonic metal thickness gauge? (about 400USD) ... I called around and someone said they can do the reading for me for 350.00 ... Might as well buy a darn gauge for that much.

Originally Posted by bangkaboat

I'd suggest that the 3/8" plate to waterline is an error. The Aquarian is designed with 3/16" to above waterline, and, if I recall correctly, was designed with a wood cockpit & coach-house. If there is enough equipment in very good condition to equal 3 or 4 times the asking price, you may just want to consider the shell a freebie, but the amount of work is within range of building new.

Post your area - unless you did & I missed it - and maybe you'll hear from members in the area who know of other projects.

I didn't know whether to post my area or not as someone just browsing the thread could buy it out from under me! So how about area: Gulf coast =)

This boat definitely does not have a wood cockpit or coach house, it's all steel.

[hpeer]

FWIW I have 2 steel sailboats of similar vintage.

NO, free is too much.

[bangkaboat]

This boat definitely does not have a wood cockpit or coach house, it's all steel.

Aquarian, a 35' ketch or cutter

So, what you can take from this is that the builder, either with or without the designer's input, added some weight to the as-designed boat, by going with steel over wood. As well, 3/8" up to waterline would result in an extremely heavy, slow boat.

[Lancerbye]

If you have the steel working skills to revived this boat, you would probably be better off to build one from scratch. That way you could avoid some of the mistakes made in this one which you will have to undo before considering moving ahead. Do you really want to remove all that sprayed in foam in order to sand blast and refinish the inside of the boat before reapplying the foam. There are some real serious issues here. Good luck.

[Wand]

If you've a very large plot of land, and local government and neighbours won't give strife, and you aren't in a rush to go anywhere anytime soon, I'd say take it on. You're beginners and you'll learn a lot - and ain't that's what it's all about? And you'll be much better off in the long run spending your time working on and figuring out boats than pushing a broom part time to earn cash to buy a ready-made...imho.

Just make sure you also buy a small keeler or trailer sailer (as well as the Laser) and go sailing every weekend - preferably in a club environment. Too many dreamers spend all their waking hours and cash building the boat to take them over the horizon while never stepping for a moment off dry earth. If you manage to combine a bit of this and a bit of that along with some of the other, the big projects seem to happen all by themselves.

Having said that, it's highly likely that this boat won't be the one you'll go cruising on - but you'll be super well educated when the time for that purchase comes around.

PS: I'd really doubt the 3/8" plating but remember that a drilled hole is cheaper and more reliable than any gauge :-)

[topfrog007]

Maybe someone can explain this to me:

How would it be cheaper to buy the plans, buy the steel, and assemble it into a hull.
Vs
Taking everything out of this hull and fixing/sandblasting?

I appreciate all the responses, this is really a great community.

Also, say I got an amazing deal on the boat and it was basically free. If the hull was in too bad of shape to fix up, couldn't I scrap the steel and recoup most of my costs?