Thoughts on buying large hulls for a rebuild?

[Don C L]

OK, all this said, if you have plenty of money for a newer boat but you really want a like-new older design, you could do what these folks did for a Rhodes 41. I linked this in the Plastic Classics group...
Cruisers & Sailing Forums - refits of note
Have a look at the first one. That's the way to do a total re-fit, and you end up with a like-new beautiful classic, the kind no one makes anymore. Yes I know some may say, "and there's a reason for that!" But I am guessing those folks haven't sailed one.
But take a look at how many craftsmen are working on this boat and all that is done... easy to see how working alone it could take 5 years of full time work!

[Rockyscience]

I helped build and was part owner of a 65 Ft. ketch. We figured the completed hull and deck was 7% of the investment.

[Colin A]

Here is a guy who started off doing that for his own boats and now has done several for his customers.

Lackey Sailing | One Man… One Boat at a Time

Tim Lackey. Nice guy met him when he was in the middle of working on his Triton Glissando. He has great photo logs that show the steps involved.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Colin A

Here is a guy who started off doing that for his own boats and now has done several for his customers.

Lackey Sailing | One Man… One Boat at a Time

Tim Lackey. Nice guy met him when he was in the middle of working on his Triton Glissando. He has great photo logs that show the steps involved.

Oh would that I had enough money to hire him to rebuild a classic or two for me! Beautiful work.

[TrentePieds]

Right next to me there is a US40 with the interior already gutted, ready for rebuild. Standing rigging is okay, but no sails. 9.9 Mercury hasn't run in twenny years. For you...such a deal!... fifteen hunnert bux.

If you are daft enuff to try it :-)

As for prices: I just bought a 1 1/2" cockpit scupper. Like a thru-hull with an NPT thread. Forty bux. My installation needs an 1 1/2" elbow, The shore-side PCV article is Can$1.19. There is no good way to connect the scupper to the shoreside elbow. Why do you think that is? The "marine" elbow at the chandler's 13.95. Pos&Neg 6-gang busbar: 24.95. Bits to make one: buck'n'ahalf, plus three hours of your time at minimum wage (around here $11.50/hr), so call it forty bux. And so it goes.

You said elsewhere you are on a one-grand budget. So let somebody else be a chump. We could prolly find you a Catalina 27 for a thou, but then you'd still have to find 3K for a reliable kicker and (around here) 4K for the year's moorage.

Texas may be (most certainly is!) different, but it's no cheaper.

TrentePieds



TrentePieds

[Colin A]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Right next to me there is a US40 with the interior already gutted, ready for rebuild. Standing rigging is okay, but no sails. 9.9 Mercury hasn't run in twenny years. For you...such a deal!... fifteen hunnert bux.

If you are daft enuff to try it :-)

As for prices: I just bought a 1 1/2" cockpit scupper. Like a thru-hull with an NPT thread. Forty bux. My installation needs an 1 1/2" elbow, The shore-side PCV article is Can$1.19. There is no good way to connect the scupper to the shoreside elbow. Why do you think that is? The "marine" elbow at the chandler's 13.95. Pos&Neg 6-gang busbar: 24.95. Bits to make one: buck'n'ahalf, plus three hours of your time at minimum wage (around here $11.50/hr), so call it forty bux. And so it goes.

You said elsewhere you are on a one-grand budget. So let somebody else be a chump. We could prolly find you a Catalina 27 for a thou, but then you'd still have to find 3K for a reliable kicker and (around here) 4K for the year's moorage.

Texas may be (most certainly is!) different, but it's no cheaper.

TrentePieds



TrentePieds

To sum up other posts.

For used boats it's often best to buy the boat with as much as possible of the equipment in good condition for the price you can afford.
All the little stuff on a boat adds up to quick, some things you don't think about (having cushions made for instance is not cheap).
I will give the exceptions to that rule.
1)Your hobby is working on the boat as much as sailing (guilty)
2)Your looking for a specific model and want to make very specific upgrades to build your dream boat.
Please note these exceptions often end badly as well.

[donradcliffe]

Just wait till the next hurricane hits Florida, and people will pay you to get rid of large boat hulls. I remember a guy in St Maarten who was salvaging wrecked charter boats. He just found the same models with starboard side damage and port side damage, and glassed the two good sides together.

[CarinaPDX]

I agree with all that has been said. I would add that you should be VERY careful about buying a very old boat in bad condition, and especially a wooden one. Often the owners will even give them away - because the cost of the marina fees and required insurance (thousands every year) is just too much and the cost of haulout and demolition is also in the thousands. If it has a rotten wood hull, or even a wood hull in good condition, it may be very difficult to find a marina and/or insurance.

If, as others have noted, your budget for a cruising boat is $1k and your cruising budget is similarly limited you need to stop looking at large boats. Instead find an older fiberglass boat in the 26'-28' range that is in decent sailing condition. If you can find one that cheap it probably won't have a functioning motor but that can be dealt with by rowing or picking up a small outboard along the way. Anything else will end up being too great a financial burden.

Greg

[Lepke]

As others have said, you'll spend more than a complete boat would cost. The only advantage is no boat loan, and pay as you go.
I've rebuilt several boats. Mostly wood. Several for myself and several more for customers. Smallest was 55'. I had a marine business that was known for wood boats.
Most project boats go thru several owners. My guess is about 80% get finished enough to be used. Maybe 5% get finished to yacht quality.
If you're going to do it, buy the tools, many more tools, and get a workspace that will allow real progress. Ideally work with a surveyor or someone that knows boat construction. Consider hiring a helper. Lotta people looking for work now. Make sure you're working on a sound hull. I've known a dozen people that rebuilt big wood boats and had years invested, just to find out the hull was not worth fixing. Don't spend time with lots of interior wood work before the boat is floating and running. At least then you can use it and get re-invigorated. It's also easier to sell a project that runs and floats.
Don't use house materials, caulk, paint, cabinets, particle board, and so on. Don't use latex paint. Avoid house carpenters. In 50 years, I've never been able to train even one to do quality marine work. (Maybe it's house quality work they do) Usually their work has to be torn out and ends up costing more than having a yard do the work in the first place.
Live near the project and schedule enough time to see progress. If you're more than an hour away, you'll probably give up in the 1st year. Better yet, quickly get it floating and a liveaboard area put together. Even if you later redo that area. Being aboard will help motivate and you can work more hours.
If you have a wife/girlfriend, remember it's your dream, not hers. I won't go into what her dream is, just remember it's not the boat. The longer the project lasts, the bigger the danger to your relationship. I've seen many, many, many boat divorces. It would be better to find a true boat woman when you're on the water.

[tkeithlu]

I started from cut steel. I've got the boat I wanted, but I have far more hours invested in building than in using. If I were doing it again, I'd start with at least a sound hull plus drive train and steering. I do not recommend it.

[thruska]

As its been said before, work hard and save some more.
We got a free boat in still good condition . Four months in a boatyard with rv plugged in, work day in day out. 1000 a month income. There were bets on the yard when the 'for sale'sign would be put up. 1000 a month is not enough to eat and work in a boatyard on your own boat. We got the job done but that was two people hell bent on sailing. If your married , as mentioned , it will suffer at times, and I doubt it will reenforce the bond.
When you get a free boat it will become , very likely, a 1000 dollar boat right after you pay some cutthroat to move it. Then you have a 1000 boat , still not running. It will be a labor of love and you will scratch your head and ask yourself many time wtf did I do this for ? If you finish it you will be overjoyed for awhile. Soon you realize it's a never ending process with some sailing in between. If you can handle that in between family crisis of hospitalization, death in family, birth in family and all manner of regular life, you will have made it to the understanding of the way of life it is for some. Others do very well in accumulated wealth and luck or silver spoons in their mouths. The boat may be just another toy. But that of course is simply life.
Now if you do the boat thing, AGAIN ,as I had somewhat described, you may be disowned by family and friends as demented and derelict. Heck you might even see their side of the story as holding a bit of merit, or not.��
The choice is yours, but be warned , choose well.
I think you can see a trend in the replies. Other threads cover much of the same information and cautions and experience. There is no doubt several posters could write a thesis on the subject just from the point of the actual experience .
It is not the path of the faint of heart, nor the faint of pocket book.
I bought a piece of real estate once . The realtor, a friend , said the location was not for the faint of heart. What he meant was pocketbook . Unfortunately, it was after the purchase.

[tkeithlu]

Do be careful. The number of unfinished project boats in the yard with my boat is adding up. A lot of boats have had no maintenance since the market crashed in 2008.

[artisanmach]

5 YEARS.... TRY 10 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE...
Buy a newer finished boat...

[dgz3]

I actually did know someone who did exactly that. Sort of. He bought a Bruce Roberts design steel boat around 40 feet. Someone else's 10 year old project. Hull and rig complete with running engine installation, tankage, steering etc. Paid about $5k for it if memory serves. No interior at all aside from the welded bulkheads. A great deal! The engine probably cost more.
He had a lot of time off, but was still working for a living, so not full time on the boat. He spent two years in the boatyard ($12k). And built an interior from Home Depot materials
($?K). It was cozy enough when he finished it (sort of). But it would never be mistaken for a proper yacht interior.
When he was done, he had an ok $5000 project boat.

My suggestion: find a really nice little wooden box about the size of a shoe box. Put your boat's name on it. Get a second job. Work overtime. Every month spend every cent you can scape up on your "boat." Only instead of buying big heavy materials and turning them into shavings and dust and little cups full of hardened paint and epoxy, just put the money in the box. When the box is full, go buy a boat!

[Schooner Chandlery]

Originally Posted by Ericsstinnett

I'm thinking about buying a large sailboat hull. Any one ever buy one gutted and actually finish rebuilding it, I need advice from someone who's done this? Figure it'll take a few years to get it done. Any thoughts? Is this a common thing, buy a large old boat and rebuild it?

It is a common thing but for all the wrong reasons. People mistakenly think that it will save them money. It will NOT save you money. There are numerous good boats on the market at any given moment that you can purchase at a good price. For a given size boat, buying the good-shape one is going to be the best deal.

People often purchase a boat in bad shape thinking it's the only way they can afford to get into that large of a boat. They're fooling themselves. Really, for a given size boat, buying the ones already in good shape are going to be your most money and time efficient thing to do.

There are a couple reasons to rebuild a boat.

1. If you, like me, are a preservationist you may really enjoy rebuilding a historic vessel. However, that is by no means a money or time efficient thing to do. At all. If you have a particular historic vessel in mind and would love to do a great job restoring it, sure, it is a fulfilling activity. But that wasn't your question so I figure you're not looking to preserve a little bit of history.

2. If you are a person who likes everything to be a "certain" way: your way, then yes, you'll find rebuilding it a good thing to do. Whether you pay someone else or you do the work yourself, you'll have that satisfaction of knowing that it is just as you like. However, you pretty much have to have owned or sailed other boats for quite some time to really get that whole "it's got to be a certain way" opinion thing going so that you'd want to spend the money and time to rebuild a boat. If you were this personality, you'd already know it and wouldn't be asking the question. So I'm figuring this is not you either.

Enjoy finding a boat that's just right for whatever your sailing plans may be.