overpriced storm damaged catamarans40

[Dymaxion]

Look at YachtSalvage website, couple of dozen cats on there. Some pretty ragged. Read several descriptions with "props missing", "winches removed" etc. Suspect earlier buyers were able to pick up some of the spares they needed for their rebuilds quite easily. Still, what's left for boats should be cheap as they go, pretty beatup looking.

I didn't sign up to see bid prices, maybe you should, and report back. Cheers.

[peter57]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

salvaged boat is like lipstick on a pig

Sounds like you have tried it. LOL

[peter57]

Condo sailing platforms Are better enjoyed if employed at their
destination, then you do not have endure long distant condo sailing (catch an aeroplane instead.

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by peter57

Condo sailing platforms Are better enjoyed if employed at their
destination, then you do not have endure long distant condo sailing (catch an aeroplane instead.

Sailing a condo down the tradewinds for weeks is a joy. Comfortable and fast. Obviously you have never done it as there is Just nothing to *endure* .

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Mattm

Hi all.

i've been scouring the net a bit and am seeings some hurricane damaged catamarans comming up at what seems to me to be outrageous prices ranging from 60-150k usd.
i think i would enjoy rebuilding a Cat but the pricing just doesnt make sense.
example

.................................

for 20k i think id consider purchasing one of these boats but for any more it just seems like id be tossing good money after bad.
has anyone on here ever had a success story with these types of boats?

You have the jist of it. Unless you have an inside track to get in early (9 months later is way too late) and you have great skill set for rebuilding a boat...it's unlikely you will ever have a functional boat and even if you are among the few who are successful, you will wind up working at well under minimum wage when all is done and said.

As far as boats being scrapped with usable equipment...yard space is at a huge premium right now. I'm sure the financials will show that it would cost them more to limit other work because the yard is jammed up than just clear it out and move on.

I doubt it's a conspiracy but I don't doubt that the local yards have little interest in letting individuals strip the boats for parts. They gain nothing out of it and it would undercut their new part sales.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by travellerw

Maybe something like that could work up in the USA, but I highly doubt it would work down here.

If you had ever been to the BVI you will understand the problem. The BVI had TONS and TONS of boats that were destroyed. They didn't physically have the land to put those destroyed boats on. So they had bays of destroyed boats with nowhere to put them. They knew that the tourism industry hinged on how fast they could clean up the devistation. So crushing and carting was the solution. Stripping and salvaging would slow things down too much.

They also employed a barge that was loaded full about once a week and sent off to Antigua (North Sound). Another barge from St. Martin was also making the run to Antigua. Many of those boats were stripped, although I have not seen many of those parts for sale yet. I would not be surprised if those used parts are shipped out of the island chain to help protect the businesses here. I could be wrong about that, who knows.

Harborshoppers has listed some parts. Originally, most of it was just junk sold in LOTS for local pickup only. Now it looks like they are listing single items but the prices are stupid (like used turnbuckles for $175)
https://harborshoppers.com/product-c...s-accessories/

When we were in St Martin in the spring there were a couple of guys stripping winches and a few other parts that were not too big. They just used chain saws to cut out the glass that the winches were mounted on. They said that they were filling a container that was going to be sent to the Netherlands where I assume everything would be rehabbed and sold.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by Mattm

That's interesting. Do you know if they come for the other part later on? Because I was talking to brokers about strategies for getting around these fees and I was told the only way to decrease the tax is to reduce the cost of the boat. Even if you bought something I was told you need to do your import before refitting as you'll get hit for any upgrades aswell (unless they are duty free)

I imported a boat a couple of years ago that I had owned for about 10 years but never brought back to Canada. Entered the country at Whitby. The customs people from Oshawa only charged 5%. Never heard from the province and have now sold the boat. Looking for a new boat and trying to find one in Canada since I don't want to pay duty since it may well be an American-built boat. It is interesting that the duty on US boats is 10% while on other foreign-built boats it is 9%.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by Mattm

in the past i rebuilt a 1980 bayliner saratoga as a quit smoking project.

You quit smoking and refit a boat at the same time? Are you some kind of sadist?

[Mariano]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

You quit smoking and refit a boat at the same time? Are you some kind of sadist?

He just din't have money left yo buy a cigar......[emoji3]

[Mattm]

I thought it would give me something to focus on instead of smoking. It was a derelict boat that I figured had some rot. By the time I got all the rotten wood out I had a bare hull. Some of the wood was so rotten I couldn't even get a template out of it. It took 2 years to rebuild. It was hard, hot sweaty work but it was a lot of fun. Insurance required the boat to be winterized by a mechanic. He cracked my manifolds not winterizing it properly, then sank the boat in the process of replacing the manifolds. I think seeing my boat laying sideways with a portion of the hull sticking out of the water will haunt me for the rest of my life. And is why my new boat has 2400gph bilge pump capacity

[riki]

I was just checking on YW and looks like a few *sold* boats are available again on the market: wondering if it's not the companies that are bidding on their own boats making prices grow and looking for a goose falling into the net....and if it doesn't happen they list the boats again and again.....

[svlamorocha]

Originally Posted by robharvey

I guess this is handy protection for Antares Yachts which are manufactured in Buenos Aires.

They are (or were last time I was there) organized for export sales only. It is easy to import supply free of duty and VAT if 100% of sales are export sales, otherwise it is a mess.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by riki

I was just checking on YW and looks like a few *sold* boats are available again on the market: wondering if it's not the companies that are bidding on their own boats making prices grow and looking for a goose falling into the net....and if it doesn't happen they list the boats again and again.....

It's probably folks who either made enough repairs to attract a higher price, or who have realized that they have bitten off more than they can chew. Or maybe a little of both.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by riki

I was just checking on YW and looks like a few *sold* boats are available again on the market: wondering if it's not the companies that are bidding on their own boats making prices grow and looking for a goose falling into the net....and if it doesn't happen they list the boats again and again.....

No, it’s boats that someone bought, made a stab at repairs, and realized they were in over their heads and threw in the towel. Most of the boats on YW have some level of “repairs”, mostly amateur glass work. Some even come with “donor” boats that have completely wrecked hulls.

[Mattm]

Originally Posted by Suijin

No, it’s boats that someone bought, made a stab at repairs, and realized they were in over their heads and threw in the towel. Most of the boats on YW have some level of “repairs”, mostly amateur glass work. Some even come with “donor” boats that have completely wrecked hulls.

Those boats are worth even less than the wrecked boats as most of the repairs need to be cut away and redone. I've seen "professional repairs" you just need to look for glasswork with voids and unwetted glass, then pry the repair off with a paint scraper