Roland’s post was right on the money, it’s not just about the motor. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to leave a car sitting for 5+ years you’ll see a similar result. Rust never sleeps and mould is not your friend. The sun and
weather beat down, and for boats afloat, the angry sea growls from below.
I recently had the opportunity to buy a friends boat for zip. Through a change in his circumstances the boat has sat idly at its slip for over 10 years since we last sailed her on a wonderful
cruise. The
price $0 as now he just wants rid of the boat and slip
fees.
Initially I thought wonderful, as the boat was an especially nice 34 foot
cutter that we’d enjoyed many trips on. I could see it was growing a huge mussel farm below and there were rust spots all over (yes she’s
steel but I’m a half decent welder). The main sail has sat in the cover on the boom all this time. All the cordage had died a lingering demise. The key to the hatchway was long since
lost so a quick turn of a grinder removed the rusted deceased padlock.
Inside all looked actually not too bad. She was seemingly dry inside, and although considerable provisions were still aboard no bugs had chosen her as their home.
So on the face of things she looked really good.
But once I started looking closely in lockers and behind covers, things weren’t such a pretty picture. I started a little list of things that would obviously need replacing or fixing, including a guestimate of price. I stopped adding to the list when I reached what I thought would be a realistic price for the boat when in good shape (about $30,000). Needless to say my little list roughly matched Roland’s and some of the other posters.
As most on the forum know, boat
repairs eat through money, even when you have many of the skills, motivation and gear to do it yourself. This boat has a simple
electronics system, lacks
refrigeration and AC etc. A basic honest yacht, but still much to degrade and age.
After pondering and musing, talking to knowledgeable friends and a little
research I had to turn the offer down. To help my friend I removed all the old provisions, replaced a couple of
mooring lines, fitted a new padlock and left. The boat continues to rise and fall with the tide.
We see many boats like this in
marinas. Whether they’re old projects, or
lost dreams I’m not sure. In my experience it’s often a change in life style and/or
family or work demands that results in a boat sitting. The owner hasn’t used the boat for a few months and knows that in order to do some sailing, then such and such minor
repair needs sorting. It will take a morning’s work, and the boat is an hour’s drive away, and also some materials or tools are needed. In their
head they can do that any Sunday morning they have free soon. But the free morning doesn’t eventuate and when they get down to the boat old man time has been and he’s left a few other issues, so now the morning tasks require an entire day that day never comes. A few more months and it’s a weekend
project because the bottom has become a home for thousands of critters living in the flora. But now it’s
Winter, or perhaps the boss has a 4 month assignment in
Sydney or Paris. And so the months become years, all the while I think the owners feeling guilt and regret at the neglect of their once precious yacht.
And I also suspect that they don’t want to sell the boat in a neglected state because they know they’ll lose money, often lots of money. Who wants to realise a loss, and it’s not a real loss until a
sale is made. So people live in hope. Hope they’ll find the time and inclination and motivation to go down to the dock and fix everything, then sell the boat for a decent price, or if the dream is still in place, sail away again.