Used Boat Shopping, Adding Up the Numbers?

[onestepcsy37]

what boatman61 said (post #3). buy the boat for the quality and condition of the basic boat - hull, deck, rigging, engine. everything else can be repaired or replaced or disposed of. not so easy/cheap to replace decks or engines.

on the other hand, whatever you decided to add/replace/repair, do it here in the states; oz is an expensive place to fix up boats as our oz members will tell you..

[Jason2Hawks]

Thanks to everyone for the great practical advice, but where is Oz? Do I get there by boat or will one need Dorothy, a Scarecrow, a Lion and a Tin Man?

[roverhi]

It's a play on the Aussie pronunciation of Oztralia.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

On Boatmans response too. Its dead on. When I purchased my little boat the hull, engine and rigging were sound. Everything else was not. But I knew that going in. Electronics, plumbing and electrical have to be done every so often anyway. So plan accordingly.

The important bits are Hull (and deck), Good engine and good rigging mast and boom. Everything else is just niddly bit...You've got to figure that the sails, electronics etc, will need work. Even on that cruise ready boat the broker says is in A1 shape....

Oh once and a while you'll find a gem with all new bits and pieces, but for every one of those there are 1000 that need a wee bit of a refit. Actually lots that need a MAJOR refit. So buy wisely..

+1 - buy wisely .

Also important to remember that whilst most things on a boat can be done using average DIY skills and a willingness to learn / get stuck in to anything new..........nonetheless important to bear in mind the volume of "simple" jobs that can be involved. They all cost in money and time, individually not a problem but collectively can get overwhelming. or never ending.........

[onestepcsy37]

something else you should know, since you appear to be a newbie boat buyer.

don't believe ANYTHING that a boat broker tells you. bring someone along who knows boats. if you're interested in the boat take lots of pictures of anything suspicious and show them to other boat owners.

i have a very good friend who's an excellent sailor and boat fixer upper. he's also a broker. he told me he would never point out any problems to a potential buyer and he downplays any that the buyer finds. it's just how they do business....

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

what boatman61 said (post #3). buy the boat for the quality and condition of the basic boat - hull, deck, rigging, engine. everything else can be repaired or replaced or disposed of. not so easy/cheap to replace decks or engines.

on the other hand, whatever you decided to add/replace/repair, do it here in the states; oz is an expensive place to fix up boats as our oz members will tell you..

Beers not that cheap either.... $7.50/bottle in a bar... n its not even a big bottle...
I go for the $2.99/75cl Shiraz from the liquor store... and its 14%...

[Tia Bu]

It's also possible to upfit a very sound cruising boat for little money by doing the work yourself and buying the equipment off Craigslist, CF classifieds, Ebay, nautical flea markets, buddies at the marina, etc.

If you want to spend a lot of money on all this, you certainly can. But you don't have to. We all tend to buy too much boat stuff, so there's a buyers' market for barely-used or never-installed second-hand equipment.

[Cheechako]

A few thoughts to help out...for say a 35-37 footer. These are SWAG numbers only! (scientific wild a** guess!)The big stuff to watch out for is:
* Sail condition (3 sails $10000)
* Engine condition ($10-12K)
* Tank condition (and can they be removed without tearing the boat apart?) Any tanks in the bilge over 10 years old are suspect. While the bilge is a nice place for weight, it's a terrible place for tank longevity. My 44 footer had 3 tanks. One was in the bilge. It was bad at 7 years old. ($2-3k)
* Deck water intrusion/core rot. ($4-10k) Could be minor in a few sq feet , or could require a whole deck repaint after the fiberglass work.
* Hull blisters. ($3-12K) Small area strip and barrier coat? or peel job?
* Keel bolts (buy a boat without them!) ($1-3k?) The yard really needs to do this.
* Rigging age. (New rigging $7500 and up)
This is basic stuff and doesnt even get into the "appliances"; refrig, electronics, pumps etc. Just figure that any bolt-on thing over 8 years old is bad.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

A few thoughts to help out...for say a 35-37 footer. These are SWAG numbers only! (scientific wild a** guess!)The big stuff to watch out for is:
* Sail condition (3 sails $10000)
* Engine condition ($10-12K)
* Tank condition (and can they be removed without tearing the boat apart?) Any tanks in the bilge over 10 years old are suspect. While the bilge is a nice place for weight, it's a terrible place for tank longevity. My 44 footer had 3 tanks. One was in the bilge. It was bad at 7 years old. ($2-3k)
* Deck water intrusion/core rot. ($4-10k) Could be minor in a few sq feet , or could require a whole deck repaint after the fiberglass work.
* Hull blisters. ($3-12K) Small area strip and barrier coat? or peel job?
* Keel bolts (buy a boat without them!) ($1-3k?) The yard really needs to do this.
* Rigging age. (New rigging $7500 and up)
This is basic stuff and doesnt even get into the "appliances"; refrig, electronics, pumps etc. Just figure that any bolt-on thing over 8 years old is bad.

I think those are pretty good SWAG numbers .

[Mimsy]

I think a lot of folks neglect to add in a very important number when doing the work themselves. If you are still working, you need to factor in a cost for your time. Time spent working on the boat is time away from earning money and that can have a big impact when you are topping up your cruising kitty. If you are retired and your time is your own, it doesn't come into play but it would serve you well to at least consider this number.

[Cheechako]

Let's say you run accross a "bargain Boat" at $15000. If you have to do half of the list above, you might add another $25000 to the boat. That puts you at $40k, but also puts you in the situation of mostly doing boat work for a couple of years instead of sailing. If you pay more for a boat that was "somebody's baby", and they've kept it real nice, you could be sailing, mostly doing just maintenance work, and might have paid $28k instead of $15k... Just a scenario to think about..... every situation is different.

[boatman61]

December 2004 I bought an '81' Hunter Cherubini 37 in Oriental... basic boat no fancy bits... not even autohelm.
Everyone said I'd die but she got me to England just fine... even after the brand new Simrad died 1000miles out.
But then stupidity IS my speciality....
Its the lady... not the jewels guys... just coz you can't live without radar, ais, c/p's does not mean a boats not capable

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Let's say you run accross a "bargain Boat" at $15000. If you have to do half of the list above, you might add another $25000 to the boat. That puts you at $40k, but also puts you in the situation of mostly doing boat work for a couple of years instead of sailing. If you pay more for a boat that was "somebody's baby", and they've kept it real nice, you could be sailing, mostly doing just maintenance work, and might have paid $28k instead of $15k... Just a scenario to think about..... every situation is different.

Or you buy the $28k one. and it turns out to be the $15k version .

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Or you buy the $28k one. and it turns out to be the $15k version .

Yeah..... that's the hard part isnt it... figuring that out....

[Khagan1227]

Buy the cheapest boat you can find, hire Boatman to "deliver" it to it's new home (go with a flat fee, he likes those ) . By the time it gets there, he'll have fixed everything that HAS to be fixed and you can spend the next few years replacing the stuff he didn't NEED.

Ok, I'm kidding (sort of), Boats original post was the best advice. I generally scratch my head and ask why the previous owner did whatever they did, and do it my way anyway. Buying the electronics yourself, will get you what you like, with some possibility it might last a while, and it will give the next owner a chance to second guess your thought process.