Yes beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I agree with other comments that the fact that this boat has been built out of foam/epoxy that it is highly unlikely to not have been built to some sort of design plans. Now value for
money well I will give you a few things to contemplate and you can make your own decision. Costs I am providing I have converted to USD from AUD,
US $70K - Basic material costs - Foam,
epoxy, fibreglass, fairing compound etc
US $70K -
Mast,
sails,
rigging and 2 x sail drives with props
Those two items above roughly add up to the cost of the boat.
Now I was quoted 5 years ago to fair and
paint my boat which only included labour of US $50K. Obviously I cannot tell if the outside has been professionally faired but the inside definitely has not but my quote only included the
saloon and fwd and aft head/shower. The rest of the boat I was going to use
head liners throughout to save fairing.
So for $144K and I assume you won't offer the listed price so say $130K you pay for basic materials and the items listed at item 2. Everything else is for free and labour is the big ticket item. To hazard a guess, I would say that there is at least the same value of the boat in materials and labour included in the boat. So, yes there is no doubt it is a bargain. I have seen
boats in Aust, 2 x Schionnings go on the market not completed having had over US $190K spent on them sell for between US $80K (40ft $190K spend) and $115K (43ft US $200K spend. Those
boats were bargains but were still sitting in sheds requiring painting, fairing, fitout etc. No masts or
sails but they did have engines,
portlights, some gallet equip etc. Those boats would have required at least another US $120K to get them fitted out and launched. And for $120K it would be a very basic fit out.
It would be an even bigger bargain if the boat has been built to naval architect plans which I suspect it has, only because of the epoxy/foam materials used. If it hasn't then you have no way of knowing whether the laminate in the build will hold the boat together in adverse sea states. Yes I agree with another comment that
catamaran shrouds for the main
mast normally have inner and outer shrouds. Newer designs have both shrouds as far
outboard as possible. Older desings have the inner on the side of the
saloon and the outer as far
outboard as possible. The
photo only shows inner shrouds but that may be because the main mast does not have a boom. Again, naval architect plans will need to be sighted.
It is going to cost a bit of money to complete the inside but you can keep costs down by DIYing.
If the boat is not built to naval architect drawings then I would probably pass on the boat unless you only intent coastal and waterways cruising. The fact that the boat is sitting level on its waterline tells me that it has a high probability of being designed by a naval architect. If you are inspecting the boat, check all the
deck lockers and make sure that they have the correct items in them. One way to get a boat sitting level on their dwl is to empty locker and/or fill them with drums of fuel/water etc.