Is this a good deal?

[Hoodsail]

Aqua, good morning:
I am in yr 5 of a "slow walk" refit, that involves me doing a good deal of the work and paying for others to do some. Working a 2nd job to feed my boat fund, hence the flexibility. My survey came back good, engine strong, but still helped me reduce price by another $5000. Chain plates pulled and good, seacocks good. I have been sailing her all the time while replacing; all standing/running rigging, mainsail, hatches, lifelines, fresh water system, westerbeke water pump">raw water pump, alternator, interior cushions, dodger, and bimini. Recoated bow fresh water tank. Added inner forestay w/ storm jib, AIS (send/receive), chartplotter, garmin wind package, stereo, new VHF antenna. Left to do; rebuild head, re-insulate icebox, varnish teak toerail, paint or gelcoat topsides, install feathering prop...How much invested....would estimate $28000 (countless hours) + purchase price...hey, I figure I'm currently at $3.4/displacement pound, so have much more to spend! This calculation is highly useful when comparatively reviewing my 43 yr old Bristol to new Moody's, Gunboats and the like. thanks

PS...Ordered a stern light mount from Defender in August & still nothing, so you might be fabricating your own parts

[Lowcountry]

Hans Christians are great boats. I love my 33, despite the comparatively high amount of attention it requires. It's my hobby, it's my passion and I enjoy the ownership experience very much. It's a rewarding vessel to own and sail, and I am proud to be her caretaker. I would only caution you by saying that you are going to spend way more than $40k to get her where you want her to be.

[KP44]

Originally Posted by OutOfControl

"Fuel tank (cast iron) have been polished."

Perhaps the OP was referring to "black iron fuel tanks" which would be more specific to ...

I replaced my black iron fuel tanks. The portside tank was put into a dumpster and my spouse said she could have punched a hole in the top of it.
The starbord tank seemed intact but any 30+ year-old black iron tank needs to be replaced; not polished. This is not an opinion; but a fact.

[BluePeter]

Bear in mind that HCs built after 1985 were not built in the original Hansa yard under the supervision of German engineering and construction standards and it is generally thought that the hulls built after that are considerably inferior.

[BluePeter]

An HC38T sails like a barn door? You clearly are suffering an Illusion.

[Jon Neely]

Originally Posted by BluePeter

Bear in mind that HCs built after 1985 were not built in the original Hansa yard under the supervision of German engineering and construction standards and it is generally thought that the hulls built after that are considerably inferior.

None of the hc38 where built in the Hansa yard to my knowledge. Only the 33s where and apparently a few 48s but I have never seen proof of that. Cutoff for the switch was 87' when the 33s where moved to the shin fa yard which made most of the 38s at the time. Hansa yard then started building the Macintosh 47s. We have the fleet sheet and run the Facebook Hans Christian owners group. If you have the hin Number we can tell you what yard the boat was built at.

[Markjpro]

My 1st post although I enjoy reading the posts. I have an Isuzu C-221, the predecessor of the C-240, circa 1972. It has never quit on me for 21 years and about 4k hours. When it does, I fully researched that the engine is still produced in Japan and used throughout the world. Consider getting one and here is the kicker... they sell to the States from Trade Assurance/Verified Alibaba suppliers... my quote with sea shipping was 3.2k. Or I see new engines on ebay for 8k complete and new. Hamilton and MER don't list them. You can use your wet exhaust as a pattern. IMHO... Cheers

[MicHughV]

here's a time tested recipe...
whatever time you've budgeted.....double it...
however long you think it might take to fix/replace/repair, etc......double it..

[mvweebles]

I'm at the tail end of a 2 year full refit. Still, in the last two weeks I've spent over $1k on miscellaneous plumbing fittings, a couple pumps,, cable, and some rogue circuit breakers.

You will need deep, deep passion to see this through. And money. You have to ask yourself what happens if you blow past your $40k budget with $100k staring you down.

There's a concept in poker called "pot committed.' Roughly means getting in so deep that you can't get out even though you're pretty sure you have a losing hand. Pretty sure that applies to 99% of project boat restorations. There just comes a point where you know it was a bad idea but little choice but throwing good money after bad and hope for the best.

Good luck.

Peter

[MicHughV]

Years ago, I built my first boat...a 38' Bruce Roberts ketch...I had carefully budgeted out what I thought it would take to build it down to the last nut and bolt...I had also carefully analyzed and prepared a build schedule.

When time came to build it, it didn't take long to realize my budget was woefully underfunded and as was my time allotment.

By the time I splashed it, by my hard costs were double what I had planned, and my time was almost tripled....even then....the boat was not complete.
Completing the boat...in the water....took several more years and a lot more money.

By the time I was ready to pronounce my boat complete.....my original budget had swelled to almost 4 times my original estimate and my time estimate at least 3 times.

I was a dumpster diver and scrounged anything and everything I could to build it. I often worked way past midnight on a daily basis. If I could save a dollar or a minute of time, I did it.

So this is real life story..and you should expect something similar.

[DeValency]

While the core may be good, what you describe on the current issues with many years of neglect and on the hard means that you’ll find out many many more issues. I would estimate $100K to bring her to a reasonable cruising condition plus many months of your own time. I wouldn’t go for it.

[MicHughV]

In any rebuild effort, most people fail to take into account...removing the old stuff...not only is this time consuming, but often uncovers other problems, which need to be addressed prior to fixing or replacing an item.

[Kudos]

I've just glanced over the previous posts and many offer good advice and info. I myself purchased a neglected 1979 38T 4 years ago. Mine had been a marina queen, been in pretty much nothing but fresh water and if sailed, that was very little. I think when the previous owners did take it out, they just motored. The Lee sails still look new and I'm sure they are original. I'm not sure if mine ever had teak decks and if it did, someone removed them early on and did an awesome job. It also had a new engine with only 51 hours on it. I had a top notch surveyor and I got it for $45,000. Since then I have put another $50,000 in it and over 1500 hours and I'm far from done. It's a very solid boat, performs well, and will give you the ride of a Cadillac in rough seas like no other. I commercial fished the PNW for years, and in the rough stuff, nothing beats a heavy, deep drafted solid boat. So is it worth it? In my opinion yes at least to me. I love working on it, improving things and making it mine. I have a lot left to do, like pull the chain plates and although there is no sign of any damage, since I'm planning long ocean passages in a few years, I want everything as perfect as I can. If I can be any help, PM me. Good luck.

[donradcliffe]

I would worry about why the current owner stopped work. In Hawaii, I would check for dry wood termites.

[myrkx]

Email me at myrkx1@gmail.com, I have owned, sailed and done countless hours of maintenance on my 1978 38T. Currently circumnavigation.