What's the Worst Boat YOU Ever Had?

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Auzzee

I was once convinced to buy a Piver 30 trimaran. By far and away the worst boat I ever owned and close to being the worst thing I ever sailed.
Why?..........................

Wasn't that Donald Crowhurst's boat of choice?

[Ribbit]

An open Dory I built from plans.

It was nagging me that there was something seriously wrong with the thing, after I cut out and laid out all the marine ply. I must have measured and re-measured at least 10 times. Yep, spot on to the plans. Still nagging.

So what the heck, I stitched and glued it all together, fitted some very nice Iroko woodwork. lovingly painted it, etc.

It looked an absolute picture.

But still didn't look right.

Took it to the harbour, floated it, set off round the harbour wall into some actual swell, my friend went white as a sheet, I went white as a sheet, managed to turn it around, get it out of the water onto the trailer, and head for home after a couple of consolation beers. Unseaworthy doesn't even begin to describe it.

While it was waiting for me to chop it up into usable components, a couple of people tried to buy it (it did look nice).

They didn't look like vicious criminals deserving of death and destruction, so I couldn't sell it.

[Tessellate]

Originally Posted by minaret

Know anyone who wants a just repaired Cascade 42 sloop, center cockpit, with new engine, tankage, wiring, etc., for a song?

miraret, you'd seriously consider selling your boat after just spending 6 months fixing it? Hoping that was a joke! That's some scary wood rot, what a huge project! And a lot to get done in 6 months. I couldn't help but laugh at the carpeting glued to the hull wall in one of the compartments.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Auzzee

I was once convinced to buy a Piver 30 trimaran. By far and away the worst boat I ever owned and close to being the worst thing I ever sailed.
Why?
Sailing ability; Bloody awful.
Accommodations: bloody awful.
Appearance; bloody awful.
Design; bloody awful.
Construction; bloody awful.
Resale value; bloody awful with a capital 'F'.
If it had been a motor bike, it would have been a Moto Guzzi.

Thank goodness I passed one up that the owner wanted $500 for in the early 90s. You've confirmed my suspicions and I thought maybe I could get that port ama to stop leaking if I just hauled and patched it.

[siamese]

Worst boat would definitely be my 2007 Catalina 309, bought new. That boat suffered from numerous factory defects, like bad gelcoat and a furling main that barely worked, and a dealer that screwed up everything they touched.

Just one of the many problems was a rudder tube that was crooked. I didn't become aware of it until the warranty was over. The tube was so far off that Catalina had modified the bearings to cobble it up, but it only masked the problem. Also, the bearings are normally held in with screws that go through the rudder tube, and just PARTIALLY into the Marelon bearings to hold them in place. Some nitwit at Catalina had screwed them all the way through the bearings, and they were scoring the rudder shaft. The whole cobbled up affair lasted longer than it should have, but after five seasons it inevitably failed, resulting in the wheel being very difficult to turn.

Because the rudder post was so far off, simply replacing the bearings with a new set of overpriced bearings was not possible.

I talked to Catalina repeatedly, and sent them high resolution photos. I'm a former pro photographer, so the photos were razor sharp, well lit, and numerous. On the phone with the guy in charge in their Florida plant as he looked at the photos, I remember him saying he didn't know what he was looking at. It's the bearing you guys ground down to try to make it work, you fool! I could not get him to comprehend that the rudder post didn't even come close to lining up with the hole and plate in the cockpit sole. Probably because he didn't want to understand it.

I became an expert on the rudder system, tore it apart and fixed it myself, lost much of a sailing season, and got rid of that stupid boat.

Just one of the dealer's screwups was to insist that they apply the bottom paint. I explained that I know how to deal with the mold wax and prep the bottom, but they insisted on doing it. I finally relented and overpaid for the job. Well, most of the bottom paint failed after six months in fresh water. Bubbled up and came off. I showed it to the dealer, who said "that's normal", and refused to do anything about it. Next spring, I stripped it all off (fun, huh?), removed the mold wax, sanded, and applied new bottom paint. No problems with the bottom paint after that. Nice dealer network you have there, Catalina.

The list of problems with that boat went on and on. If I listed them all you'd fall asleep, and if you stayed awake, you probably wouldn't believe me.

Two years ago, I bought a 1996 Catalina 28. Nice boat.

Thanks for nothing, Catalina, on that 309.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Tessellate

miraret, you'd seriously consider selling your boat after just spending 6 months fixing it? Hoping that was a joke! That's some scary wood rot, what a huge project! And a lot to get done in 6 months. I couldn't help but laugh at the carpeting glued to the hull wall in one of the compartments.

I think Minaret is a professional repairer of such boats, not the owner. At any rate $12K is a bargain for all the work done.

[hamburking]

Paceship 29
It was a love/hate relationship.

[A.B.sailorman]

My first possession; A wooden work- boat built fory a dutch coaster, clincker-built. Old? Maybe 1920/1925. Probably frowned upon, and when equipped with deck and < KAJUITJE > superstruture and a mast < low cost > Gotten in 1955. Before we slept, empty the boat by a tiny bucket, max. sleeping-time 61/2 h. else we were in the water. The sails, repaired, 100 x ,speed: 0 ' 001 m/h. but plenty of fun. regards john

[RichandHelen]

Had to be my 125' Feadship. EVERY TIME I anchored DOZENS of beautiful young women in skimpy bikinis would show up just EXPECTING champagne and a party! The NERVE!

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Cherp

Wow. Somebody got a good deal.

Sure did! Since quitting boatyard management and going solo, I'm making it my personal mission to provide restoration of older boats at costs people can actually afford. Yard rates are ridiculous. Far too many boats out there languishing in their slips in need of restoration, for lack of the massive amount of funds needed for yard restoration. This Cascade would have gone in the landfill without me, as the yard bill would have substantially exceeded the value of the boat. Average cost to landfill a boat approaches 10k, therefore for not much more money than it would have cost him to destroy it, I restored it. Feels good!


Currently rebuilding a broken Wauquiez Centurion 42, '91.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

For me I suppose it was the Contessa 26. Pretty little thing but slow, wet and always well heeled.

Maybe, but it's one nice looking sailboat. Perfectly proportioned.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3pcXWUZ5Pk

[Panope]

One-off design called "Hydro Scow". LOA = 5 Feet. Beam = 3 Feet. Original freeboard = 4 inches (later increased to 12 inches at stern).

The vessel paddled poorly.

I managed to get a 3 H.P. Sears and Roebuck engine mounted and running (once). Did not have the courage to go past half throttle.

Designer/builder on the right.

Steve

[Lunita]

An Aquapro aluminum hull inflatable which I bought used from a sketchy fellow for $100. Super bargain. It started life white and had been painted green and brown camo. Patched a small hole in the aft end of the port tube and pumped it up. Spent the next two weeks patching and inflating and finding a flat boat each morning. It had now been named "Doctor Leaky". I was confident it would hold air eventually! $40 in patch kits later and ready to go. We anchored at a favourite bay and headed for shore. My wife and I, our lab, my daughter and her two standard poodles in a 7' rib. 30 feet from the boat my daughter says is that supposed to be like that? Pointing to a 12" section of seam coming unglued in the tube! We paddled like crazy and scrambled aboard our boat as Docter Leaky settled half under the water. I threw it on the foredeck and admitted defeat. We spent several thousand at the marine store the next day and came home with a white inflatable and shiny new outboard.
Probably a life lesson in there somewhere which was worth the $140.

[uncle stinkybob]

Mine was a 16 foot strip planked row boat, built Belfair.wa. sometime in the 30s. I saw it on a guys burn pile, getting ready to go the way of many wood boats. I got it for free, my first wood boat....and last. I rebuilt her but my Lord, the money and time. and screws good lord the screws. never again.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Auzzee

I was once convinced to buy a Piver 30 trimaran. By far and away the worst boat I ever owned and close to being the worst thing I ever sailed.
Why?
Sailing ability; Bloody awful.
Accommodations: bloody awful.
Appearance; bloody awful.
Design; bloody awful.
Construction; bloody awful.
Resale value; bloody awful with a capital 'F'.
If it had been a motor bike, it would have been a Moto Guzzi.

There was a guy in the boatyard once that had one of those things about 50' in length. When he investigated why his strip planking was coming apart on the amas below and just above the water line, he discovered it had been glued with sikaflex or something similar. Credit where credit is due; it held together for 20 years or so.