Cheap Multis and Projects

[mark_morwood]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

A member here purchased one several years ago. It was totally complete and in fact had did significant open water crossings. It was advertised around $249,000 or so and was contracted in just a few days. That boat was sweet and probably could have sold for quite a bit more. I thought the member's name was Norwood but I can't find his name.

FWIW the eBay ad did say obo so there is wiggle room. It would be a very significant project so buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

You're probably thinking of me. We bought a C48 in 2006, spent 6 years on a refit while living and cruising locally in Boston MA, then went world cruising for 3 1/2 years with our kids, then sold her as we approached Brisbane Australia at the end of 2015 to another couple just starting cruising full-time. Their first passage on her and our last was from New Caledonia to Brisbane.

I think that C48 would make a great project at the right price, but do not under-estimate the real cost of a refit. Unless you can do it yourself to a good standard, just the interior work would cost a fortune.

[Aqualaddin]

Originally Posted by magentawave

Gawd help us.

The seller is trying to make 18k in pure profit, because I doubt that boat is work anything lol

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by mark_morwood

I think that C48 would make a great project at the right price, but do not under-estimate the real cost of a refit. Unless you can do it yourself to a good standard, just the interior work would cost a fortune.

Again without derailing the thread (but it is important all the same, given the context of project boats), I can't begin to impress upon the importance of this statement.

Refits take more time, effort and money than you can even begin to imagine! My first refit - a 43ft steel ketch - should've been 6 months and turned into 6 years. Mind you, that was a full refit from bare hull up, but a comprehensive refit requiring every weekend (and plenty of weekdays in between) over the course of those 6 years. The second refit - a 42ft catamaran - was much more simple, but still took a year. In that time, I:

- Repainted the whole boat
- Replaced all standing and running rigging
- Replaced all salon windows
- Built a cockpit hardtop
- Swapped out trampolines
- Swapped lifelines
- Ripped up the horrible deck cover and replaced with non-skid
- Fitted dinghy davits
- Optimised the terrible steering setup
- Replaced both aft cabins with a longer setup
- Halved the 12 person salon couch into a 6 person, then moved the galley to the salon
- Built wardrobes / cupboards in both hulls
- Replaced the forward port cabin with a shower / head
- Fitted a washing machine
- Swapped out both toilets (inc. hosing)
- Replaced all freshwater plumbing
- Replaced a lot of the wiring

Amongst a million other things. I spent about 6 days a week on this refit over the course of the year and saved a lot of money (based on learnings from the previous one) but even still, the full works cost another 50% on top of the purchase price and took a lot of time. Had the yard done the work, it'd easily have been 150% - 200% of the purchase price.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to dissuade you (and would buy that C48 myself if it was 12 months down the track). Just be realistic - your bank balance, work and relationships will all suffer, but the reward is a boat you know intimately.

N

[VBsail]

This couple has been blogging their adventure. Perfect example of "cheap multis and projects", think it may have been in this thread when it was for sale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byRFuAA0V5k

[Sociaboat]

I looked at this same Catana inSt Augustine years ago! I don’t think the price was much different. Must have been 10-15 years ago, seriously. I never could connect w seller, so was only able to crawl around outside. It was a catana hull, but semi-finished off by an owner. Had mottled paint on interior. It seemed to me then like a good deal for a lot of hard work and money, but I didn’t bite. Already had a perfectly good TEK35...

If I remember correctly she had a stowaway mast...

[torpnr]

Interesting - thanks for the background - the ad says it has been on the hard for 10 years. An older ad does corroborate an in-mast furling.

[Boatguy30]

Seems to have a rather low bridgedeck clearance for 48’. Perhaps the reasoning for attempting to lighten the interior?

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

Seems to have a rather low bridgedeck clearance for 48’. Perhaps the reasoning for attempting to lighten the interior?

Is that a Crowther design? I thought most had pretty good clearance.




A few have commented that they don't want to derail this thread commenting on this and other boats. I started this thread 7 years ago for this exact purpose. It is nice to have a candidate that might be worthy so derail all you want.

[torpnr]

@Sandcrab, based on a prior ad for Mirana (the C48’s design), it’s a Crowther/Barreau design.

@Boatguy30, there’s a photo of her on the water (again from a prior ad) and the clearance doesn’t look too bad (granted that such a visual assessment is an imperfect metric...!) I’m hoping to speak to the seller in the next few days to get more of a story on her.

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by torpnr

@Sandcrab, based on a prior ad for Mirana (the C48’s design), it’s a Crowther/Barreau design.

@Boatguy30, there’s a photo of her on the water (again from a prior ad) and the clearance doesn’t look too bad (granted that such a visual assessment is an imperfect metric...!) I’m hoping to speak to the seller in the next few days to get more of a story on her.

Attachment 207102

Yeh I’d agree that the BDC looks alright with no major intrusions into the tunnel. See if you can find another owner and get their view *just in case*.

N

[purvisgs]

Searunner 31 $7k in CA, no idea if it's epoxy or polyester etc but from what you can see, could be in decent shape https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...0054334484814/

[torpnr]

Originally Posted by ausnp84

Yeh I’d agree that the BDC looks alright with no major intrusions into the tunnel. See if you can find another owner and get their view *just in case*.



N

From an old thread (Catana 48 Advice/Feedback) Shrubb reports: “it hits sometimes hard when sailing upwind with waves of more than 1,5 m”. But generally otherwise seems to have good manners.

So very tempting.

[magentawave]

Originally Posted by torpnr

@Sandcrab, based on a prior ad for Mirana (the C48’s design), it’s a Crowther/Barreau design.

@Boatguy30, there’s a photo of her on the water (again from a prior ad) and the clearance doesn’t look too bad (granted that such a visual assessment is an imperfect metric...!) I’m hoping to speak to the seller in the next few days to get more of a story on her.

Attachment 207102

Actually, that is excellent bridgedeck clearance. I remember asking Kurt Hughes decades ago at the Miami boat show what was the ideal bridgedeck clearance and he said: "Twenty feet!"

[magentawave]

Originally Posted by Sparx

My experience is that the bare hulls are around 30 percent of the COST of the finished boat. So your guess of 150k into a 70k purchase for a total of 220 is in the right ball park.

An excellent survey is required. With these boats that have been in refit mode for years sometimes it just people got in over their heads and lost interest. Other times it is that they discovered some major flaw that made it nonsense to proceed further. Also one might find "improvements" that need to be stripped out. Be prepared for suprises along the way.

I personally derive great satisfaction from knowing every detail of a boat. This looks like a tantalizing project. Working full time on it is probably a year or 18 months for someone who knows what they are doing.

Almost everything in these boats is comprised of curves and compound curves. So, 18 months is EXTREMELY optimistic and ONLY possible if you know what you're doing and can afford to pay a crew that knows what they're doing.

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by magentawave

Almost everything in these boats is comprised of curves and compound curves. So, 18 months is EXTREMELY optimistic and ONLY possible if you know what you're doing and can afford to pay a crew that knows what they're doing.

All depends on what needs doing and what level of finish you’re aiming for! If it’s a full gut and refit with top quality cabinetry and fittings then yep, a solid 12-18 months with multiple people working on it sounds correct.

If it’s a case of removing a bit of crap, finishing some woodwork and tweaking systems, 12 months on your own is easily achievable.

N