Cheap Multis and Projects

[smj]

Originally Posted by snort

I'm really tempted. Have you gone down there to see it?
It's a bit odd that he keeps advertising it as a 1976, when it clearly isn't. It's an earlier edition.

I haven't been to see it but I'm only 20 miles away and would be happy to take a look and give you a report.

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by snort

Add this to the delusional category:
Custom Kayak multihull sailboat for sale in Washington

"The only downside of this boat is that it is impossible to launch it without a bunch of people lining up and asking all about it!"

I'm sure most of the remarks start with, 'WTF!...'

AND the price is clearly a joke. Looks like 2 $300 used kayaks plus a $400 outboard?

[Zonker]

Well there are a few Richard Woods cats out there which are really affordable AND sail very good !

I really wonder why boats have to be so expensive - lets look at computers ...

20 years ago -> 20k
10 years ago -> 5k
5 years ago -> 2k
today -> 500 bucks

besides the performance went exponential.

I guess boating business has to do the same evolution - do it all "off the shelf" and mass production. Or compare with the car industry - I mean who drives a 30 year old car ? Sometimes u gotta scrap them to avoid inventory - but that means boats have to get cheaper so ppl can afford to scrap them.

[snort]

Originally Posted by smj

I haven't been to see it but I'm only 20 miles away and would be happy to take a look and give you a report.

Hi AJ, I'd be only too happy to send you gas and beer money to make the trip!
Please give that foredeck a mighty whack with a hammer and tell me if everything stays in one piece. On a boat this old I suspect some issues with water intrusion, if not full-out delamination. If the hulls and deck are sound enough though, it might be a worthwhile project.
Thanks very much, if you go.

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

AND the price is clearly a joke. Looks like 2 $300 used kayaks plus a $400 outboard?

Plus $8000 of love, and who can put a price on that?

[smj]

Originally Posted by snort

Hi AJ, I'd be only too happy to send you gas and beer money to make the trip!
Please give that foredeck a mighty whack with a hammer and tell me if everything stays in one piece. On a boat this old I suspect some issues with water intrusion, if not full-out delamination. If the hulls and deck are sound enough though, it might be a worthwhile project.
Thanks very much, if you go.

I'll try to make it there next week. Let you know what I find out.

[sparau]

Originally Posted by Zonker

Or compare with the car industry - I mean who drives a 30 year old car ? Sometimes u gotta scrap them to avoid inventory - but that means boats have to get cheaper so ppl can afford to scrap them.

Please dont even joke about making a 3-8 ton non recyclable, non renewable object a disposable item. IMO make em well and make em to last forever if you can.

On the upside an 8ton boat in a landfill will leach a poofteenth the amount of BPA into the soil and water table (and ocean) as 100,000 (?) plastic bottles due to surface area.

Also your comparisons are probably not very useful, the number of discrete items in a computer has dropped by 10 fold which has led to the price drop. Regarding cars, would you take a Hyundai or a Honda across Australia off road? It would shake itself to bits after a week and i dont believe road side assist would be any more useful in the Simpson desert than in the middle of the ocean.

[ProjectElandra]

Hey everyone,

New to cruisers forum and loving it! This is a fantastic thread.

Im coming over to florida from the UK in a couple weeks specifically with the task of picking up a cheap multihull! (seems to be the best place to find 'em!).

As a 20something marine biologist looking for something i can use as a platform for research and a non-profit ocean media company, i have a very low budget. Around $20k. Took me enough years to save that so i'm trying to do my best not to blow it on something that's going to fall apart, but i need something big enough for a team of 3 or 4 people to live aboard with some equipment. I intend to keep costs to a minimum, living off the hook while slowly doing a full circuit of the caribbean/central america over the next few years at least.

I'm time rich and money poor, so i'm happy to wait for someone who wants to offload their boat for some quick cash. I'm pretty technical, but never owned a boat, so not keen for any complicated projects.

Can't decide between the tri's or the cat's, but i'd love something that i can beach. There's an american guy selling a US registered boat real cheap, but it sounds a bit fishy to me. It's in port in cuba, where apparently, he overstayed his visa and was deported by plane. Anyone know a Captain Mike who owns a 52ft Trimaran called Eros?

Cheers

Gio

[Travelnik]

Originally Posted by Zonker

Or compare with the car industry - I mean who drives a 30 year old car ?

My car is 45 years old. It's a '67 Cougar, and it's my daily driver. My wife's truck is 30 years old.

My Harley is 40, my Goldwing is 35.

My boat is only 43.

Yes, there are some of us.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by ProjectElandra

I'm time rich and money poor............ a 52ft Trimaran called Eros?

Cheers Gio

Gio, you might want to price up a set of sails for a yacht of that size first because it can break the bank.

Do you really need 52 feet?

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by ProjectElandra

Hey everyone,
I'm time rich and money poor,

This is the Key right here. Pete is right, the bigger the boat the higher the maintenance costs. It's a boat...things are going to wear out or break on a boat in your price range.

The initial cost is just the price of entry into the wonderful world of cruising. "Cruising" is defined here as fixing your boat in exotic places.

You need to look for a boat you can afford to actually use.

[Boatguy30]

The only way you get deported from Cuba is if you can't pay your marina fees. In that case you will be buying the boat from the Cuban government not the previous owner.

[ProjectElandra]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Is buying a boat from the Cuban government troublesome? I imagine it would be...

And you guys are probably right about the size issue - that's one of the main reasons i won't be going for it. It would be really useful to have something of that size but i doubt i will be able to afford it when i need to take it into marinas or fix it, etc etc.

I am looking for reasons not go ahead with it and these two seem to be the main ones. A 40' trimaran would probably be better. What are the main cost issues in terms of maintenance when you increase size?

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by ProjectElandra

, i have a very low budget. Around $20k. Took me enough years to save that so i'm trying to do my best not to blow it on something that's going to fall apart, but i need something big enough for a team of 3 or 4 people to live aboard with some equipment.

Gio

20k for a cat that will haul 3-4 and gear?

I think you will be pretty disappointed when you start looking.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by Therapy

20k for a cat that will haul 3-4 and gear?

I think you will be pretty disappointed when you start looking.

I'm thinking one of the 1970s vintage Cross trimarans. Built out of ply, so a trip to the lumberyard is all you need to repair it. They were 40' to 43' as I recall and some had the gap between the almas and the main hull glassed over so they had roughly the same deck area as an aircraft carrier