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Old 18-06-2018, 17:31   #16
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

I think overall you are getting some pretty good input here. But as an example , I could rough wire that boat for passage for less than $500.00. Now I am talking survival wiring not a complete rewire by any means. But to get to my point, distance is what is killing you here. Look at the money you would save by doing the repairs at the point of purchase. I understand this might not be possible for you, but you are spending almost 25% of your bankroll on just moving the boat, and then their are duties. I think you would be much further ahead by building a cat from scratch.
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Old 18-06-2018, 18:06   #17
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

so i bopught a boat a few years ago that was in decent shape but not great- basics were there but needed a lot of TLC to get to where i want it to be to live on it. i am very handy with tools, have remodeled homes, can do electrical and plumbing etc-- had a decent shop with LOTS of tools-- that said this boat has been a huge project- every job that is completed finds two more that need to be done.-- i have been working diligently on it for 4 years now (almost every weekend for 18 hours or so-- i am making progress and will complete it but the learning curve has been high-- i should also mention that i have enough means to afford any parts/tools etc that i want so that is not an issue. Looking at it now- i might have been better off to have saved another 70k and bought a boat in better shape- i would not know everything about it but i would have had all that time back.. . do i regret it - no BUT it is a huge commitment- unless you have done a similar project in the past, i would not attempt it with the conditions that you listed-- JMHO wait awhile, save some money and there WILL be another hurricane or you will find someone that needs to get out of their boat NOW and will give you a good deal- good luck:
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Old 18-06-2018, 23:42   #18
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

There's main point which most people here seem ALWAYS to overlook. Either this project becomes your life, and there are NONE of other significant things (like family, job, other projects etc., etc.) will be in your life until project's finished
OR you're trying to make this ONE of many your other projects/things.

In first case project most likely will be successful, in second case there's almost no chance unless you're very rich or you're OK that project will take many-many years to finish.
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Old 19-06-2018, 03:12   #19
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

I think it really boils down to a choice:
Do you want to sail? or
Do you want to work on a boat?
Unless you love the work and can put in a major effort full time, you won't be sailing any time soon. Although you should never cost your labour if you're having fun, if you're not enjoying every minute then you should estimate a charge to yourself for what you're putting into it, as well as materials and others' labour. If there's something you can do that you enjoy more and pays better, you'd be better off saving for a boat that doesn't need work. There are plenty of good keelboats on ebay for around $1000 per foot
With a hurricane boat you'll always have a niggling worry that something could fail that was missed by the survey. If it's been written off by an insurer, that moniker will stay with the boat until it's dust, and affect it's resale value even if you've spent a fortune to fix it up
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Old 19-06-2018, 03:42   #20
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

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Originally Posted by valhalla360 View Post
A big difference with a car is most people have a garage to store the car at no cost and can get it towed in for a modest price. If it just sits there for 3-4 years while they slowly work on it, it's no big deal. Most people don't have a place to store a big catamaran for free and storage yards can be a few thousand per year plus there are projects where you need the yard equipment to move the boat or do things beyond your ability and it can quickly add up

Do some checking around on the shipping price that was mentioned as it seems a little on the low end. We checked on a much smaller 34'x14' cat for transatlantic and it was $12k a few years back, so it could easily be double that for a significantly bigger cat.

Also what are the work rules in Turkey? Can you bring in buddies to do a lot of the work or will they put a stop to it? (I haven't checked so don't know the rules).

Most of the successful major project boats are experienced guys who have access to cheap/free storage and started on smaller boats. There are exceptions but go in understanding what you are getting into. That could easily be a 2-3yr project if you can spend a lot of time at the boat working.

One thing having built a couple of dingies and looked into building a larger boat, the hull is only about 20-30% of the cost of a cruising boat. The pieces and parts to finish it out properly is where it gets pricey. You are looking at a fair amount of work on the hulls and nearly everything else repaired or replaced.

Not trying to discourage you from taking on a project but go in with your eyes open and understand the pitfalls. Most first timers taking on this kind of project fail...you only see the blog posts from the successful ones.
I think that you are right for an average person, but in my case consider the following:
- if the boat is floating i can keep it in a marina were i don't pay: this means that once i have the boat floating even if i work one year on it i have zero expenses
- i do not have a job, but incomes from some rentals,this means that, specially in winter, i can work 7/7 on the boat
- i have a shipyard in turkey that i know quite good thank to a german friend that renovated 2 boats, engines and hulls would be done there

Don't miss understand me, i am taking all the opinions very seriously, however i like to see things from a positive and optimistic perspective......but not too much.
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Old 19-06-2018, 03:44   #21
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

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I think most of those boats sell for far less than asking price. I know of a hurricane damaged 40+ cat that would normally sell for around $350,000 that went for $16,000. I would give you more details but he is a member here and I want to respect his privacy. That boat needed a ton of work but is now floating and repowered.

If you are going to offer on these then go real low.
Yes, and these are the maximum prices i am interested to invest in the purchase: i can't imagine spending more than 20k for a heavily damaged boat.
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Old 19-06-2018, 03:53   #22
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

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Originally Posted by captlloyd View Post
I think overall you are getting some pretty good input here. But as an example , I could rough wire that boat for passage for less than $500.00. Now I am talking survival wiring not a complete rewire by any means. But to get to my point, distance is what is killing you here. Look at the money you would save by doing the repairs at the point of purchase. I understand this might not be possible for you, but you are spending almost 25% of your bankroll on just moving the boat, and then their are duties. I think you would be much further ahead by building a cat from scratch.
You nailed it, this is the central point and i am waiting to get some quotes from shipping companies just to sort what would be the best option. If the shipping cost will be around 20k, i'll have to see where 20k will take me in repairs, then i'll have a better idea about if and how to proceed. I made some research and it's easy to find used masts for 2/3k, with some luck no need for sails, then i'll need to know how much might cost restoring at least one engine.....patching the hulls should not be particularly expensive.....
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Old 19-06-2018, 03:56   #23
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

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Originally Posted by ranchero76 View Post
There's main point which most people here seem ALWAYS to overlook. Either this project becomes your life, and there are NONE of other significant things (like family, job, other projects etc., etc.) will be in your life until project's finished
OR you're trying to make this ONE of many your other projects/things.

In first case project most likely will be successful, in second case there's almost no chance unless you're very rich or you're OK that project will take many-many years to finish.

Basically will be my main and only occupation since i start till end, no other projects and family (wife and son) 110% supporting me.
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Old 19-06-2018, 03:59   #24
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

Big thank you for all answers, greatly appreciated and very helpful.
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Old 19-06-2018, 07:16   #25
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

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I think that you are right for an average person, but in my case consider the following:
- if the boat is floating i can keep it in a marina were i don't pay: this means that once i have the boat floating even if i work one year on it i have zero expenses
- i do not have a job, but incomes from some rentals,this means that, specially in winter, i can work 7/7 on the boat
- i have a shipyard in turkey that i know quite good thank to a german friend that renovated 2 boats, engines and hulls would be done there

Don't miss understand me, i am taking all the opinions very seriously, however i like to see things from a positive and optimistic perspective......but not too much.
If you have free storage and no family or other commitments to worry about, that makes it much more viable. Still a very challenging project but much more viable.

Still when you calculate cost and time, triple the final number to come up with something that will be closer to reality.
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Old 19-06-2018, 10:50   #26
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

I hadn't read everyone's opinions. This may be a concern in some countries and not others. You said salvage so it may be worth looking into and title hang ups if an insurance co. has written a boat off as salvage. Just a thought.
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Old 19-06-2018, 12:31   #27
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

I have just bought a hurricane damaged boat in the Virgin Islands and shipped it back to the UK - half the ship was hurricane damaged boats. There was really no other choice - I would have liked to sail her but the work to get her fit for a transat could not have been done there - there are too many charter boats vying for yard space, not enough parts and I couldn't even but half the basic tools I needed to make the boat water tight when I was there.

The ship was 3 weeks late, which makes planning very difficult but shipping for a 50 foot cat was $16000 which is a lot but not really compared to 6-8 months of yard space over there, the higher price of parts when you can get them etc etc

There was also EU VAT to pay on import

Now my very thorough budget, for everything based on two previous boat refits was a lot less than many others thought sensible and whilst I expect to be under my "contingency" budget still I will exceed my original estimate - like £600 just to get all the waste (old junk, rotten wood and carpet and foam head linings etc) hauled away; everything is coming out of the interior and I've filled nearly 20 cu yards of waste in a week. Some unforeseeable items came up - like a new SD20 drive shaft as the original was corroded and broke when changing props today, etc but when finished she SHOULD owe me about 50% of her then market value. This means for 6 to 8 months of 6 days a week work on her I'll either save 65K or if I were to sell her make 65K - a good return I'd say but I've only be working on her a week and I already fall asleep by 9 pm each night!

It can be done and does not need to be as costly and difficult as many who have never tried suggest (for example everyone I asked gave me a trade account for parts based on my spend - so I pay 30% less than retail on everything) but its really not for the faint hearted
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Old 19-06-2018, 13:22   #28
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

I would be very leery of taking on any project boat that is not already in my home port. Any boat purchase over $5k should be only after a fresh survey including haulout. Busted or missing mast? A dealbreaker unless you have already located a used mast. Bent shaft and/or strut indicates possibly more serious damage elsewhere. Repowering can be more complicated than meets the eye. Nearly every project like this is severely underfunded. Your only wiggle room really, is the cosmetic stuff, which of course you can make compromises on. Lastly, any temporary wiring needs to have GFCI breakers, because stuff happens, and stuff happening in a wet environment involving electricity can end quite badly.


Some budget minded buyers of salvaged boats just go with an outboard, for mechanical propulsion, if the engine is toast. Not a bad option if you have safe storage for gasoline, and don't need a lot of range.


IMHO, all rigging on a salvaged wreck MUST be replaced. Keep in mind that a wire seldom parts anywhere along its visible length. It usually parts inside its end fittings, where you can't see corrosion.



For your budget, you could have a fairly decent ready to cruise mono of decent size. Just sayin. Maybe even a small cat.



I don't want to discourage you completely. I love to see crippled boats brought back to usefulness for more decades of service. But it is a big comittment with no gaurantee of success, and very likely a bottomless money pit.
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Old 19-06-2018, 13:32   #29
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

More of this type of project get started than get finished. I would look to buy someone’s failed project for pennies on the dollar from a guy who felt like you do now at one time in the past. Let’s face it: the purchase price of the project boat is the cheapest part of the job.....
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Old 19-06-2018, 13:41   #30
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Re: Thinking about a salvaged

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my option is to get my boat in the caribbean and sail it till here or ship it. First option would be made taking a friend of mine from here very capable with fiberglass repairs and a mechanic: prepare the boat and make the crossing.....ok am i dreaming? Do you think that it's something doable in short time? I know that all depends about the conditions of the vessel, but would you think that a few weeks working on hulls, engines and buying a new mast is something realistic before a crossing? Of course i am talking about doing a minimum just to make the boat ready for the crossing, no interior no cosmetic no nothing that is not strictly related to the sailing itself.
The chances of this going right are slim. The chances of it going wrong are enormous.

Consider the following scenario.

You buy the boat. You get there with your friends. You find, as you start to rip the boat apart that there is significantly more extensive damage than you had thought. It was not documented because as soon as the surveyor calculated that it was a total loss they moved onto the next boat. These are not intensive investigations, they are separating the wheat from the chaff in a huge pile of chaff from the hurricanes.

Now you try and get the materials that you need to fix the boat. Good luck with that. There's a shortage and you're competing with professional outfits. You have to wait weeks to get what you need to even begin.

You find out that some of the work is beyond the skills and expertise of you and your friends. You call around. Everyone is slammed. More weeks go by. They start work, oops they need parts and materials. More weeks go by.

This is not a worst case scenario. It's probably closer to the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that you finally realize the boat cannot be fixed with what you can afford, you sell it at a loss and you go home.

As for doing the minimum to then sail your cat back to Europe, along the northern route...ahem. Yes there is minimum and then there is minimum, but unless you've got a few ocean crossings under your belt, the idea that you could prepare a boat for it, much less one that you're patching up on the cheap for the trip, is not safe or prudent.

I highly suspect that any boat that was worth fixing up post Irma and Maria is already off the market. What's left is probably stuff you don't want to touch.
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