Beneteau rebuild turning into a nightmare

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by Rob_P

I hope they succeed. It shows that they can do what they set out to do with documentation to support their claims. More people should make more effort to put something like that on a resume and see where it gets them in life.

Thanks Rob for the positive framing. I too wish them luck - with a twinge of envy that I did not try something like that when I was their age!

[tsenator]

Originally Posted by FlightPlan

I found the 45 minute video on fiberglass work very informative. The guy doing the work was like a professor of fiberglass. He went through the various mats and resins and their recommended purposes and strengths. Most note worthy was how he used scraps and old tools and such and not making a messy job of it.

FlightPlan - Do you have a link to that video ? Would love to watch and research what he did with old tools and how he kept it from being real messy.

[loneshark64]

Originally Posted by Midwesterner

I just started watching their videos. Apparently they bid on a boat, sight unseen, that they knew had suffered keel damage when it was run aground. The broker LED them to believe that there were two other bidders bidding against them, presumably all three of them bidding on a boat that hadn't even been surveyed. I wonder if that broker was playing them.

I am considering a Beneteau for my next boat and the Evans channel initially scared the crap out of me. I learned a lot I didn’t know from these videos even though I’m not crazy about the style of them. There are a lot of Benes that have been hard grounded and this kind of damage is not unheard of. My own experience with surveys is they don’t / can’t find everything especially if it has been well hidden.

But after considering, I am still looking at a Beneteau. My current O’day has basically the same liner/hull construction and there are good things about it. And knock on wood I have never grounded a keelboat. You get a lot for your money with a Beneteau and so I am still going that way and thanks to these young people I know a LOT more than I did.

I bet they get it back in the water. I think there is a lot of risk that this boat will never be right though. They need a structural engineer deeply involved and I have not seen that yet. Also I’m not convinced that even if they do get it fixed that this was a good financial deal at all. They payed $68K and have a year of costly work and living expenses. They are documenting everything that is wrong with it and if I am the future buyer of this boat I would watch these videos and seriously balk. There is no way they double their money on this boat. And there is a real risk that they can’t fix it.

If it was me I would have bought a smaller boat that was ready to go for $100K.

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by tsenator

I think the answer is "They got the boat really cheap" . Don't know ~exactly~ how cheap, but I have the impression that they got the boat for pennies on the dollar.


So I guess the logic goes that if you purchase a boat thats worth $200k in good shape for $30k and invest $70k to "make it right" then you come out way ahead . Though the big issue is it worth the time and aggravation and hard work ? I don't know ? I think the mental stress over months and months trying to fix something this big would be mentally and emotionally exhausting .


But hey, they are young . It will be a hell of an accomplishment if/when they get it done right and they get it back in the water and sailing around the world .



Just MHO .

I’m yet to meet anyone that’s made money buying and refitting a big blue water cruiser (or cat)... by the time you add in labour, yard fees, unexpected costs, materials, plus your own time (often doing things three times, as you’re learning as you go), the equation just doesn’t work.

In saying that, if you’re doing the project to build a blue water boat and head off sailing for a few years, well then as long as you don’t lose your ass financially (ie. paying double to rebuild what a similar boat would be worth) or lose your brain with the absolute mind f*ck that is a boat refit, then you’re onto a winner.

Now they’ve started this they have to finish it (or at least get the boat able to sail) as projects never return even half the time and money you put into them. I’m not a fan of the vids so won’t be watching, but having done a very similar project myself I really do wish them all the best😁

Nathan

[tsenator]

Nathan, Yes I did not imply to do something like this to sell the boat for a profit and make money. But rather at the end of the day they will have a lot of boat for the money they do expend.



Hope it all works out for them. As others have mentioned I LOVE when I see younger, competent enthusiastic younger sailors get out on the water and "do it" . I hate to think that when I go out sailing and cruising all I will ever see are old curmudgeons out there.



We should all encourage younger sailors (just as long as they are not totally irresponsible and flippant about the seriousness of going out on the water) .

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by tsenator

Hope it all works out for them. As others have mentioned I LOVE when I see younger, competent enthusiastic younger sailors get out on the water and "do it". I hate to think that when I go out sailing and cruising all I will ever see are old curmudgeons out there.

We should all encourage younger sailors (just as long as they are not totally irresponsible and flippant about the seriousness of going out on the water) .

Well said! It’s refreshing to meet fellow younger sailors out there also exploring and enjoying life, rather than following the grind because that’s what a lot of society feels is the norm.

N

[smacksman]

As I understand it from their video, the hull had a sump which located in a 'dimple' in the iron keel. This stopped them cutting through the mastic fully and it tore the bottom of the hull when the keel dropped. In retrospect they would have been better to cut through the sump and mould in a new one later. But hindsight is wonderful.
I'm a bit saddened by the vitriol of some of the posts in this thread especially when some of the criticisms would have been addressed had the posters spent time studying all their videos. As a side issue, all my 80+ videos on YouTube nett me $(low double figures) per month from Google Adsense advertisments so hardly pays for my sailing!

[ohdrinkboy]

Originally Posted by smacksman

As a side issue, all my 80+ videos on YouTube nett me $(low double figures) per month from Google Adsense advertisments so hardly pays for my sailing!

You probably don't look that great in a bikini

[jfyiii]

I’m a 65 year old boatless (except for a 14’ catboat) sailor who bought& repaired a custom Bruce Roberts 38’ gaff cutter Spray 30 years ago. Sailed her for 19 years.

I really wish I had tackled something like this in my 20’s. I would have had a set of usable skills early and a boat that would have changed my life.

They may have made mistakes. They are young, that’s how young people learn. I suggest that anyone with skills they could use, not just opinions, reach out and advise them. That is also how young people learn.

Shame on the curmudgeons. You were young and inexperienced once too.

Cheers
John y.

[jeepers]

I also have been watching from the beginning. They were aware the boat was leaking when they were motoring (overnight) to the yard. They rationalized that, for what it meant. They expected, but were hoping the grid wasn't damaged into the galley. But it is. In fact approximately 60% of the grid has been delaminated, unbonded from the hull. I was very alarmed when I saw them grinding in the boat. (Actually hard to see them in the cloud of dust) They were definitely in the threshold of a dust explosion. Happens very often in auto body shops etc etc (Lots of info on the net..) I sent an informative message with links. Anyone that has seen them grinding recently. They obviously heeded my caution.
It looks like the boat was either fixed twice or some areas of the grid were not originally bonded from the factory,
I suggested as many have here. That they really need "someone" regularly involved in all aspects of this job. I just hope they didn't discard the large squares of fiberglass between the grid frames they cut out. That is molded & needs to go back. Those spaces are too large for just a couple of layers of cloth. The hull alone is not thick enough for the spans involved. I hope the keel goes back flush in the recess with no gaps or that the hull becomes unduly stressed when bolted up. This is a complex job with many potential pitfalls or trips. I hope they succeed.

[pa391as]

Originally Posted by theoldwizard1

All I can say is, I hope they got it cheap !

They paid $99,000 through a salvage auction and beat out 5 other bidders. The yacht has a salvage title....

[pa391as]

Originally Posted by tsenator

I think the answer is "They got the boat really cheap" . Don't know ~exactly~ how cheap, but I have the impression that they got the boat for pennies on the dollar.


So I guess the logic goes that if you purchase a boat thats worth $200k in good shape for $30k and invest $70k to "make it right" then you come out way ahead . Though the big issue is it worth the time and aggravation and hard work ? I don't know ? I think the mental stress over months and months trying to fix something this big would be mentally and emotionally exhausting .


But hey, they are young . It will be a hell of an accomplishment if/when they get it done right and they get it back in the water and sailing around the world .



Just MHO .

according to the salvage auction co the winning bid was $99,000

[malbert73]

I’m halfway into their videos and admire them. In truth, this is probably less risk than most of the really old boat refits where just about everything needs to be replaced and rebuilt including cored decks and all systems. So, yes there is risk structurally they can’t pull it off, but it will probably take less time than other multi year rebuild projects you see on boats that are supposedly more structurally sound but where the rebuild drags on and on and costs a lot. For example Atticus.

And, as they said in their videos, they both are pretty much out of work during the pandemic, he as a pilot. So their labor really is free and there really aren’t much material costs involved here compared to a usual refit where costly marine parts need to be bought. They will come out ahead if they stick with it- it’s just hours of grinding and glasswork

[malbert73]

for 99K I would have bought a different boat (like a sistership to mine). But B49s seem to list 249-350K on YachtWorld so reasonable to think they could recoup costs if not labor

[Wixlandia]

Originally Posted by coopec43

These two are absolute bottom feeders.

I haven't seen any requests for donations from them, actually.

Even if they did have a patreon on their channel, I have always felt that such arrangements are a voluntary payment by the viewer, for the content and entertainment of the videos - which are time and money consuming to produce. It's not begging for lifestyle funding. Doesn't seem any more bottom feeding than paying for a video or movie or streaming service?

I think it's great they're having a go at such a major project, but I do hope that the damage is not more extensive, and that their repair is structurally sound and doesn't leave them sans-keel at an inopportune time.