Free Boat; Any Downside?

[KP44]

Originally Posted by Dymaxion

What's it going to cost you while it sits there?

This is the big question. Is the boat on a trailer and you can park it on your property?
Or is it in a boatyard or a marina? Both boatyards and marinas charge a monthly rate by the foot of boat length.
Check it out.

"Flipping" boats is different than flipping houses.

[snort]

I may have missed some info on this thread, but have someone knowledgeable check everything on the boat and note what's missing and will be needed. Take pics and post here. What kind of boat is it?

[KiwiKen]

There is nothing free in this world?
Why would someone give away a boat that is perfectly saleable, especially to someone they don't know?
Reasons:
It is cheaper to give a hulk away than pay to have it disposed off.
It is uneconomic to repair and fit out, ie the value of the restored boat is significantly less than the cost of repairing and refitting it.
All boats are holes in the water into which one pours money, it is just that some don't give anything back to warrant the dollars outlaid.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by thomm225

No. You'd get rid of all that first. I carry like 2 gallons of fuel on my boat max. My holding is 3 gallons

You sail the boat offshore. Get it?

We have fuel spills regularly in Little Creek so much so that I leave the boat early. When I smell it then see it on top of the water it's time to leave.

I'm not sure which pristine place you are.

Did you ever get near an aircraft carrier. it's has 5,000-6,000 people on board plus tons of jet fuel etc and you can smell all that when near one

So let’s all just throw trash everywhere? That’s your point?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by KiwiKen

There is nothing free in this world?
Why would someone give away a boat that is perfectly saleable, especially to someone they don't know?
Reasons:
It is cheaper to give a hulk away than pay to have it disposed off.
It is uneconomic to repair and fit out, ie the value of the restored boat is significantly less than the cost of repairing and refitting it.
All boats are holes in the water into which one pours money, it is just that some don't give anything back to warrant the dollars outlaid.

Because they don't sail anymore and the boat would be hard to sell due to age or appearance which doesn't necessarily mean it's junk.

A local guy here found a Contessa 26 and a dump and resurrected it. It also had a monitor wind vane on it.

[Lepke]

Nothing is free.

[jimbunyard]

There's a lot of junk out there and there're a lot of 'diamonds in the rough'. If you're confident in your abilities and are persistent, there's no reason that you can't find a good boat for free or close to free. Of course you'll have to spend some money to get it useable, but there are plenty of options in that respect too; some people appear to think you have to outfit for "Victory at Sea" conditions, luckily for the rest of us that just isn't the case.

The problem is to figure out which is junk and which is the diamond, and for that you need a knowledgeable person, not necessarily a surveyor, but someone honest who can tell you the difference in an unsalvageable mess and something that has real potential.

If you don't know such a person, you might try getting involved with some sort of sailing organizations to get to know some people who either are knowledgeable or who know someone who is, and cultivating their friendships.

The advice given above to plan for what to do with it after it's yours and the costs involved with keeping it somewhere is every good indeed...

[thomm225]

It's much cheaper to resurrect a smaller boat than a larger one.

If it can be repowered with an outboard, and the boat itself is strong it can be done at low cost especially if you are the type that doesn't need something shiny and new looking but simply functional

This guy sailed his $4,000 Bristol 27 around Cape Horn

Bristol27.com » Bristol 27 Rounds Cape Horn

There's another guy on CF that has sailed his Bristol 27 almost completely around the world. He paid $1,000.00 for it. This guy didn't buy and engine for his but a sculling oar

I paid $2,000 for mine and it has been a great teacher in my transition from beach cat sailor to cruiser in some pretty rough weather

Many have brought back these ancient Pearson Triton 28's also. The last ones being built in 1967.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqIx2yi6YQw

[valhalla360]

It's possible but...

If you are asking the question, you probably don't have enough know-how to determine if you just bought a financial anchor or a diamond in the rough...most are financial anchors.

[ebsail]

Wotname is correct. Hardly anything more expensive than a free boat.

[SMBSF]

I can tell you from my experience getting many boats donated to our foundation that the free boats that we have sold are the very most expensive boats a buyer is likely to own. Remember that the maintenance and repairs are just as expensive on a free boat as a very nice paid for boat. The reason the boat is free is usually more deferred maintenance than the value of the boat. To make up for the deferred maintenance you will spend time and money and will be paying slip and other cost but will be unable to actually use your boat. My advice is to run away from a "Free Boat" and find a well cared for older boat that your budget allows.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by oleman

Why would someone give away something of value basically: Because it's worth nothing to the giver probably because disposing of the itemcost more than anyone will give them for. I see it all the time in other areas, such as free wood you cut down a tree and haul away the trash.

Just to go with the free wood analogy for a minute: In one of my past careers I worked with a lot of small craftsmen. I know one who made a very good living, and eventually was able to sell his business and retire, making products from free birch trees. He had a bunch of landscapers who were happy to call him when they took down a birch - it saved them the cost of disposal. I know another guy who makes us almost much as I did when I was in engineering turning bowls and other items on his lathe - and all from various free trees that he finds on Craigslist and through landscapers. He's a busy guy after a storm!

So why don't the owners of those fallen trees turn their own bowls on their own lathes and sell them? I think the answer is obvious. Similarly free boats. Not everyone has the time or skill or money to sell them. And it can take a long time to sell an old boat. It costs money to keep a boat - a constant outflow of cash and if you are not successfully selling the boat, then stopping that outflow can be considered profitable. So both buyer and seller can benefit in a situation like that.


On the other hand, and as others have pointed out, a free boat can be a terrible liability. It all depends on the boat.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by edge0302

Thank you, Thomm and Iaika for being the only two people either telling me "Make sure you check this..." or at least coming close in pointing out actual boat related things that could potentially be bigger problems than I gave them credit for.

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen a description of the boat. Without that, all most people will ever be able to give you is generalities. You might be surprised how much actual information is available here if you ask about specific boats.

[wingssail]

A major consideration which I didn't see mentioned in this thread is the responsibility you assume when you take ownership of a boat. Now caring for it, and possibly eventually disposing of it, is your responsibility.

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

If you're confident in your abilities and are persistent, [and have some financial resources] there's no reason that you can't find a good boat for free or close to free. Of course you'll have to spend some money [[I]and work/I] to get it useable, but there are plenty of options in that respect too; .

Too often a prospective boat owner looks longingly at the "free" or very cheap boat and thinks, "I can now have a boat, even though I have little money, I can fix it up cheaply" and they take on more project than they realize. The expense of owning it and fixing it up is more than they expected, and the project takes longer, and is filled with frustrations.

But they can't just walk away (although, sadly, some do) and the ongoing expenses continue to mount up.

But getting rid of your partially completed project boat is harder than it was for the previous owner when it was just a run-down original.

In Mexico, every year, boats arrive which were purchased on the cheap and sailed here on a lark. Then the new owner tires of the expense and work, and since they have little invested, they just drop the anchor and go home, leaving the boat. That is irresponsible and it becomes a burden on the community and a danger to the environment.

Be sure you will not become one of these irresponsible owners.

[mpfetsch]

Free boat?
As many have pointed out, nothing is free.
Speaking as one who has made the calculation to give away a boat, and did. And used that same process to acquire a newer boat, perhaps I can offer some observations.

Set up, on your spreadsheet, a calculation of what tasks are necessary to bring the boat to serviceable condition. This includes the tasks that you can see, and even more important, the ones you may not know about.

You need an objective survey. Not what you want to hear, I know, but there are just too many areas of uncertainty to ignore. This will provide you a list of projects to be prioritized, same of which may be a condition of insurability. Cost each one.

Next, enter each variable cost. Marina direct costs, marinas will require insurance. Seasonal costs if you use a boatyard, haulouts, your labor and material cost if you do your own. Cost each one.

Once you have learned to set this up, you are now in a position to evaluate this "free" boat compared to others that have higher present values, but may be better deals.

Good luck!