What is the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic of sailboats? Something cheap, reliability, and easy to fix. Cruiser only, never going more than 2 days trip from the marina.
Sabre 28
What is the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic of sailboats? Something cheap, reliability, and easy to fix. Cruiser only, never going more than 2 days trip from the marina.
I think it would actually be cheaper to get another Hunter 31 that's in very good condition vs fixing what I have. If I got a boat that had good adhesion of the barrier coat to fiberglass and the mast, compression post, and engine were good, it would be better to throw my boat away and buy that one. Once a boat of this age and value has a couple of major issues, it's not worth fixing in my opinion. I think a lot of people go down the rabbit hole of spending good money after bad....I have to make a decision based on what's best for going forward, not on what I've already lost.The question is not "how much will the repairs cost vs the value of the boat?". That almost never works out and it is irrelevant anyway. The question is "how much will it cost to get back on the water?" Will repair this boat be cheaper than getting a new, comparable boat?
Sabre 38 MkIIKD3PC - thanks! I'm looking for something bigger, 34-39 ft
Had one for 8-9 years, loved it, but when the wife saw the aft berth on the P-42...the rest is history.why don't you have one?
Good point. I do know of a buyer of a 38 foot sailboat that did have a survey stating that the engine was in good condition... and it threw a rod on it's first major cruise. His insurer did pay for most of the new engine, but not all. Unfortunate situation, but not nearly as bad as it might have been. Just another reason to get a full survey when buying any boat, at any price point. (Strictly IMHO, of course!)Here's a question : would marine insurance likely pay for a Pre-existing flaw or condition in the boat??? My sense is most of them would insure it back to the condition that it was that when you bought it. They could quite rightly argue that you bought/got what you paid for Anyone know for sure ??
Not just a full survey, but from someone good. My engine survey was very cursory, looks like he spent about 15 minutes on the boat, but charged like $300! Engine has been good so far, it runs easily for hours at a time at around 3000 rpm, no problem. I've only put about 20 hours on the engine, and it's had no issues. It actually runs a bit cool it seems to me, like 165 degrees at the thermostat housing at cruising speed (I changed the coolant and thermostat).Good point. I do know of a buyer of a 38 foot sailboat that did have a survey stating that the engine was in good condition... and it threw a rod on it's first major cruise. His insurer did pay for most of the new engine, but not all. Unfortunate situation, but not nearly as bad as it might have been. Just another reason to get a full survey when buying any boat, at any price point. (Strictly IMHO, of course!)
Loren
ps: thanks again for all of your helpful input on these forums and best wishes for you "social status upgrade" !
The previous owner added an Ullman sail he claimed was $3500 (I'm confirming w/ the sailmaker now), radar ($1000), touchscreen electronics ($2000), AIS ($500), Webasto heater ($2000), refrigerator ($1000)......not sure where his head was at on all this, all while ignoring very basic and pressing issues.Many of us have probably spent far more on our boats than they are worth on the market. It's only worthwhile when we would rather have our boat than anything else that we can afford. But it is a trap. I continuously wonder how far down this path I'm going to go.
It sounds as if you have lost all interest in this particular boat. I would agree that it isn't worth spending any more money on it in that case. It seems odd that you mention high dollar electronics and a racing sail. By all means, salvage and sell the marketable items. Your loss may be far more palatable. If you haven't spent any more money on it than the purchase price, you may be lucky. I agree, it will probably be less expensive to start anew and abandon the idea of revitalizing this boat. Next time, though, you should probably be looking at much newer models, as you seem inclined not to be very accepting of a compromise in the condition of the boat. Even at that, you will need to be wary of abuse. I'm guessing that you would need to spend a minimum of $75 K to $100 K to acquire an acceptable boat that will meet your standard, rather than the $20,000 that you risked on a project boat.