Boat Possibly Declared a Total Loss 1987 Hunter 31

[seattle-hunter-31]

I've had my boat hauled out to deal with deck delamination at the mast step, but a much bigger issue has come up. The yard was doing a check of my mast, and they found buckling in the mast around the spreaders. They strongly recommend the mast be replaced.

Based on the cost of a new mast, the boat is a total loss. Between the mast, the need to strip all paint, and the cost to repair the deck, this cost is far more than what the boat is worth.

I'm working with insurance now, but if that falls through, what are my options? I'd prefer someone haul the boat away from the boatyard. There is some decent equipment I could possibly pull off, not sure what the norm is for selling a salvage boat. The boatyard said there are salvage auctions that I could use.

Extremely disappointing, bought this through a broker less than 3 months ago....

 

[Jackdaw]

Ouch.

The sad reality is that for 30-year-old boats like this, a lot of them are one major system failure away from a total write off. It's the same thing with cars of that vintage. My son was looking at a Porsche 944 turbo. That ever needs a new motor the whole thing is gone. Just because the boats cheap doesn't mean the replacement parts are too.

 

[Maine Sail]

Extremely disappointing, bought this through a broker less than 3 months ago....

What did the survey show? Did he/she conduct a rig survey?

 

[GGordonWoody]

Extremely disappointing, bought this through a broker less than 3 months ago....

Dreadful sorry. Any recourse via surveyor? Surveyor's insurance? There must be good-enough spars from a broken boat somewhere. Maybe find one with a broken keel or something. I had a perfectly good 2001 Volvo V40. Burned a valve last year. No viable options. Junked it. I hate junking stuff, I get too emotionally attached. I'm never parting with Betty Nuggs.

 

[seattle-hunter-31]

I can't blame the mast issue on anyone I've dealt with. I did not pay anyone to climb the mast, and as I understand that's not something a survey typically includes. If I've learned anything here, it's that I should pay someone to climb a mast to specifically inspect the mast before purchasing. Hopefully someone else will learn from my mistake.

Really this is on whoever did this repair in the first place. They never should've repaired the thing. It's my thought that once you get a crack in a weld at a spreader, the whole thing needs to be replaced. Obvious it's held up, but I don't trust it now that I've seen that buckling and the weld repair. No telling when it will give way.

This boatyard I'm at now says no boatyard would've repaired my spreader like this, and they suggested it was possibly a homemade repair.

If insurance doesn't work out, I'm most likely going to send this to a salvage yard for auction, if that's possible. I don't see a feasible way to part out the boat since I have nowhere to keep it. The most valuable thing is the running Yanmar 2GM20F, but I have no clue how to sell it.

 

[Mark Maulden]

Call Andy at NW Rigging in Anacortes.

 

[MitchM]

1. your yan mar is worth something -- if you know the hours, post with a few pics on some of the marine consignment sites. someone can remove that engine if s/he knows what they're doing. you will get more $$$ for the engine. then salvage it..
2. this is a sad story . did seller or broker make any representations about seaworthiness?

 

[seattle-hunter-31]

Mark - thanks for the tip, I'll do that if insurance falls thru

Mitch - can you recommend a consignment site? http://www.marinesalvagesale.com/

The broker made no representations, I believe they sell "as is" and put it 100% on the buyer. It's kind of worthless to go thru a broker if it's as is and you end up with junk anyway, I might as well buy on craigslist...

 

[pipedream]

Try sourcing a similar stick at Sailboat wrecking yard.

Good luck

 

[thinwater]

Tough. Yes, climbing the mast is part of a proper survey.

A. Get a second opinion on the mast. Just sayin'.

B. Sometimes used masts are available. Like cars, boats get totaled for many reasons.

C. The deck may not be that hard to fix, Google it or search here. If the boat might be totaled anyway, it's not like the gelcoat needs to be perfect.

Now you know why there are so many DIY sailors. It's about the only way an old boat makes sense.

 

[shemandr]

That sucks.
I agree about a second opinion. I had a mast welded once in the spreader area. It was an acceptable outcome. Just
'cause the yard guys didn't like the repair doesn't always mean it's unsafe. Maybe they are looking for work for the yard.
Your keel metal is worth decent money to a metal salvager. There is the hardware: winches, blocks, stoppers, anchor & rode, sails, propeller, cushions and electronics. Walk around a consignment shop and see the kinds of things for sale. Bimini's, dodgers, binnacles, wheels, speakers, almost anything that can be removed from the boat. If you can't or don't want to find buyers a salvager will. But you should make an inventory and check prices on auction sites to negotiate a better price.
It's a shame.

 

[jssailem]

Sorry to read about this. Had hoped you were finding the answers to your boat. Gut punched.

Columbia Marine Exchange in Portland does a great consignment business and cover a broad area. There is also an active consignment shop in BC on Vancouver Island. Have an active website.

I'd look for a second opinion on the mast, but you have an engineering background and untrustworthy rigs never work out.

Best of luck.

 

[DayDreamer41]

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate situation, I did do a brief search and there are many many 30'+ mast extrusions out there, some with spreaders some without and many for less than $1000. I would be looking at purchasing an extrusion the right length and mounting it, as long as its close it should be fine.

 

[Gunni]

You seem too eager to quit on this boat. What will it cost you to walk away? A 30 year old boat was always going to cost you money, either up front for a pristine boat, or after sale for surveyed repairs. Talk to riggers not boatyard wags. And remember you bought an old boat - get used to things not being perfect.

This situation is exactly why most buyers should have a buyers broker. I would not have let you buy a 30 year old boat without a rig survey, engine inspection or hull inspection.

 

[pateco]

Don't give up. If the weld's no good, get it rewelded. if its really warped, patch in a section from another stick. It doesn't have to be perfect. it just needs to be safe, and work.

 

[Alan Gomes]

I do think that the advice you are getting to have a reputable rigger look it over is very good. I would not take what your boat yard says as gospel. You have nothing to lose by getting a second opinion from a specialist. Correcting this may not be as bad as you think. Again, nothing to lose by checking into it.

 

[kito]

I know it sucks but I wouldn't be in such a hurry to just trash the boat. You should be able to find a used mast and maybe try to do any deck repairs yourself. If we trashed all the older boats that the repairs are more than the boats worth then most of us would have a different hobby. Lets' say you paid 10k for this boat. Wouldn't you be way better off fixing it for maybe 2k rather than spending another 10k on another boat? I have seen used masts on Ebay all the time for under 1k. It is a shame that you didn't pay the true value for your boat since the seller didn't disclose the mast issue. Maybe get in touch with him.

 

[markwbird]

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?

 

[GGordonWoody]

Will repair this boat be cheaper than getting a new, comparable boat?

Indeed! Plus ha!, another $urvey, another launch, negotiations, haul out, re-launch - there might be your mast. If it would work with all my existing stays, I'd go for a deck-stepped $1k spar, then hope for some insurance money to cover the shipping, stepping, rigging, etc. Just don't throw the baby out with the bath water, unless of course, its an ugly baby.

 

[seattle-hunter-31]

I talked with multiple riggers, and they said the cost to fix would likely rival the cost of a new mast. They said the repair would likely involve adding a sleeve and welding, and that would be spendy. I'll spend some time looking for a used mast, but I'm not sure how to shop for one. I'll likely talk to a rigger to see about my options for new/used mast.

I think these boatyards take the conservative approach, because if they said a mast was ok and then it failed in heavy winds and somebody died or was seriously injured, that would be bad for everyone. They're giving their strong warning that they believe the mast is unsafe and I'm taking full responsibility if I don't replace it. They said masts are regularly replaced due to cracks or grooves. The boatyard has refused to work on the mast due to the condition.

If insurance really falls thru, I'm looking at a few options:

1. Don't fix the mast or deck, and have the boatyard reinstall and seal up everything and launch the boat without any repair. With this approach, I might be ok if I limit sailing to light winds. My deck isn't really crushed (really only wet wood and delamination at the step), so it's possible that I could just dry it out and leave it as is (boatyard said this could work). The boat would become a daysailer for the nice days, and it would be a powerboat and live at the dock the rest of the time. I'd never take it far from the marina. The mast repair has been there for years without an issue so far, and it's possible it could go more years with no issue, so long as the boat isn't pushed. This is risky, as that spreader could fail, and there's no way to know when. I'm pretty skeptical on this approach since the yard was pretty firm on the poor condition of the mast.

2. Toss the mast, seal up the hole, and live on the boat as a powerboat. Never use it as a sailboat again. Basically, a floating condo for liveaboard use only. This is pretty lame since the living space is tiny, and it's not really cheap v a micro apt of the same size. The only perk of a sailboat to me is actually sailing....I'm not too interested in this option. Perhaps I could sell it for a cheap amount, somebody out there might be interested in simply having a boat to live on without actually going out.

3. Sell to a scrapyard. Possibly strip off what I can. This is looking like what I'll most likely do at this point.

Here are repair costs I'm looking at now (my boat is worth about $20k):

- Mast Replacement: $15k-$20k
- Deck repair (per boatyard estimate): $6k
- Paint stripping: $5k

I'll take this as a learning opportunity. This was my first boat, and I'm not sure I'll want to do this again. I'll definitely spend some years doing research before I purchase again, if I do. I think the Hunter 31 has some unique issues with the rigging that make this boat a challenge (and costly to fix), so I'd like to get something that's more like the Toyota Corolla of sailboats with a simple setup and easy/cheap fixes for issues that come up. I'll definitely wait to get an excellent surveyor, and I'll be sure to pay a rigger to climb the mast to inspect everything.

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.