Building a Boat or Die Trying

I was perusing Craigs list today and came upon a rather heartbreaking add. Apparently this man spent most of his life building his dream sailboat. Now that he has passed his kids are selling it for less than the cost of the hardware alone. Its sad but I also had me wondering (not that I am interested) what would it take in Money and time to really finish this boat off and put her in the water? Is it even cost effective for the average person to finish something like this?

https://desmoines.craigslist.org/boa/d/west-des-moines-38-roberts-offshore/6805888628.html

 

There is more than the asking price in winches alone. The craftsmanship looks great in the video. Would be a great deal if it was close to home.

 

If the workmanship is good, that is a deal. The engine alone...
Needs rigging, bottom paint and a trip to the water.
With the trailer, not as good a deal, but still.
If you lost your mast today, would you buy new rigging or scrap the boat and look for another one?
Just a guess off the top of my empty head, I'd say you would have yourself a new, decent bluewater sailer for a total of something like $25,000. Unless you bought the trailer too, but why do that for a 38' boat?

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

If that is the boat I think it is, run.

 

I was thinking more like $50k to finish it considering sails and rigging. Most of the rest seems to be there but there are some questionable design choices. Or buy it and part it out; you could probably make a few thousand after paying to send the hull to landfill. Really, if someone was going to build a boat from scratch, this would be a VERY cheap way of getting all the deck hardware and engine.
Very sad to see so much effort put into something that the builder never got to use. Then again, maybe he just enjoyed building so maybe he did get what he wanted out of it. I worked with a guy that built a Roberts in steel. Took him about 8 years and it was finished just before he retired. It turned out to be a very nice home build and he is actually sailing it

 

Why do you say that? 4 k? parts alone are worth at least 4 times that.
I think someone could finisher her up nicely and have a sweet lil cruiser.

 

I used to like to work on boats. Now I much prefer sailing...

dj

 

As I say, IF that is the boat I think it is, it is actually rather old and unfortunately very neglected. It was pretty much abandoned for quite some time. After quite some time, some tried to float her but the wood wouldn’t take water to swell. They even buried her hull in an attempt to swell the wood and didn’t take. Eventually moved to a other marina to sit. I’d think real hard and certainly take a close, in person look at her. Given her age and neglect, I’m not sure the shape her hardware is in.

 

Here is a pic of a/the? Boat I took in 2016. She was a beauty in her day.

 

Looks like double diagonal planking covered by glass, so there should be no problem w/swelling wood. Of course, it is possible the video is years old and she has been outside since it was shot, which would be a real shame.
Not my idea of a comfortable layout below, but from the video the only thing that really stood out was the hatches do not open fore and aft, which really made me doubt the builder's knowledge.
But truly, @ 4k you couldn't go wrong if all the gear that's in the video was actually there., IMO. I'd sure love a few of those self-tailers.

 

If you watch the video, definitely not the same boat. Very different keel, rudder and prop set-up.

dj

 

First off, the boat in the video is center cockpit. Next, no bowsprit or boomkin. I'll stop there but could go on for quite some time.

 

No the same boat- rudder, etc all different

 

When I built my Cross 35 Ketch in 1979- I spent over 35 K on stuff above the deck- masts, booms, rigging, sails. It ain't cheap

 

That is not the same boat. Look more closely!

 

But you got the color right!

 

Fine. I get it. It’s not the same boat. Let’s leave it at that.

 

Don't put a mast on her and you have a nice motorboat you can live aboard or cruise around in until you come across another amazing deal in used, but good spars. With time and your own labor, this is a pretty cheap way to get into an ocean cruiser.

Is the Des Moines River navigable to the Mississippi?

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

It is not a boat for me or for many of the posters here but it may ignite a dream for someone with skills, time and some money. Is it worth it? For that person - sure! $50,000 wouldn't be a scary number. We all know that a well built 38' blue water cruiser with a pedigree would cost several hundred thousand dollars. But never mind that. For the right person it isn't about money.

 

Major project boats, including new amateur builds, often don't end well.

Looking briefly at that vid - the investments made in $$$, my guess is the building may have satisfied the dream for the builder.

The project made little financial sense in it's day and makes less $$$ sense to finish, today.

For the $$$ investment needed alone, the used boat market is full of better built, better finished, better designed and ready to sail sailboats, in better condition(the Youtube boat is old now).

I fear it will end it's days with another dreamer,...or two, to 'finish' it.