As I am too poor to buy a boat in good shape I would like to get a “fixer=upper”. I am one hell of a talented guy and can fix most everything. If anybody knows of a "broken lady" laying around some dirty rotting yard please let me know. You never know maybe I can save her!
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It's for beer!
Dear Lyall, I hate to disappoint you, but in the 8000 miles or so that it has taken us to get here from where you are, I have yet to see a scruffy, derelict Beneteau standing on a street corner with a cup in one hand and a sign in the other that read,"Why lie? It's for beer!" Generally speaking the people who can afford to buy boats in the size range you are suggesting can also afford to maintain them. For example I just finished walking through the huge charter fleet in Martinique a short time ago, and apart from one boat that was dismasted, all of them were in respectable looking condition. I know where your coming from because I've been there myself. For what' it's worth set your sights on a smaller boat, set your budget to what you can actually afford, and get something that is seaworthy now. The cost of fixing up a beater, just in parts and materials, will appall you. The smaller seaworthy boat that has a respectable pedigree but is cosmetically rough is what you are looking for - actually that's what I bought myself , and in today's dollars it would cost about $150,000.00 Canuck bucks. Than you hope to fix it up with paint, varnish and elbow grease, sell it at a modest profit and move up. It's a lot of work, and seven years later, I still haven't sold mine! In all seriousness the best bang for the buck is a boat 15 to 20 years old that is in good mechanical shape in the 28 to 31 foot range. Boats in this size category often sell for modest amounts of money, $8,000.00 to $20,000.00 and quite frankly, are great value, especially if you want to get on the water and not spend all of your time hind end upper most in the bilge. Big old beaters can cost as much to repair as a more modest but well maintained boat can cost to buy, so Lyall I really strongly suggest you buy the boat you can afford and go from there. If you buy a well maintained used boat and maintain it well yourself you may not loose money on the sail, and if your real lucky you may make back the cost of maitenance as well, but forget fixing up old beaters as a money making proposition - if you get back more than you pay it can only be because you value your labour at zero. Good luck on your search, and don't get discouraged, it took me three years to find this boat after combing both coasts. Brian Pickton aboard the Legend Rodney Bay, St.Lucia, West Indies
Dear Lyall, I hate to disappoint you, but in the 8000 miles or so that it has taken us to get here from where you are, I have yet to see a scruffy, derelict Beneteau standing on a street corner with a cup in one hand and a sign in the other that read,"Why lie? It's for beer!" Generally speaking the people who can afford to buy boats in the size range you are suggesting can also afford to maintain them. For example I just finished walking through the huge charter fleet in Martinique a short time ago, and apart from one boat that was dismasted, all of them were in respectable looking condition. I know where your coming from because I've been there myself. For what' it's worth set your sights on a smaller boat, set your budget to what you can actually afford, and get something that is seaworthy now. The cost of fixing up a beater, just in parts and materials, will appall you. The smaller seaworthy boat that has a respectable pedigree but is cosmetically rough is what you are looking for - actually that's what I bought myself , and in today's dollars it would cost about $150,000.00 Canuck bucks. Than you hope to fix it up with paint, varnish and elbow grease, sell it at a modest profit and move up. It's a lot of work, and seven years later, I still haven't sold mine! In all seriousness the best bang for the buck is a boat 15 to 20 years old that is in good mechanical shape in the 28 to 31 foot range. Boats in this size category often sell for modest amounts of money, $8,000.00 to $20,000.00 and quite frankly, are great value, especially if you want to get on the water and not spend all of your time hind end upper most in the bilge. Big old beaters can cost as much to repair as a more modest but well maintained boat can cost to buy, so Lyall I really strongly suggest you buy the boat you can afford and go from there. If you buy a well maintained used boat and maintain it well yourself you may not loose money on the sail, and if your real lucky you may make back the cost of maitenance as well, but forget fixing up old beaters as a money making proposition - if you get back more than you pay it can only be because you value your labour at zero. Good luck on your search, and don't get discouraged, it took me three years to find this boat after combing both coasts. Brian Pickton aboard the Legend Rodney Bay, St.Lucia, West Indies
Pay me now or pay me later.....
It's amazing how much one can spend maintaining a boat and bringing one back from the dead could get really bad. We started with a new boat and it has still been expensive! It can be very easy to underestimate the cost of a project, trips to the store, trips to home to get the forgotten tool, etc. Good luck in your endeavor.
It's amazing how much one can spend maintaining a boat and bringing one back from the dead could get really bad. We started with a new boat and it has still been expensive! It can be very easy to underestimate the cost of a project, trips to the store, trips to home to get the forgotten tool, etc. Good luck in your endeavor.
found one
My new baby showed up on the hard in a friendly little spot called Singapore. Yes I missed the flight that crashed. Any way thanks for the responses I’ve done this before and this one is looking like it has all the right things wrong with it: death, foot rot you name it. Also I find that rich people tend to abandon thing so it pays to look around their playgrounds. Thanks for the responses.
My new baby showed up on the hard in a friendly little spot called Singapore. Yes I missed the flight that crashed. Any way thanks for the responses I’ve done this before and this one is looking like it has all the right things wrong with it: death, foot rot you name it. Also I find that rich people tend to abandon thing so it pays to look around their playgrounds. Thanks for the responses.
Tell us more..
Lyall, When you finally get it and it's final please tell us what you got - like all the details. Are you going to sail it back or ship it? It almost seems it might be a good idea to have some work done over there where there is cheap labor. On the last page of the most recent Pacific Yachting was an article about the cost for labor for boat builders. For steel boats, say like 80 to 150 feet, labor runs $20 to $30 (US or CN?) per day, and for a top journeyman $50 per day. If one can use a yard and get people that know how to do the work this could be very worthwhile. How did you locate the boat of interest?
Lyall, When you finally get it and it's final please tell us what you got - like all the details. Are you going to sail it back or ship it? It almost seems it might be a good idea to have some work done over there where there is cheap labor. On the last page of the most recent Pacific Yachting was an article about the cost for labor for boat builders. For steel boats, say like 80 to 150 feet, labor runs $20 to $30 (US or CN?) per day, and for a top journeyman $50 per day. If one can use a yard and get people that know how to do the work this could be very worthwhile. How did you locate the boat of interest?
Weel done
Nov.11,2000 Hey Lyall, I was just going to write to say I found a 40 footer for $7000. in Trinidad but I see you have done even better - good for you! Glad to here you missed the plane, too. Now give us all of the details you can bet there are lots of readers, me included, who want to here all about how you did it and what shape the boat is in. Congratulations, Brian Pickton @ BeneteauOwners.net aboard The Legend, Rodney Bay St.Lucia
Nov.11,2000 Hey Lyall, I was just going to write to say I found a 40 footer for $7000. in Trinidad but I see you have done even better - good for you! Glad to here you missed the plane, too. Now give us all of the details you can bet there are lots of readers, me included, who want to here all about how you did it and what shape the boat is in. Congratulations, Brian Pickton @ BeneteauOwners.net aboard The Legend, Rodney Bay St.Lucia
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