I'm looking at a C30 which has all the original sails, rigging and interior. It therefore needs, sails, furler, standing rigging and new lines....probably alot more too as its been sitting in water and not sailed for years. It has a rebuilt Atomic with 100 hours and I don't think the owner will go much lower than $5k since they want $7500. I'm pricing all the equipment and I could invest another $5 for the above mentioned and another $5k getting it clean and in great shape.
IMHO what you describe is a free boat or they pay you to take it away.
With boats it is pay now or pay later. The cheap fixer upper will ALWAYS cost more in the long run than buying the cleanest, best maintained boat you can find.. Don't ever be fooled by low prices & thinking you are getting a
deal.
I have watched far too many people pour gobs of money into a "fixer upper" and still not be "done" or have finished boat, yet they are sooo upside down in the boat, from a fair market value proposition, that it makes it a very poor buying decision, not that any boat isn't.
The idea some have that it costs less when fixing it up "pay check to pay check" is also not very sound. You still spend more over time that you would having paid a lump sum for a clean and ready to go boat. It may feel like you paid less, but only in rare occasions would you.
If a boat is rare one-off, or very small
desirable production run, a "fixer upper" can be a godd option based on necessity. To bring a
generic, dime a dozen, Catalina 30 from the 70s or 80s back to life when you can buy one already brought back to life for a fraction more than what you'd need to spend is not the best choice.
All boats need work, even boats in the top 2% of condition, so you will ALWAYS have time to putter and work on a boat, if that is what you enjoy.
Here's a prime example;
About 12 years ago a neighbor enlisted my advice when looking at two Catalina 30's. One was in top notch condition, a genuine pristine boat needing nothing but your own fresh linens. The other boat needed nearly everything and was very poorly maintained and cared for but less $$$$$. My neighbor got hung up on the $$$$ aspect and not in the REALITY aspect despite hours of discussions with me pleading to him NOT to buy that boat..
He fit the true definition of a
naive or
inexperienced buyer, he knows that now..... .Some things you simply can not teach and the naive or inexperienced buyer does not yet have the knowledge to know how to listen to sage advice..
Both boats were the same year, same model and only 8k apart in asking price with the most expensive, at that time, being about 32k asking (not selling). Fast forward three years....
A gear box (on old engine)
A re-power (this after spending 2K to repair the gear on the old engine)
New standing rigging (insurance demanded)
New Furler (furler failed first weekend out)
New running rigging (completely rotted)
New canvas (was well beyond salvageable)
New sails (old sails were worse than done)
Numerous deck core repairs (about 7.5K all insurance required)
Wiring upgrades
Batteries
Interior cushions (saturated and foam infiltrated by black mold due to deck leaks)
Wet bulkhead repair
Chainplate replaced (due to wet bulkheads)
Mast Step Repaired
Keel reset & stub repaired
Bottom job
etc. etc. etc.
By the time the boat was "close to" as good as the one for 32k, which he could have purchased for 29k, he was sooo upside down it was not even laughable.. For the "junker" he paid 24k which was only approx a 5k up front difference. Three years later he had over 60k, 35k in "fixing" into a 24k purchase price Catalina 30.
Sadly the boat was still worth 28-29k just what the one he didn't buy could have been purchased for.... For 5k more the other boat was already there.
This little escapade in penny pinching the initial purchase price cost him, at a bare minimum, $25,000.00 more........
Moral of the story, don't be penny wise pound foolish.... A little more up front, on a pristine example of the boat you want, often goes a LOOOOOOONG way and in almost every single case will cost less over the long haul...
Any Catalina 30 in the described condition HAS NOT BEEN WELL MAINTAINED. We don't even need to see the boat to know that... You will spend a LOT MORE than 5K to bring that boat into "great shape" even excluding your labor. Heck sails will cost you close to the 5k alone...... If he gives you that boat, consider it, any more than $1.00 fro a 78 C-30 is too much....
BTW I also work on two Sabre 34 MK I's one owned by a very experienced buyer who bought the most pristine one avaible, and the other owned by a less experienced buyer who bought the "project boat". The pristine model was 6.5K more, and even has Espar heat. I have done about 1.2K in work to that boat, all unnecessary
nice to have "upgrades", and nearly 13.5K in
absolutely necessary, barely keep it running, fixes to the fixer upper. By my estimation she is still about 25k away from even getting close to the level of the other one.......
Just my 2¢...
