Blog that shows restoration costs

night0wl · #1 (**permalink**) 01-03-2008

Hey All,

So, I'm in good position to haul home a free sailboat. A 1978 Hunter 27 which is in pretty rough shape. So, in order to figure out what I've gotten myself into, I was hoping that someone has a good blog that shows the process and particularly *COSTS* that someone took on to restore an older weekending sailboat.

On a sidenote, is it even worth trying to restore this one? Or better to scuttle it offshore Fort Lauderdale and create a new "reef" for people to enjoy

seaward25 · #2 (**permalink**) 01-03-2008

It depends on how rough it actually is. There's something to be said for all boats, of course, but a Hunter 27 isn't worth a lot of money compared to other boats.

Is it complete? Any hull delamination? Sails? Do you want something serviceable, or a "like new" restoration?

How much do you value your time?

sab30 · #3 (**permalink**) 01-03-2008

Any Photos?

night0wl · #4 (**permalink**) 01-03-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by sab30

Any Photos?

No photos...yet, I'll try and take some tomorrow or this weekend.

night0wl · #5 (**permalink**) 01-03-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by seaward25

It depends on how rough it actually is. There's something to be said for all boats, of course, but a Hunter 27 isn't worth a lot of money compared to other boats.

Is it complete? Any hull delamination? Sails? Do you want something serviceable, or a "like new" restoration?

How much do you value your time?

From what I saw, the boat is complete. Sails, rigging, engine. Although the engine does not work/has not been started in 7 months. Honestly, I'd like something thats serviceable so I can go sailing down to the Florida Keys on a good weekend/long weekend. Value of my time, well...I'd say $63/hour is what they use at work when we do NPV, IRR and Capital Budgeting for the IT projects I estimate for my users

But realistically, I want to use this boat to train on (fixing rigs, diesel work etc) for my bluewater boat I want to purchase in 20 years or so.

Northbeach · #6 (**permalink**) 01-03-2008

I have spent about $1,500 a year on average over the last four years on my 30 year old 24’ Cal. That average includes amortizing a $3,000 yard bill for the first year (hauled, bottom painted, rigging replaced, VHF installed and a few other miscellaneous items). She is in the water all the time, I own the moorage slip, but the marina fees still costs me $720 a year. I do as much of the work myself as I can. I don’t have a diesel to contend with just an 8 hp gas outboard that hangs off the stern. So in 4 years I have probably spent $10K on the boat (purchase price plus everything else).

night0wl · #7 (**permalink**) 01-03-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northbeach

I have spent about $1,500 a year on average over the last four years on my 30 year old 24’ Cal. That average includes amortizing a $3,000 yard bill for the first year (hauled, bottom painted, rigging replaced, VHF installed and a few other miscellaneous items). She is in the water all the time, I own the moorage slip, but the marina fees still costs me $720 a year. I do as much of the work myself as I can. I don’t have a diesel to contend with just an 8 hp gas outboard that hangs off the stern. So in 4 years I have probably spent $10K on the boat (purchase price plus everything else).

I have a dock on a canal behind my home, so no costs for storage. What marina fees are you including here? Just the storage during the time work is bieng done? Can you elaborate more on exactly where that $10k went in terms of cost per system or item upgraded/replaced?

NOLAsailing · #8 (**permalink**) 01-04-2008

It will cost three times as much as you think it will and take twice as long. I guarantee it.

It can be a lot of fun, though. Set aside the cost of the work, for a moment, and ask if you really want to get into the project. It can be very rewarding, but it takes a tremendous amount of time and there are occasions when you'll truly wonder why you ever got into it. Which is why you have to want to do it for the sake of improving the boat to your own standards.

In my experience, it is almost always more cost effective to buy a boat that has already had the major work done. That's just a reality - you can burn through a $1000 in no time at all. I purchased my boat in May 2007 and I've already got more than $15,000 in her - above the purchase price and I did not start off with a project boat.

It depends totally on the scope of the project, the type of sailing you intend to do, the size of the boat, and the standard to which you want to do the work.

You will probably find Tim Lackey's encyclopedic website very helpful: http://www.triton381.com/

Here's a link to where he goes over the numbers (click at your own risk): http://www.triton381.com/projects/re...ion/budget.htm. Bear in mind that he is a true craftsman, so while he gets "free" expert labor, his boat is completed to the very highest standard.

sailingdog · #9 (**permalink**) 01-04-2008

The costs are going to vary with each boat, depending on the condition and what work needs to be done. The cost will also vary with your skills. The more skilled you are, the less it will generally cost.

There are quite a few websites that show boat restoration projects, but these may or may not be applicable to your boat, depending on the differences in design, materials, construction, amount of neglect, etc.

One thing I'd point out is that you can pay far more in restoring a neglected sailboat than it would cost you to buy the same sailboat in useable/sailable condition. That is very likely the case for the "free" boat you are looking at. The cost of repairing a boat is generally far greater than the cost of getting the same make/model boat that doesn't require the repair.

If you count the cost of your labor—which you're valuing at $63/hr.—you'll find that working on the boat is a very expensive proposition. Of course, some people ignore the value of their time for whatever reason... but the tools, materials and parts are still fairly costly.

soulesailor · #10 (**permalink**) 01-04-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingdog

If you count the cost of your labor—which you're valuing at $63/hr.—you'll find that working on the boat is a very expensive proposition. Of course, some people ignore the value of their time for whatever reason... but the tools, materials and parts are still fairly costly.

This is quite true. I do not keep track of my hours spent working on my boat and recommend you do not, either. If I did keep track of my hours I would end up calculating the cost of all my projects including labor. It wouldn't be long before I just had the yard do everything because it was 'cheaper'. The next step would be me spending all my time at work and other people spending all their time working on my boat. Uggghh!