I'm interested in knowing how some of you veterans decide when it's time to scrap a boat and when it's worth fixing up. What tips the scales for you?
We just bought a "project" Newport 27 on a really nice trailer. We pretty much bought it for the trailer, figuring we could scrap the boat if it was in bad enough shape, and at least we'd know the trailer would work for the boat we want - we can go buy one in better shape for more money if we have a way to tow it home.
The boat and trailer together were $1600 (not including the outboard motor, which we purchased separately from the boat owner). We figured the trailer's worth $1,000 at least (probably more, now that we've seen it; it's really nice) and the lead in the keel probably has at least $600 scrap value so we didn't waste a lot of time going over the boat. There were a lot of other interested parties and we didn't want to miss out on that trailer. We need a different hitch on the truck to tow it home so we haven't brought it home yet, but the boat is now ours.
The boat was purchased as a fixer by the seller's husband and put under cover, but then the husband died and she was left with this boat. It was later taken out from under cover, unfortunately, and the cabin was ankle deep in water. It doesn't look like it's been that way long; no obvious signs of rot or anything. It looks very dirty and smells a bit musty. Most of the cushions were stored indoors (ranging in condition from poor to fair but at least not nasty or unusable) along with the sails and rigging. There's a leak around the mast, the hatch is broken, and something else (I forget what) which has been letting in water. I expect all the electrical stuff is shot, which is fine since my husband is an electrician with marine experience and wants to re-wire any used boat he would buy to make sure it's safe. There's no head, and no cooking facility of any kind. The inboard motor is long gone. On the plus side, the deck and the hull appear sound and the basic structure in the cabin also appears sound.
The Newport 27 was on our short list of boats we wanted anyway, so there is that. If we scrap out the boat it will probably be to go get another one just like it to put on the trailer. If we fix it up, we'll have the boat we want. At what point does it make more sense to just take what we have (basically a hull and sails) and turn it into exactly what we're looking for, vs. going out and buying something that's a little closer to our end goal?
I'm not even sure exactly what I'm asking... just looking for some general advice from people who've been there.
We just bought a "project" Newport 27 on a really nice trailer. We pretty much bought it for the trailer, figuring we could scrap the boat if it was in bad enough shape, and at least we'd know the trailer would work for the boat we want - we can go buy one in better shape for more money if we have a way to tow it home.
The boat and trailer together were $1600 (not including the outboard motor, which we purchased separately from the boat owner). We figured the trailer's worth $1,000 at least (probably more, now that we've seen it; it's really nice) and the lead in the keel probably has at least $600 scrap value so we didn't waste a lot of time going over the boat. There were a lot of other interested parties and we didn't want to miss out on that trailer. We need a different hitch on the truck to tow it home so we haven't brought it home yet, but the boat is now ours.
The boat was purchased as a fixer by the seller's husband and put under cover, but then the husband died and she was left with this boat. It was later taken out from under cover, unfortunately, and the cabin was ankle deep in water. It doesn't look like it's been that way long; no obvious signs of rot or anything. It looks very dirty and smells a bit musty. Most of the cushions were stored indoors (ranging in condition from poor to fair but at least not nasty or unusable) along with the sails and rigging. There's a leak around the mast, the hatch is broken, and something else (I forget what) which has been letting in water. I expect all the electrical stuff is shot, which is fine since my husband is an electrician with marine experience and wants to re-wire any used boat he would buy to make sure it's safe. There's no head, and no cooking facility of any kind. The inboard motor is long gone. On the plus side, the deck and the hull appear sound and the basic structure in the cabin also appears sound.
The Newport 27 was on our short list of boats we wanted anyway, so there is that. If we scrap out the boat it will probably be to go get another one just like it to put on the trailer. If we fix it up, we'll have the boat we want. At what point does it make more sense to just take what we have (basically a hull and sails) and turn it into exactly what we're looking for, vs. going out and buying something that's a little closer to our end goal?
I'm not even sure exactly what I'm asking... just looking for some general advice from people who've been there.