how far to go to afford a boat

[scottyt]

okay i found a boat i like that is really out of my price range... heck dinner is out of my price range.

now i think i could get the boat for 20 k, once cleaned up its worth over 60. now i have been debating selling everything i can to get some money together, maybe sell a kidney if necessary even mine.

i could sell my gun collection and assorted stuff that goes with it for around 5 grand. i have gen 2 night vision i could get around 1200 for, and not sell one of the guns i would want to keep. so i could get up about 5k. now i also have a lot of camping stuff that i could sell for about another grand.

then we get to my boat which i am sad to say is worth more in parts and scrap. heck the keel is probably worth more in scrap than i have in the boat. then we get in to the mast and stuff. figure i could get about 3 grand plus in scrap and parts.

that gets me to 9 to 10 grand if i sell everything that i dont use on a daily bases, and the wife would not care if it was sold. ( maybe sell her )

about all that would be left is some furniture, tv, computers and cloths.

but still about 10 k short, but the boat might be sold before i could sell everything. but the boat has one thing that might get it to sit waiting for me. it has not been touched in 5 years, so it would need cleaning, oil changes, probably running rigging. the running rigging i could probably reuse what i have now.

does anybody need a kidney?

[WanderingStar]

It might be hard to part out your current boat. You might get up what money you can, and offer it to the owner explaining;"It's all I've got". He can say no, or be annoyed, but you might be his only offer.

[Allanbc]

I really hate to say this but if you can't afford the cost to buy a boat, do you have the money to maintain it?

[XTR]

Originally Posted by Allanbc

I really hate to say this but if you can't afford the cost to buy a boat, do you have the money to maintain it?

That unfortunately may be the real truth in this scenario.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Allanbc

I really hate to say this but if you can't afford the cost to buy a boat, do you have the money to maintain it?

Ditto. The cost of upkeep and refit for seaworthyness, on a 20k boat that has sat for five years, can sometimes exceed the cost of the vessel over a few years..

Perhaps the OP can afford the 4-10k per year to own a boat though and is only talking about purchase price? Certainly more info is needed..

[gtod25]

returning from the Miami Boat Show. Scottyt, I'm not beating up on you but....this is a teachable moment.

Originally Posted by scottyt

now i think i could get the boat for 20 k, once cleaned up its worth over 60.

1. If "cleaning up a boat" would triple its price we would all be rich.

2. $5K gun collection??? WTF, collections are for rich people! If u need a gun buy A gun, not a collection. But they were going to "shoot" up in value, right.

3. Night vision equipment???? U spent $2-3K on electronic toys which goes out of date every 10months?

None of this is any of my business, but you did put it on a public forum. The lesson for any newbie is;

1. If you buy a project boat cheap have a minimum of the same amount available IN CASH (not in kidneys) so that it does not end up as another failed dream.

Now hopefully you wont chase me around in the dark with your NVE and shoot me with your gun collection.

Feel free to ignore this advice, after all I work in Marine retail.

[sailingdog]

I'd also point out that if you can not afford to maintain the boat, buying is a really bad idea, since you certainly can't afford to upgrade or refurbish the boat either.

[wind_magic]

Originally Posted by gtod25

2. $5K gun collection??? WTF, collections are for rich people! If u need a gun buy A gun, not a collection. But they were going to "shoot" up in value, right.

I have to jump in on scottyt's behalf on this point - around where I live guns are used as a store of value, almost like a currency, and it is extremely easy to convert them to cash. It is completely normal to hear people who are talking about money issues start talking about selling guns to raise that money, it happens all the time. I'd even go so far as to say that around here that is probably the first place that most men turn for money when they need it, selling their gun collections, or just selling single guns if it is a smaller amount. Makes sense when you think about it, if you have a family and limited amounts of extra money, why have it sitting uselessly in a bank account when you could have guns that you enjoy ? It isn't like 5k$us at 1.5% (75$us/year) is going to make anybody rich, a lot of people would rather have the pleasure of the guns.

[kaluvic]

Get someone to partner in it...especialy if you think its a money maker.
Most boats are not....but hey...this could be one that is.

[gtod25]

Originally Posted by wind_magic

I have to jump in on scottyt's behalf on this point - around where I live guns are used as a store of value, almost like a currency, and it is extremely easy to convert them to cash.

Where I originally come from the best way to convert guns to cash is to rob a bank, but maybe that's just an Irish thing.