[TSOJOURNER]

I found out recently that when my father passed away he left behind a boat that no one knew about. Here is what I know about the boat:
- It has been in the water of Port Isabel, TX bay since at least 1997 without any upkeep.
- It is a 28' 1979 Buccaneer
- It has been "stripped" according to another boat owner in the marina. From the pictures I have received I take that to mean the sails are gone? I have been told that the outboard motor was stolen at some point.

I am 800 miles away and cannot get down to see the boat for myself or find anyone to speak to that is knowledgeable of boats in the next few weeks. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what my next steps are (keep it or sell it)

Here are my questions:
- Is there any way to guesstimate what it might cost to get the boat back to working order? If not, who might I go to locally to ask to look at the boat and what questions should I be asking?
- How much would a trailer cost to transport a 28' boat?
- Is there more to it than just getting a vehicle, trailer and someone that knows what they are doing to get it out of the water?

I do have a few pictures of the boat but I cannot get the files to upload.
If more information is needed to answer anything I'll do my very best to find out. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

[capttb]

Is there any way to guesstimate what it might cost to get the boat back to working order? If not, who might I go to locally to ask to look at the boat and what questions should I be asking?
- How much would a trailer cost to transport a 28' boat?

Pretty safe to guess both these will be more than the boat is worth, I think stripped means anything of value is gone, sorry but no upkeep for 12 years is incredible. I don't understand why the marina(?) let it sit there taking up dockspace more than a couple months without payment of fees.

 

[tager]

Your best bet is to sell it on ebay.

 

[freddyray]

imo there are too many sea ready boats out there at bargain prices to invest money in this one. It was left to you so you essentially have nothing in it. If it is stripped then it is just a hull I assume with no trailer. donate it to a charity and take a tax write off.

 

[dkirtley]

If it is in marina that was Anchor Marina, I had a slip next to it a couple years ago. It was still floating and still had the mast pointing up. Other than that it was really rough. If you wanted a sailboat, you could buy one ready to sail much cheaper than getting that one refitted.

 

[Faster]

Any boat that's been neglected for that long would be a questionable prospect... unfortunately this situation is compounded by the fact that it's not a very good boat in any respect, regardless of condition.

I'd dispose of it without further investment... hopefully you're not "on the hook" for outstanding moorage fees!

 

[JohnRPollard]

One of the first things I'd want to know is whether the marina has a lien on the boat for storage or repairs. I would not accept ownership of the vessel until I knew the answer, because the lien could easily exceed the value of the boat many fold. If that is the case, the marina "owns it" and it becomes their issue to deal with.

Beyond that -- the advice posted by others above is pretty sound.