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Sea Word

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2017
Messages
178
Location
USA
Vessel Name
SARAH TOO
Vessel Make
40’ beer can
Hi, thanks for letting me into the room. I'm currently looking at a steel trawler cruiser boat to buy. It's a glen L design, stretched to 34' with 3/16 sides and bottom. It's been repowered with a westerbeke 75hp, and it has a fairly spartan interior. Some nice features though, anchor winch, shower, a nice fitted trailer and it's never even been wet yet.

I'm concerned about his new hyper focus because while I love boats, this will be by far the biggest craft I'd have owned, and the first non trailerable type. I'd be borrowing money to buy this which is also stupid probably, but I'm feeling like this boat with a bit of elbow grease could be worth more than the asking price in a few years and allow us some fun doing big boy boating. I'm in Portland so there's considerable cruising opportunity on the Columbia, but our ocean here is a mighty intimidating force that I don't think I'll mess with, so Peugeot sound is out unfortunately, unless we trailer there which is totally possible too if we wanted to do a big summer trip or something next year.

So, can y'all tell me what you think a boat like this is worth? It's basically a new build, that's taken 20 years to get here. So all components are new like stuffing boxes and pumps and interior finishes. But, it's a simple home type build. I'd be sprucing it up with some paint and probably rearrange the layout a little. I'd like to connect the pilot house to the salon a little more by opening the barriers up between them a bit. I'd also be adding a nice solar system on top and a lot of fancy led lighting for fun and utility.
I also have a wacky idea that I'm the winter months I'd haul her home and set her in the yard with a deck built around her to easily access her and maybe rent her out on airBb or maybe to a college student who will bail out when summer hits.
Am I Crazy? I know. Wrong crowd to ask lol!

So what's this boat worth in real world PNW dollars?
 

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Greetings,
Welcome aboard. ANY boat is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If you're considering this vessel as ANY type of investment-HAH! good luck. How does one make $50,000 flipping a vessel? Start with $100,000.
IF, on the other hand you just want to fool around with it, save up your $$ until you can buy one outright or rent one in the meantime.
Hate to be a wet blanket but my $.02...
 
Any boat requiring a 3-axle trailer is bound to be tough.
 
Insuring homebuilts can sometimes be difficult, which makes borrowing against it also difficult.

You are at least 10K short of complete as I am not seeing radio antennae, dinghy, davits, safety equipment etc etc.

That being said, she looks like a well built boat (from afar).

Good luck, whatever your decision is.
 
Yes the trailer is almost useless for most folks around here, but, that could possibly be a benefit if I chose to sell the trailer. The boat is 11'6" wide. I'm not necessarily looking to make money in it, I'm not wise but I'm wise enough to know that's a losing battle. But I've done okay on previous boat projects as far as enjoying for a few years and then selling. I have a place to store it in the water nearby but it would be on the hook only. Or I can rent dock 10-20 minutes away for 150-200$ which isn't too bad.
I guess it would be an experiment about myself because honestly I haven't really been interested in large boats that much traditionally. But, I do have this wonderful river nearby and a gf that enjoys adventures.
In my area "tiny homes" have become quite a thing and this could present an earning possibility through the undesireable months. Its definitely thinking outside my wheelhouse in many ways.
 
dimer2 said:
Insuring homebuilts can sometimes be difficult, which makes borrowing against it also difficult.

You are at least 10K short of complete as I am not seeing radio antennae, dinghy, davits, safety equipment etc etc.

That being said, she looks like a well built boat (from afar).

Good luck, whatever your decision is.
Click to expand...

Agree. So after that 10$K and some added curb appeal as well, what would you think it would be worth? I know if it had Nordic on it that it would be one to two digits more expensive. But that's how they work I guess.
 
Hey also, how would this boat do with shore landing?
 
there are so many unanswered questions rhat any response, I would judge as predudictial (spell check help me here). First off: I'm a guy of relatively modest means I'm retired and hope to be doing the "loop" next year, albeit in backwards order. Another story, I retired as a out of the box thinker in a traditionally very conservative company as a an engineer in mfg and design of crop harvesters (combines). Reality, in the world is a bit resistant to ideas that question the status quo. Id have to conclude that though I got some or a lot of recognition, (I retired in a good position), I was probably not well served by the being the promoter of out of the box opinions. That said I admire your spirit of the possible.

At this stage, we don't know the price, or any of the personal disapointment and comes with the boat, somebody is experiencing a reality vs dreams experience.

The boat looks really pretty good without knowing a lot of pertinent details Don't let me be a doubtfull Debbie here. I love your spirit but be carefull a lot of dreamers go down in flames when practicality and reality intercede.
 
A Glen L design should be fine, IF the design parameters were adhered to regarding scantling etc.

Was it a design that was to be built in steel? Was the 'stretch' designed by someone with qualifications or by the builder, and if the latter how much was the stretch? Is the superstructure steel as well, and was it designed to be made of steel?

Have a surveyor look at the quality of construction, preferably someone who is also willing to value it. Be prepared for a shock. Home builds can have a huge range of quality of construction, but even well-built ones will be steeply discounted wrt hours spent and material cost. The surveyor's opinions would be of considerable value when negotiating with the owners, give them a copy of his report and valuation. Good luck, it might work out very well.
 
Find a welder who you can trust. Take him for a look. An experienced welder can judge just by looking around at the weld quality regarding fit, penetration and width of bead. If the builder was not a 'proper welder' I'd pass on her.
 
Reading your comments and thinking about your logic if I were you I would negotiate and buy this boat without hesitation. Stick it in your backyard and enjoy your new purchase.
 
Tough to buy a boat, especially a homebuild that has never been splashed. There will be lots of issues upon splash that will need to be dealt with. Some will be minor annoyances, some may be a big deal.

The insurance and financing will be a challenge. Insurers and financiers are wary of such projects. Before considering further, get those two lined up. They will require a survey and financing may require a big down payment.

How close it to being able to be launched and run? If close, you would want to test run it in the water before closing. If that is not an option, I would want a significant discount as you will be taking on a bunch of risk.

I have seen deals where some money was held in escrow until a satisfactory splash and test run, but that can get complicated and messy. Not a preferred path, but an option.

Boat has nice lines in the photos.

Post photos of the engine install.

Good luck!!
 
I believe this is a Ken Hankenson design for Glen L call the Union Jack. This boat appears to be some what modified. The Tranpacific Eagle 32 that we own is the Union Jack modified by Ken for Transpacific to be built in fiberglass. The Union Jack is a great design and this begs the question as to the quality of the home builder and his modifications.
 
Old deckhand said:
I believe this is a Ken Hankenson design for Glen L call the Union Jack. This boat appears to be some what modified. The Tranpacific Eagle 32 that we own is the Union Jack modified by Ken for Transpacific to be built in fiberglass. The Union Jack is a great design and this begs the question as to the quality of the home builder and his modifications.
Click to expand...

Yes it's a hakenson design and meant to be in steel. It is in the design specs that stretching to maximum 34' is allowed. The design was adopted for glass by several companies later on. A testament to mr hakenson and his work I suppose.

As far as qualified welders, well, that's me. I'm quite qualified in that regard. Partly why I've always wanted a steel boat because it can be modified and I can weld on any number of cool projects.

Financing would be from home equity so that won't require any special hoops. And insurance doesn't seem overly concerned when quoted, although progressive said they wouldn't touch anything in steel curiously.

As far as ready to splash, the owner says it's ready now. He's confident in its ability, so much so that he offered to come with me on the maiden cruise which was possibly to be for the trip home to Portland. You see, this boat is sitting in land locked Montana, and one retrieval option was to splash it in Lewiston Idaho which is the farthest inland you can go, and the closest you can boat to Montana from here. Then, 360 miles of river and 8 dams later leads right to my house. What an adventure! But, with the quotes I got for trucking it seems that it would make more sense to have it brought straight here on her trailer. It was only 700$ extra.
 
I'm holding off disclosing price in hopes that some "from the hip" guesses come in from you guys and see where it line should up with what I think it could be worth. From my eye, in this region, it wouldn't surprise me to see 100k$ sticker on it with a little fixing up and modifications/equipment.
 
My experience with home made is price is 25% of what a comparable professionally built boat would run. But..... the builder always thinks their craft is superior. Sometimes it is. Sometimes not. Because this is unfinished it won't command a high price.
 
Is the engine brand new? Or a take out? Or rebuild? Huge difference in value.
 
My personal opinion on used boats (even though this is a 'new' boat) they are worth the engine value only. Because this hull is unfinished, and is home built it makes the value worth only what someone will pay. I wonder how long that engine sat around in the garage, in the hull, who sold it as a take out? So many unknowns. But. If your convinced it's a good deal. And have some cash in reserve to complete the build and repair what will need fixing. Go for it. I seriously think you will be investing at least 10k or more in finishing, and rebuilding over purchase price.

My Rule of thumb is $1,000 per foot. Your boat qualifies because of the unknowns involved.
 
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I'd need a lot of faith in a vessel before I headed out to sea in it. That faith can come from 2 sources. Either the fact that the boat has an established manufacturer's name on it, or it has a solid history of sea time. This boat has neither.

Even an established builder, who has successfully built and launched hundreds of boats, sea trials their boats, and you're considering spending money you don't have on a home made boat that's never been launched ???

 
Only a single engine? Why two sets of controls?

Maybe a question that only the builder could answer.
 
I've seen that video lol. Not exactly a fair comparison but your point is well taken.
 
Greg S said:
Only a single engine? Why two sets of controls?

Maybe a question that only the builder could answer.
Click to expand...
The helm appears to be set up for twin. Gauges, 2keys, 2 sets of controls, one would think it's a twin engine boat, if not I'd be taking some serious pause as to what other inconsistencies are present.

To the OP please remember no one is trying to rain on your parade. We just want to make sure you make an educated decision that you can live with.
That being said, there is no way I would entertain any offer without a Sea Trial first. I don't care where the boat is, is he wants to sell, float it.
 
Looks like a fun project... for someone else. If you are that person, then go for it. It is essentially a home built boat that is unfinished. As such, you should be able to get it very cheaply to account for the risk inherent in such as project. The owner is thinking of it as a boat that he hasn't had a chance to use yet. You need to think of it as just a bunch of steel and an old engine that may, or may not, float.

One question, do you have any idea how accessible the interior of the hull is? I have never owned a steel boat, but my understanding is that you need to maintain the interior surface of the hull as well as the exterior, so you need to able to at least inspect it.
 
mbevins said:
The helm appears to be set up for twin. Gauges, 2keys, 2 sets of controls, one would think it's a twin engine boat, if not I'd be taking some serious pause as to what other inconsistencies are present.

To the OP please remember no one is trying to rain on your parade. We just want to make sure you make an educated decision that you can live with.
That being said, there is no way I would entertain any offer without a Sea Trial first. I don't care where the boat is, is he wants to sell, float it.
Click to expand...

The dual helm is there for an outboard backup motor that can reside on the swim step. So that set of controls is not hooked to anything yet. It's a single screw boat, and i like that it's set up to have a safety backup like that. He even has a new Yamaha 10hp that was intended to be used there.
 
Some of you guys put far to much faith and value on a so called "pro" build.

No shortage of crap builds and work out there done by the "pros" and no shortage of fantastic builds and quality done by those who don't have a business name.
 
Sea Word said:
I'm holding off disclosing price in hopes that some "from the hip" guesses come in from you guys and see where it line should up with what I think it could be worth. From my eye, in this region, it wouldn't surprise me to see 100k$ sticker on it with a little fixing up and modifications/equipment.
Click to expand...

I was in conversations with the seller of one two years ago. Didn't see it but looked at lots of pictures and a survey, seemed to be a nice turn-key boat. Hull had been professionally built. I don't remember all the particulars, but this one was for sale at CDN$35k. I think he sold it shortly after listing.
 
sea word said:
hi, thanks for letting me into the room. I'm currently looking at a steel trawler cruiser boat to buy. It's a glen l design, stretched to 34' with 3/16 sides and bottom. It's been repowered with a westerbeke 75hp, and it has a fairly spartan interior. Some nice features though, anchor winch, shower, a nice fitted trailer and it's never even been wet yet.

I'm concerned about his new hyper focus because while i love boats, this will be by far the biggest craft i'd have owned, and the first non trailerable type. I'd be borrowing money to buy this which is also stupid probably, but i'm feeling like this boat with a bit of elbow grease could be worth more than the asking price in a few years and allow us some fun doing big boy boating. I'm in portland so there's considerable cruising opportunity on the columbia, but our ocean here is a mighty intimidating force that i don't think i'll mess with, so peugeot sound is out unfortunately, unless we trailer there which is totally possible too if we wanted to do a big summer trip or something next year.

So, can y'all tell me what you think a boat like this is worth? It's basically a new build, that's taken 20 years to get here. So all components are new like stuffing boxes and pumps and interior finishes. But, it's a simple home type build. I'd be sprucing it up with some paint and probably rearrange the layout a little. I'd like to connect the pilot house to the salon a little more by opening the barriers up between them a bit. I'd also be adding a nice solar system on top and a lot of fancy led lighting for fun and utility.
I also have a wacky idea that i'm the winter months i'd haul her home and set her in the yard with a deck built around her to easily access her and maybe rent her out on airbb or maybe to a college student who will bail out when summer hits.
Am i crazy? I know. Wrong crowd to ask lol!

So what's this boat worth in real world pnw dollars?
Click to expand...
1496613177046.jpg
 
There was one of these on YW a few years back . I think it was a steel 31 ft Union Jack home built in Texas . From the listing the build looked nice . The interior was not complete either. I want to say the asking price was 65k .
 
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Really not enough info for even a guess. Make a list everything it has and everything it needs. If its needs outweighs its haves, there's your answer.

Did I miss the make make/hp of the engine?
 
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