New here, new obsession, need help, mentally.

Donna said:

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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It's got a westerbeke 75 hp. That is used, everything else is new. Propane hot water and furnace, 250gal water, 350 gal fuel, fridge, nav, double pane glass throughout, cushions and berths, wet flush head, shower, various fenders and ropes, 3axle trailer, nice anchor winch setup with chain and rope.
The hull is steel but the cabin is plywood.

Not sure what maintenance needs to be done on hull interiors, that seems like it would be tricky to accomplish.

I'm with firefly on this one, it was easy to make money, in yaths, in the 80s and 90s, but not anymore. Because of the house market, and stupid 1950and 1960 generation parents,who made their kids to, academic geniuses, with no control of their hands, because daddy wants to show how great he is. So he and she, mama. Think it's better to make money on money! Than really put your hands in to it. That's what make me afloat,because my parents encouraged me to use my hands . as a contractor.

Sorry, i was not a helper, but all i can say, is if you love here, go all in. And learn to take care of here yourself, and just take the cost. It's like a marriage, you get it double back. With ?

75hp seems a bit under powered to me for her size. Survey and sea trial are a must.

Whats the difference between a $50000 boat and a $100000 boat ?




























about 5 years

cappy208 said:

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.

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Cappy208 is spot on. Welders are a unique breed. Daddy built our 40'er from steel however he was an experienced welder long before he picked up a torch to build our home/boat.

Find a welding shop. Talk to the owner and then pay in cash for him or his top guy to have a look at the boat. Then if the report is good, then go further. Until then, keep your wallet and bank financing tucked away.

P.S. - I like the looks of her and wish you much success.

P.S.2 - it does not matter one iota what was spent on parts. The owner will never recoup those costs and it's not your responsibility to make him break even. Labor is not recoverable either.

Boat for fun and pleasure with zero expectation of financial windfalls, nor even breaking even regardless of what you put into her to make her better. You'll be happier if you adapt that philosophy and I recommend same.

And don't forget, steel and wood have a great enemy... Water..

Personally, I think you're nuts for buying this boat.

First of all, what's your goal? No matter what it is, you don't finance toys. And you have an "unknown" that needs a lot of work, etc. You're not likely to "flip" it and make a dime, and you're not likely to enjoy it on the water with your financing (you won't have the money to launch it).

Overall, you could go better throwing your money in the toilet.

Don't hold Seevee, let's hear what's really on your mind. ?

Seevee said:

Personally, I think you're nuts for buying this boat.

First of all, what's your goal? No matter what it is, you don't finance toys. And you have an "unknown" that needs a lot of work, etc. You're not likely to "flip" it and make a dime, and you're not likely to enjoy it on the water with your financing (you won't have the money to launch it).

Overall, you could go better throwing your money in the toilet.

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I don't disagree but that could be said about any boat lol. I'm not trying to flip it, just pondering the possibility of enjoying it for a while and not take a beating on the resale. If that's possible, it's worth it. I mean, if the boat was 5$ would you take the risk? I realize you wouldn't finance 5$. I dunno, I feel like I could make a few bucks on it with a little paint and some changes to the cabin layout.
The owner wants 35$k for it.

Sea Word said:

The owner wants 35$k for it.

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Did you see my comment about 1k /ft. About right. That's what it's worth. [emoji41]

janice142 said:

Cappy208 is spot on. Welders are a unique breed. Daddy built our 40'er from steel however he was an experienced welder long before he picked up a torch to build our home/boat.

Find a welding shop. Talk to the owner and then pay in cash for him or his top guy to have a look at the boat. Then if the report is good, then go further. Until then, keep your wallet and bank financing tucked away.

P.S. - I like the looks of her and wish you much success.

P.S.2 - it does not matter one iota what was spent on parts. The owner will never recoup those costs and it's not your responsibility to make him break even. Labor is not recoverable either.

Boat for fun and pleasure with zero expectation of financial windfalls, nor even breaking even regardless of what you put into her to make her better. You'll be happier if you adapt that philosophy and I recommend same.

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Maybe you missed the part about my welding skills. I've been a professional welder since I was 21. I've welded life safety devices, devices that actually fly people, and devices that hang over people's heads and will kill em if my welds ever fail. So, welding is covered.

As a welder I can tell you guys that it would be almost impossible to create a hull like this without being a good welder, because the size of it means that you'd be a qualified welder by the time you were even 15% through it even if you'd never tried welding before. Mig welding ain't rocket science. So, I'm not worried about that aspect too much.

Then you put it all in Perspective. The first 15% is where? The bottom. Down low. The most inaccessible place both to trust and maintain.

After the weld. How was the hull finished? How much rust accumulated over the 20 years of build? Was it properly prepped? Coated? Sealed? Were the deck, floor beams, bulkheads affixed BEFORE the hull flanges, ribs, beams were painted or after?

From a practical standpoint. Wood and steel expand and contract at different rates. How long is the cabin/deck joint going to last? (Read some posts on TF about Taiwanese trawlers and leaky windows, decks, houses.). The 'relative' cheap cost is attractive. But I have a boat to enjoy not slave over.

I made a decision to put no more money into my purchase price than I could stomach seeing on the bottom. I can walk away from it. Can you? You are reaching into an unknown as far as longevity, durability, dependability are concerned. Sure; you may find 'the steal of a deal'. Or you may find a bottomless hole in the ocean to throw money into.

BTW. The outboard 'come home engine' is a great idea. I'm contemplating doing that to mine as well! But again.... that's incomplete as well.

Winch stand looks flimsy to me, at least what I could see in the photo.

A used 3000hr westy sounds a little sketchy, but could be ok.

Need to get to every part of the hull plating from the inside between frames. Boat builders are notorious for burying a good bit of the hull interior and that will be where corrosion does its thing. A good build will have all areas accessible so the interior can be cleaned, blasted, coated, whatever. Rust kills from the inside, not the outside. The outside is easy to deal with.

But all that said, do your due diligence and if all ok, go for it. Life is short. You can spend 35k on a stripped pickup truck.

For gods sake its a bloody boat it will float it will also do the same things a $300000 boat will do . Seem to be too much negative thinking going on here you should all make good wife's to someone .
He wants 35k offer 25k and split the difference it leaks ? weld it up and enjoy YOUR purchase .

I assume you are aware that that boat has been on sale for years, for a very attractive looking price. I think you would take a huge bath trying to resell it, and it may take a very long time.

To me, steel hull with a plywood house sounds like a worst of all worlds nightmare. You get all the epoxy system/corrosion headaches of a steel boat, without the upside of a super waterproof deck and house that has everything welded on with no penetrations to leak, and no wood cores to rot.

Lastly, I think borrowing money for a project boat sounds like a terrible Idea. I think you should pass on this one and save up for a better boat.

Snapdragon III said:

I assume you are aware that that boat has been on sale for years, for a very attractive looking price. I think you would take a huge bath trying to resell it, and it may take a very long time.

To me, steel hull with a plywood house sounds like a worst of all worlds nightmare. You get all the epoxy system/corrosion headaches of a steel boat, without the upside of a super waterproof deck and house that has everything welded on with no penetrations to leak, and no wood cores to rot.

Lastly, I think borrowing money for a project boat sounds like a terrible Idea. I think you should pass on this one and save up for a better boat.

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I feel like regrettably you are right on these. Although the deck is welded in so the joint to wood is just the house area. But, I do agree it would've been better to do the whole thing in steel. The years it's been under construction are actually going to tell somewhat of its working however, it's not like it's been indoors that whole time. Or maybe it has. I'll find out more tomorrow.
Yes I've been watching it for a long time and have been getting whittled down I suppose lol. I dunno. Will see it tomorrow and have a better impression.

I believe this boat is on Craigslist for $40K.

Lady soft said:

And don't forget, steel and wood have a great enemy... Water..

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And fiberglass gets osmosis, your point?

gaston said:

For gods sake its a bloody boat it will float it will also do the same things a $300000 boat will do . Seem to be too much negative thinking going on here you should all make good wife's to someone .
He wants 35k offer 25k and split the difference it leaks ? weld it up and enjoy YOUR purchase .

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Totally agree.

"And fiberglass gets osmosis, your point?"

And pollyestermites!

Sail de boat Mon!!! Go for it and get underway.

If the plywood deckhouse rots off in a decade or two (as most do) you can try your skills at aluminum welding.

FF said:

"And fiberglass gets osmosis, your point?"

And pollyestermites!

Sail de boat Mon!!! Go for it and get underway.

If the plywood deckhouse rots off in a decade or two (as most do) you can try your skills at aluminum welding.

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Like this? Again, I'm a stunt welder. This is an all aluminum camper I made where the roof is a boat you can take off and go boating.

RT Firefly said:

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..

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I must admit that from afar she's a salty looking trawler but there are too many unknowns to buy her, at any price, without splashing her. I'm solidly with RT's post above.

Sea Word said:

Maybe you missed the part about my welding skills. I've been a professional welder since I was 21. I've welded life safety devices, devices that actually fly people, and devices that hang over people's heads and will kill em if my welds ever fail. So, welding is covered.

As a welder I can tell you guys that it would be almost impossible to create a hull like this without being a good welder, because the size of it means that you'd be a qualified welder by the time you were even 15% through it even if you'd never tried welding before. Mig welding ain't rocket science. So, I'm not worried about that aspect too much.

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You are correct in that I missed your skill set. That puts a better spin on the project.

All the best to you, whatever your final decision may be. And yes, her lines are great. She's a head Turner.

Was I missing something as your initial photos showed two sets of throttle controls. Is it a twin or single?

janice142 said:

You are correct in that I missed your skill set. That puts a better spin on the project.

All the best to you, whatever your final decision may be. And yes, her lines are great. She's a head Turner.

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Yea, The skill set of the OP might bring the value of the purchase price up to $0.

I do not see ANY value in this project.

Jbear said:

Was I missing something as your initial photos showed two sets of throttle controls. Is it a twin or single?

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See post # 25

So to the OP- Did you get to go and put eyes on it?

Your financing this with the equity from your home?

Ski in NC said:

So to the OP- Did you get to go and put eyes on it?

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Not yet. We had weather delays and now work is getting in the way.