So what would 20 on the hard do to a boat?

So what would 20 years on the hard do to a boat? I can't imagine leaving something sitting for that long. Such a nice boat to start, but what kind of shape would it be in now?

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1980/hatteras-long-range-cruiser-3543283/?refSource=standard listing

The inside of boat had been damp and cooking for many years. Mold rot. Have you completed a major refit or know what that entails? No way at 50k imo.

Since it was pulled for a hurricane, doubt if anything was laid up for proper storage. 20 YO DD lube oil sludge! Yikes! The UV on the same side will turn stuff to dust. I would still go look though if that was what I was looking for. Some rot lol

Think about your car left in the sun and fun for 20 years.

In AZ they call that toast.
Plastic, fabric, wood and paint would all be over hard cooked.

Then there is the rest of the boat.

Glad the listing states …………..
"She was well cared for by her owners who due to a heavy work load have decided to part with their baby.
The reduced asking price is due to the systems not having been run recently."

I would hate to think of the condition if this vessel was neglected.

Wonder what 13 hundred gallons of 20 year old diesel is like?

You'd have to get the boat at zero cost, and even that would be debatable.

Oh my, where would you start. First it is in the Bahamas so all the parts would have to be sourced from outside the Bahamas and the shipping and duties will add up besides the frustration of waiting on them. Does Amazon Prime go there??? Then the stated mold. A little bit of mold a DIYer can deal with but if they are stating it up front it must be pretty bad so a professional would probably need to deal with it so the boat will be livable afterwards and you would live through the ordeal, and BTW it is in the Bahamas. The engines would probably be one of the easier things since they are Detroits parts are cheap and rebuilds are fairly easy. How about the wiring after 20 years, I have not looked at the old Hats to see if the wire was tinned or not. Then the exterior is toast. No amount of compounding will buff that out, it will need painting. We just painted our 41 last year and it was a never ending job to prep the boat. And oh BTW the boat is in the Bahamas. I would expect that by the time you have this boat in bristol shape if you did all the work yourself it would cost 80 to 100K in materials. There is one that looks to be in decent shape for sale now for $150K. I would rather buy that one and go cruising than work my ass off for years and still spend $150K on this boat. And I love working on boats...

Maybe as an exercise in minimalism. Minimal offer, minimal rehab with health and safety as priorities.

It is a good example of a boat as a plastic tub full of chemicals and microbes, out to get you. Approach with a strong sense of self-preservation.

Sad as an example of lost hopes and dreams. She coulda, shoulda, woulda had such a fine life. Endless needs, suck you in and drag you down.

I'd do it but I can't find my checkbook right now.

I would need to see this one. I am not familiar with the current values of these boats. I am quite confident that I could get a dd453 up in running quickly. Even if I needed parts one plane charter should do the job. Can’t see me needing more than $10,000 to have the engines good enough to motor to,Florida.

Now the mold statement got my attention and that is what I really need to see.

It's a shame.


Can't see enough of the engine room to guess at the condition, but what I can see is concerning. 20 years of deferred maintenance is a lot to make up.

The pix don't look like a boat left 20 years in the sun without attention. But the rust stain coming out from under the flybridge seating says otherwise. Likewise that little run-about/dinghy. Maybe some combination of covers or something.

20 years of neglect and then however many years of neglect that came before that. Those engine room pix look like someone had been half-assing the setup for more than a little while.

I can't imagine leaving something like that on the hard that long, paying all the while.

I appreciate the fact that the broker was upfront and forthright with the background of the boat! Right in the beginning of the description and to the point. Kudos to him.

Bradford normally deals in high end boats like over $250K. Why they are listing this one is a head scratcher.

It doesn't look impossible to me, but it would take the right person with the right skills to make it work. I would first assess the mold situation- maybe it can be cleaned up with a few days of elbow grease.

Then figure on someone putting in cylinder kits for you in both engines, maybe $10,000 even in the Bahamas. Then with propulsion ok and the boat habitable you could bring it back to the states. If you don't then I am pretty sure that all parts will be subject to Bahamian duties which are big. But you could launch it and live aboard while you dealt with everything else. That might not be a bad deal for someone- live in paradise while your rebuild your toy. To make this work, your really need to do most of the stuff yourself, otherwise labor will kill the deal.

First assume that every piece of electrical and electronics equipment is shot. That will probably take $20,000 in parts to fix and another $10,000 in Bahamian duties if done there. Replacement is much, much easier than new and I would believe that existing DC wiring would work ok, but interface cable such as chartplotter to the radar dome would have to be replaced.

There probably are a couple of dozen things to replace from bilge pumps to chartplotters, but I will bet a competent shade tree guy could do it in a month.

I would leave the gensets alone until I got back to the states. Maybe they can be made operational easily, maybe no.

Then you have a semi-functional boat but not a pretty one. Painting the topsides makes sense and that will cost maybe $10,000 if no fiberglass repair is involved. Probably needs new upholstery throughout, maybe $10,000 and a new bimini- $3,000.


So the foregoing adds up to about $60,000 plus a month or so of your own labor. Afterwards you have a $100,000+ boat.

I agree that the boat as it sits is almost worthless. But if I wanted to hang out in paradise for a month or two while I installed new electrical systems I might take it on. But ten years ago, not today.

David

djmarchand said:

Then figure on someone putting in cylinder kits for you in both engines, maybe $10,000 even in the Bahamas.

Click to expand...

I would try to get the detroits running prior to rebuilding them. As long as the cylinders and rings can provide adequate compression to run, they couldn't possibly burn enough oil to outpace what they leak.

Talk of working on the engines and then running it to the US or living aboard but there is mold aboard. I would not run it or live aboard or even work on the engines until the mold had been professionally removed. That alone could be 10K+ depending on where and how much there is. For the broker to mention it there must be a bunch. You won’t be able to paint the boat for 10K unless you do it all yourself and even the materials could cost more than that depending on what paint you choose.

Greetings,
To add to what Mr. C posted above, all soft goods (bedding, carpets, head liners etc.) would have to be replaced as well. Mould spores are notoriously difficult if not impossible to kill. So, $10K++.

Do not open the fridge. It is tied closed for a reason. The thing inside is really hungry.

Clearly all systems need upgrading, from galley and electronics to heads to batteries to frozen seacocks. Ballpark it at 1 year and 20K, not counting storage or transportation costs.
Exterior needs prep and painting. Another 10K. Dispose of 1250 gallons of diesel, 5K?
Mold remediation, UNK. Engine and transmission overhaul, UNK. I could easily see this hitting 50K and 2 years. Once finished you have a boat that you have 100% confidence in.

Rings may be rusted to cylinder walls. I would soak the cylinders before barring engine over. If it turns over, time for a new battery and push the start button. If engine runs and you have fresh fuel, next concern is seals. Likely that rudder seals and shaft seals need replacement. (along with all rubber hoses)

Every boat has a price in time and money. If you would enjoy spending 2 years under the boat in 90+ weather sanding FB, or inside turning wrenches and snaking wires through impossible spots, then this boat is calling you. At a selling price of 20-30K and a budget of 50K it might be worth considering as a DIY project.

I guess at the end of the day not an easy restoration and likely a great boat will continue to molder away. Strange to think it has been sitting in a yard longer than it was on the water.

For the right skilled person, with a covered shed, this would be a fun project. The question as raised earlier, will it be able to run from the current location to the new owner's rebuild site?

Where is as - is scary though, it could sink upon launching. For many, life is too short to take this one on. All in cost could easily exceed the cost of a very nice similar year Hatteras.

There is a boat in my marina (Lake Michigan, fresh water) which sank offshore and was quickly retrieved (like about 3 days). The only part that was not ruined was basically the hull. The engines were quickly pickled and are sound. Everything that was soft was ruined. (carpet, headliners, drapes, cushions, mattresses, etc). Everything that used electricity was garbage. (wires, switches, lights, gauges, alternators, radios, radar, etc). Every hidden area grew mold, either right away or after the first winter of storage.

I would think that 20 years on the hard would be about the same as a week under water. Maybe take it for free but not pay much more than that.

pete

^^^^ Scenarios are similar in there is damage.

Except -
Sitting on the hard for 20 years is neglect. It was ignored.

A sinking may be neglect as well or may be an accident. (with possible insurance coverage for that event) And at least some one did something after a few days to stop the current condition of a vessel being sunk.

And yes the end result is similar. In my unprofessional opinion both vessels have little value.

I don't agree.


The wiring in the 20 year on the hard boat is still the same as a similar boat worth $150,000. The engines are definitely better assuming they were good when stored- no salt water left inside. The soft stuff may be the same but maybe not. All electronics and electrics on boat boats are toast. I would pay $20,000 more for the boat on the hard, zero for the sunk one.


David

The key to me would be water leaks . GRP and tin boats still have lots of internal wood , and a leak might cause enough wood rot to become a major task.

The question remains, do you want to spend lots of money and time bringing the boat all the way back up to the level you want or do you want to go cruising with a boat that is in far better starting shape?

The mold? You can employ a firm that will eliminate the mold. Once this is taken care of you, ideally, will never have to worry about it again.

I would seriously doubt the pix shown are recent ones.
NO WAY IMHO

Who was the TF member who restored the 36 Gulfstar? Boat called Monkeys tail or something like that. He had mad skills and did an incredible amount of work in a short time. Him and his wife would be the perfect owners of this boat...

You guys are being generous I believe. I see easily $50K to bring her to a good cruising condition. Those engines and stabilizers would scare me a little. I can deal with mold. I would be extra concerned about the rust running down the rear of her and those black bowls on her Racors.

Whilst noting all previous posts, one still needs to remember that all of our boats, unless stored under cover, are out in the weather the equivalent length of time, as mine was in fact for the 16 years I owned it, and it was a 1975 year hull, so already 27 yrs old when bought in 2002. Who had done what in the time before my ownership, I know little, but in that time, while I did repaint the topsides about twice, and had the hull professionally 2-pack sprayed once, and revrnished the interior teak once, but the rest of the stuff inside, like wiring and furnishings were fine. So, as long as water was not getting in, as FF mentioned, while some electronics and things mechanical might have frozen up, it might well be ok re basic wiring, etc, because being GRP and not timber, being dry does not matter - just less osmosis even. Just a thought..?

20 on the hard

I wouldn’t touch it for free. To many obvious problems, not to mention the hidden ones. There are to many options out there that you could be actually using while you work on her to take on a headache like this. Run!