Looking for fixer upper, 40ft plus…. southeastern U.S.

Looking for something that needs some love…. I have a few requirements, but am open to condition as long as price is right. No wood hulls, sorry, out of my skillset to repair. Twin engine is a must. 40’ plus. Dual heads a must. At least two staterooms and nice open engine bay. Large aft deck a must with swim platform, my ultimate goal is to possibly charter from time to time for folks who may want to fish or dive. Very skilled craftsman with almost any system that would need work short of a wooden hull. Closer to Chattanooga TN the better haha!

If truly a craftsman and going for a true project boat....unless extraordinarily familiar with ABYC "suggestions". you may want to start brushing up on them, order a set or be prepared to ask a bunch of questions on the internet. That is if you want the boat insured and need to have it surveyed.

Many boat systems have vastly different requirements for installation over their land counterparts. Not that your skill set is useless, it's more about install details.

Most 40 footers with twins will not have a nice open engine bay... if they do they are rare enough and in demand enough to demand an extra price premium.

You will probably get drug into the single/twins argument. Because there is no right answer without some fairly specific requirements that I haven't noted you posting yet...be prepared to go round and round until you do.

Cheap boats are plentiful, and expensive. Go into it with your eyes wide open.

pete

Pete Meisinger said:

Cheap boats are plentiful, and expensive. Go into it with your eyes wide open.

pete

Click to expand...

And inevitably your wallet!

Pete Meisinger said:

Cheap boats are plentiful, and expensive.

pete

Click to expand...

I like that one. Heard another one the other day.


"You don't know how much you paid for a boat until you have owned it for a year"

Pete Meisinger said:

Cheap boats are plentiful, and expensive. Go into it with your eyes wide open.

pete

Click to expand...

aye, that’s sound advice! Fixer-upper not a total restore is what I’m after, although with anything of the nature, one can turn into the other rather easily. I’ve done enough homes and classic cars and campers to at least have an idea of what to walk away from. However, I’m sure it’s the things you can’t see that really nail ya. Ideally find something that doesn’t need both mechanical AND a massive overhaul of the interior.

For the section of the market that you are targeting focusing on the areas that old trawlers end up takes a little more work. No broker wants to take a listing for these boats so they don't post on Yachtworld for example. Craigslist or equivalent for searching target areas will be more productive. Florida: Stewart and River Inlet areas, Ft. Myers, etc. Older marinas with long term storage yards are the most productive. Eastern / Lower Chesapeake may be out of reach but they are plentiful there.
As others say go in with eyes and wallet wide open.

twistedtree said:

I like that one. Heard another one the other day.


"You don't know how much you paid for a boat until you have owned it for a year"

Click to expand...

So very true.

A fixer upper is a boat that comes with nothing wrong. Then you start fixing it anyway.

Unfortunately, most boats need restoration, perhaps lessened by the initial purchase price.

For the OP, I’ll attempt to summarize wisdom I have gathered from this group, from observing refit projects, and from my own ownership of various boats.

You are almost guaranteed to spend more money fixing a boat up vs buying one that is already in better shape. And that doesn’t account for the time you will own the boat but not be able to use it. If you are paying people to do any significant portion of the refit work, it will cost a lot more than buying a boat in better condition. If you do nearly all the work yourself, and don’t assign any value to you time, then it will end up less in a hole, but almost certainly still in a hole.

All this says you should only take on a project boat if you really like such a project and that’s how you want to spend your time. Many of us are project junkies, me included, so we will understand if you want a project, and will follow along with great interest. Just be sure you are doing it for the right reason, not the wrong reason. All too often people figure the only way they can afford a boat is to buy a fixer upper, or that a boat will cost less if they buy a fixer upper. If that’s your motivation, you should stop now because it will only end up costing you more.

Facebook market place has a few.

To me a fixer upper is a boat bought at far enough below the upper tier of similar boats that fixing it into serviceable, not necessarily prefect mechanical or good cosmetic condition so you can get on the water fast and not loose as much or even worry about the money when time to sell. My last bought was bought as a throwaway and I still recouped about a 1/3 after 12 hard years of living aboard and 20,000 miles of snowbirding. I wanted a fast sale, which happened, and I probably could have held out to get a little closer to 1/2. Selling the older beat up TT's is not a sellers market.

Another reason...... if you really want to spend the money is to wind up with a near custom boat that will exceed the current high end market of similar used boats that don't meet your expectations and still for less than what those boats would be if you fixed them to your expectations. Fix it DIY and do it well, you can make money... but not much and definitely a throw of the dice.

twistedtree said:

For the OP, I’ll attempt to summarize wisdom I have gathered from this group, from observing refit projects, and from my own ownership of various boats.

You are almost guaranteed to spend more money fixing a boat up vs buying one that is already in better shape. And that doesn’t account for the time you will own the boat but not be able to use it. If you are paying people to do any significant portion of the refit work, it will cost a lot more than buying a boat in better condition. If you do nearly all the work yourself, and don’t assign any value to you time, then it will end up less in a hole, but almost certainly still in a hole.

All this says you should only take on a project boat if you really like such a project and that’s how you want to spend your time. Many of us are project junkies, me included, so we will understand if you want a project, and will follow along with great interest. Just be sure you are doing it for the right reason, not the wrong reason. All too often people figure the only way they can afford a boat is to buy a fixer upper, or that a boat will cost less if they buy a fixer upper. If that’s your motivation, you should stop now because it will only end up costing you more.

Click to expand...

Bravo. Truly well said!

I'd suggest you look at salvage boats as well. Some of them can be restored more easily than an old tired boat.

These guys do business in big boats. I'm sure there are others.

https://www.cooperss.com/assets?name=marine&id=2

I have done two project boats so I do have experience in this area.

Never buy a project boat if you need to pay some one to fix any significant part of it.

In my experience most project boats are sold because the seller ends up with more money selling the dream of a cheap boat vs fixing up the boat and getting top dollar for a nice boat.

If your option is buy a decent boat or a project boat and then replacing everything to make it just the way you want it. Starting with the project boat might make more sense.

If the current seller bought the boat as a project from some one else, Run! It means there is no economical sense in fixing the boat.

Never buy structural or power train projects unless the boat is next to free and then only if you are capable of doing all the work your self.

while I do appreciate all the well wishes and concerns, this is a “wanted boat” ad haha. Not one boat has been offered I assure you that while I’m new to “large boats” I’m not new to “ridiculous projects”…. If no one has a boat for sale, perhaps I am posting in the wrong subforum?

berryfarmer said:

If no one has a boat for sale, perhaps I am posting in the wrong subforum?

Click to expand...

Heh. It's well intentioned, and increases the view count

Welcome aboard, by the way.

Here is a project boat.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/boa/d/tacoma-project-boat-bayliner/7669337891.html

Problem is you will have no way of knowing what condition the engines are in. Of course the seller priced it like the engines are perfect.

tiltrider1 said:

Here is a project boat.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/boa/d/tacoma-project-boat-bayliner/7669337891.html

Problem is you will have no way of knowing what condition the engines are in. Of course the seller priced it like the engines are perfect.

Click to expand...

Interesting that the new risers are being installed and no hoses which are much less cost of risers.

If I was looking for a 43 I would be headed over for a look. They are ave listed for $85K

I got into a fixer upper. It was worth it to me. Needed cosmetics and electronics. I have also converted it over to do more fishing. My only suggestion is find a boat with good bones. For me it was the following - Motor / 3208N - Generator / Northern Lights - fiberglass tanks that drain from the bottom - water maker - battery bank with inverter and a good windless. It has taken a little over 3yrs and I am 90% done. However while working on her I have also been able to run her. Did a fishing trip with some buddies a few weeks ago, it was beyond my expectations!!

[/url][/IMG]

I think it's a big advantage if you can use the boat while you are fixing it up. That way you can enjoy the boat, get a better sense of what needs to be fixed/changed vs what you can live with. Then do projects in blocks of time when the weather isn't conducive to boating. I think that's preferable to a 2+ year refit before the boat can be used.

berryfarmer said:

while I do appreciate all the well wishes and concerns, this is a “wanted boat” ad haha. Not one boat has been offered I assure you that while I’m new to “large boats” I’m not new to “ridiculous projects”…. If no one has a boat for sale, perhaps I am posting in the wrong subforum?

Click to expand...

Good luck in your search

Scuse my stinkin' ignorance, but nobody has asked what boating experience you have. That may determine suggestions. If your experience is land based, you might be an Obi-wan mechanic, but boats require a different skill set.

SIBERNUT said:

Scuse my stinkin' ignorance, but nobody has asked what boating experience you have. That may determine suggestions. If your experience is land based, you might be an Obi-wan mechanic, but boats require a different skill set.

Click to expand...

Alluded to that back in post #2. But yes some projects are going to need researched a bit before jumping in.

"I think that's preferable to a 2+ year refit before the boat can be used."
Could not agree more. A 2 year layup boat is the 2nd boat in invemtory, not the one used for boating.

Fixer upper. Eventually, aren't they all?

Just about to list my boat for sale. Reason - age & health. Located Tampa, Florida. 45' Taiwan Trawler, Europa style. Not a project boat but needs some TLC. Good bones. Twin 120 hp Lehmans. Cruise all day at 7mph. Interested?

Mike 647-964-9185

PhilPB said:

Fixer upper. Eventually, aren't they all?

Click to expand...

Yeah Baby!

As soon as the new boat warranty expires...

Yeah, you fix it upper!

Delta Riverat said:

Yeah Baby!

As soon as the new boat warranty expires...

Yeah, you fix it upper!

Click to expand...

Even before that time…

Sounds like you want a real fixer-upper. Tons of 40-footers out there, all over the place. It will be a 1970s to 1980s Taiwan trawler.

Don't need to pay a penny over $40k to purchase, often times less. Yes, you will have soft decks and deckhouse cores around windows. Go for a single because just assume that you'll pull the engine out of the bay on day-1 and either rebuild it, or better yet just buy a running takeout. Also you'll pull both fuel tanks which will be rusted out, so hopefully your welding skills are good enough to build and pressure test new ones. Water tanks, every single toilet waste line, new holding tank(s), toilets, entire galley, batteries, ripping out a thousand feet of stupid electric wires installed by countless stupid previous owners. You'll also go through a lot of respirators and coveralls because the mold/mildew is very bad for your lungs. Replace every bilge pump, water pump, float switch, scrub the bilge and dispose (properly) of oily water. Exterior teak, varnish. Please, please find one that does NOT have exterior teak decks - very difficult to find. Take a guess what comes next if it does.

If you can pick up the boat for free, figure you'll dump $100k into it over the next 3-4 years, plus thousands of man-hours. Rebuilding a ready-to-scrap project boat is worse than just building a boat from scratch.

Are you sure you want a super duper project boat? Most of us have been there, done that, and like the guys said, they are super duper expensive.

I would reach out to boat yards in your area and enquire if they have any project boats they are looking to get rid of. There are always a couple boats languishing in boat yards that become a liability for the yard, they end up placing a lien on them only to gain ownership and crush and dispose of them. If you are willing to put up some cash and either take it off of their property or put up storage fees in advance, you could probably find a worthy project. Don't jump at the first opportunity and make sure it is either in a convenient location or can be moved to one that is both convenient and allows for DIY work because you will be making a lot of trips back and forth to work on it. Best of luck.

If you have land outside of an HOA, you may very well be money ahead to have it moved to your place for the extent of the project to save on storage and reduce travel time.