Broken Hearted for a Marine Trader

[Tickbait]

Hi all... I am new here (first post ever) and was hoping to glean as much knowledge as I can as I enter into this new world of owning a Trawler. My uncle, who happens to also be my Godfather, has owned a 1981 Marine Trader 34DC for around 17 years now. About 5 years ago, his health took a few knocks and he wasn't been able to enjoy her any longer. He put her on the hard and she has been there since.

We spoke not too terribly long ago and he offered to sign her over to me at no cost. I have been aboard her many years ago and she was in great shape with loads of comfort and good times to be had. So, my initial thoughts were I would have to have the paint tended to, work on the brightwork, and just tidy her up a bit.

And then I went and saw her today...

Oh. My. God.

She will have to be COMPLETELY gutted. Anything wooden or cloth inside has been damaged by water and has rotted. There were hundreds of dead wasps and more than a few live ones buzzing around. I have no idea what the Lehman engine is like today although he says the systems all worked fine when he laid her up. At this point, I am betting the engine will need an overhaul, all new electronics, a ton of cleaning up the internal wiring, new galley equipment, etc.

I am so disgusted by it all because she was so beautiful and while I believe she could be again, I am afraid to even hazard a guess as to how much it would take to get her back in the water and underway again.

I just wanted to spew here in a place where I know others would at least understand my disappointment. What a crappy day...

 

[Peter B]

Commiserations. I hear your pain. However, on the plus side, so far she has cost you nothing.

As the owner in the recent past of a similar vessel, which in similar manner had fallen into neglect under a previous elderly owner, and the old leaking deck thing that plagues those early boats had likewise resulted in quite a bit of internal water damage and rot - including the decks and base of the cabin walls, I can say all may not be lost.

The Lehman 120hp engine is legend for being tough and forgiving. It might yet be salvageable if you enlist the help of a good marine engineer - at worst an in position overhaul could be done.

Fortunately for me, the immediate previous own who was younger and keen had had the worst of the cabin and deck restoration done already, then he had to sell, but leaving only the water-damaged interior teak needing repair, which I was able to do myself over time, the boat being usable in the meantime,. as the engine had survived the neglect ok.

Net result was a boat we enjoyed for 16 years, and still fetched nearly what I paid for her after all that time, because of the restoration work that had been done. Take a look at these pics and decide if it is do-able and worth doing after all, bearing in mind I spent about $Aus30k on her, whereas for now, you have spent zip..?

 

[psneeld]

I have one of those Taiwan Trawlers the PO neglected. After 8 years of rebuilding her, I am burned out and losing the battle.

I got my moneys worth by living aboard and cruising over 20,000 miles but she is not much more than a project boat now just for cosmetics.

I don't recommend a boat in terrible shape unless you can farm out as much work as you are willing to do.

 

[Jeff F]

It's sad to see, but all too common.

Check to see if there are any outstanding storage charges.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. Sorry the boat is in such poor condition.

 

[rgano]

The only way this boat will serve you in a manner you recall is for you to rehab it, as you know. So the next question you have to answer is it worth it in time and money for you? Your uncle made the mistake of not dehumidifying and storing the boat under cover, and you are comtemplating honoring him and your memories with a restoration job? Again, is it worth it? It is a shame that he did not enlist you (or ANY able person) early on in the storage plan when you could have been a part of keeping it from falling apart. I know that at my particular age I would pass on it. As an aside, I have a lot of years owning and tending to Lehman 12os, and I will bet you that I could get it started in a day or two unless it was rained on for five years.

 

[Frosty]

Heartbreaking! To see a boat you knew and loved well (and figured on some work) being so far gone...

And I'm sure on one hand you can "see" her brought back to her former glory; but on the other...if only...

Tough day obviously.

Welcome - as you can see you are amongst those who "hear" you.

Frosty

 

[Andy G]

OK, now that you are over the 'shock & horror' take a note book and go back to the boat and look carefully to see what is beyond repair and what is repairable. Get rid of the wasps first.

Open the boat up, let her air a bit.Check to see the FL still has oil.

As Pete said, so far this has cost you nothing.

Take some photo's and post them on the forum. It is far easier for members to be of some help if they can see the issues rather than rely on your descriptions.

I have no idea how old you are, but to be offered a 34' boat free as a project to do up is a great opportunity.You never know what you can do until you give it a go.

 

[CharlieO.]

Yes, let see some pictures, you'll probably get some responses about how someone else's boat was in even worse shape before they started.
Good Luck !!

 

[Redhook98]

Pics?

 

[hytedin]

Wood and fabric are inexpensive compared to systems.

Everyone insists on teak when modern builders use all kinds of wood. Red oak veneered plywood will give a great interior look.

I hate fabric on boats.

Before you even attempting turn that Lehman over, change the oil, note the color (milky means water intrusion) and take sample to send off, change coolant, you can self-test it for oil intrusion.

Now, the real question is those decks as the bottom.

 

[Ski in NC]

A boat does not need to be fully restored to be well enjoyed. Spend a day or two cleaning out obviously ruined soft goods, wipe things down, and see what you have. Sometimes getting the crap out really helps. The visual image in you head becomes less overwhelming, especially as you remember past glory.

On the engine, I would not bother with changing the oil yet. Bring a big wrench (socket preferred, but a pipe or adjustable wrench will do) and try to rotate engine. It might be stuck, might be free. Look in oil fill hole to see if valve gear is clean metal or a rusty mess. Check oil level and color on the stick. Water may be settled in bottom of the pan, oil generally only gets milky if run with water in oil. If oil level is very high and coolant not visible in coolant tank, that is a bad sign.

Some other FL owners here might know what size socket to bring, I don't remember.1 1/4" or something like that.

 

[Tickbait]

Thank you for all of your replies. Here's a little info about me so you all can try and walk in my shoes a bit. I'm 46, divorced, 90% travel schedule for work, possibly going to live aboard, used to own a small boat on a lake but ZERO experience with boats larger than 20 feet, not afraid of hard work and a fair bit of elbow grease left in the tank. So, what would you do if you were in my position??

 

[Tickbait]

I'm away for the next 7 days but will be back next weekend to tinker around, clean her up, lift the skirts and see just how much damage there is and how much I can clear out myself. I am going to contact a marine surveyor and have an actual survey performed so I have a better idea of the morass that I am about to plunge myself into. Please keep your thoughts and ideas coming my way. From the many, many threads I have read on here, this group has a passionate foundation for all of this knowledge and I could use some of that passion! Thank you!

 

[Xsbank]

You are only 46 so you should be able to run pretty fast...

"A "free" boat is the most expensive boat you can buy."

 

[boomerang]

It'd hard to tell by the pictures the extent of the damage. Did the boat fill with rainwater while on the hard? Were the mechanical systems such as engine, clutch AC etc flooded?
The problem is it seems like you're not knowledgeable with regards to boat ownership & maintenance. You'll have to farm out any repairs moving forward... if you decide to do so... and that's going to cost big bucks. The only reason I and lots of others on here can afford a boat, any boat, much less one in a state of disrepair such as the one you might acquire, is because we've been around boats and can so some or all of the work required rather than paying a marina or professional to do it. My gut feeling is that you'll find you're in over your head and it'll cost a fortune to bring it back to the condition that you remember it was in when your Uncle was using it.

 

[koliver]

I was once offered a free boat. When viewed, running away was the best option. That one was significantly simpler than yours, and in no worse condition.

In your case, I would run before you start being the guy that bills are sent to.

 

[alormaria]

Marine Traders all look like that. Just get on with the repairs.

 

[Lou_tribal]

I am a bit surprise to see such damages done in only 5 years, especially on the ground. In my humble opinion, it takes more than 5 years to get structural wood slabs rotten like the one that can be seen in the forward area.

L

 

[High Wire]

It might be worth spending a few hours with a good surveyor to give you a realistic opinion.

 

[BruceK]

Heart may say: It was my Uncle/Godfather`s much loved boat, I owe it to him and the family to "bring it back". Head might say it`s hopelessly uneconomic, "a fool`s errand" to try.
Getting a survey will tell what you are getting into. What $ would buy a similar boat in reasonable and usable condition? There is a current thread on saving a wooden GB32,lots of us said "don`t" but the guy is producing a beautiful restored boat.

 

[Frosty]

There is a current thread on saving a wooden GB32,lots of us said "don`t" but the guy is producing a beautiful restored boat.

That's what always runs through my mind. We know from experience that 95+% of projects like these will end up with someone who started out enthusiastic (but often without prior experience), getting in way over their head, spending months/years of time and effort and money, and finally giving up and posting that "free come take it away" ad on Craigslist*.

BUT, then there is that 1-in-500 like the fellow here who recently bought the GB32 Barbary Ghost, who PULLS IT OFF! In style and on time!

So then.... if someone asks us, like the OP in this thread, what do you say? Who is going to be that 1-in-500

A survey is not a bad idea.

Frosty

*I've reached that point myself in the past, I will admit, so no high horses here.

 

[Peter B]

Marine Traders all look like that. Just get on with the repairs.

Well...maybe not quite that bad, but as someone will no doubt say, so I'll say it - a lot of that will buff out..!

Sure, there's a lot of junk and debris, and there has been quite a lot of the typical deck leak forward so the floor of the front cabin will need a tradesman-like repair, but ours was almost as bad. If you save the parquetry you might even be able to glue that back down to a new marine ply floor and joists. The beauty of timber is you can just cut damaged stuff out and sleeve in a repair, and it doesn't have to be teak. Use a lot of timber preservative, (here in Aus I used Everdure), where you replace any timber. On another plus side is your model, being 1981, will surely have had the superstructure built out of, or at least covered by fibreglass. Ours was a 1975 build, so all timber cabin, so more rot in the wall bases, etc - yet was still repairable. (By the PO fortunately)

Much of the teak interior is just tired and nothing a good sanding and varnish won't fix well. I did all of that myself, and I'm no DIY expert. I also relined the front cabin with teak ply, screwed to the exposed fibreglass ribs, placing batts behind the new liner, which was good from a noise and insulation aspect.

The engine is probably salvageable, but again, get a good engineer to look into that.

I don't share the view of those who say run away - not yet anyway. Up to now it has cost you nothing, so doing the preliminaries to see what really does need to be done, and which will cost, is still worth doing. Even if it does then allow you to decide against continuing.

Remember something has to be done to it. In your personal position you described, what's to prevent you doing at least that much..? If you travel a lot, it could well make a perfect single person live-aboard, when at home and not travelling.

If you at least clean it up, and do some of the most do-able, even if you decide to go no further, you might at least find some keen DIY type to buy her for a modest sum, then the 'what to do with her?' is someone else's problem. Just sayin'...

 

[Benthic2]

If you put $60k into her(including your labor), would she look like this ?

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1980/marine-trader-34-double-cabin-3695866/

Keeping in mind this one had a new motor,generator and some electronics in 2013, and some other upgrades in 2017. Strictly based on economics, it probably doesn't make sense. If there is emotional value in restoring and running your family's boat, that's different and hard to quanitfy for you, impossible for us.

 

[SteveK]

90% travel schedule for work,

The boat can be salvaged, but not by the OP unless the pockets are deep and a crew is hired.

 

[Andy G]

If you put $60k into her(including your labor), would she look like this ?

[url]https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1980/marine-trader-34-double-cabin-3695866/[/url]

Keeping in mind this one had a new motor,generator and some electronics in 2013, and some other upgrades in 2017. Strictly based on economics, it probably doesn't make sense. If there is emotional value in restoring and running your family's boat, that's different and hard to quanitfy for you, impossible for us.

That is a lot of boat for $60K.

I think the OP is approaching this unknown in the right way. However if there is any major issues with the engine and or hull, that 1980 boat is looking very good value.

 

[Redhook98]

Having been witness to what my boat went through and the costs associated with it, my advice is run, and run fast. Sorry. Mine started in similar, maybe worse shape. It was a 15 year project by the PO. He estimated he had $250k+ in parts and labor......



Run, run far.....

 

[Ski in NC]

There is a huge difference in time and money to make a boat functional vs doing a total restoration. Every boat was pristine early in life, that does not mean it has to be pristine to be fun.

OP needs to figure out what level he wants it to be before deciding anything else.

 

[skyhawk]

yeah, that 90% travel...I used to travel a lot for work, and bought an old bungalow house built in 1926....need a whole lot of work.... This was back when i was single...I tried to do almost all myself and burnt myself out before getting the kitchen finished. I lived a long time with no kitchen. Work in general, but travelling for work especially, makes projects hard to get done.
Ugh
it could be a fun project though.

 

[Solly]

Forget the surveyor. He's only going to tell you what you already know.
Or maybe just for the hull and decks. If the decks are shot forget it.
Find out if the motor, transmission and drive train is good. If not, forget it.
Plan to rip everything else out and replace it. You can learn, plumbing, electrical, and wood working.
It would just take time and money. I'm thinking unless you do all the work it would be more money than it's worth.