What is the most interesting thing the PO left on your boat?

I bought my boat from the estate of a friend's wife. Her father had passed away unexpectedly and the boat was sold pretty much as he had it that day. Some of the interesting things I got in the deal:

• Found a spare set of props and shafts under the master bed floor
• His entire library of nautical books (100+) in the converted bunkroom / office
• $57 so far hidden in the pages of those books (he used small bills as place marks at times)
• 2 new sets of injectors hanging in the engine room behind the genset
• Original logbook and blueprints from 1979 (entries through about 1987)
• Full toolbox and many totes of spare parts and consumables

Every time I open a new cabinet I haven't been in yet, or crawl into a space I haven't been I seem to find something. I suspect Dave is looking down and laughing at me every time.

Sex toys!

rjtrane said:

Sex toys!

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Dang dude!
Where (or from whom?) are you buying your boats?

Now we know what all that battery power is really for!

I like that "gentlemans agreement" whereby anything that should go with that particular boat stays with it for the next owner. We were fortunate in the the PO of our boat swallowed the anchor. So he had no need for anything boat-related save for sentimental things. He even left a 25 year collection of charts from Alaska to Mexico.

But our friends who purchased a DeFever 54 for a steal last summer inherited 1,800 gallons along with every single item that was on the boat. Now THAT was something!

Um, that was 1,800 gallons of DIESEL.

Mine was 49 gallons from full (531 gallons free).

All of Dave's tools, collections of spares, you name it. Jars full of stainless hardware, parts, bits and cool stuff. Charts, charting equipment, laptop, flashlights, immersion suits, handheld radio, spotlight and everything you imagine on an old mans boat.

Hmmm, lots of cool stuff, tools, spares, fuel, a large Danforth and rode, binoculars, but the most interesting was two things, a home made viewer for looking underwater and a plaque in the salon from the original owners of the boat.

The only un listed thing I've found was a music CD in the radio, not a good one at that!

SomeSailor said:

Mine was 49 gallons from full (531 gallons free).

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And I got a diesel tank full of water!

Boat was in dry storage for several years. My entire fuel system had to be cleaned. It literally appeared that someone stuck a hose in the tank!

I would have taken the ship's clock for sentimental reasons and the wheel too (for the same as I'd run her 15k of the miles and it was familiar -- plus I knew I'd have my own boat someday)

But we gave her to a broker on Saturday afternoon. Listed Sunday. First appointment Monday. We had a second scheduled for Tuesday. Monday's guy offered full price after the survey. Tuesday's guy called Monday night and sight unseen offered full price, but we'd already signed with Monday. Wednesday the money was in the account.

In 2001.
The only thing of mine left aboard is a box with a pair of small (4" tall) porcelain dolls my Grandma gave me along with two tiny reading books. They were in the locker at the foot of my bed and had slid behind the framework. Probably still on board. Grandma was born in 1895 and they were hers.... I wish I had those to pass along to my grand. Such is life.

When I saw the boat in 2012 the owner had carpeted down below so I'm guessing the pull up the decks and vacuum the bilge on the 1st isn't being done. And they closed in the exhaust for the shower so that now when it turns on the damp air goes out of the cabin and into the hull.

Steel boat, so.... Also, I looked in the bilges and didn't see any of the exhaust fans we ran 24/7. (shrug)
The boat was stripped -- nothing in her of value (including the clock, drat it all!) and my wheel is now a stainless round one with no character. (harrumph!)

Am glad I saw her, but it's "early Americana" now -- butcher block down below everywhere, and instead of sliding doors the new owner thought opening lockers would be better. I guess she's a marina queen now. He did install air-conditioning. And an aluminum holding tank in the cockpit bilge. The incinerator head is gone so there's a dreadfully long hose run. And aluminum? Peggy Hall would have something to say about that!

Aluminum sitting on a couple of chunks of starboard on the bottom of the hull. Interesting choices. I'm not bitter, but do wish/hope whoever bought her next is taking care of her. It's the old home thing... hard not to be nostalgic about your first boat. Besides, I was conceived there (made the log book too) Dismal Swamp canal. Not quite so boring or cold that one winter night.

Kidlet had thought about buying her but good sense reigned. There were problems I saw that would take serious $$ to resolve.

She's got shiny paint though.

Buyers of new boats don't get that experience. Brochures from the builder is probably all....

Our first boat (John Nall's now) was loaded with mostly junk, it took me a really long time to clean it all out. The last locker I got to (quite a while after I bought the boat) had a sleeping bag stuffed in it, when I pulled it out a nearly new epirb rolled out. I sold it with the boat.

I also found a pair of spare props 5 years after I bought the boat....John they are hidden under the insulation in the bottom of the Master cabin hanging locker.

The new boat came with almost nothing as it was used very little. Some cleaning supplies, 1/2 a bottle of Grey Goose, 8 PFDs and a pair of size 13 shoes. Pity that I wear a 9.5 and work for two shoe companies.

Dougcole said:

I also found a pair of spare props 5 years after I bought the boat....John they are hidden under the insulation in the bottom of the Master cabin hanging locker.

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Yup. Found them when I was going through the boat while waiting weather at Stuart. Lots of good crossword puzzles in the V-bunk drawers, too.

I'm still finiding stuff after 7 years. Recently, an unused pair of Racor vacuum gauges buried way down in a locker of various parts.

The PO of a previous boat was leaving Australia, and his wife of 30 years, for a lady in Thailand. Turned out the lender for his failed business had a charge over the boat. We got his galley equipment, canned/dry food stocks, his fishing gear, bedding, other stuff, like a WIWO (walk in-walk out) business sale transaction.

In my case, the boat! We came to an agreement which included everything on board at the time of viewing and later we agreed that his personal stuff and tools would not be included. When I got possession, he had looted most of the stainless hardware, plumbing fittings and supplies such as Scotchbrite pads and hose clamps. He left me a few rusty ones which I intend to give back to him when I see him.

He even took the engine room kneeling pads.

This all surprised me as I had expected him to live up to his side of the bargain, he has a good reputation around here so I let him have privacy as he looted my stores. Good life lesson there, somewhere.

Xsbank, sorry to hear that. Happened to a friend who bought a boat a bunch of years ago. The P.O. stripped the boat of EVERYTHING including stuff that should not, in any question, have been taken. Then the cheeky twerp tried to sell some of it back. At that point he was told #### off.

Sure makes you shake your head. In situatations like that you need to be there but of course you think you can trust people.

Too bad but as long as you are happy with the boat overall then it sure looks like you got a great boat. Just too bad there is a bit of a sour note.

Have fun with the new boat.

The owners left the boat with everything from to A to Z. Over 100 brand new filters, pumps (assorted), belts, several gps units, charts galore, plenty of NOS engine parts for Lehman, manuals on everything, hand drawn drawings on the systems, electrical and plumbing. A lighthouse mixed drink shaker, very handy on the hook! It goes on and on, it saved me quite a bit of money. They were very gracious and I'm glad the boat wasn't stripped!

Moonstruck said:

When I sold my trawler, it was going from Chattanooga to Saugatuck, Michigan. When they came down for the inspection and survey, I told them that the price was the price. If they wouldn't pay it there was no deal. They took it, and were concerned about provisioning and locks. When they flew down to pick up the boat it was provisioned, full of fuel, and a large cooler on board packed with ice and drinks. They spent the night on board. I got on with them the next morning to run the first 100 or so miles, and do the first three locks. They got the hang of it, and my wife picked me up. We stayed in touch for years as they cruised. Then the gentleman passed away. I am glad the boat went to such good hands.

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Well done Moonstruck shame not more sellers are as gracious as you

Our boat came with pretty much everything needed to push away from the dock and go cruising, except food. The PO was not well in his last years, so got buddies of his to squeeze into the engine compartment and do routine maintenance.

Most interesting find was a rag that had plugged up the limber hole between the engine compartment and the bilge pump

When I sold we put a bottle of sparkling Aussie wine onboard as a celebration gift.
[It`s like champagne,we call it something else, methode champenoise or methode traditionelle,or the French get litigious].

When we bought our first boat four years ago it was stripped of everything so I had to buy lines, fenders, charts, etc. the SOB even took out the Garmin GPS chip! When we bought our Bayliner 4788 last October we specified that everything on the boat when we saw it was to stay, and it did. Two spare props, transmission shaft, filters, circuit breakers, all manuals, full set of charts, fully stocked galley, sheets, towels, the works. The only thing not on the boat was a log book.