2003 Grand Banks 42 Europa purchase help

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Please excuse my long delay in reply. I want to share the update with you. :)

I inspected this 42 GB with one engine in autumn and to be honest, I was shocked about the condition of this boat. This boat was forgotten for so many years and left there just like taken out of the water. The list of issues and work to do is very long. Thanks to your help I could have looked very good on known issues and locate them very well. It took me many months to prepare the full list and still I find new stuff that has to go on this list when going again and again through the many pictures I shot, reading more stuff and talking to different kind of specialists.

Last days my father could also catch nice meetings with the official GB guys on the Boot Düsseldorf fair and we are very positively surprised how friendly, open and honest this guys from GB are. This prooves that Grand Banks is a big Brand and a strong closed community that holds together well and also old boats are not forgotten.

To get back to this 42, the boat is staying outside for at least 5 years, uncovered under the sun and rain. It is in a shipyard where many boats are grinded. Therefore the paint is full of different kind of particles. Therefore this boat needs new paint for sure if someone will want again a nice looking GB from this example.
The wood is in very bad condition and will need to be replaced on many places, the silicon on the teak decks has cracked and so water can get below the wood and teak decks.

The front hydraulic bow thruster is dismantled on top (i think the motor on top of the bow thruster is missing), there were just the hydraulic pipes disconnected. On the wood around this front bow thruster it can be seen that this part was under water because the paint goes off the wood. So there is something wrong and needs big work on the bowthruster and the wood below the front bed (around the bowthruster), as well.

The water tanks up front seem to have a leak as well so need replacement.

In the bilges (below the engine and on the back of the boat) was water, so definitely water gets inside through the teak decks and probably runs down the fuel tanks.
The engine and other engine components still looked good on outside, test could not be done as boat is outside.

On the fly the instruments and the windows are burned so need replacement. Because it will probably be hard to find this old raymarine instruments these days the whole electronics will have to be replaced.

The engine is a 3126 Caterpillar with 450hp. How many hours it has run could be not checked. The Onan genset has 1530hours.

I can not pay the membership on boatdiesel because they have an error on their site. Does anyone know the costs of new engine parts for this Cat 3126 as follows:
New complete aftercooler
New heat exchanger

If you want to see some pictures I can show you some. Maybe you can see some more issues through your eyes and help expend my list. :)

Also I have got the right numbers what this kind of boats sell for in southern Europe when in perfect condition. GB 42 made around 2000 in perfect condition with no work needed, with 2 engines, go for around 200.000€ (+- 20000€). This 42 has only one engine and no stabilisers so probably worth even less than 200k€ and this if it would have been in perfect condition. I am very close to making an offer to the owner of this 42, my report is 40 pages long. My offer will be the market price minus repairs needed and then the owner can decide for himself if he wants to let this boat fully rot away or if he wants to hand it over to us, that we save it from a full downfall and disaster. I know this will be a big project for us but we are willing to go fo it if the price will be right. This was such a beautiful boat back then and I am sure that it has the potential to become beautiful again with the right owner, the right work and the right money invested.
 

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some more pictures of this GB42 attached.



Besides this we are looking further and have some more options for trawlers. I am glad to hear your opinion on this boats as well.

1. OAJX (Ocean Asia/Island Gipsy ) 39/44 Trawler produced 2009 with 2 Cummins, first owner, asked price 185000€. What can you tell about this boats? Are they well made, is the plastic good without osmosis issues and similar? https://www.boats.com/power-boats/2009-custom-trawler-oajx-39-44-sedan-6693541/

2. Grand Banks 41 Heritage EU produced 2010, 2nd owner boat, 2x Cummins with Zeus propulsion, asked price 297000€. What do you think about this Zeus drives, are they expensive to maintain and do they have many issues? What can you say about this new generation Grand Banks? This boat for sure is our favourite, perfectly equipped and very nice modern classic design. https://de.boats.com/motor-boote/2010-grand-banks-41-heritage-eu-5416322/

3. Pedro Bora 43 produced 2005, asked price 298000€ but thats just way too high, seller accepts offers and therefore I am thinking about making my offer. This boats cost new below 500000€ and should be therefore cheaper than GB. :) https://www.inautia.com/used-boat-28954020180248985752984852484548.html
 

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Separate from the consideration of repairs needed and the cost of those, how much free time do you have each year, and how do you want to spend it?
Learning to do ongoing maintenance is a very good thing to do, but spending vacation time to learn the skills of major restoration of a boat, and then doing that once may not be a good use of your life and time.
Restoring a boat to the extent that the pictured GB seems to need is boatyard work, not boating.
Good luck in your search.
 
Dear JohnS,

You are absolutely right. The work needed on this GB 42 can not be done alone. Therefore I have absolutely taken into my calculation, that this boats needs to go to the boat yard for professional work on the outside:
1. new teak decks or replacing the teak decks with the awl grip paint
2. gelcoat repairs where needed and new paint of the whole gelcoat outside.

The mechanics (engine, bow thrusters with hydraulics, genset and aircon) need service by a professional mechanic.

We have a good friend who works with boat electricity as his only job so we are covered for this part.

But there are still many little things that we (my father and I) can do ourself. We can work with wood well (its our hobby) and will be able to replace many small wooden parts by ourself. Also we have good connections to local boat yards for gelcoat repair and paint and know one good professional for teak decks as well. We know many good professionals that worked in well known boat manufacturers and know well how to replace through hull valves etc. Also we have the right contacts for new canvas and upholstery.

So this is a project that can be done by us if the price will be right and it is a fact that we will go this way only if the price will be right. Otherwise we will directly purchase a boat in good condition and have vacation fun without big work. But still, this 42 GB is a very nice boat with big hidden potential. I hope this very rich owner will be able to see what he has done with his ignorant behaviour to this once beautiful and perfect boat and will stand up to his sin and sell the boat for realistic money.
 
With all those issues maybe the seller should be paying you. Don`t get too involved in moralizing over the seller`s lack of care,he`s wealthy and doesn`t care. He might have costed fixing it and found it was not economically feasible.You might too.
 
Take your best "guesstimate" at the cost of repairing the 42 and then double both it, and the time it will take, even in a yard, to complete the project.

In the end... unless you're more about rebuilding and restoring than you are about boating and enjoying the precious time you have in your live(s)... I suggest you get yourself a seaworthy vessel from the get-go and leave the life-support to somebody else...

Just my 2 cents worth...

Good luck either way!
 
I have the same boat but an older 36. You know the mechanical issues to look for.

Batteries are cheap, comparatively.

That year will have a few areas of concern:
They standardized on Grunert refrigeration. Seems to last forever, but there are better systems now. New stuff is reasonable, but fitting it a pain. Just be aware, try to power up.
Electronics may be out of date.
GB windows are mahogany painted. Low material cost to repair, but high labor cost. Europas don't have this problem as much as other GBs, look around interior windows for past water. May have optional stainless windows.
Fuel tanks, get in there and look all the way around them, top, bottom, back. Figure they need to be emptied and cleaned.

Without knowing hours it is a $200-250k boat. But hours don't really matter at this point.

Being a single screw with thrusters is great for you! I would jump all over that.
 

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