March 22, 2016

Cheap boats aren't bargain boats


THE COMMUNITY OF SAILORS has its fair share of bargain hunters. I think it’s reasonable to say that there are very few of us who haven’t at some time thought about finding a cheap boat, a boat we can update and renovate, and enjoy for next to nothing. The only problem is that it almost never happens that way. We never learn. A cheap boat seldom turns out to be a bargain.

There’s a fellow called Joe who used to live in Oakland, California, who related his experience on a boating website. Joe bought a Santana 22 with a trailer, a good hull, mast and boom, and several sets of usable sails for $500.

“I’ve spent two years working on the project so far,” he wrote. “I have invested somewhere close to $4,500 out of pocket, not counting storage, and now have a seaworthy (though not yet class-competitive for racing ) boat that I use on San Francisco Bay.”

During those first two years, Joe reckoned he worked on the boat for about 10 hours every week. He spent a lot of time rebedding hardware, adding epoxy plugs in the deck core all over the place and replacing a section of the aft bulkhead where fresh water had caused rot.

“That sounds like a short list,” he noted, “but the real list of tiny projects would go on for pages.”

Near the end of the project, Joe moved the Santana to a boatyard for a bottom job and to fair and repaint the keel and set up the rig. The big-cost items were the new rigging and the bill from the yard for the lay days while he did the work.

“I use a Johnson 6-horsepower two-stroke outboard, which I also bought cheap and rebuilt,” he said. “I never learn.

“I agree with others who have said that the Santana 22 is a great design. I also have to agree with others who have suggested that you should find a boat whose current condition and inventory of gear closely matches your ultimate needs. I take great satisfaction from the work I have done. I enjoyed the work, and it was a way to spread the cost out, etc., etc., etc. — but the investment required to do it this way completely overwhelms the cost of buying a boat in good condition and with adequate gear.”

Joe estimated that if he figured his own labor as an expense (even at minimum wage) and added that to what he’d spent, he could have bought three of the better Santanas in the Bay area for the same total cost — or he could have had a nice one in one-third of the time.

“I know this isn’t what any hopeful shopper wants to hear,” Joe concluded, “and I ignored the people who told me the same, but a cheap or free hull is not a bargain.”

Today’s Thought
Here’s the rule for bargains: “Do other men, for they would do you.” That’s the true business precept.
— Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit

Tailpiece
“Advertising costs me a fortune.”
“What advertisements do you place?”
“I don’t place them. My wife reads them.”

(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)

3 comments:

  1. Or said another way, as it was told to me: "There's nothing more expensive than a cheap boat."

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  2. I agree somewhat, as I am currently refitting an Alberg 30 that I purchased cheaply. Mine was sailable however and I did for 4 years. I will say the advantage in doing it this way, as you stated, is spreading the cost out. That alone has helped me because dropping large coin up front just is not an option
    With that said, I am also learning and doing everything on and learning about my boat. So as long as I enjoy the work, why not? Sure my time isn't free but what else would I do, watch TV?
    My refit is a long term project and I am upgrading and repairing things that were not on the original list. Because they couldn't be seen until I dug into the project. I feel this is an advantage as well. This is because as with ANY boat what appears good on surface, it may have problems once you start digging in. When I am finished I know my boat will be 100% or at least to my standards. This will also ensure everything will be good for years to come..and I would not have wasted that big chunk of coin up front for a boat that APPEARED to be in great shape.

    Thanks for you blog

    Jason
    www.svsalacia.blogspot.com
    Alberg 30 #457

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  3. I would also add that building a boat is not a way to get on the water more cheaply. You will easily spend triple the money building than you would buying a similar boat. Building because you want to learn craftsmanship and create something is great. Building because you are frugal is ludicrous.

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