Marina finds

[harbourboy]

Read an entry today from a yard in Maine that was trying recover some of their costs on a boat that was left there. In the end, someone scored the Morgan 38 for $5000. My question is this - how rare an occurrence is that and where would one search for such finds if they exist.

[nematon785]

I see this on the west coast, there are several boats for sale directly from marinas. In many cases these boats are seized and sold to satisfy outstanding mooring/dockage fees or bills for work done in a yard that have gone unpaid.

In my limited experience these boats are more frequently sold through craigslist or local marina based classifieds very rarely is a broker involved.

I would not be too concerned about missing out on a once in a lifetime deal. The marinas know the value of the boat, and price it accordingly.

The boats are frequently neglected (if it was any good, the owner would be clamoring to save it) and actually represent a terrible deal in costs to make ready for use and coming up to date on maintenance etc.

Yeah, some good deals exist, not any better than good deals direct from people who have the title to the boat. You will find these because the marina that wants to sell the boat will advertise it to get it sold.

Would you buy a car from a tow company that was being sold because it sat in the yard too long?

No one ever seems to know anything about the boat in these cases either. for example:

"Engine appears in good condition may start with a little repair, includes some sails, sold as is where is must be removed from premisis at point of sale..."

Here is a link to a CL ad for local lien sales in my area:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lg...997656436.html

Hope this helps!

[delmarrey]

That would be a rare find, if it were any good.
Most boats abandoned in marinas are usually in pretty bad shape and the owner can't justify paying the slip fee anymore. A lot of marinas auction off abandoned boats. It's usually in the rental contract.

If someone were to die w/o relatives, it would most likely get confiscated by the state and sold at an auction.

In one dry storage yard I've been in, if the boat didn't bring in replacement value of past fees, they just crushed it and hauled it off.

[Alan Mighty]

I've seen it happen at two marinas, one in Singapore and one in Australia.

The marina in Singapore was closing. They needed to leave a clean site. Complied with all legal requirements (adverts in newspapers, tried every clue as to the address and contact details for the owner who had abandoned the vessels). Then let anyone there remove winches and other fittings at their own risk and cost.


Similar thing in Aus. Marina was wearing the costs of dry or wet storage. Failed to find the owners. Took bids from anyone who would remove the hulk at their own cost.


In 2007, Trinity Inlet (Cairns, QLD, Australia) had a dozen or more abandoned cruisers left in the mangrove fringe of the inlet. Cost the port authority and state govt $Amillions to remove. Ropes etc had been removed, but most every one of the hulks had fittings that were had value to someone.

[delmarrey]

I might add, now, here on the west coast all boats have to be insured and licenses up to date to get a slip. So if the boat can't pass an insurance survey then one can't get a slip in most marinas. Private property docks are about the only way to bypass today's rules & get dock side moorage. Dry storage is the other option.

[Island Time O25]

Was helping a friend to do an anti-foul paint job last Fall. There were couple of guys from the sailing club also helping him out. So during our post paint job beer party we all started chatting about who had what kind of boat, etc. Turned out one of these guys (both youngish, 20 something) earlier in the year scored a Pearson 44 for $5K. I asked him when he was going to launch her, etc. He just laughed and said that to save $$ on rent he splashed her right after he purchased her even though the engine needed work. But being an auto mechanic he fixed the engine soon thereafter. The boat was sold by the yard as the PO was unable to pay the storage fees and signed the title to the yard, which wanted to get rid of her ASAP, thus the $5K price. I have not seen the boat personally but I'm pretty sure that for $5K in the right mechanically inclined hands it was a great deal.

This IMO is "one man's trash is another man's treasure" type of a situation. To someone who will be saving $1,500-2,000/mo on rent by anchoring/living aboard even somewhat expensive work is still a good deal. Paying $5-6K for an engine rebuild while saving $15-20K/yr on rent is a nobrainer. And the engine stays with you while the rent $$ is gone forever.

[redhead]

There was an abandoned Balboa 26 that was just sold by our marina. No outboard, sails but no sail covers and very dirty - I have no idea of the condition below.

After the auction I saw a man cleaning/clearing out and stopped to chat. He mentors two fatherless boys and bought it to teach them how to fix a boat with the idea of later teaching them to sail and going on sailing/camping trips to the San Juan Islands and then giving it to them at the end of the summer.

What a great idea for a $4.00 investment.

[Calif.Ted]

The local Shipyard always has a few the owners have abandoned, they always sell eventually it seems, I assume every shipyard is similar.
For Sale « Dana Point Shipyard
And yesterday I noticed a couple seized boats at the sherriff's dock that will be auctioned soon.

[gjordan]

A year ago I bid on a Cal 34 that was a marina lien sale. Running A-4, SSB radio, neglected boat but not damaged, mast on deck for transport, no sails. Being a cheep bugger, I just missed it. It went for $2200. Not long ago I went to buy some gear from a fellow, and he has a business of removing abandoned boats from marinas. He said he has wrecked out over 150 boats in the last 3 years. Marinas dont want to bother with trying to sell and then having to strip and crush what doesnt sell. He showed me a lovely old 40 ft wooden yawl that the marina was paying him to get rid of it. It had rot in the cabin trunk, but a good running diesel. This is in the San Francisco Bay area. It happens all up and down the west coast and probably everywhere else. Many marinas wont let you inspect before bidding, but some do. Yes there are MARINA FINDS, but it is buyer beware. _____Grant.

[roverhi]

Had a friend who bought a Catalina 36 from a yard. Boat had lost the mast and the yard had replaced it with a new mast and rigging along with new main and 120% jib under insurance. Basic electronics, tattered dodger, self tailing winches, ground tackle including windlass, perfect interior and a working diesel. In short, a really nice boat once you replaced dodger canvas and washed off the grime. The owner had disappeared leaving the yard with the boat and mounting storage fees. Unable to locate the owner, the yard foreclosed on their storage lien and put the boat up for auction. Don't know what my friend paid for the boat but recall it was less than $10K. He sailed the boat for several years and added every electronic device he could think of along with a few other normal maintenance expenses and eventually sold it for a profit.

[Island Time O25]

The yard where I keep the boat for the winter has had a spotty success with trying to sell such repo boats. The owners says that there are very few interested buyers who would see beyond the grime and tattered dodgers. So they end up getting the engines, all gear, rigging, lead and what not off and sending the stripped hulls to the landfill. I've been there going on for 12 years and have seen a lot of what I would call very promising boats stripped for parts instead of sold whole. Probably has to do with both the economy and the dwindling boat buying population. I have some friends who are members of sailing clubs and who can actually afford the buy and maintain such boats but who just don't have the time to sail more than they do at the club. And they don't want the commitment if they can't up their sailing time. After searching for the 5 boats I owned and seeing the kind of boats cut up for parts I can categorically state that very often the ones cut up are no worse and often better than the ones listed at YW or CL for up to $10K-$20K. Mostly they just need a good and thorough cabin/hull washing and some teak/brightwork cleaning.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

I might add, now, here on the west coast all boats have to be insured and licenses up to date to get a slip. So if the boat can't pass an insurance survey then one can't get a slip in most marinas. Private property docks are about the only way to bypass today's rules & get dock side moorage. Dry storage is the other option.

Yeah, however, once in the marina and tied up.... it can be a while to get rid of a non paid/non insured boat.

[harbourboy]

Thanks one and all for the info and insights. I hope to have cash in hand by early summer and a decent project boat at the right price is very compelling to me. News of anything interesting in the 38 - 42 ish range would be much appreciated. Fingers crossed.

[Scot McPherson]

Budget boats abound, the question is how much elbow grease and/or money are you willing to invest.


GRP or FRP or whatever can last for a VERY LONG time without any degredation of the structure. If the boat has good bones, it can be very worth buying a boat at these bottom of the barrel budget prices, but it's well worth getting a pre-purchase survey so you know the boat really does have good bones.


If it comes with some stuff (anchors, PFDs, equipment, etc), even better but you need to be willing to inspect and potentially upgrade a system or 2 or 5 to make the boat truly safe and reliable.


I bought my current liveaboard for $7,500. It has really good bones and strong rigging. While living aboard I have been replacing the systems one at a time. I spent about $500 replacing the entire AC electric system everything from the shore power receptacle, to replacing the old and very questionable fuse panel for a brand new modern bluesea breaker panel, replaced all the 14 and 16 guage wire (yikes) with 10 and 12 guage proper boating wire, recepticles, etc etc bringing the system up to U.S. Coast Guard and ABYC Code.


I have been doing that sort of thing one system at a time. Is it worth it? For me yes, because I will be keeping the boat for a while, but with all the updates and keeping good ships logs of those updates, I will be able to sell the boat for more than I bought it for. For as much as I am putting into it? Well maybe, maybe more or maybe not, but appearances have a lot to do with the selling price of a boat. Make it look new, and update the systems, and it will sell for more than you put in.

[toddster8]

Marinas were getting rid of quite a lot of abandoned boats in 2008-2010. Some were junk. Some looked like they were well-equipped world cruisers that someone sailed into port and just walked away from. I haven't noticed very many lately. There was one a couple of months ago that I almost put a bid on - a bit of googling suggested that the owner had died about two years ago. But the auction was cancelled at the last minute. Possibly the estate, or heirs were finally tracked down and paid up.

Once mushrooms and small trees have started growing in the deck, I think it's pretty much time to give up hope.