Refurbing / Refitting an Older boat - Advice and Ideas

[Nia]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Looking good .

To honest, I wish I had got something like that a few years back - as well as my boat.

or instead of .

Thanks DoJ. You know you love your boat! She reminds you how much every time you work on her.

Originally Posted by carstenb

Hi Nia,

Just think of all the fun you'll have giving everything a new coat of varnish (or 2 or 3 or 4) every year!

All kidding aside - looks nice. good new pic of you also

Thanks Carsten. I'll leave the varnishing to you. I just have to oil her occasionally now.

(...and thank you!)

Nia

[Nia]

Doj, What's stopping you from getting one now?
Nia

[carstenb]

Hi Nia,

oiling will be a lot easier. I have a plastic boat so I don't varnish. The teak in the cockpit gets a run with soap every now and then and then I use some teak restorer on it to bring out the warm color.

Inside, there is lots of mahogany and teak, but since it is not exposed to the weather - it only needs work something like every 10 years, unless I scrape it by accident

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Nia

Doj, What's stopping you from getting one now?
Nia

Because my boat is nearly ready to leave harbour.....one last "push"? .......just in time for winter . Next year will (hopefully) be about simply adding nice things (toys ). I have already measured up for a deckchair .

But nonetheless if something IRO 17 foot came up with a drop keel and lots of character - at the right price - I would be tempted. Even if made of wood .........and needed "a bit of TLC" .

Oh, and I am still meant to be building a nesting dink. I think D-day was sometime last February .

Folks on CF will hear as soon as I set forth onto the high seas, of that you can all be assured .

[sctpc]

Nia what Oil did you use? linseed? I have to redo my bright work so Iam getting canvas covers made to cover all my grab rails, I hate working on my boat its there for fun not work.

[Nia]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Because my boat is nearly ready to leave harbour.....one last "push"? .......just in time for winter . Next year will (hopefully) be about simply adding nice things (toys ). I have already measured up for a deckchair .

But nonetheless if something IRO 17 foot came up with a drop keel and lots of character - at the right price - I would be tempted. Even if made of wood .........and needed "a bit of TLC" .

If you are measuring up for a deck chair I can only assume you made sure it will have at least one, if not two cup holders.

You wouldn't have passed up this boat. I "stole" it for a mere $300, with trailer, 2 sets of sails, plus a set for a Flying Scot.

[Nia]

Originally Posted by sctpc

Nia what Oil did you use? linseed? I have to redo my bright work so Iam getting canvas covers made to cover all my grab rails, I hate working on my boat its there for fun not work.

I used Cabot's Australian Timber Oil, Natural. I applied 4 coats and hand buffed.

From what I understand, working on your boat is 75% of being a boat owner.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Nia

If you are measuring up for a deck chair I can only assume you made sure it will have at least one, if not two cup holders.

You wouldn't have passed up this boat. I "stole" it for a mere $300, with trailer, 2 sets of sails, plus a set for a Flying Scot.

What is she made of - Wood? Fibreglass?


I have just spotted this locally:-

5 m Sailing Boat with trailer a 3 sets sails - Boats & Marine Vehicles - Jersey Insight

"Dutch built wooden sailing boat.
Very roomy with fittings for an outboard (outboard not included)
Tabernacle mounted fireball mast and boom, original sails plus Enterprise and Fireball sails.
In good working order. Bilge pump, bouyancy.
Steel centreboard and rudder".

My maths says 5 metres is 16' 3".

Listed at £350. My main concern would be if she was Plywood........

........I sent an e-mail - he may say it is not plywood and then I might really be in trouble .

am not talking money at the moment, but will start at £50 on a "am doing you a favour by getting it off your hands" basis .

[zeehag]

doj--is a cutie!!! looks like fun!

[resilientg]

refurbing and refitting for profit, its definitely doable but a little hard in the current buyers market as there is so many cheap boats out there.

I have done three boats so far, a 63 ' ferro a 54" ferro and now im on my last boat a 28' steel. I have also worked on loads of others.

Would i do it all again, why yes, but i would prefer to be able to live next to the boat whilst working on it, that way i can always have somewhere clean to sit down.

My First and biggest hint though, is start on a SMALLER boat, there cheaper, they allow you to get more access to a wider range of parts for free or next to nothing as every other boat is bigger.

A roller furler of a 38 footer will work on 28 foot but not the other way around if you get my drift.

My current boat will have a market value of around 50-60 k and cost me 10k to buy and then 5 k only (not including the electronics) to totally finish to a pristine condition, and with one year of my labor in her.

Even if i calculated my labor cost I'm still in front and didn't have to spend one year sitting in some boring office following orders with other boring people

BUT and its a big BUT, i do everything myself, from spraying to stainless welding, for solar and electrical to fitting out, to repairing old things and making them new.

My way of thinking is that it is normally cheaper for me to buy the needed equipment and teach myself to do the work than to pay someone else to do it for me.

Find a cheap but good boat as a start is a must too, examples are the first boat i did the 63' was totally fitted out, sailed well and was bought off an insurance company for a pittance, the 54' was a bit tatty but was totally complete and only cost 5 k and everything worked, the 28' steel boat was 40+ years old but had never been in the water had been built of the best materials and came with a brand new motor, gearbox, shaft etc, even had 5 new sails hidden in bags, it was a steal.

For me the most import thing when doing a boat is to minimize the amount of cash the leaves my boat, for example, if i pay someone to do something, then that cash is gone.

Also recycle things as much as possible.

If i need something i have to scrounge it myself, or build it myself then install it myself.

One great way to get bits and pieces cheap is to befriend the local boat yards or marine installers (riggers, electricians etc) in your area, a free case of beer here and there can get you loads of good used parts at cheap prices.

Or use your head, somewhere someone is throwing out something you need, you just have to figure out the who when where and why.

I needed some lead recently, so i bought some 25lt buckets with lids from the local tip, painted "lead only" and then my name and number and took them to the local tyres shops, two tubs full and i would give them a case of beer, they loved it, i got cheap lead and those buckets were full with, no crap in there,...once again free beer the new world economy.

Need to rewire your boat, go to a cable scrap merchant, half the cables they sell are new, just offcuts, or are cheap enough that you can oversize most cables and no die in fright at the cost of them.

Same again for all the stainless steel etc, buy bits of pipe, tube rod whatever and learn how to fabricate it your self, a cheap grinder and some polishing pads and it all looks good as new. Ever paid someone to weld stainless for you, you have to sit down before you ask the price or give them a sandy dry rubber glove then zip tie your wrists to your ankles.

Sails, get used ones from the racing boats cut em down.

Rigging i got quoted 5k to do mine, i laughed at them, i went to the local "industrial rigger" and got all the parts ordered in by them as they deal in it but just dont normally sell it and it ended up costing me $1300 for full 10mm 316 stainless rigging including all hardware, heck i even got them to do the 8mm lifelines for me too.

Electrical items can be had cheaply too, just advertise that your after them in the local marinas, that way people who were already thinking about an upgrade and think you will buy there old stuff will then go out and buy the new stuff, you can install it for them and them pick up there old stuff for next to nothing, that works a treat.

Other ways are just troll the net, look everywhere online, not everyone uses eBay, troll everywhere and look for mispelt items too, not everyone can spell,and they dont realise that no one bought their "Wenches" because people were looking for "Winches"

Man i could go on and on about cheap ways to do things, i never finished high school but i must have earned a doctorate from the school of life for master scrounging.

Anyway, end of ranting dribble

Matthew

[Nia]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

What is she made of - Wood? Fibreglass?


I have just spotted this locally:-

5 m Sailing Boat with trailer a 3 sets sails - Boats & Marine Vehicles - Jersey Insight

"Dutch built wooden sailing boat.
Very roomy with fittings for an outboard (outboard not included)
Tabernacle mounted fireball mast and boom, original sails plus Enterprise and Fireball sails.
In good working order. Bilge pump, bouyancy.
Steel centreboard and rudder".

.

Darn it, the site is down for maintenance. I'll have to check her out later.

My thistle was built by a local mad nuclear scientist in 1960. It is fiberglass with oak rails and cedar slats. It even came with the plans he used to build it.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by resilientg

Anyway, end of ranting dribble

Maybe a bit ranty - but far from dribble

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Nia

Darn it, the site is down for maintenance. I'll have to check her out later.

My thistle was built by a local mad nuclear scientist in 1960. It is fiberglass with oak rails and cedar slats. It even came with the plans he used to build it.

Just got a reply - made of plywood ........and sheaved internally with fibreglass ........I wonder why .

I have passed.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by resilientg

Same again for all the stainless steel etc, buy bits of pipe, tube rod whatever and learn how to fabricate it your self, a cheap grinder and some polishing pads and it all looks good as new. Ever paid someone to weld stainless for you, you have to sit down before you ask the price or give them a sandy dry rubber glove then zip tie your wrists to your ankles.

Just curious as to whether you do own stainless pipe bending - and if so how / up to what thickness?

[delmarrey]

Here's a cheepy.



Northern Industrial Hydraulic Pipe Bender — 16-Ton | Pipe Bar Benders| Northern Tool + Equipment

You just put a thin piece of plastic between the dies and the tubing to keep it from getting scratched. If it's really a cheepy you might even want to polish the dies a bit. But for a low use item it cheeper then paying someone else, if you have the skill level.