Costs/getting into live-aboard - Boat Fix-ups

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by SoCalSailor78

I was figuring since the boat is already in the water and doesn't have a trailer, I would have to pay to have the paint done. There is no hoist at this particular marina that I can tell. The neighboring marina DOES have shops with hoists and that's where I was possibly thinking of taking it should I decide to do this seriously. This would also mean that I might have to have the boat towed to the shop unless someone would be willing to allow me to borrow their outboard.

Why pay to have the painting done?

I did my 27' boat (with full keel) for about $350.00 in paint, plus pullout, sand paper etc. When I got it out, the topside hull was so bad I did that also using one gallon of Pettit EZ Poxy $88.00

[Sailorman Ed]

SoCal,
You are looking at small, inexpensive boats, buy the book and do your own survey

my survey was $750 and worthless. I would at this point, DIY a hull inspection unless insurance requires it. Read up! Get "Inspecting the Aging Sailboat" by Don Casey.

I too had a "professional" survey my previous boat and honestly, it was worthless to me. Save your money. If you don't see a problem, there is much that can go wrong on a Santana or Catalina that wouldn't be obvious.
For insurance, check your homeowners policy, our 39 ft cat is covered for liability only (we also added an umbrella rider) and have no problems at our marina or any we ever stopped at ( we normally anchor)
For a 25 ft and even a 27 ft, a long shaft outboard will work fine, a 9.9 hp is fine, just be sure you get a low pitch prop. The limitation will be high winds or bigger waves. My first boat was in Ventura harbor and explored the Channel Islands and SantaBarabara with just an outboard.

Pay someone to pull you over to the other marina and haul out there. Power wash the bottom, scuff it up and apply the bottom paint yourself, easy afternoon on a boat this small. Forget about stripping all the old paint off, if it didn't come off with the power washing, then it is sticking pretty good.
Add the OB while hauled out, will be much easier to do.
Get a B&D orbital sander, a variety of disks and "lightly" sand the topsides. Buy some Rustoleum marine paint and paint it yourself. I would expect you can do this all for about $1,000 plus motor.

Not sure about S Ca, but in the east, lots of low cost boats in decent shape for sale. From what you have described, a repossessed boat wo an engine and missing knobs and such would have to be free to be worthwhile. Sails and electronics can quickly add up. But you can find used sails for these easily and a little Garmin chartplotter is all you need. We have wandered all over the Bahamas with the smallest Garmin echomap.

[Three Sisters]

Originally Posted by SoCalSailor78

Yes, thank you! I was going to ask about title searches and insurance as well. Thank you!

Your welcome !


Also, we have never been required to have a survey for liability insurance. However, times change and different locations may require it. The first thing we did was make a quick stop at our current insurer's office to get more information on insurance for the boat.

[SoCalSailor78]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Why pay to have the painting done?

I did my 27' boat (with full keel) for about $350.00 in paint, plus pullout, sand paper etc. When I got it out, the topside hull was so bad I did that also using one gallon of Pettit EZ Poxy $88.00

What about hoisting fees? I don't have a hoist at this marina. The marina near where this one is has shops but I don't know that they would allow me to hoist my boat and keep it at their shop while I do the work and don't pay them to do the work.

If I can get it out of the water at the marina itself, that would be great. But wouldn't I still have to pay for the hoist? (Either at my marina or at any of the other ones I would likely take it to.) If I didn't have to pay, then maybe I would consider doing it myself. In my specific case, the fact that I don't have that equipment (and a shop does AND has the expertise) is where the value of having a shop do the work in my opinion.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SoCalSailor78

What about hoisting fees? I don't have a hoist at this marina. The marina near where this one is has shops but I don't know that they would allow me to hoist my boat and keep it at their shop while I do the work and don't pay them to do the work.

If I can get it out of the water at the marina itself, that would be great. But wouldn't I still have to pay for the hoist? (Either at my marina or at any of the other ones I would likely take it to.) If I didn't have to pay, then maybe I would consider doing it myself. In my specific case, the fact that I don't have that equipment (and a shop does) is the value of doing it in my opinion.

Does your yard have a hard standing area for boats.. if so they likely have a mobile crane that comes in to do their lifts..
As for equipment.. that's a scraper, a roller and tray and a paint brush.. oh and a big pot of paint.
The price of the hoist in and out will be separate from the price of the paint job which will run to $100+/hr plus materials.. it used to be $75/hr back in '04.. NC prices.

[SoCalSailor78]

Originally Posted by Three Sisters

Your welcome !


Also, we have never been required to have a survey for liability insurance. However, times change and different locations may require it. The first thing we did was make a quick stop at our current insurer's office to get more information on insurance for the boat.

For me, it wasn't because of insurance so much as it was for the sake of finding out what the ACTUAL condition the boat is. Are there serious problems with bulkheads, etc... Things that may not be obvious to a novice such as myself.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by SoCalSailor78

What about hoisting fees? I don't have a hoist at this marina. The marina near where this one is has shops but I don't know that they would allow me to hoist my boat and keep it at their shop while I do the work and don't pay them to do the work.

If I can get it out of the water at the marina itself, that would be great. But wouldn't I still have to pay for the hoist? (Either at my marina or at any of the other ones I would likely take it to.) If I didn't have to pay, then maybe I would consider doing it myself. In my specific case, the fact that I don't have that equipment (and a shop does AND has the expertise) is where the value of having a shop do the work in my opinion.

That's what I meant by plus pullout. (My marina doesn't have a hoist either)

I figured you'd already done your homework and found a boatyard where you can have your boat pulled and knew the price (for your size boat)

Your gonna have to pay to have the boat pulled regardless. Plus there are lots of little costs like your sander if you don't have one, sand paper, tarp etc to catch what you sand off, extension cord, maybe a ladder, breathing filter/mask,.....

The paint I used was about $250/gallon and I used one gallon plus one quart of Micron CSC. You'll need brushes/rollers/handle, pan, old clothes, rags.

Then hope know one speeds through the area while you are painting kicking up dust or that someone's sanding doesn't blow over on your boat while your painting.........fun stuff. Boat ownership!

Also the fees for having the boat in the yard can get expensive quick unless you go when they have a special or get your painting completed quickly. Here from November thru February it's $8.00/ft just like at the marina for storage.... but then you can have problems with low temps .....as far as the painting goes

[hamburking]

Surprisingly, you aren't the first to ask this kind of question. Lucky for you, others have made great videos about their purchase and all the work they did on the boat to make their dream come true.

I'm a fan of Sailing Uma, and I think you will enjoy their videos:

https://youtu.be/lAye0mf2A8g

FWIW, I bought a boat that had been sitting on the hard for 5 years (super cheap). I only spent a few hundred dollars and 3 weeks working on it before I was off sailing in the thousand islands. So it can be done. But choose wisely. Getting a survey is a great place to start.

[pmagistro]

It also depends on your lk g term aspirations for the boat. If you want to live aboard in a marina and travel infrequently if ever, your costs may be relatively low.

If, on the other hand, you plan to sail offshore, you will likely put significant $$$ into any boat you buy.

Project boats are available almost everywhere for a song. Buying a 70s fiberglass monohull for under 5k with a working engine and some decent sails is very possible, but you'll put five or ten more, at least, into it if you are hoping to restore to mint condition. The hardest part I have found is simply learning to do everything....what is a seacock, a cutless bearing, a wet cylinder liner, an impeller, a backing plate, etc etc.

I would encourage you to talk to boat people. Walk marinas in your free time and listen to people. You'll learn a lot and maybe find a gem.

Also, if you haven't sailed an older cruising boat, try to go sailing for a few days or a week or two with someone who owns one and ask a lot of questions. I think you would then find yourself better prepared for the surprises that otherwise come along with the kind of project you are considering.

[SoCalSailor78]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Does your yard have a hard standing area for boats.. if so they likely have a mobile crane that comes in to do their lifts..
As for equipment.. that's a scraper, a roller and tray and a paint brush.. oh and a big pot of paint.
The price of the hoist in and out will be separate from the price of the paint job which will run to $100+/hr plus materials.. it used to be $75/hr back in '04.. NC prices.

No. No standing area.

[SoCalSailor78]

Originally Posted by thomm225

That's what I meant by plus pullout. (My marina doesn't have a hoist either)

I figured you'd already done your homework and found a boatyard where you can have your boat pulled and knew the price (for your size boat)

Your gonna have to pay to have the boat pulled regardless. Plus there are lots of little costs like your sander if you don't have one, sand paper, tarp etc to catch what you sand off, extension cord, maybe a ladder, breathing filter/mask,.....

The paint I used was about $250/gallon and I used one gallon plus one quart of Micron CSC. You'll need brushes/rollers/handle, pan, old clothes, rags.

Then hope know one speeds through the area while you are painting kicking up dust or that someone's sanding doesn't blow over on your boat while your painting.........fun stuff. Boat ownership!

Also the fees for having the boat in the yard can get expensive quick unless you go when they have a special or get your painting completed quickly. Here from November thru February it's $8.00/ft just like at the marina for storage.... but then you can have problems with low temps .....as far as the painting goes

This marina doesn't have any special amenities, other than a small coral for dinghies.

There's no standing area for boats, no hoists and no cranes in this marina. Since it is located in a shipyard, I am thinking that at one time, where the marina currently exists used to perhaps be some kind of shipping operation. (Imagine a peace sign if you will and that the peace sign is actually a map of canals, canals that ultimately join together on one end which is the outlet to the bay. There are ship docks and marinas at the ends of the various points. But nothing in this specific marina. It is surrounded by all this international and industrial activity but I don't think any of those would let me park my boat there to do this.


However, there is a sister marina in one of the other canals where they do have full service shops and the thinking was that I could either borrow an outboard from someone temporarily and then simply take the boat to one of those shops, or have it towed over there. I will have to do some research and find out specifics. If I can do it myself and save a ton of cash, I would absolutely be open to doing it myself.

Things like sanders, sand paper, brushes, rollers paint trays, etc.... I am perfectly willing to go get if I know I can be able to get it up out of the water and be able to do the painting myself.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by SoCalSailor78

This marina doesn't have any special amenities, other than a small coral for dinghies.

There's no standing area for boats, no hoists and no cranes in this marina. Since it is located in a shipyard, I am thinking that at one time, where the marina currently exists used to perhaps be some kind of shipping operation. (Imagine a peace sign if you will and that the peace sign is actually a map of canals, canals that ultimately join together on one end which is the outlet to the bay. There are ship docks and marinas at the ends of the various points. But nothing in this specific marina. It is surrounded by all this international and industrial activity but I don't think any of those would let me park my boat there to do this.


However, there is a sister marina in one of the other canals where they do have full service shops and the thinking was that I could either borrow an outboard from someone temporarily and then simply take the boat to one of those shops, or have it towed over there. I will have to do some research and find out specifics. If I can do it myself and save a ton of cash, I would absolutely be open to doing it myself.

Things like sanders, sand paper, brushes, rollers paint trays, etc.... I am perfectly willing to go get if I know I can be able to get it up out of the water and be able to do the painting myself.

Why borrow an outboard if you are going to need one anyway.

Buy the thing then you can take the boat over whenever you want if you know what you are doing.


Otherwise you may put some new dings in your new old boat, but if you buy a tough enough boat, it won't matter

I hit a piling with mine after being towed in once after I first bought it, and my bow sprit took a huge chunk out of a piling.

I'd had 15 years racing sailboats and 10 years on small power boats but zero experience docking....