Getting in too deep?

[bruno007]

Trojan owners,
I am looking at a '69 42' Trojan Sea Voyager. Here are a couple of the issues that need addressed in the survey that are a bit of a concern.
It says the port prop stuffing box is located under the shower tray and this is an isuue for inspection and service. Was that the original plan or was something done as a refab?
There appears to be bonding issues with wires that are broken at the conectors or are disconnected and de-lignification has occured. Also says bonding system may have to be revamped by installing hull zincs. How big an issue and is it a DIY fix? How much could this cost?
No switches on DC + cables between genset and engines
Beyond that there are some minor things like updating fire extinguishers, the air horn, paint, fiberglass repair etc, and the price reflects all of the downsides, but I don't want to get in too deep.
Thanks
Bruno

[prowlersfish]

Its easy to get in too deep on a older boat . A lot depends on your skill level how much time you you have and how deep your pockets are . Of course the boats condition is a big factor . A survey would be a good idea . Just make sure its done by someone that knowns older boats

[P-Dogg]

Like Prowlerfish said.....

If you have to ask, you already know what the answer is. If you really want a boat like this, divide your lowest offer by two and start there. Old wooden boats is where the saying "hole in the water that you throw money into" came from. Mostly it depends on what you want to do with your time and money, and whether you have enough of each. Good luck either way.

[todd brinkerhoff]

Yes...

[bruno007]

time I have, pocket depth can be questionable. The owner had a very complete survey done which rated the boat 'average' for its age. I am pretty capable at home wiring ( I realize not the same as boat wiring) plumbing, carpentry, paint, etc and don't mind getting sweaty and dirty. I don't have a lot to spend up front and most of the 'issues' aren't critical. The current list price is $14,500.

[todd brinkerhoff]

I guess I didn't catch it. Is the boat wood or fiberglass?

[bruno007]

Hull is double plank 5/4" mahogany over 1/4" plywood

[summer storm]

If you have to ask, then the answer is yes. a 42 foot yacht is a expensive hobby. Throw in the fact that it is a 44 year old wooden boat and you are talking about opening yourself up to a major cash drain. You could easily spend another 14K in your first year of ownership. You can't defer the maintenance on a wooden boat, the insurance company will drop you (if you can find insurance) and with out the insurance you will be opening yourself up to big bills if the boat sinks. There was a story not to long ago about a guy who bought a boat like this and after it sank he had to sell his house to pay for the clean up costs, and the kicker was he only owned it for 3 months.

At a price of 14.5 my first thought is this boat is not in good shape. Wooden boats of this size and in Bristol condition fetch 30-50K, or at least 25K. I could be wrong on the pricing but a 42 foot boat is still a 42 foot boat. In other words the cost to the buy boat is irrelevant, you need to figure out if you are OK paying for 42 feet of dockage, storage, fuel, insurance, and repairs, depending on where you live that could be 10K-20K per year. that's 50 to 100K in 5 years. Do you have a place to keep it? I spend about 7K per year on my boat and it is only 32 feet long and made of fiberglass.

I was involved in wooden boats professionally for about 12 years and my advice is take the 14.5 and buy a newer 28 or 30 foot Trojan (both great boats) put the extra 3-4K in your pocket for repairs and have fun.

Remember, you asked

[RWS]

Don't be a DREAMER here.

A visit to derelict boat yards will give you a big dose of REALITY on the wooden boat thing.

RWS

[bruno007]

Thanks for the healthy dose of reality. Walking away before even walking in the door.

[Cmount]

Very smart decision...and great advice. As a kid, all we had were wooden boats...as beautiful as they are, never again! By the way, LOVE my f32, and there are a lot out there for sale. Great boat as well!

[todd brinkerhoff]

My father and I have been working on a 1961 Century Raven 22 for the last 2 1/2 years. Mahoganey planking with oak ribbing. It has been VERY labor intensive, including some new planking, ribs, stripping, sealing with epoxy, sanding, replacing screws, sealing seams, tightening planks, rewiring, mechanical work, more sanding, bottom sealing and painting, more sanding, varnishing, more sanding...and on and on and on.

It will hopefully be in the water next summer, which will be over 3 years of us working on it at least 2 to 3 days/week. This is a 22 foot boat. I had a guy who restored older boats tell me that he won't do anything over 20 feet again, and is sticking to 16 and 17 foot chris crafts. I cannot imagine trying to keep up with a 42 footer. Holy crap. It would never get done, and it would be like chasing your tail. And that is a boat that would have to stay in the water as opposed to the Raven, which will stay out of the water and in a hoist when not in use.

Good call. If you are going over 20 feet (or 22 for us) go fiberglass.

[trojanmanXSagain]

lol well am pretty handy here and have a lot of blue collar tradesmen as friends and I'm STILL rebuilding a fiberglass 1979 boat. where you save in sweat you will surely spend in money. three years now and still not complete. luckily at this point I could walk away from it and still probably break even on the monies invested. now if I were being paid even 10 an hour I'd have another 6k in this thing in my time alone. this is the last gut job in my lifetime .