new old boat

[denlin]

HI all, I'm new to your forum, and looking for a little help. I have this crazy idea of picking up an older wood boat to fix up. I did a small Chris Craft (16ft.)Express 1950. A while back, now I would like to try a bigger one, say 24 to 32 size. I'm retired now and need something to keep me out of trouble. Can any of you give me any ideas on what to look for and look out for in getting one. I would prefer not to get in to too much hull work. I have talked to a few people with boats for sale who say the hull is sound. BUT I would like to know that for sure.
Thank for any help.

[Rocky]

eBay

[tjdono]

Denlin
Go for it! Yacht Trader is a good place to start. I will give one bit of advice though... trust no one except a ship surveyor, hired by YOU, about the state of a prospective boat. This includes private party sellers AND yacht brokers. Alot of times a "good deal" will turm out to be someone who is trying to pawn off a rotting hulk that is going to be VERY cost prohibitive to restore. Have fun in your search..take your time and the enjoyment you will find in the search alone will make your boat buying endeavor a pleasureable experience. It took over a year and a half to find my own.

Regards
Tim Donovan
42' Stephens FDMY
Lady Nola

[Mike Jones]

Go and look at the boat yourself first and if you fall in love with what you see then have it surveyed by a reputable surveyor. Then be honest with yourself and the results of the surveyor as to what it will presumeably cost and add 20 percent onto that and decide if that is within your range for the project and if you'll proceed or wait for a better project to come along. ( It seems there's always another one that's a bit better that comes along the second you start on the one your working on). Good Luck
Mike

[denlin]

Thanks, another question. I have talked to 3 boat haulers all say I'll need a crane to get one of these boats off the trailer at my place. Any ideas on getting one off without a crane. I'm out in the boonys, nearest city 60 miles away. thanks

[Concordia..41]

You might need a crane to get it off their truck, but most boats in that size range should be trailerable and/or come with a trailer - include that in your shopping criteria.

If you find a keeper sans trailer then shop for a used flatbed trailer and build a cradle for it. You wanted something to do right???

Happy hunting smile.gif

[R.I.Singer30]

Being from R.I. there are quite a few fixer uppers in almost every boat yard. I found mine(in the paper just before it was going to get posted in Wooden Boat )for the price of moving her.Now I wish I was retired(I guess I always did too).While I was bopping around the forum I came across this boat in misc. http://www.islandcutter.com/antares/ It sure looks fine,but when I returned to your thread I saw you are from Mn. and it's in Ct. So being retired maybe you coud take for a ride through the St. Lawrence seaway instead of wood shedding this year but then not every one is as adventurish/ foolish as I, or buy a trailer and a truck and do a road trip.They can be fun too. Happy Hunting smile.gif

[ 03-28-2003, 09:03 AM: Message edited by: R.I.Singer30 ]

[J. A.Tones]

Denlin - are you certain there are no boat movers who have trailers designed to off load boats onto blocks? Over here on the left coast there are any number of movers who are set up to load and unload boats to/from their trailers and blocks. I have a 36' ex fishboat that I've converted to pleasure use and which is built like a tank. I have her at home at the moment doing a complete refit while she sits right outside my shop.
The local mover backed under the lift at the marina and tied her down and the when he got to my home he backed her in to the spot I wanted. He then dropped the hitch, causing the transom to lift, blocked the transom and the lifted the hitch untill the hull was level fore and aft.
Then he started pulling the trailer out from under the boat a bit at a time untill the trailer axle was up to the forward blocks. He then blocked the hull just aft of the axle and removed the ones forward of the axle, allowing the trailer to come all the way out. The rest of the hull was then blocked and screw jacked snug and he was finished.
To give an idea of how "non-complicated" it actually was, the total time from his arrival at the marina untill he left my home was 1.25 hours including travelling from the marina with the boat on board.
Surely there is a mover with this ability in your area or maybe we are just really lucky out here.
Good luck either way,
John Tones MV Penta
Sidney, BC

[denlin]

Thanks John. I have heard of some haulers with hydraulic trailers but have yet to talk to one. I'll keep looking. Leaving tomorrow on a 5 day trip looking at boats. I'll let you all know what I find when I get back. Thanks for all the help.