Part out or leave be?

[Greg Stoll]

I recently went to inspect an 27' Owen's Cabin Cruiser for evaluation as a possible project. What I saw was disheartening; an old wood boat that has been left to rot on it's trailer.

The boat is built with a plywood bottom and mahogany lapstrake on the sides, with a solid mahogany transom. There is rot in the plywood where is sits on the trailer bunks, as well as in the cabin top and cabin sole. The chine area is questionable, as is the bottom to transom joint. And, of course, the whole boat is a shambles.

So, here's the dilemma; do I buy it and take it apart for use in future projects, or should I leave it be and let someone with more ambition buy it and fix it up good as new?

The partial list of what I can get off it:

Small Block Chevy with manifolds and marine gear
Window hardware (some window glass is missing)
Stainless counter and sink
Port-potti
Shaft, stuffing box, propeller, and stainless rudder
Wheel, steering and engine controls
Anchor
Foredeck hatch
Propane stove
Refrigerator
Mahogany cabin sides, planking and transom

Keep in mind, this boat has been sitting for 10 years in the same storage facility. Any thoughts?

Greg

[ 11-12-2004, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: Greg Stoll ]

[Stiletto]

If there is another contender, who will rebuild the boat, let him do it.
Given that the boat has been sitting for ten years, your proposition sounds reasonable to me.

[ 11-13-2004, 08:15 PM: Message edited by: Stiletto ]

[brad9798]

Honestly, without a complete replacement build, she's probably gone ...

Knowing those boats pretty well, had a Flagship model growing up, she probably been leaking so long topsides, that she's rotted from the inside out ... :(

They were not strongly built to begin with ... so you don't see a whole lot of them out there these days- especially the ones with ply in them.

From a rational point of view, not that any wooden boater really has this point of view ;) , to rebuild her, you could easily drop 30-50 grand ... 10-25 grand if you do it yourself ... then, you'll have maybe a 10,000 dollar boat when finished.

I'd probably not bother ... unless I could buy it for 500, use a bunch of it on another project ... sounds like she's headed to the saws ... :(

[Katherine]

Hello All

I normally lurk, but since I'm another Owens owner I decided to chime in. If the hull is that far gone and no one's run any of the systems in better then a decade, I'd vote for parting her out.

On a side note:
Brad, last June I made an impulse purchase of a 35ft 1961 Owens Flagship Cruiser off of eBay. Just wondering if you have any literature or manuals left over from your earlier days. You are right when you say there are not many left around and it's making my search for information exceedingly difficult.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

I'm with Brad, She's dead, and if you don't buy her and rescue the hardware, that will probably be toast soon enough. Don't mourn her passing, it occurred long before you arrived on the scene.

[brad9798]

Katherine-I have none. :(

Anyway, check their website:
OWENS (http://www.owensmarqueclub.com/)

Good luck to all!!!

Brad