Newbie considering if this is worth tackling

[MagnoNC]

I have an oppotunity to pick up this boat relatively cheap:
it is 42' 1972 Viking here is the description provided with the boat:

What we have hear is a forgotten old woodie with a fiberglass cabin top. She has two broken ribs, a slumping bow stem and questionable rudder boxes (rudders hit the ramp when last launched and in the rush to get her back out a triler tire on each side popped a plank and cracked a rib). Both FWC crusader Big blocks are in good clean condition. Complete boat.

I am an auto technician so the mechanical part of it I can handle and my dad is a framer/finish carpenter just wondering how big of a project this would entail, and whether or not i should dump the money into this or just spend more and get a boat that can float

[Kaa]

Going by what you posted, the answer to "how big of a project this would entail" looks to be somewhere between huge and I-hope-my-grandchildren-will-be-able-to-finish-it...

Kaa

[Bob Smalser]

Newbie considering if this is worth tackling.....42' woodie with a fiberglass cabin top....two broken ribs, a slumping bow stem...

I'd start smaller. Something under 20 feet.

I think restorations are the best beginnings for builders because how not to do it gets imprinted so deeply. But this one may have major rot and structural problems that will be harder, more expensive and more time consuming to repair than building (or buying) something smaller from scratch. 36 years and a warm climate don't require much neglect to find deeper wood problems than evident on the surface. These days it'll also take a bank loan for the fuel necessary to reach the Gulf Stream.

[MagnoNC]

I forgot to mention that I and the boat are in the northeast(mass) if that means anything concerning wood condition or rot

[kc8pql]

I have an oppotunity to pick up this boat relatively cheap:
it is 42' 1972 Viking
Usually, the reason big, old wooden boats are cheap is because it's going to cost a fortune to fix it.

[Bob Smalser]

I forgot to mention that I and the boat are in the northeast(mass) if that means anything concerning wood condition or rot

Perhaps. But perhaps not if the boat's stem is "slumping".

Even with pics, we can't tell much from here. If you're serious about the boat, spend the money and hire a surveyor who knows his way around wood boats. He should find everything that's wrong with the vessel and provide a repair estimate in hours and dollars. Then you can figure out the amount of materials and yard space you'll need to buy/rent and how to fit all those man and shop hours into your schedule.

[erster]

I would require them to pay me 10 grand to haul it off, if thats any consolation. That boat is being advertised for 1,000 bucks. Check for a yard storage bill. After you finish that boat, its still only worth 5 grand, tops if you can get a marina slip for it.

FWIW, the ad states the same as your first post, but you left out:

If you are crazy enough to want it just pay to move the boat infront of her and we may just give it to you! Boat must leave current location!

.

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1785036/0

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Bob is right - it is best to start small.

Put it this way.

As a boat increases in size, most of her costs increase as either the square or the cube of her length.

The cost of mooring her and laying her up is linear.

Paint, and the fuel required to drive her, if she is a powerboat, increase as the square of the length, because paint is a matter of area and resistance to motion is caused by skin friction (a square factor) and wave making

Almost everything else, most definitely including the cost of materials and fastenings, and most definitely the man hours required to do the work, rises as the cube of the length.

So if a 20 footer costs $8,000 and 800 hours, a 40 footer will cost $64,000 and 6,400 hours, and so on.

[Lew Barrett]

Agreed all around unless of course you must have a 42 foot boat. If you must have a 42 foot boat, then the least expensive way to accomplish that is to obtain one. You don't make money on the boats in between as a rule. But then several other questions arise.

The luminaries have judged this one as a potentially unworthy project. I would have to agree. There are a lot of unanswered questions here; the droop, the generally tired look of the vessel pictured in the thumbnail, the yard bill, the amount of thump she took, ad infinitum. Andrew was being kind. Don't use his $64,000 number as any sort of absolute. A tired old boat is a huge undertaking. The work of a lifetime, really. Some of us have been with our boats for 15, 20 years or more. Those aren't years we've just been looking at them, mind you.
It's critical to select wisely, and in an informed manner, at the start.
The usual route though, is to smart small, if only to determine the strength of your devotion to the idea. It doesn't mean you have to. But if you opt to start big, then get a good running start with the boat you select. I doubt this is the one.
Lives and fortunes are at stake.

[Elcoholic]

Well, I don't completely agree with the concensus but of course, most of my brainstorms are "off the grid." I restored "Matriarch," a 1940 57-footer...a boat the looked much worse than the Viking in question. (Hell, 42' sounds like a piece of cake to me...and a fiberglass top to boot? "Easy.") However...........

By the way, you won't have to pay $1,000 for it or even pay to move the boat in front of it. Just say, "I'll take it" and I guarantee that they'll do whatever is necessary to make sure that you do.

The restoration took 18 months FULL TIME work for me and two guys that worked for me........that's over $93,000 in labor out of my pocket. (I worked for free.) Add to that about $150,000 for "parts" and you get the idea. Then again, it was worth it and now I have something fairly unique and in this particular case, a boat that earns it's keep: www.matriarchyacht.com (see before and after photos)

Financially, it's a no-brainer: You'll lose money, meaning that the end result will be worth substantially less than your "investment." But from the standpoint of pride-of-accomplishment, there's not much else that can compare. It's also a great way of saying "Kilroy was here."

If you have the time, money and inclination, go for it!

[paladin]

I betcha I can build a brand spanking new boat to the same design or similar, to the same standards as that boat when new, for less than what you will put into that boat to bring it to standard, in less time......

[erster]

Elco, the Viking is not in the same league as your boat, brand new!!!! The boat is a dog when it comes to speed versus fuel too. Its tops around 12 knots with those engines. With the description of the rudder and bow, the boat hull and framing is soup. I would hate to list the material costs as I sit here for the return. The boat is not worth hauling off from the lot and even fixed up, you cannot get rid of it.

[S B]

It's a bargain. where could you buy a headache that big at 10 cents a pound?:D

[GoldDogs]

I forgot to mention that I and the boat are in the northeast(mass) if that means anything concerning wood condition or rot

Um yes, I grew up on the South Shore of Boston, been here for 8 years, seen many boats of that era composting well down there.

Boats of that size, condition and "price" are common. As someone else said- "start smaller" 25-28 ft would be enough of a project .

[C. Ross]

I think we scared him off, boys.

MagnoNC, agreed with consensus above. Sometimes free is not very cheap.

I assume you want a cruiser in this range, rather than searching for a restoration opportunity and landing on this one. In this class of cruiser, boats cost $500 - $2000+ per foot depending on condition, rarity of boat, region and other factors. (Others from New England may chime in with more accurate numbers.) People buy below that rough range when the boat is exceptional, like Elcoholic's example. If the boat is rare or in solid turnkey condition think about the top of the range.

You also need to think about operating cost. Slip rental, annual haul-out and winterizing, fuel, maintenance.

You can really take advantage of your skill as an auto technician. A boat in strong structural condition that needs to be repowered, or rewired, or re-plumbed (or all the above!) might be a legitimate bargain for you.

Personally, I would avoid getting a boat in good mechanical shape expecting your dad to help with structural rebuild. It's a lot to ask the old man to take on your passion, plus boat woodworking, especially structural stuff, is a specialized skill. Save your dad's skills for something manageable like refitting interior cabinetry or trim or maybe replacing a couple of planks.