Re: Bunch of complete nooby questions...
Thanks for the pics F14.
So the stringers go sideways as well as the length.. That's pretty much building a boat really...
Having said that, I was seriously contemplating the idea of doing just that, so at least with this thing I'd have a full-size template, a kind of 3D plan.
I think my biggest fear of trying to build my own boat was the thought of after months of work and expense, then finding the thing was on the squiff and unevenly shaped or something horrid. With this thing I could replace one section at a time until I have... the same boat... but less chance of it folding in half or something.
Mmm.
Occasionally I've hired a local boat, the canoe type. It was enough to convince me that I do indeed want a boat, but one with a decent cabin to get some breaks from the sun (canopy or not, we're right on the equator here - and humid). In some respects though this is still an experiement in actual ownership of a boat.
Cost wise, it's both dirt cheap and very expensive, depending on how you look at it. For income I'm a writer (you may have noticed!). I write sales copy, advertising. Typically I charge between $500 to $2000 per project. One $1000 project a month is plenty enough to keep me going due to the low living costs here.
The boat was advertised at 11,000 ringgit, which is $3200. That's way over-priced by US or UK standards. I'm from the UK and I know I could buy a boat like this, in vastly better condition, for about $1500. Heck I've seen some lovely little cabin cruisers going for 500 pounds, including trailer.
In that sense the price is extortion. On the other hand the best price I could find for shipping a cheap 2nd hand cabin boat from Australia, the UK or US is 10,000 pounds, or $16,000. That's just plain mad and out of the question.
Boats similar to this but in better condition go for around 30,000 ringgit, or around $8-9,000. They also tend to be bigger and not really trailerable.
So finding a trailerable cabin fiberglass boat that's within the max 22ft of storage space I have is ideal. Being "cheap" is even better.
The good news is we managed to knock him down to 8,000 ringgit, though that's still $2300 and crazy money for what it is.
Supply and demand, you want a wide-bodied cabin boat, with a monster engine (by local standards) it's pricey.
Even with the local boats there's very little choice. Total number of boats being advertised here? 4, including this one. This is the only place I can find boats for sale on a regular basis:
http://www.mudah.my/li?ca=9_s&th=1&q=boat&cg=1080&w=113
See the black "speedboat"? Looks a bit better, certainly a better trailer, 25,000 rinngit. And for all I know, has exactly the same problems.
You'll also spot the open canoe, without engine, for 10,000? Makes 8,000 for this thing look a bargain
He was advertising it for less, but without the engine. I was tempted but know engines are expensive. Then it came up for sale with the engine, which suggests he was reluctant to sell that engine. Good sign, true?
Income-wise it's about 2 month's income, so a big wedge but not a mortgage or anything.
I'm also raising my rates - typically a sales copywriter at my level charges $5,000 or so. I've been picking and choosing what work I'll take on and for low fees for the last few years. Time to crank it up a bit.
Currently my plan goes something like this - I know the guy is using the boat on a regular basis, so it does float etc.
First it needs a darn good clean, get all his crap out of there and scrub everything.
Get familar with it, figure out what all the wires and pipes and stuff are. All the wiring needs re-doing or at least re-routing and tidying up. Check all cables, possibly replace the battery.
Sand it all down, fill in the chips and scratches, primer and paint. Will be red again below the rub bar, everything on top white. At that point it will be a very pretty little boat.
Get a bimini top or build a light hard top and get a new trailer made.
At that point I was going to do the same to the interior, including fitting a bit of carpet, some wood trim, blinds, make it look nice... OR, hack the roof off, raise it a bit and extend the cabin back by a couple of feet, leaving a little dent for steering ( kind of semi-L shape).
Then the fancy stuff, GPS, fishfinder, radio etc.
Looks like before the cabin I'd have to cut the floors out and start rebuilding!
The good news is these stringers seem to be largish lumps along the bottom. I was thinking of long thin slats embedded within the fiberglass at the sides...
Presuming the wood is rotten, I should be able to slice the top off the fiberglass and scoop/chisel the wood out, then glass new sections in, right?
Long as it's deep cleaned I could re-use the sides of the fiberglass slots as patterns?
Then shedloads of glass and resin on top?
Doing that at the back of the boat doesn't sound too bad. Getting to the stringers at the front is going to be much harder.
Question - the live bait holders - do they extend right down to the bottom, ie the stringers are either side and attached to it, or would the stringers run below that?
It's a 'feature' but I also got the impression it was structural? I really don't fancy trying to cut that thing out...
OK, new plan:
Sand and paint, as wife insists on that if it's going to be sitting in our front garden.
Cut out cockpit floor behind bait wells - it needs replacing anyway as it's springy - and slice the top off a stringer. If it looks solid glass it back over and replace floor.
If it's wet and rotten, replace rear stringers, then replace floor.
Cut out a section of floor by that weird bulkhead thing, see if it goes right down to the hull base. If it does, use boat for a few months and see if boating is for me...
If that bulkhead doesn't go right down and it just hanging there to hold the floor up, remove floor, replace stringers. Replace floor but lower, to give more head-room and remove that bulkhead for extra space.
At this point I have a lovely little boat that I'm deeply familiar with.
If all goes well, use it while saving up for a newer engine or possible engine rebuild, which will probably cost as much as a new one.
Does that sound like a reasonable plan or am I missing something else?
Sorry for the long posts but there's no-one here I can ask such stuff...
JB
