Is it worth a look?

[mphy98]

I was in Escanaba Mi over the weekend with the family and on the way home off of hwy 41 or was it m35 in the UP? I saw a 25' cabin cruiser for $700.00. It was fiberglass and with it a 25' possibly 30' sailboat for $1500.00. It just got me wondering, how bad could it be? $700.00 isn't a lot of money these days, but if you had to rehab the whole boat could it be worth the money to do it? I always wanted to do one like that, But the wife... to many toys now. she would shoot me I think. So if any of you guys want a project you would have to drive the drive because I do not remember where it was for sure, somewhere between the outskirts of marquette and menominee. Any members up there know about it? Take a look if you can and let me know. Might have some mad money.

 

[Grand Larsony]

Re: Is it worth a look?

You'd better look on CL at all the boats for free (that are complete POS) -- projects that sounded great but eventually failed. That could be you unless you know what you're getting into.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Is it worth a look?

Most of the time you're going to have more invested in a project boat than what you can ever hope to sell it for, so it only makes sense if it's a boat you really really like and plan to keep it for a long time.

 

[Snobike Mike]

Re: Is it worth a look?

Most of these types of boats are simply owners trying to have you pay them to haul away their junk............

 

[shrew]

Re: Is it worth a look?

I don't even have to look at it. A 25' cabin cruiser for $700, is overpriced by $699.00.

There is no such thing as a cheap or free boat. I bought a 28 ft. cruiser for $24,500 and still ended up putting $20,000 into it. Had I known I would have bought a $44,000 boat to begin with. It would have beeen much newer with much less headaches. Now I own a boat worth $28K that I've invested $44K in. If you want to join the club, jump on in, the water is fine.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Is it worth a look?

I'd generally agree with these sentiments, but one thing I would add. 99 out of 100 cheap boats are not worth looking into. But if you want to find that 1 out of 100, you have to be willing to look at the other 99. There are some good deals out there, but you have weed through the bad ones to find them. For me, sometimes it's just fun looking. As for bringing it home - I'll be living in the dog house soon if I bring any more "projects" home. Ahhh, maybe just one more!

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Is it worth a look?

I just delivered a 27er to the new owner. I even paid $125 to rent the trailer to do it. Mid size express cruisers are a dime a dozen, and thats for running, driving ones with trailers.

Shrew, your $28K boat needed another $20K to use it??? Ouch, that is sad to hear.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Is it worth a look?

Time is the big concern, and I don't know much about cabin cruisers, but if you're going to buy a boat for $20K that requires another 10-15K, seems to me you must be re-doing a lot of stuff already, maybe it's best to start out with one for $700, that would leave you $19K ahead. If you're going to redo something anyway sometimes it's best to start from scratch with a POS.

I looked at a lot of $4K tinnys that looked sorta pretty, but would need to be redone in a couple years, with a crusty outboard on it's last leg hanging off the back. I settled on an essentially free POS, put a couple grand into it and hung a new motor off the back. Now I know what I have, and saved me $4k.

 

[KBHumphrey]

Re: Is it worth a look?

I was in Escanaba Mi over the weekend with the family and on the way home off of hwy 41 or was it m35 in the UP? I saw a 25' cabin cruiser for $700.00. It was fiberglass and with it a 25' possibly 30' sailboat for $1500.00. It just got me wondering, how bad could it be? $700.00 isn't a lot of money these days, but if you had to rehab the whole boat could it be worth the money to do it? I always wanted to do one like that, But the wife... to many toys now. she would shoot me I think. So if any of you guys want a project you would have to drive the drive because I do not remember where it was for sure, somewhere between the outskirts of marquette and menominee. Any members up there know about it? Take a look if you can and let me know. Might have some mad money.

Not that this has anything to do with your post, but I'm right near you, in Wheatland. About ready to take the leap and purchase my first boat.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Is it worth a look?

you two should buy it together, to make a bad situation worse.

Around here, old cruisers in the 24-30' range are all over the place, for next to nothing. One reason they are undesirable is just hauling them to work on them, or moornig and insuring, or storing is expensive, compared to that cool old runabout you can restore in the garage, or trailer to the mechanic, paint shop, etc. Another is that the musty old cabin will always be a musty old cabin, but most people who have that kind of boat want something comfortable and pleasant to hang out on. Finally, due to size, there is that much more to work on--just fixing a galley light can be a half day job.
Keep driving.