O'Rourke wrote:

What is this boat worth paying for???

The only sensible answer to that question is: what exactly is it worth *to you*?




The one I'm interested in is a Cheoy Lee Robb 35 built in 1964 Teak
over Ipol with bronze and copper fastners. The engine is an Isuzu
Pisce 3 40hp 3 cylinder (which was new in 1976 and has 910 hours). The
boat can be view at: http://www.cheoyleeassociation.com/Sale/Tigre.htm

Personally, I wouldn't accept it as a gift, but then I have been spoiled by a long succession of boats that were lots of fun and not much
trouble.

Two points of view- one, you have given this boat a careful inspection and found much work needed. But you still obviously want it, so the
next step is to quantify everything that you want to do to it... added gear, upgrade/modernization, outright repair... cost that out, and
see what it leaves you as a range of possible purchase prices. It seems likely to me that even with free labor, the cost of your work on
this boat is going to much exceed even the most optimistic future sale value.

Two, look around the market and see what else is out there in the same price range. You can almost take your pick of wood or ferrocement
boats in this size/price range. That, plus the fact that nobody else is qeueing up to plunk down money on this boat, suggests that it is
still overpriced.





....... A shipwright, who looked at it
the other day claims that it will cost $60K to replace the deck in
teak and $30K to replace deck in fibreglass.

Which means that it will probably cost at least $5K~ 10K in materials alone (and that, using the cheap stuff) to rebuild the deck. Listen
to the man!



However: if you look at this boat is hard not to have a very favorable
impression. Its a beautiful boat.

It's pretty, but it's not on a scale with a Herreshoff or an Alden. It's a copy of a 1950s racer-cruiser yacht, built in the Far East by
cheap labor. Nice, but it's hardly an heirloom. Not trying to be mean, just giving a somewhat-informed opinion.



.... talking with a number of Cheoy Lee Robb 35 owners, one purchased
his boat, which he claims was in similar condition for $5K. Another,
purchased his for $16K (this boat had laid teak deck so didn't have
the plywood delamination problem). However, a surveyor that I talked
to claims the Blue Book value a 1964 Robb 35 is about $20K.

That's silly. There is no 'blue book value' for sailboats, especially old wooden ones. There are not enough of them sold in any given year
to form a statistical field, and the prices & condition vary so widely that an attempt to draw one would be meaningless, besides which the
field of yacht sales is not that well organized.

I would treat all info from that source with at least a slight dosage of salt.

.... For a
boat in perfect condition I hear the max one could sell it for is
$40K.

What do people at this forum think?

Well, I have a number of friends who own (and avidly race) Herreshoff S-Boats, which are true museum-piece classics. Among them, the
common saying is that the way to have an S-Boat worth $40K is to spend $60K on it. Do you want to deal yourself a hand in this game?

If you love the boat, go for it. But hammer the price down as far as you possibly can first. And acknowledge that this boat is from an era
when sailing was an expensive and work-intensive sport. Good luck!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

That you denote yourself as "a novice" is probably reason to Stay Away
from such a 'project' boat.
Just ask yourself the following question: Do I want to spend LOTS of
TIME and perhaps a LOT of money in such a restoration OR do I want to
go sailing?
Without specific experience in restoration you will undoubtedly make
some very costly mistakes in the learning process.
If you want to go sailing buy yourself a good well founded old boat that
doesn't need much work, learn on that boat .... then decide if you want
a 'project' boat. Any boat will take a lot of maintenance and repair
time (or money), its usually better to maintain than repair/restore.
How much is your *time* worth?

DSK wrote:
O'Rourke wrote:


What is this boat worth paying for???


The only sensible answer to that question is: what exactly is it worth *to you*?




The one I'm interested in is a Cheoy Lee Robb 35 built in 1964 Teak
over Ipol with bronze and copper fastners. The engine is an Isuzu
Pisce 3 40hp 3 cylinder (which was new in 1976 and has 910 hours). The
boat can be view at: http://www.cheoyleeassociation.com/Sale/Tigre.htm


Personally, I wouldn't accept it as a gift, but then I have been spoiled by a long succession of boats that were lots of fun and not much
trouble.

Two points of view- one, you have given this boat a careful inspection and found much work needed. But you still obviously want it, so the
next step is to quantify everything that you want to do to it... added gear, upgrade/modernization, outright repair... cost that out, and
see what it leaves you as a range of possible purchase prices. It seems likely to me that even with free labor, the cost of your work on
this boat is going to much exceed even the most optimistic future sale value.

Two, look around the market and see what else is out there in the same price range. You can almost take your pick of wood or ferrocement
boats in this size/price range. That, plus the fact that nobody else is qeueing up to plunk down money on this boat, suggests that it is
still overpriced.





....... A shipwright, who looked at it
the other day claims that it will cost $60K to replace the deck in
teak and $30K to replace deck in fibreglass.


Which means that it will probably cost at least $5K~ 10K in materials alone (and that, using the cheap stuff) to rebuild the deck. Listen
to the man!



However: if you look at this boat is hard not to have a very favorable
impression. Its a beautiful boat.


It's pretty, but it's not on a scale with a Herreshoff or an Alden. It's a copy of a 1950s racer-cruiser yacht, built in the Far East by
cheap labor. Nice, but it's hardly an heirloom. Not trying to be mean, just giving a somewhat-informed opinion.



.... talking with a number of Cheoy Lee Robb 35 owners, one purchased
his boat, which he claims was in similar condition for $5K. Another,
purchased his for $16K (this boat had laid teak deck so didn't have
the plywood delamination problem). However, a surveyor that I talked
to claims the Blue Book value a 1964 Robb 35 is about $20K.


That's silly. There is no 'blue book value' for sailboats, especially old wooden ones. There are not enough of them sold in any given year
to form a statistical field, and the prices & condition vary so widely that an attempt to draw one would be meaningless, besides which the
field of yacht sales is not that well organized.

I would treat all info from that source with at least a slight dosage of salt.


.... For a
boat in perfect condition I hear the max one could sell it for is
$40K.

What do people at this forum think?


Well, I have a number of friends who own (and avidly race) Herreshoff S-Boats, which are true museum-piece classics. Among them, the
common saying is that the way to have an S-Boat worth $40K is to spend $60K on it. Do you want to deal yourself a hand in this game?

If you love the boat, go for it. But hammer the price down as far as you possibly can first. And acknowledge that this boat is from an era
when sailing was an expensive and work-intensive sport. Good luck!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

RichH wrote:

That you denote yourself as "a novice" is probably reason to Stay Away
from such a 'project' boat.
Just ask yourself the following question: Do I want to spend LOTS of
TIME and perhaps a LOT of money in such a restoration OR do I want to
go sailing?

I liked the advice given by a former regular contributor here, Fishmeal:

"If you find yourself seriously contemplating buying an old wooden boat & restoring it, first go and get a rubber mallet like the surveyors use.
Then whack yourself over the head with it, and ask yourself 'Do I still want to buy the boat?' Repeat as necessary."

As much as I admire the boats & the people who do it, it's special kind of purgatory to own an old classic and restore and/or keep her sailing.
Been there, done that....

Fresh Breezes- Doug King