wrote:
One of our ships is scheduled to come in before the end of the year and
we will be enjoying a modest windfall. The MRS has said
"You can use part of this for a new boat, if you want."

After extended contemplation and a thorough look at my options, there's
no way I would spend what it would take to get a new, 40-foot trawler
these days- and most of them are now ridiculously overpowered as we
enter an era of "gotcha" fuel prices.
Plus- I don't find a lot of choices (priced under $way too much) that I
like any more than my present boat.


That makes you a lucky man.

So, what's goofier? Spending up to several hundred thousand on a boat
that isn't exactly what you'd really want- or spending far more than
your present boat will ever be worth to bring it back to "as new"
condition and do a few upgrades to a 23-year old hull?


Depends a great deal on whether the use of your boat is valuable enough
to you for the expense.

Compare the upgrades to the costs of keeping the boat, whether you use
it or not, over a long term span.

Anybody else ever face this same decicion? What did you decide, and are
you happy that you made the decision you did?


Sure (more below)

BTW, my list of projects to renew, refresh, and upgrade "Indulgence"
would include:

1. Two part poly paint job

Not really on our list. I'd probably do a roll-and-tip one-part poly and
buff. Looks just as good, 90% as durable, 1/3 the price.

2. Preventive epoxy coating of the interior of black iron fuel tanks

Not our list either. I'm planning on cutting the tops off our tanks and
using them to support bladder type fuel tanks.

3. Bow thruster. (Haven't had one since we bought this single screw
back in the early 90's, might not need one most of the time, but there
have been instances where a bow thruster would have been handy)

Yep. This one *is* on our list, and IMHO is worth the money if you use
the boat in any but ideal & benign conditions.

4. All exterior brightwork taken to wood and started afresh by a true
professional

Already did that. Wife is now doing varnish, except the parts we decided
were not visible and a PITA and I painted with WeatherBeater.

5. New swim step

That's on our list too.

6. Add a davit
7. Upgraded inflatable

Neither. Can you say "carbon fiber dinghy"?

8. Replace some water stained interior veneers

Not on our list, we have some slight stains but they're not visible
unless you hunt for them.

9. Replace the galley stove

Not on our list, ours works fine.

10. Replace the 1985-era CRT radar

On my list, but low priority.

11. Add an autopiot

Definitely on the list, a higher priority than the bow thruster
actually. And this is one I don't trust to do myself.

12. Rebuild the false stack to eliminate a perennial leak on the cabin
top

hmmm...

13. Upgrade to a VacuFlush or Tecma marine toilet


Take a look at the Raritan Atlantes. We put one in early this year.
Works great. Next, gotta put in a bigger holding tank as the spec sheet
LIES!

Especially as we already have the new engine from just two years ago,
(and because I like my present boat so much) I'm leaning toward the
upgrade vs. the replacement.

Good idea IMHO

.... My horseback guess is that I could do most
of the list for under $50k, only a small portion of which would be
recoverable if I ever decided to sell....on the other hand, we have
almost a 9% sales tax up this way so it doesn't take the most expensive
boat purchase in history to watch that same $50k fly away in tax
payments with nothing (personal) to show for it at all.

Yep. And owning a boat is just criminally expensive. You have to decide
going in that spending the money is worth it in terms of your
satisfaction... or, perhaps, that scrimping & doing jobs yourself gives
the satisfaction of spending a lesser (but still large) amount of
money... but look how much you saved!

Jim wrote:

The paint is never going to be as practical as leaving the original gel
coat, if it still is serviceable. Wasted money. I still may paint,
someday.


I disagree. LPU is a lot tougher than gelcoat.

23 year old iron fuel tanks should be replaced. They are rusting from
both inside and outside. Why waste the money and effort? Replace them.


Disagree again. If there's rust inside, it will show in the fuel. Rust
outside is not difficult to spot in these particular boats, and is
minimized by not putting the fuel fill over the tank. Ours are a couple
years older than Chuck's and they barely have any discernable pinpoints
of rust on the outside. The fuel coming out is cherry.

The tanks are "due" I'd agree, but unless there are symptoms, you don't
go for major surgery!


I'm thinking about stripping my wood and going raw teak. I've done this
on the fly bridge and it looks great. Decks don't get varnished and
they look good if cleaned occasionally. My fly bridge looks great with
no finish at all. Just clean teak.


I'm taking as much of ours off, or painting over it, as my wife will let
me. We'll probably keep the caprail varnished, but I expect in 2 years
we won't have anything else to do in brightwork.

Raw teak, well kept, looks better than scraggly varnish or any of the
faux-varnish finishes, but nothing.... absolutely nothing.... says
"CLASSY YACHT" like really sharp varnish brightwork on pretty grained wood.



Put this on the fly bridge deck: http://www.softtiles.com/ Very
inexpensive, looks great and is very comfortable on the feet. Good
nonskid, too. I've had this product up there for many years.


Thanks for the link. I'm taking the teak off our deck and will need
something.

I sold my too big dinghy, and my too small dinghy and bought the right
boat, A Caribe C-12. Should have done this a long time ago.


That would be too big & heavy for our boat.

I put my new inflatable on it's side on the swim step, with the 20 horse
outboard attached. Works great. Get the swim step, think hard if you
need the davits. I thought I needed davits, at one time.

A bow thruster is nice, but a lot of trouble. If you know how to handle
your boat, it will seize up from lack of use.

You will buy the new electronics either way, won't you?


Probably. Everybody but me seems to love electronic doodads. I learned
to navigate with a lead line & compass. The early 1990s GPS and the
early 1980s depth sounder ar fine with me. At some point we will
upgrade, but it's a very low priority.


I replaced some damaged wood with white formica. Did a lot to upgrade
the looks of the interior. Too much wood. . . too dark.


Agreed. Easier to clean too.

Fixed the leaks and upgraded the heads.

That's the choice I made.


Sounds like a very good plan.

Fair Skies
Doug King