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Decisions, decisions........
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. 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? Anybody else ever face this same decicion? What did you decide, and are you happy that you made the decision you did? BTW, my list of projects to renew, refresh, and upgrade "Indulgence" would include: 1. Two part poly paint job 2. Preventive epoxy coating of the interior of black iron 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) 4. All exterior brightwork taken to wood and started afresh by a true professional 5. New swim step 6. Add a davit 7. Upgraded inflatable 8. Replace some water stained interior veneers 9. Replace the galley stove 10. Replace the 1985-era CRT radar 11. Add an autopiot 12. Rebuild the false stack to eliminate a perennial leak on the cabin top 13. Upgrade to a VacuFlush or Tecma marine toilet 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. 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. |