pay for moorings and get (almost) free boat

[grendel]

My wife was chatting to a friend yesterday who mentioned that he had been looking at boats in a boatyard in Kent, where if you were willing to pay the mooring fee they would sell you the boat for £1, though a figure of £70 a month was quoted for the mooring. anyone have any ideas where this may be ( the wife has been sent away with instructions to get more details of these bargain giveaway boats (in need of a little TLC). I believe it was north coast kent, Faversham, or medway maybe.

Grendel (not that I can afford a boat at the moment)

[CaptinDread]

no, just no Grendal.

I've seen some boats that have been for sale around kent and surrounding area, just pure junk, just recently a dawncraft sold for around £26, thats not a typo, £26

looked a right shed too.

[JawsOrca]

Hi Grendal.

If you followed my thread you will know that Orca was purchased for £1 here in Kent.  We do have a lot of DIY yards where sadly people give up and thus the mooring charges become a pain. Obviously such boats are a mess and require serious amounts of time and money. Once again if you look at our thread you will have seen just the amount of work that went in it was far from a free boat and the money we have spent was probably on par with a running boat from a broker. I wouldn't recommend you touching some unless you have deep pockets and lots of spare time. Also you need to experienced in restoring boats as you will need to give the hull a good looking over before taking the plunge. Also don't forget that it's almost imposible to dispose of glass fibre so if you get a dodgy one you are stuck.

I'll PM you details of the yards I know, I don't want to post publicly as it's not fair for the owners there just in case they get curious visitors, also the "sale" could be private so just knowing the boatyard may not be helpful, although it's worth asking "Have you or do you know of cheap boats" but evenso I still recommend you go into this really wanting a boat.

Good luck if you do one please do a restoration thread and enjoy the ride!

 

[imtamping2]

Restoring any boat is not for the faint hearted.....its a lot of work.....

Estimate how much time and money it will take........ then multiply it by three.....then add some more.

But a good feeling when its done............ then sell it and start again....

[JanetAnne]

The secret to boat restoration, car restoration, house restoration etc is having the ability to see the finished product through the bombsite you create on the way. As soon as you lose sight of where you are going the whole project can quickly turn from dream to nightmare. 

Forums like this one are your best friend. Pictures of your endeavours bring help and advice from people who have been there and done that before you. Even comments 'that looks good' etc will bring renewed enthusiasm. 

There are many who just can't afford to walk into Norfolk Yacht Agency with an open cheque book but can afford a modest sum a month towards materials etc. You will rarely build a boat for what you can buy a finished one for but that modest sum a month could just get you there in time.

Getting people restoring boats can only be a good thing. Skills lost in this generation need renewing and those local companies and chandlers that provide the necessary kit would welcome the business

[BroadScot]

Well said JA. A very sensible post, indeed ! 

 Iain

[ZimbiIV]

The best way to do a restoration is to start with a large pot of money so when you finished you still have a small pot of money.

paul

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

The biggest problem of boat restoration is where to do it. You could end up paying huge amounts for dry storage, and even then, you need to have a yard that allows you to do the work, and DOES`NT allow any competitors in to do work for you.  Alan (Jaws Orca) was in a good position to start with being where he lives. For the rest of us, a good yard might be miles away, and incurr many hours and money in tavelling costs just to get there.  Also, unless the boat is on your own private lannd, you might be restricted to opening hours as was i, when Mistral was on land in Kent. That meant i could only work on her during normal working hours, and being in full time employment, sometimes working up to 12 hours a day, and sometimes 6 or maybe even 7 days a week, often, i could`nt even get to the boat, which happened to be at least a half hours drive away (And that was in North Kent too). There are many ways that buying a poor condition boat and restoring her to former glory, can be both very well worthwile, and very profitable too. But it has to be the right boat in the right place at the right time, and be very convenient for you too.  Having said that, if you have a fair sized garden with a bit off to the side, restoring a smallish boat can be very rewarding, and enjoyable. So long as it`s NOT a timber one?.

[Timbo]

12 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

.So long as it`s NOT a timber one?.

But they're the only one's worth restoring! 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

17 minutes ago, Timbo said:

But they're the only one's worth restoring! 

I know Timbo, but in all honesty, who can afford to do it these days lol.

 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I have to admit though, i would love to get a Hampton 25 in poor condition and do a re-furb, but i doubt Karen would appreciate another boat on the front garden, especially as i`ve almost finished re-modeling it.

[imtamping2]

Hey Speedtriple "  Having said that, if you have a fair sized garden with a bit off to the side "

Did you mean "A bit on the side " or are we talking cross purposes here.......

[grendel]

I could maybe fit a 10 foot boat in the front garden - corner to corner, the back garden is a tiny bit bigger, but the access is only 2'6" wide, and we are 2nd house in from the road. My first foreys into wooden boat building will probably be a 1/12 scale model of Broad Ambition, once I can get workspace sorted in the conservatory.

Grendel

[BroadAmbition]

15 hours ago, grendel said:

My first foreys into wooden boat building will probably be a 1/12 scale model of Broad Ambition, once I can get workspace sorted in the conservatory.

We have plenty of space in our conservatory - Come on up!

Griff

 

[grendel]

Griff, I think it will be a work in progress for a couple of years at least, I am only just getting to a point in life where rekindling some of the hobbies from my youth is becoming possible, after a time of re-evaluation of my priorities in life, and my longer term goals.

Some of the hobbies I thought I had lost for good suddenly seem worthwhile again, but there is a lot of stuff that needs to be sorted through cleared out and tidied up, throughout the whole house, so it will be an ongoing process to get the workspaces I want sorted out, concrete floors will need to be made easier to clean up (either a self levelling screed plus floor paint or laminate flooring, or similar, I have yet to decide small details like that.

plus as I have said above, it might even get to the point I will get a fixer upper boat to keep me busy.

Grendel