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Buying a sunken boat..Thoughts?


Nick-Now

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I wouldn't touch this in any way.

 

a couple of years back there were a load of ex-hire boats up for grabs (I cant remember the company but they used shakespeare characters as boat names)

one of those was up for auction with a starting bid of £1000 having been sunk and recovered

the cause of the sinking was known (weed hatch removed and full power in reverse / deliberate sinking)

the interior was a total write-off and the engine was presumed to also be scrap metal.

 

with everything costed out (new engine, new interior & repaint outside) we ended up with a materials cost of around 26k-28k (+ the cost of buying the boat & removal costs) to get the boat back in shape

this was going into it knowing that it was a modern hull with no issues (apart from needing a new weed hatch)

If we had gone ahead the boat would have been worth maybe 30k - 35k (a known sunk boat will always have it's value knocked regardless of why it sank or how much was re-done)

 

we decided against the project because no matter how we looked at it we ended up with a boat that was going to be worth less then the cost of getting it in good order again.

 

On the day of the auction we think a few bidders went in with rose tinted glasses because the boat ended up selling for over 15k, meaning that whoever bought it will have ended up spending somewhere in the region of 45k overall for a boat that was worth maybe 33k

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24 minutes ago, Jess-- said:

with everything costed out (new engine, new interior & repaint outside) we ended up with a materials cost of around 26k-28k (+ the cost of buying the boat & removal costs)

 

Further, its easy to imagine ripping out all the spoiled interior is quick and easy. It most certainly isn't. Takes nearly as long to strip out the old stuff and deal with what else you reveal, as it takes to do the actual re-fit. 

 

Consequently I especially agree with Dave, if you're gonna take on this amount of work, better to do it on a brand new shell than in a knackered old patched up rust bucket. 

 

 

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53 minutes ago, Canal321 said:

28 k for materials ? What's going in this boat? 

when you start with engine (beta 38), gearbox (prm), inverter (3kw pure sine), charger, webasto or eberspacher, fridge, cooker etc at the top of the list of materials and include a repaint (from a reputable firm) the bill adds up fast.

 

the boat we were looking at was either 58ft or 65ft and had been totally underwater (roof submerged) for over a month so absolutely everything inside would have needed replacement.

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27 minutes ago, Jess-- said:

when you start with engine (beta 38), gearbox (prm), inverter (3kw pure sine), charger, webasto or eberspacher, fridge, cooker etc at the top of the list of materials and include a repaint (from a reputable firm) the bill adds up fast.

 

the boat we were looking at was either 58ft or 65ft and had been totally underwater (roof submerged) for over a month so absolutely everything inside would have needed replacement.

Some folk just seem to think "can of white paint, a couple of sheets of 8 x 4 ply and a weekend and the job's done",

 

You can always tell those with experience and those who just 'dream'.

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5 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

They went bust in about 2007 but for reasons we don't understand, the website is still live.

They did cease trading, but did they ever actuakly go bust?

Did anybody lose money because of it?

 

(I think the answer is no?).

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I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole!

I would guess that to get into good usable condition will cost more than buying a decent used boat.It will also cause you months (or years) of work,sleepless nights,loads of grief,and if you havn't got an understanding wife (partner) then your relationship too.

Buy a used boat in decent nick,fire it up and enjoy the cut immediately and just have the work and hassle that having a boat brings to all of us.

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16 minutes ago, Canal321 said:

Well mine cost nowhere near that , and no white paint insight. 

Pure curiosity, what sort of cost was your project?

How low was your starting point, fully submerged, or damp from disuse?

Like all projects, the length of string, is a very variable factor.

 

Bod

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1 hour ago, Canal321 said:

Well mine cost nowhere near that , and no white paint insight. 

 

Yes there is a world of difference in cost between buying all the stuff you need brand new from midland chandlers, timber merchants etc nd biding your time, buying canily on ebay, skip-diving etc etc. 

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2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

They did cease trading, but did they ever actuakly go bust?

Did anybody lose money because of it?

 

(I think the answer is no?).

 

A quick check suggests no, and that Collingwood is the exact same company as Liverpool Boats. They just changed the name. 

 

 

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You would need to remove the floor to allow the mud that will have come in to be cleaned out, otherwise it will hold moisture and smell forever. I had a car( 4year old) flooded for 2 hours when a river burst its banks, the engine was drained etc and then restarted so that was in running condition but the insurance company decided it was cheaper to scrap, rather than face ongoing problems caused by mud and moisture lodged in every crevice.

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5 hours ago, Bod said:

Pure curiosity, what sort of cost was your project?

How low was your starting point, fully submerged, or damp from disuse?

Like all projects, the length of string, is a very variable factor.

 

Bod

 

Hi

Few years ago now, but it cost less than 8k after purchase of the boat. Boat had not been sunk but there was water under the floor. I stripped the entire thing back to an empty shell. Made a new self draining deck myself and fully welded  the rear bulkhead. 

Blacked it and welded a couple of plates to the base where the wear lip was getting a bit thin. 

The inside was sanded down and pained in red oxide. Battens were all off cuts free from the wood suppliers skip, Insulation and oak faced ply were the most expensive purchases. 

Engine was fine but I lifted it out and cleaned it up. Decent second hand engines can be had for a good price on eBay or Apollo duck if needed. 

Windows out, boat sanded down and painted it to a respectable finish, reseal windows. 

All in all I got a boat that I knew every inch of, took about 18months evenings and weekends but I was in no rush. I printed all the pictures of every stage of the restoration and left them in a file for the new owner when I sold up. 

If you can do all the work your self, a profit can be made even on an older boat. It's easy to say go and spend £30,000 plus on a new shell but when you don't have that sort of money to go at you make good what you can afford. 

6 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Yes there is a world of difference in cost between buying all the stuff you need brand new from midland chandlers, timber merchants etc nd biding your time, buying canily on ebay, skip-diving etc etc. 

 

And stuff you can get cheap from neighbors who are upgrading. I got a nice wood burner for next to nothing from someone who was having a new one fitted. 

 

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13 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

They did cease trading, but did they ever actuakly go bust?

Did anybody lose money because of it?

 

(I think the answer is no?).

No they went into voluntary liquidation with all debts cleared. Subject covered a number of times before. 

 

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3 hours ago, reg said:

No they went into voluntary liquidation with all debts cleared. Subject covered a number of times before. 

 

 

So I wonder why the Companys House website says Collingwood changed their name to Collingwood from Liverpool Boats. 

 

All very curious to go into liquidation, then buy your own assets back and start up trading again.  How/why?

 

Just trying to understand.

 

 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

So I wonder why the Companys House website says Collingwood changed their name to Collingwood from Liverpool Boats. 

 

All very curious to go into liquidation, then buy your own assets back and start up trading again.  How/why?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I asked a Collingbod something similar at last year's Crick show and was told that Liverpool closed down "because the fun had gone out of it". Make of that what you will. I also learned that the new name stems from Collingwood Dock in Liddypool, where the company is based, though I'm not sure if that was Liverpool Boats' premises too.

 

I wonder if the chap's remark meant that they made a conscious decision to change from frantic high-volume production to a smaller operation.

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1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

So I wonder why the Companys House website says Collingwood changed their name to Collingwood from Liverpool Boats. 

 

All very curious to go into liquidation, then buy your own assets back and start up trading again.  How/why?

 

Just trying to understand.

 

 

 

 

I would suggest it would stop any unknowns from the past coming back to bite you in the new company.

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5 minutes ago, Canal321 said:

How so?

 

Your boat has not had the interior fit-out immersed to a depth of two feet in filthy canal water, from what you say.

 

You just had a wet bilge. A totally different and easier kettle of fish to fry. Or something like that.

 

 

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