Somewhat off topic but I think I could use some advise!

[neil]

I have just been given a 44 foot wooden yawl named Freedom. Shes stunning, 12 tons, and made in 1964 by Peter Smith of New Zealand.
I already have a Cape Dory 25that I am quite happy with so I am in a bit of a panic as to what to do with her and how to afford repairs and maintenance.
I have a limited amount of time to keep her in the yard as she was going to be destroyed by my boss with the track hoe. He has decided that all boats owned by the yard are taking up space that could be used for paying customers and therefore must be smashed into smithereens.
I cant let that happen to this one.

I dont know what, if anything I am asking here but I think I am in WAY over my head!

Heres some pictures:
http://www.odd.org/Freedom/

I should have some more pictures soon and I dident take any of the aft cabin yet....

Woooo Weee!

Cheers,
Neil

[Steve Kuhar]

Neil,

Assuming that you can't sell the boat and you are just looking for a good home for it I would recommend contacting the South Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Miami. The boat looks like it would be the perfect boat for a Sea Scout Ship. The Boy Scouts also operate a high adventure sailing base in the keys. The Miami office will probably be willing to contact other nearby councils for you if they don't have a local need.

Steve Kuhar

[Matt Cawthorne]

If you now own this boat why wouldn't you be paying the yard fees? If you are paying the fees why would the yard owner crush a boat of a customer that is paying him money? Will you be inheriting back yard fees or other legal encumberances with this boat?


My suggestion. It costs more to own a big boat than a small one. Before you accept the challenge of owning this boat, get a surveyor to evaluate it's condition. If it is going to need 100K in repair work you might re-consider how 'free' this boat really is. Also is there some way to determine your legal liability associated with this boat (yard fees, back taxes, import fees, leins, law suits)?

Good luck. Nobody likes to see a boat destroyed!

Matt

[John Vigor]

Neil, don't let yourself be seduced by an aged wooden boat, no matter how beautiful a face she presents to the world.

She will possess you and all you own, and not give a damn about you when your world caves in around you. She will demand all your time, all your money, and your very soul.

Shut your eyes to her blandishments and entreaties. Run away from her as fast as you can.

John Vigor.

[Tod M]

...donation to Sea Scouts or Boat Angel (see e-bay ads) or URI foundation, etc.

Woodenboat mag allows free ads for free wooden boats, last I saw.

GOB might too...

Boneyard Boats

<img width=540 src=http://www.htmills.com/images/LF-NewProjectForCandL.jpg>

[Lew Gresham]

Well, it's like this, I had 36' of wooden boat, plus 14' of wooden boat, and that totals 50' I was looking out for. The big boat was at the marina at 125 bucks a month and the 14' was at home on it's trailer. I sold the 36' boat to some poor soul who just had to have it, and I burned up the 14' once the transom rotted out. I restored the 36' which was "A labor of love". It turned out very nice, but I said never again will I own a wooden boat. Matter of fact I thought about naming it "Never Again". The thing I noticed when I first started to restore the boat, I would fix a place in the hull, say replace a plank, a batten, etc, then you would find something else wrong close by and I would repair it. Before I knew it I had gone almost all the way around the boat and was back to where I started. Boats look so sad sometime and so many people have great expitations. So many boats are purchased laying up in a marina or in a yard that have been abandonded and yard owner says take it. The new owner will work hard on them for a few months or even longer and burn them self out, or just say to heck with it. All the money spent for materials, yard fees, are soon lost. Kinda like gambling, you will eventually loose.
If I was the owner, I would donate the boat, and write off a fair value of the boat on my taxes.

[Dick Barthel]

His basis in the boat is zero since it was given to him so there is nothing to deduct. Further, under the new charitable contribution law, your donation is basically limited to what the charity sells it for.

Dick

[Joe CD MS 300]

The recipient of a gift takes on the basis of the donor limited by the fair market value of the item at the time of the gift. So if a donor had a $100,000 basis in a boat but at the time of the gift the boat's FMV was only $50,000 the recipients' basis would be limited to $50,000

[Andy Denmark]

I recently saw a sign in an antique store that said, "Unattended children will be given cotton candy and a free puppy." While the message is different, the concept is the same. Free gifts aren't always "free."

Having restored a wooden boat (once was enough), I would recommend you strongly consider whether you wish to spend a chunk of your life, not to mention a chunk of your hard earned dollars as well, on a project such as this.

Then again, if you have plenty of spare time and money isn't an object, then this could be a satisfying venture.

FWIW
________
Del rey

[ray b]

just like old cars
they arenot building any more [or dam few!!!]
looked at hemi cuda prices lately?????
quality wood boats are a future collectable
and one that is cheap now!!!!

maybe not next week,
but soon you will wish you had a old wood boat,
and be saying I remember when you could not give one away!!!
and look at the crazy prices NOW!!!!

timing is the key
that and the west system epox

anyway have fun with the boat
that is the point of boating/sailing

btw I just bought a 31 Wharram cat
for less then the price of the used sails on her
and over 10 knots is FUN
and wood working beats F/G any day
and west- ply wood boats are very strong and long lasting

[John Vigor]

Ray, old wooden boats are not a wise financial investment, unless they possess exceptional provenance or past performance.

Neil's boss gave him an old wooden boat because Neil's boss is probably a pretty shrewd businessman if he is able successfully to run a boatyard these days.

Neil's boss knows the market value of that old boat, which is in the region of zero. He knows that if he gives it to Neil, he will save thousands of dollars in fees to have it broken up and transported to a landfill or otherwise disposed of.

A wooden boat with exceptional merit can be a wonderful hobby to work on if you don't want to go sailing for many years, and if you have a very fat wallet full of spare money. Wooden boats often create an emotional attachment that transcends common sense, and that's fine if you can afford the time and the money, but let's not hear any generalities about their worth as investments.

I have built four wooden boats and owned at least one wooden boat for more than 30 years. No antique dealer is beating on my door with fat offers. The only one who expresses any interest in my wooden boat is my bank manager and his face grows longer at every visit I make.

John Vigor

[neil]

just like old cars
they arenot building any more [or dam few!!!]
looked at hemi cuda prices lately?????
quality wood boats are a future collectable
and one that is cheap now!!!!

maybe not next week,
but soon you will wish you had a old wood boat,
and be saying I remember when you could not give one away!!!
and look at the crazy prices NOW!!!!

timing is the key
that and the west system epox

anyway have fun with the boat
that is the point of boating/sailing

btw I just bought a 31 Wharram cat
for less then the price of the used sails on her
and over 10 knots is FUN
and wood working beats F/G any day
and west- ply wood boats are very strong and long lasting

I just sent you a message. I think the boat is going to be fine.

Cheers Ray!

[ray b]

wood chriscraft speedboats are one example of rising priced
older wood boats and they are really getting up there resently
and dinks are another

[capt alex]

Congrats Neil I always thought you would end up with freedom if you need any help with her give me a shout I am still fighting the coast guard for paperwork and should have my dory in the water soon.

[neil]

Congrats Neil I always thought you would end up with freedom if you need any help with her give me a shout I am still fighting the coast guard for paperwork and should have my dory in the water soon.

Thats excellent, but forgo the CG, come here and get in contact with Shirley, she does all the title stuff down here and is VERY good at it.
As for Freedom, shes magnificent, and shes fifty feet not fourty four like I thought...
Shes in great condition. I should be finishing up the bottom job tomorrow after work.

Cheers man!

Neil