Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2016 11:41:33 GMT
I am always keen to see the value in something and before anyone else says it,being from Scotland its maybe inbred I don't know.
Years ago I bought a second hand boat that had been abandoned on the GU south after being repossessed by Barclays Marine Finance,
I had been sofa surfing and sleeping rough for a couple of weeks having had a relationship end badly and you know how these things
go,the woman always seem to end up with everything in spite of the fact we had no kids and to be fair she transferred money into
my account further down the line so I won't bore you too much.
I can laugh now but it was a very bad time as break ups are seldom clean and straightforward but it was against this backdrop I bought
Kestrel.
Kestrel was a 1989 65 ft Liverpool Boats boat that had been stretched 10 foot,I put in an offer of £18,000 which was accepted and without
as much as a survey I took possession.Although this is twenty years ago I can remember the ecstasy of standing under that hot shower after
nearly three weeks of homelessness I was in heaven.
The boat was very tired inside and was owned by a bloke who was both a smoker (scum on the walls)and being down on his luck he had let it deteriorate,
I decided I would rip everything out back to the bare walls and start from scratch and this is what I did.I lined the boat in 30mm oak faced ply,re floored
in English Oak,new kitchen from B&Q,appliances from Midland Chandlers,new squirrel stove from Ely Chandlers,12v lighting from Midland Chandlers,
new toilet bowl and new stainless black water tank,new canvas houdini hatch covers.The engine which was a Mitsubishi Thorneycroft I got the head skimmed
and a new gasket set,four new batteries,Ptolemy Lane who posts on the other channel repainted the roof and then sadly I made a major mistake.
Stan an old boater told me I was wasting money but I wouldn't listen so I ended up blowing thousands of pounds on an Eberspacher that I never
even needed to switch on during almost eight years of ownership,the Morso Squirrel being more than adequate to heat the boat.I well remember
in the pub all those people with shiny boats telling me how essential these Eberspachers were ,how to be a member of their club I had to own
one night after night I would listen to them go on about the merits of the D5 model as opposed to the D4,Hydronic or not Hydronic,Eberspacher
or Webasto and guess what Idiot here fell for it and old Stan,he just shook his head.
Years later when I came to sell the boat this Eberspacher was a major selling point for my next buyer,You have been drinking with the same people
as me I thought as I told them what a great piece of kit it was and how convenient " just like being in a house I said "
Of course the guys wife then asked me how it worked,I panicked for a second before thrusting the installation DVD in her hand,here I said take it
home and have a watch yourself which by then of course the sale was complete.
I was wondering what totally useless purchase have you made for your boat,what has been a money pit that has given you no benefit whatsoever,
surely I can't be the only fool on here?
Years ago I bought a second hand boat that had been abandoned on the GU south after being repossessed by Barclays Marine Finance,
I had been sofa surfing and sleeping rough for a couple of weeks having had a relationship end badly and you know how these things
go,the woman always seem to end up with everything in spite of the fact we had no kids and to be fair she transferred money into
my account further down the line so I won't bore you too much.
I can laugh now but it was a very bad time as break ups are seldom clean and straightforward but it was against this backdrop I bought
Kestrel.
Kestrel was a 1989 65 ft Liverpool Boats boat that had been stretched 10 foot,I put in an offer of £18,000 which was accepted and without
as much as a survey I took possession.Although this is twenty years ago I can remember the ecstasy of standing under that hot shower after
nearly three weeks of homelessness I was in heaven.
The boat was very tired inside and was owned by a bloke who was both a smoker (scum on the walls)and being down on his luck he had let it deteriorate,
I decided I would rip everything out back to the bare walls and start from scratch and this is what I did.I lined the boat in 30mm oak faced ply,re floored
in English Oak,new kitchen from B&Q,appliances from Midland Chandlers,new squirrel stove from Ely Chandlers,12v lighting from Midland Chandlers,
new toilet bowl and new stainless black water tank,new canvas houdini hatch covers.The engine which was a Mitsubishi Thorneycroft I got the head skimmed
and a new gasket set,four new batteries,Ptolemy Lane who posts on the other channel repainted the roof and then sadly I made a major mistake.
Stan an old boater told me I was wasting money but I wouldn't listen so I ended up blowing thousands of pounds on an Eberspacher that I never
even needed to switch on during almost eight years of ownership,the Morso Squirrel being more than adequate to heat the boat.I well remember
in the pub all those people with shiny boats telling me how essential these Eberspachers were ,how to be a member of their club I had to own
one night after night I would listen to them go on about the merits of the D5 model as opposed to the D4,Hydronic or not Hydronic,Eberspacher
or Webasto and guess what Idiot here fell for it and old Stan,he just shook his head.
Years later when I came to sell the boat this Eberspacher was a major selling point for my next buyer,You have been drinking with the same people
as me I thought as I told them what a great piece of kit it was and how convenient " just like being in a house I said "
Of course the guys wife then asked me how it worked,I panicked for a second before thrusting the installation DVD in her hand,here I said take it
home and have a watch yourself which by then of course the sale was complete.
I was wondering what totally useless purchase have you made for your boat,what has been a money pit that has given you no benefit whatsoever,
surely I can't be the only fool on here?
