Does anyone know anything about the Fort Myers 53MY for 50k?

[Bob Quinn]

https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee...678477091.html

Some kind of engine issue?

[nor'easter]

10-15k is light for a "full rebuild" on 871s.

[Bob Quinn]

10-15k is light for a "full rebuild" on 871s.

Way light! Like probably 1/3 or 1/2 price.

[SKYCHENEY]

No pics of engine rooms or of the port side.

[jim rosenthal]

I think their ideas about what it would cost to repair this boat are quite optimistic indeed.

[night0wl]

I saw her. Cayleidoscope II is her name. Did not know where to find a HIN or hull sequence #.

*Sigh*...if someone could have gotten to her years ago with a decent budget. Now, she's pretty far along the way to derelict. She is a complete gut reno project. Starboard engine started right up, port engine wont turn over. Did not put her in gear. Engine room was organized, but just needing a full renovation job. Everything just seemed well past its expiration date. Still a 32v boat. I didn't see a generator, but I had given up by that point. She's got the 8V71 and Allisons, so per David Pascoe, these are a notorious combo to ingest water and sieze through the exhaust risers.

She is largely original, and where updated, its done in a relatively low quality standard by handymen rather than craftsman. The galley did have a new residential fridge and the countertops there and the master head had this rather thin blue granite or quartz. But in general, it just seemed like it was done a budget. Hurricane Ian caused about 3' of gelcoat/light fiberglass damage to the port side. I didn't see feel any soft spots on the foredeck or upper deck. However, I did see down below, there were water leaks damaging the wood around port lights and windows. Starboard side and a lot of other areas just had small scale hurricane caused impact damage (like a cracked panel, lifelines ripped out, stern swim platform damage. Eisenglass encloser was partially there, panels lost due to hurricane.

The price could be right for a motivated individual, but this is a boat thats going to need so much work. I estimated $200-$250k...all in order to become a $200k boat. It is *not* a blank canvas, and would require a lot of demo/deconstruction (and a storage container) to just get to the point of being a blank canvas. A lot of parts and gear are included including a lot of spares, but everything will need to be deconstructed, removed, refurbished or replaced to bring it up the level of the boats selling for $200k or less if you haggle.

In the end, its a negative equity boat. However, you never look at price tag for heirloom vessels (especially if you have a 20 year time horizon to keep her in your family). Someone will buy her at that price, but just not sure if they'll have the scratch/free cash to do the renovation that she deserves or if she just eventually gets put out at anchor and ends up in mangroves.

[night0wl]

There's one that seems in immensely better condition in Palmetto FL. For $135k
https://sarasota.craigslist.org/boa/...674389019.html



I'm going to try and check her out too:

[Timeless72]

[QUOTE=night0wl;436107]There's one that seems in immensely better condition in Palmetto FL. For $135k
https://sarasota.craigslist.org/boa/...674389019.html

That does look like a really good price.

[rsmith]

Anyone really in the market needs to keep their powder dry. It’s a falling market and like my old man used to say about the stock market “never try to catch a falling knife” I personally know 5 people who have bought live aboards here in Florida that been living the life working from the boat. They all have been told “get your ass back to the office” turns out the work from home wasn’t very productive. Fire sales are coming on these boats but the reality hasn’t sunk in yet. Funny how it took Musk at Tesla and Twitter to tell employees to come back to work or your fired to give other CEO’s courage to do the same.

[night0wl]

Anyone really in the market needs to keep their powder dry. It’s a falling market and like my old man used to say about the stock market “never try to catch a falling knife” I personally know 5 people who have bought live aboards here in Florida that been living the life working from the boat. They all have been told “get your ass back to the office” turns out the work from home wasn’t very productive. Fire sales are coming on these boats but the reality hasn’t sunk in yet. Funny how it took Musk at Tesla and Twitter to tell employees to come back to work or your fired to give other CEO’s courage to do the same.

Yes, this is good advice, but to me it really comes down to your time horizon. If you plan on purchasing, renovating, and enjoying these boats for a long time (say 10+ years), then the price you pay now really does't matter. Thanks to the wonders of inflation, a new yacht. of equivalent stature is millions of $$. And renovation costs will only go up up up in the future term, and may exceed your here and now today budget. So buy, renovate and enjoy over the next decade.

I use an analogy of my house purchase in 2007 on a waterfront canal in Fort Lauderdale. It was a unique parcel allowing dockage of big boats west of I-95 with only one 55' bridge. Soon after I bought the house as a family home, the values cratered. At one point, the house was "worth" about $180k...less than half of what I paid for it. Everyone said walk away, turn the keys in, etc. Now, the house is worth over $1.0MM, about 2-2.5x what I paid for it.

Should I have put that money in principal, interest, taxes and maintenance into the S&P 500 while renting? Perhaps, I would have come out ahead. However, for over 15 years, my family has had a house, a home, and enjoyed the certainty of a steady housing costs. I brought home my first born in that house. I had countless family holidays, birthday parties, pool parties, in that house.

Look, boats aren't houses or investments that appreciate over time. However, they just aren't making these kind of yachts anymore, built like a brick-$hithouse motoryachts with acres of beautiful woodwork with simple, diy systems anymore. I call them heritage or heirloom yachts. We dont ever own them. We purchase them, enjoy them, then pass them down to the next caretaker or custodian. Sadly, hurricanes, fires, and neglect claim more and more of these heirloom yachts every year.

Meanwhile, I get a day older and a day more tired/sick/feeble with every passing day. Time and tides wait for no one...