Hello all I,m a new bee here just joined yesterday & my forum handle is Honey Sea. A funny thing happened to me on the way to the forum. The first thread I stumble upon is this one. I have first hand info from the guy who owns the marina where this boat is floating for the last almost 8 years. His name is Mike Callahan and besides owning the Marina he is also the broker for the boat & I spoke with him last Thursday more out of curiosity then any thing else.
Like I said it,s been kept in the water under a shed for almost 8 yrs. The owner called Mike & told him to reduce it to $99,000 and take all offers. The boat does not run but the port engine I believe will start and run for a while the starboard will not start he says the injectors need cleaning. He said the boat is a project boat. Out side is a mess with bird poop and everything else imaginary covering it. It needs wood work and deck work. In side is pretty well appointed but needs a complete spit and polish to use his words. Me thinks there isn't enough SPIT in the big state of TEXAS to clean it but i,m sure it will clean up.
Now for the $64,000 dollar question how do you get a 56 ft. boat to the Gulf Of Mex from a lake on the Texas/Oklahoma boarder. 2 way,s. First one, You hire a boat transporter to haul it to Houston for $28,000 or there abouts. Then you find a marina in Houston that can put the boat in the water for you. (additional cost) Then you drive the boat to your home port unless you think you might have to do some work before hand.
The other alternative would be to float it down the Arkansas river from the lake where it now sits and navigate it thru other tributary's to the Gulf.
Mike Callahan all most begged me to come take a look at it I don,t think to many people get up Pottsboro Texas on the Oklahoma border. And by the way the closest Detroit Diesel dealership is about 150 miles away. So that,s the deal.
And as you guessed I am in the market for a boat just like that one only not a project.
Good to be aboard hope to share and listen to all.
Thanks
Honey Sea But y,all can just call me HONEY
SEMPER FI
Thanks for the truth. Since you are now actively boat hunting, let me ask you a couple of questions that will help you decide if the boat you think you want is actually the right boat - if you don’t mind.
1. How many people do you intend to sleep on the boat, and for how often? Perhaps you really don’t need to be dragging all those empty rooms around, when there’s usually nice hotels nearby. Hotels that guests would actually prefer to stay at vs having to be on their best behavior around you? And at a hotel you don’t have to have that awkward lecture about tampons and toilet paper with women.
If you eliminate that need for extra staterooms, you can buy a smaller boat. Which reminds me that I met a family at Plaza Venetia (had a office out at the fuel dock) in Miami years ago on a 27’ outboard powered cabin cruiser that had come from Mexico and was touring America (years before “the Loop” was a thing) who went from hotel to hotel. His beautiful wife and kids sure looked all happy, clean, and relaxed to me. I remember thinking “smart guy”.
2. How fast and far do you realistically intend to go? Are big OLD diesels with fewer and fewer mechanics and part availability the way to go? Four stroke outboards are quite fuel efficient. Modern diesels are quite efficient, for example a 48’ Fountain will cruise at 50 mph burning only a gallon per mile with three 480hp Cummins diesels which makes jumps across the GOM or deep into the Bahamas and back pretty quick. And those engines can be R&R pretty damn fast. A cruising power Cat like a PDQ is super fuel efficient.
3. Do you want to actually go cruising or just work on a boat for years, especially when there’s such a supply chain shortage of parts, or anyone to help you? I’ve personally watched a LOT of long haired skinny young dudes turn into old fat balding dudes with white ponytails at Riverbend, Summerfields, and Chinook boatyards in Ft. Lauderdale , who NEVER got their boats launched before they were destroyed and put in dumpsters. Hashish isn’t as available now like it used to be, and by golly gee, that stuff made people really dream for sure.
4. Then there’s insurance and dockage. So MAYBE you would be happier with a smaller newer faster boat that can actually be insured, and Dockmasters won’t make the signs of the cross (like you do for vampires) with their fingers when they see you coming. Another benefit is that it will be much easier to sell, when you realize you’ve “Been there-done that” and are ready to cut that money sucking biatch loose.
5. If your shopping on a budget, focus on old fiberglass Chris Crafts. Their gel coat is phenomenal, fittings don’t corrode away and since they were so well designed (you don’t have to walk up on one backwards), many stay in the hands of their original owners for quite the long time. You will also get a bonus discount from a seller if you say “I piss on the grave of F. Lee Bailey!”
Good luck amigo.
Although I’m retired, I still keep my website alive PURELY for historical purposes. “Old Print Ads-Long live the internet” at “yachtsforu.com”