SMALL CABIN YACHT
Guide to the cost of restoration
For the purposes of this guide, we are sending a carvel-built 25ft bermudan yacht to a boatbuilder’s yard for a professional job.
Deck It’s hard to put a price on re-decking. The deck is what keeps out rainwater, the biggest enemy, so if the deck needs replacing, it’s likely the whole boat is shot. Just for the deck you could be looking at £2,000 but it could turn into £10,000 to £20,000.
Engine
When most of these little yachts were built, people had more time, fewer expectations, less money – and swinging moorings. Engines were small. A typical new engine on a 25-footer, a Yanmar 1GM10 or similar, will need new beds, a new shaft, new exit point – new everything. For a complete installation from battery to propeller, you won’t get much change out of £8,000.
Cabin trunk If the whole cabin trunk (the part above deck level) needs replacing, you’re looking at single lengths of expensive hardwood, not to mention time and labour. Expect to pay about £3,000.
Floors, frames and futtocks A typical yacht has substantial sawn frames in sections called futtocks that are either butted up or scarphed, and slimmer steamed frames that are whole timbers. The steamed ones typically crack and need ‘sistering’ (adding an identical partner alongside) or replacing; and the sawn ones typically rot. The frame bill might come to around £400 or so. It can be much higher. The floors, if metal (iron or mild steel), often need replacing. A set of new floors in laminated wood would be about £2,000.
A new wooden mast Depending on the complexity of their build, new wooden masts will cost between £900 and £1,500. Masts fare very well over the years, though – there are plenty of originals still sailing around.
Re-rig Replacing all standing and running rigging on a bermudan sloop: £1,000.
New suit of sails A spanking new mains’l and genoa for a bermudan sloop will cost in the region of £1,500.
Replace keel bolts This should be simple, but It never is, especially when the bolts and external ballast keel are both iron, in which case they sometimes need to be melted out. The new bolts will cost about £15 each, but the job might cost £1,000.
New chainplates These can be tricky, especially when they are fastened through the deck. External chainplates are more readily visible and easier to replace. Largely because of the expense of the bespoke bronze fittings that have to be made, these will cost up to £1,000.
Re-fasten the hood-ends at the bows This fiddly join between the planking and the stem (or the transom) often needs doing and usually costs about £500.
Rudder and hangings This varies greatly, but new pintles might cost £400 and a new rudder might cost up to £1,500, although this depends greatly on size and shape.
Location is also important. Transporting a boat overland to the yard where she’s going to be worked on will cost about £1,000, or a little more if you include cranage at each end. This figure changes surprisingly little with mileage and boat size. For a little 20-footer that you might pick up for £1,000 to £2,000, this represents a great sum, so try to look at local boats. Have an idea of how much work needs to be done before you buy. The surveyor or a boatbuilder will be able to tell you this. Then you will be able to work out what you can take on by yourself and what you will want a yard to do. You might think this will give you a
54 CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2012
rough idea of how much the boat will cost to restore and how long it will take you: double both, and you’ll still be some way off, but at least it will give you some confidence to start planning. Don’t make the common mistake of looking for a ‘sound hull’ if the interior is shot to pieces or missing. Replacing an interior is fiddly, expensive and a lot more work (and a lot more skilful) than, say, replacing all the steamed timbers in a Folkboat. Another common misconception is that you will make money by adding value to the boat. You will almost definitely lose money, and there is nothing wrong with that. “It’s a hobby,”
Right: Classic ‘before and after’ shots of Yonne class Mischief (see No. 5 in our list), restored by teacher Roy Aldworth. Don’t forget to take a ‘before’ pic – many people do!
ROGER BARNES
CB ARCHIVES
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