Hi guys, I want to get some opinions from more experienced boat owners...

I bought my first boat, an Endevour 24 a few months ago and I'm finding it all kinds of fun. I like her; she's quirky, funky and mature and forgiving of my learning curve.

I bought her for a bit under $1500 and have put in a fair bit of sweat capital into tidying her up, and I guess somewhere around $1000 on lifelines and some other safety/sea-worthiness oriented improvements. Overall she's sound, safe and functional though.

I'm at the point now though where I'm deciding whether to put some real money into her. She needs antifouling, could use a lick of pain, and I ought to replace the rudder shaft. I also want to put in a furler for the genoa. Later I'll want to spend some more money on the cabin to make her a weekender rather than the day sailer she is now.

By the time I put that kind of money into her, I might be spending the kind of coin that would buy a better (but still not great - I accept that) boat.

Bearing in mind I'm not in a position to be in the $10k and up range, and that I'm not looking to get my money back either - what would the collective wisdom say about putting the money into my little Endevour to make her what I want rather than just moving on to a more expensive boat that will have more of what I'm looking for right now?

cisco said..

Do you love the boat????

If yes, let her teach you the lessons she has to give you.

If you buy another boat it is a certainty that you will be spending further money on it.

So!! Do you love the boat or put another way, have you loved it enough yet??

Excellent answer! . I do love her, and your comment about letting her teach me the lessons she has to give resonates (as does spending money on another should I go that direction... lol)

Thanks.

the moment you you take on a boat ,you are at the point of no return. forget it, and do what you need to do to enjoy sailing .

it will cost you less to sort out your existing boat i,m guessing ....... than purchase a new project .

.......I like that reduction to the absurd....... down to a bit of loose change!

I owned an Endeavour 24 in the mid 70's, you can see a picture of her in my photos. I think if you have to buy a headsail furler then you are definitely overcapitalizing.

For the cost of a new headsail furler to suit your boat and the modification of a headsail to suit you can buy a better boat.

This boat will sell for less than the cost of a furler http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/YACHT-SLOOP-SAILBOAT-TRITON-721-24-FEET-INCLUDING-DINGHY-/181781830698?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item2a530a9c2a

It does not have a furler but plenty of good yachts are appearing on Gumtree and eBay that are fully equipted for less money than a furler.

If on the other hand you shop on eBay like I do you may find a secondhand unit to suit but generally the ones I see are for large yachts.

Milk bottle plastic makes a good shim for your rudder shaft. Don't use it till your on the slips though.

CanAussie14 said..
Thanks for the extra perspectives gents, much appreciated.

Loosechange, I totally get that approach, it's how I helped my wife see the wisdom of the initial purchase and subsequent improvements ;) I'm not worried about the cost per se, it's more on what Ramona wrote about overcapitalizing compared to what I could buy in a new [to me] boat. Just for context, I reckon I can put a furler on for a bit under $1k including the sail modification - does that tie in with the norm?

Franrick; well you've put the cat among the pigeons now... Notwithstanding Cisco's comments, and my reply, you've gotten me searching the interwebs to look at 26's ! Just for research purposes, of course... ;)

Oh, and Ramona, thanks for the tip abut the milk bottle plastic for the rudder - I'll look into that. Do you have any more info on that approach?

The rudder tube just wears mainly at the top after 40 years or so. Cutting the plastic in widths just short of the circumference of the shaft and slipping them down from the top will act like a new bearing. You can do this at your mooring but you need to secure your rudder from slipping out and sinking to the bottom!