An Unexpected Outcome

 

2012 Survey Haul Out

 

 

2023-04-08 - destruction complete

 

Due to an unforeseen confluence of multiple unexpected forces in the last few weeks - I have had to make the hard decision to dispose of my boat. 

The boat was removed from her slip on Friday, March 17th - and will be destroyed - as soon as it can be arranged by the service provider I have engaged.

There are lessons in this experience worth sharing.

Why I chose to have my boat destroyed vs. selling it, donating it, or giving it away...

Forces & Constraints:

1. Time is a key constraint - as elaborated in the details that follow.
   
2. My mom's accelerating dementia decline - I can't justify putting more money into the boat - as her level-of-care needs are going to continue to rise. [in Nov'22 - we got her into a facility - but then had to move her to another facility in Jan'23 - and new facility cost is about 2x]
   
3. When I bought this boat - it was the intention of it being my retirement home - as I planned on long-distance cruising as a lifestyle. I deferred quite a few improvements/upgrades - as I wanted to wait until I was closer to retirement/departure. There are several large refit projects that I would need to complete - in preparation for my planned long-distance / retirement cruising plans:
1. Some significant rewiring of the AC and DC electrical systems.
   
2. New standing rigging
3. New running rigging
4. Replace all thru-hulls
5. Deck & hull - repainted 
6. Bottom - repainted
7. Starboard deck leak around a shroud
8. Probably needing to replace/rebuild a cabinet/bulkhead in the v-berth
   
9. Some corrosion around the shaft and coupling
10. Some corrosion under the deck in the anchor locker 
11. Replace the water impeller (very hard to get to...)
12. When I last had the boat in the yard - they screwed-up something with the rewiring of the  batteries, a new charger, and the existing inverter - and now the inverter is automatically turned on (and therefore drains amps from the batteries) - whenever the master switch is turned on. Previously, it was wired to an on/off switch built into the 110v AC socket for the inverter output. 
13. I would really want to have the wooden boom replaced with an aluminum boom.
14. The boom is a bit too low - and can be a danger in a confused sea, or heading downwind. There really isn't an option for raising it further - without requiring some significant work on resizing the main sail. 
15. The canvas on the dodger is pretty worn - and needs to be replaced.
16. The main sail cover  - needs to be reinforced - and probably need to plan on a replacement in the next 1-2 years.  
17. The current 5 gallon holding tank is insufficient for any long distance cruising plans. Installing a larger tank - would be a non-trivial bit of work - IF I could even find a place to put it. 
18. The older (smallish) propane tank on the stern - would need to be upgraded to a larger/newer tank - as the fittings are probably not supported by most refill stations now - and many refill stations will refuse to refill such older tanks.
19. There really is no way to manage keeping a hard dinghy on deck - and getting off the boat - and back on the deck - in anything but absolutely calm seas - could be very dangerous. 
20. When I did the original survey of the boat, before purchase - I verified that all of the deck fittings could be opened for fuel, waste removal, and water tanks. However, what I didn't realize then - was that the water fitting - wasn't attached to the water tanks - it was just a hole above book shelf. When cruising - this would make filling the water tanks (with 5g jerry cans) *VERY* burdensome (vs. being able to use a water hose from a dock)
21. Purchase of a new ePIRB
22. Purchase of a new inflatable dinghy
23. Purchase of life raft
    
24. Purchase of solar panels
25. The toe rail would need some minor repairs
26. All of the exterior wood would need a complete sand/varnish job.
27. The Fast/Slow lever works - but the labels are incorrect/reversed - previously, the boatyard said they couldn't fix the engine control linkage so that the labels would be correct. 
28. When the yard did some previous electrical work - they screwed-up something on the depth sounder's water temperature wiring.
    
4. While I had hopes of doing as many of the boat refit projects as I could personally complete - before embarking on my next major cruise - there are two realities that emerged in the years since I acquired the boat:
1. My back is not what it used to be - and I can't fit into some of the small/tight spaces in the engine compartment.
2. I need to focus my time on billable client engagements - to provide for the increasing levels of additional care that I know my mother will require.
   
5. The only full-service boatyard in the harbor telling me they are no longer providing services for engines or electrical repair work - and that I would have to find/manage my own contractors for those type of repair jobs.
   
6. The abysmal lack of the boatyards' responsiveness to my request for a quote, haul-out date, etc. I was promised a response within 3 days - and a month later - I still have not heard back from them. They were also non-responsive last year when I called their office to inquire about a haul-out. This time, I went directly to their office in the harbor. They said one thing to my face - and then just blew me off after I left.
   
7. The boatyards requiring owners to find/manage their own contractors to perform repair work. Due to the requirement to perform the work myself - or find my own contractors - this would incur substantial costs for what are called "lay-days" (the number of days the boat is in their yard). 
1. There are a limited number of contractors that have the mandatory Harbor ID Cards - which authorizes them to perform work on boats in the yard, or at your dock.
   
2. Since contractors are almost never 100% allocated/dedicated to your boat project - this will result in unexpected delays with respect to their availability. 
3. A job that might normally take a few days, or a few weeks - can end up taking many, many months. Each day, adding to your lay-day charges. 
4. This is an unknown expense to estimate - and is impossible to manage - as you are at the mercy of the weather, and the availability of the contractors. 
5. In the past, jobs that the yard estimated would be "a few weeks" - ended-up taking ~5 months.
   
8. The lack of responsiveness by the contractors' to my emails/phone calls. 
1. I tried calling several contractors. Not a single one ever returned any of my calls. 
2. I mentioned one of the contractors to the marina office staff (that had been recommended to me by several people on my dock). They said "Oh, yeah. He took a bunch of people's deposits for repair jobs - and skipped town."
9. The insurance company requiring a new survey - which must be completed before June 19th - before they will *consider* renewing my policy
10. The unwillingness of the insurance company to give me more time to get the repairs/survey completed - even after I called and tried to escalate to someone who might have authority to consider my situation (work obligations over the last year - to save money to care for my mother; the unexpected situation with the boatyard's change in policies; and the non-responsiveness of contractors; unable to get a confirmed haul-out date for repairs, etc.). Their response: "No exceptions allowed". This, more than anything, has forced me to take drastic, and immediate, action.
    
11. The recommendation of a well-respected boat surveyor - who strongly urged me to not have the boat repaired any further, nor surveyed - as he doesn't believe the insurance company will be willing to renew the policy after completing my planned refit - as he is aware of hundreds of boats [newer than mine] - not being renewed - due to their age, by my boat insurance company. 
12. Giving the boat away, or selling it (very cheap) - were options I considered - but I was told some very contradictory things by one person's initial statements of their plan to get it documented with DMV - and then subsequently changing their story...to...they had no plans to get it documented with DMV - and were just going to use the Bill-of-Sale to "flip it" quickly. The problem with that scenario: 
1. If they, or the person they subsequently sold it to - decided to just abandon the boat - it would still be registered in my name with the USCG. While the Bill-of-Sale would establish their legal liability - it would be all of the potential claims that I would have to respond to / defend against - if they were negligent, if the boat sank, if they abandoned it, if they damaged some other boat while operating/moving it. 
2. If the boat were sold to someone that did not have the funds to do the necessary repairs - or was inexperienced/unqualified to do the required repairs themselves - there could be a very real risk to their life, the lives of others, and potentially other boats.  
3. If the boat wound up in the hands of someone inexperienced with boats - the boom sits too low - and could be very deadly. On my first voyage aboard her - it unexpectedly swung just slightly - as I was peering above the dodger during a periodic check for ships on the horizon - and almost me knocked me off the boat (my shortened safety tether to the jack-line I had rigged - is the only thing that saved me from being thrown overboard - on a dark and windy night). I suffered a pretty severe concussion from that - and had bouts of amnesia for some time afterward.
4. In the final analysis - even if I gave the boat away, or sold it for $1 - the person buying would likely be stuck with not being able to get it insured (due to its age) - and that would stick them with the same problem. And I could not allow that to happen someone else, on my watch.
   
13. Given that:
1. It is extremely unlikely that I could...
1. Get the boat into the yard before late April / May
2. Get the necessary / minimal refit work completed before June 19th
3. Get the required survey completed (satisfactorily) before June 19th (and any additional repair/maintenance findings would have to be addressed)
2. All of this would incur significant time & expenses - with no guarantee that the insurance company would even approve the renewal.
3. I would have to closely manage this effort - as the boatyard has stated they do not do that anymore - which would prevent me from taking client engagements during this period.
   
14. Therefore:
    
1. Peace of mind is worth a lot to me. 
2. In this case - it is easily worth $7K to have the boat destroyed. 
3. The cost to have it destroyed is slightly less than what it would cost to keep the boat in a slip for 7 months. 

 

After my mother has passed away - I will find another boat...and I will voyage once again upon the deep ocean.

[image credit: jplenio on pixabay.com]