a deal or not?

So, there's a 32' Piver trimaran for sale in California with a listed price of $19.5K. From the looks of the pictures it's in fairly good shape. Though no interior pictures or mention whether or not the inboard engine works.

The boat was built in 1973.

The basic equation of a cruising multihull for $19.5K certainly seems like a great deal in a market that is just silly expensive.

Then again, $19.5K is a lot of money for a plywood boat built before epoxy was in common use in boat building.

As it happens, I have a lot of respect for Piver, his designs, and plywood as a boat building material. That said, I'll point out that it's best to leave your rose colored glasses at home whenever looking at a 49-year old plywood boat whatever the price.

More on affordable multihulls...

Multihulls are HIP and as a result multihulls demand a higher price and this includes used boats. Which, I suppose, is good news if you happen to be selling a catamaran but bad news if you want to buy one. In my opinion, multihull prices are mostly inflated and don't quite reflect their actual value.

Here's an example;

I've been following an Iroquois 30 catamaran built in 1969 that has been for sale for ages at $45K but recently came down to $35K. Maybe it's just me but I think that either price is way too high for a fifty-two year old boat. As the Iroquois has a displacement of 6560 pounds that's right around $6.86 a pound at $45K and $5.34 at $35K.

As it happens, "So It Goes" is a 1969 CAL 34 and I also tend to track what the model sells for and, by my addition, a 1969 Cal 34 costs between $5K in OK condition to $20K where the boat is pretty much pristine. So, by my figuring, the average price of a good to very good CAL 34 hovers around $14K. That said, with a displacement of 9500 pounds the CAL 34 is a lot more boat than the Iroquois but sells less at $1.48 per pound. 

The big question for me is whether or not the hipness factor of a 52 year old geriatric catamaran is worth the extra cost. The fact is if you were to base the value of the Iroquois on its displacement which, by rights it should be you'd be able to buy the Iroquois for around $2 a pound which would be along the lines of $13K which is very close to several other Iroquois cats I've seen over the last few years.

Most builders I know tend to budget a sailboat based on how much it weighs and not so much on what you can sell the boat for. Working out what a boat is worth in terms of weight/displacement is a great way to sort out what you should be willing to pay for a given multihull.

So, what's a person going to do if he/she want a multihull on a VolkCruiser budget?

Well for starters, I'd take a look at smaller designs like the Heavenly Twins, Iroquois, and Prout Sirocco because they're good boats and long enough in the tooth and in a less-than-hip size to have a few out there at reasonable prices.

If those boats are a bit small for your tastes you might check what you can find in the 30-35 foot niche but be warned that deals are very few and far between.

While I've not mentioned multhulls of the DIY sort I'll go on record and say that finding an inexpensive multihull in the under 40-foot niche is, more than likely going to be a DIY boat. The downside is that a lot of folks consider home-built boats inferior and, to be honest, there's a valid reason as the old adage of...

"You build your first boat for your worst enemy, the second for a friend, and the third for yourself."

... which has more than a passing resemblance to reality and, as a result, there are some truly heinous examples of boat butchery laying in wait with a "For Sale" sign laying in wait for the unwary.

More on the subject of home-built designs, what they should cost and building yourself in the near future...

Regarding affordable multihulls...

This morning I read an article "10 Small Catamarans For Cruising" which ranged in price from $50K to $300K which seems to be somewhat out of reach of VolksCruiserish folk in spite of the fact that  the boats in question, apparently, represent the affordable under 38-foot niche on the market.

Kind of depressing reading as it happens.

Of course, if you're not looking for condomarans and on a VolksCruiser budget you're thinking of building a DIY multihull (cat-tri-proa), shopping for a well built used one, or looking for an older pre-condomaran classic plastic production boat.

Which has me thinking that a short list of possible VolksCruiser multihulls would be no bad thing.

More soon come.

In the meantime, check out Michael Schacht's "Herbie" cruising proa for a Volkscruiser friendly multihull.

Not for everyone...

In the last couple of weeks I've noticed a lot of hurricane related boats and gear coming on to the market down here and like Rod Stewart reminded us way back when...

every picture tells a story.

In the case of the Westsail pictured it's beat up, forlorn, and a whole lot of work to make it right but there's life in the old girl yet. That said, it is not the sort of project that is suitable for most folk and for most folk it would be the project from hell.

Of course, most folks don't read VolksCruiser or, for that matter, have a clue.

As for my take on such a project it's doable for a lot less time and money than you might expect. Though, admittedly, just the sort of enterprise that would test one's mettle, sanity, and perseverance.

Like I said, not for everyone...

But, just maybe, a good discussion point.

a few words on my anti-cat/tri agenda....

The other day I received an email from a reader who took exception with my "buy old boats and rehab" bias and went on to suggest that more posts be about building new boats of the VolksCruiserish ilk. He then went on to say that it would be even better if I concentrated on multihulls...


Houston we have a problem!


Actually we have a bunch of problems trying to build a multihull VolksCruiser. For starters, there are almost no designers of multihulls designing cats or tris for folks on a budget. Add to that the simple fact that multihulls, by their very nature, demand higher spec'd and lighter materials which are a LOT more expensive.


Which is not to say that someone can't build a frugal cat or tri but it is still going to be a great deal more expensive to build than a monohull of the same seaworthiness, livability, and payload. For the record, in today's economy, you can buy a used monohull in good shape for less than you can build one (in most cases). On the other hand, a good fixer-upper monohull will cost a fraction of a new build or used monohull.


So, the reason I mostly tend to point people on a frugal budget towards good rehabbable designs that you can find for cheap is not because I have an anti-cat or tri agenda but simply that for cats and tris in the current state of things, there are just bugger all choices if you want to go to sea and cruise on a budget.


Truth be told, I'd really like my next boat to be a catamaran and I can no longer keep track of the number of hours I've spent going over and costing out various study plans only to find that either they weren't up to real cruising or simply too expensive to build for what they provide.


Now, if any aspiring multihull designers care to send me some details of VolksCruiserish cat or tri designs they have in their back pocket that can be built on a blue-collar budget without acquiring crippling debt in the process, I'm all ears. What's more, I'll be happy to do more posts on VolksCruiser about cats/tris and tell as many folks I can about such beasts...


Hell, I might even build one...

It's the price dude...

Yesterday's mailbag was sorta interesting so maybe a good time to set the record straight.

First of all, I like multihulls. Sure, I'm somewhat critical of a lot of modern low bridgedeck multihulls fobbed off on an unsuspecting public but, on the whole, I think multihulls make all kinds of sense when they are designed right.

The fact that I simply don't think they make sense for someone making $15 an hour is simply based on the sobering reality that multihulls are just more expensive than someone working as a line cook at Denny's can afford. Face it, when all is said and done, used monohulls have way more bang for the buck...

Which brings us to Wharram, Brown, and Piver. I was not being sarcastic, what I was doing was pointing out that just about the only bargains around in multihulls are boats designed by these three fellows. The reason you can find them for a semi-reasonable price is that a lot of folks built their designs, used them hard, and a lot of them are not in exactly pristine shape. For the record, I can't think of many boats more suited to the whole VolksCruiser lifestyle than a Brown SeaRunner, Wharram Tangaroa or a Piver (well to be honest, a Piver where the builder actually followed the plans)... That said, most used Wharrams, SeaRunners, and even Piver boats in decent shape sell for more than the Volkscruiser can afford.

and about those multihulls...

Yeah, what about multihulls in the whole VolksCruiser universe?

Problematic at best as multihulls are just silly expensive. I see old Piver and Jim Brown trimarans at reasonable prices that make sense from time to time, the odd Wharram or other cat home-built with issues, but, to be truthful, on a VolksCruiser budget, multihulls are never going to be your first or even second choice.