Hull for Sale, I'll even finish it if you want.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 10:58PM 
Alright enough messing around. Now that I have thousands of followers it time to cash in. The hull to the left is a 42' Mussel Ridge, very similar to the 42' Wesmac with a "better" keel and a larger engine room. There are other slight differences that are lost on me but I assure you that they are there. When the Mussel Ridge was first designed and built we built a lobster boat for a local fisherman "Xtreme Measures". Thinking that this was going to be the next popular hull we struck a deal with the manufacturer to split the cost on a second hull, expecting the hull to be scooped up very quickly. The next Mussel Ridge was built as a pleasure boat but the owner wanted to use an off-white color for the hull and use vinylester resin instead of polyester resin so the hull we had just purchased had to be passed over. After "Temperance" was completed we had orders for a few boats (2 36' Calvin Beals, and 1 37' Mitchell Cove) so the Mussel Ridge sat in the yard waiting for an owner.
When work slowed down we moved the boat inside and started to work on it. Fuel tanks, quarter guards, spray rails, and some bulkheads were as far as I felt comfortable going. I didn't want to tie up more money in a boat that didn't have an owner yet. As we need space in the shop the boat moved back outside and a tarp structure was built to cover the boat. The tarp structure was destroyed by high winds and heavy snow, it seemed pointless to rebuild it.
People have shown interest in the boat. One prospective buyer wanted us to install the engine and build a top (wheelhouse, trunk, side decks) but we couldn't agree on a price so the project was never started. Another possible owner made the trip to the shop, loved the boat, got a spec list together, selected a motor, acquired the necessary financing, contacted me about the second trip to the shop where he was going to make a down payment on the boat that we were going to build, and then bought another boat on the way to the shop (he never arrived at the shop). Unfortunately for me I got over excited about the potential sale and sent the hull manufacturer a check toward the hull (remember we split the hull price).
Now with the economy in a death spiral and the fishing industry struggling the Mussel Ridge has become part of the scenery in the parking lot. The computer says the hull and contents is worth $36,767.57. I would be willing to sell it for $32,000 if you want to take it off the property and I might sell it for less if you want us to finish what we started. I'll even throw in a 12' custom skiff if we close on the sale before the end of March. That is a great deal, ask anyone. Obviously I can't finish the boat for this spring but 2010 is looking great. Most economists will tell you that 2010 is when everything is going to be awesome again so act now before the orders start rolling in.
SHOP NEWS SHOP NEWS SHOP NEWS
36' Calvin = all the bulkheads are glassed in, fuel tanks are on schedule (done tomorrow)
38' Northern Bay = fiberglass, sand, repeat.......and started to build the captains chairs
Welding Shop = completed the shrimp cooker (not pictured) starting cages tomorrow.
I was stressing what to post about today (am I suppose to say "blog about today"?) but that was pretty easy. Today was a day at the shop where lost of work got done but at the end of the day everything kind of looked the same. It's rare but it happens sometimes. Much like these posts, lots of typing but nothing is really being said.
I told my dad about the amount of traffic on the web site, his response "I used to figure that we would sell one boat per 300 people that came to the shop, it probably one boat per 6000 online." Lets hope he's right, otherwise all these posts are for nothing. Bleak. The good news is I only have to write ten more of these things. Last thing, the truck and mountain of snow isn't included in the purchase of the hull.
