##The navy-blue gelcoat was faded to a chalky medium blue.
New Life for a Much-Neglected Legacy 32 By Mike Pitchford
I
n every boat owner’s life, there comes the day that is often described as “the happiest day and the saddest day.” That is the day a perhaps much loved and perhaps occasionally loathed boat is sold and gone from view. The sad part is the loss of memories made while owning the boat. The happy part is the loss of the to-do list and the constant drain of the checkbook. Perhaps a supplement to the happy part is the commencement of a search for a new boat. In September we had our most recent happy/sad day. We sold our loved and occasionally loathed North Pacific trawler. After five years of ownership and 10,000 miles under her keel, she was operating away from our dock under “new management.” Our happy side was enhanced by new boat shopping we had already done. We had taken the time from listing to sale to think about our intended use and the right compromise boat (all boats are a compromise). We searched online and pursued broker ads. We found a Legacy 46 December 2019 PropTalk.com
32 listed for sale in the PropTalk classifieds. Not long after we had her under contract. This Legacy 32 was by no means the shine and polish stuff of boat shows. In fact, she might be a case study in neglect, the antithesis of boat-show ready. A Mark Ellis design, executed by the folks who built Legacy and Freedom yachts, she had good bones and seemed worthy of the challenge. Her history was sad but not unique. She was purchased new not long before a divorce left her stranded and forlorn on her lift for a couple of years. She briefly got back on the water only to end up on the hard for several more years. Finally, after years of neglect, a broker, Tom Jones of Crab Alley Custom Boats, was engaged to oversee some repairs and get her sold. When we first saw her, she was essentially a sunbaked mess. The navy-blue gelcoat was hopelessly faded to a chalky medium blue. Her brightwork was mostly down to bare wood, and her main salon woodwork was also sun damaged. It appeared that the engine and generator were operational, but many of the systems were suspect.
We should pause to note here that there is a long and distinguished list of boat rehabilitation projects gone awry. To avoid joining those ranks we began a series of boat visits to dig deeper into the scope of the rehab and brought in some experts. First up on the expert front was Joe Reid, the founder of Mast & Mallet. Joe has built dozens of cold-molded bay cruisers. His Thomas Point line, a handsome blend of Down East and Bay Built workboats from 36 to 46 feet, has some of the most handsome craft on the Bay today. Joe’s business has also been focused on yacht restoration for years. Joe and I visited the boat together in mid-summer. His trained eye focused on the cosmetics while we discussed mechanicals and some modest custom additions. At the end of the visit with Joe I was formulating a budget for rehabilitation that would help define a purchase offer. After carefully looking at Legacy 32 listings and recent sales and further consideration of rehab costs, we made an offer that was, after some negotiations, accepted. Now the real work started.