There comes a time when certain truths about your boat become evident. The initial honeymoon thoughts of water whispering under the hull, and of enjoying drinks in the moonlight, change to dirty oil diapers and leaks over the matrimonial bunk. If you’re the rare person who has kept your new boat for 20 years or, more likely, someone who bought an older boat with the idea of fixing it up, some work will be needed to save the relationship.
Model year 2003 was a good one for boats. Many of the big names producing cruising boats back then are still around now. Asian boatbuilders were stepping up their game. Competition between European and U.S. builders was fierce. Overall build quality was generally high. You probably would have found a great deal more teak on board than you would at a boat show today.
Still, at 20 years old, a boat built in 2003 is likely to have had one to three owners with varying technical abilities and maintenance budgets. The amount of use the boat has had can also affect its condition. In most cases, we’d rather see a moderately used boat with normal service and cosmetic repairs than a very lightly used boat. Extremely low engine hours indicate that the boat sat unused for most of its life. When boats sit
