Photos can be very deceptive. They can make something look better than it really is (like our boat
) and they can make things look far worse than they are. Particularly if the lighting is crappy.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, just based on the photos and the knowledge that Nordic Tug did sell a number of boats to be owner-finished, that this boat is pretty much what the owner says it is. The "high water" marks mentioned look to me like either the effect of the lighting or perhaps the way the surfaces were finished (or not finished).
THe fact it is dusty and dirty is no surprise. Look at anything stored in a shed or barn for any period of time and it will look the same.
The condition of the engine would be a question. Was it properly pickled to sit this long, for example? The quality of the work done so far would be a big question, too. Is it good, bad, or indifferent? It's hard to tell in the photos.
I'm guessing the guy used a flash and that harsh light shooting straight out from the camera can make anything look bad, particularly surfaces and shapes like the ones you get in a boat. To me, considering the nature of the photography, these do not look iike used or sunk surfaces. They look like new construction that has been left to sit in a dirty, dusty, perhaps somewhat humid environment for a long time. I could take photos of the stuff sitting in our garage and storage shed using the same kind of flash lighting and it would all have the same look as this boat.
So unlike the cases on YachtWorld where all the boats look great in the pictures, this is a case I think where you would have to see the boat in person to determine what is really there. If I really wanted an NT26 and was interested in a project like this I would not be deterred at all by the photos.
I
would be deterred by the price. While someone with the skills could make the interior of this boat a real showpiece, the fact remains it's still a very simple, very basic NT26. Which you have to finish building.
As in houses I have observed there is an interest in downsizing in boats, too. Not everyone of course. But there is, or was, enough interest in the NT26 for the company to recently reintroduce the model to their lineup although I don't know if they have sold or built any yet. But $40k can get you into a similarly sized boat you can start using right now and that will be in pretty decent shape.
But at the right price it appears to me that this could give someone an enjoyable project with a very nice little boat to use at the end of it.