Really Struggling and Need Some Help - Can't Get it Together

[TheRealSully]

I figure you guys are as good as it gets when it comes to asking how to rebuild a life.

The short history is... .  

BPD ex wife chose "build a new charter boat" from a list of options.  Taking wealthy people on vacation on boats is called "chartering."  It's what I do (we did) for a living, mainly.  We put every penny we had (own no land, no house, no stocks, etc... .  ) into the new boat I was building for us and also put 3 years in full time building it, working 60 hour weeks. 

NOW... .  

The exBPD took off (as they do) and drained $60K out of our joint account.  We are now divorced and there is no recourse on anything.  It is what it is.

I have devised some cost cutting that could get the boat down to needing only $30K more than the $40K I still have.  BUT... .    I can't find this $30K!

I am struggling badly.  I'm in South FL right now looking for work (boat is being built in North FL).  I am wasting more and more money down here looking for work and trying to set up random side things that might bring money in (but have only lost me money so far). 

I need to raise $30K by means of a decent paying job or a bridge loan. 


I would take out a loan in a second, if the BPD divorce didn't destroy my credit completely. 

Also, I have $15K worth of tools and a vehicle to sell when the boat is done, which is half of the money I need to pay back anyway on a loan.  The other half would come from charter income, like my income always had. 

Can anyone help me clearly think how to do this?  I am used to taking people on vacation on boats and having a good income doing that.  I need to get this boat going because well... .  if the wife is gone, the boat is gone, my career is gone, all my money is gone, then there really won't be anything left to live for at all.   :'(   :'(  :'(

I'm really REALLY stuck.  I really REALLY need help.  Any ideas?

[OTH]

Can you find a job with a company doing this already since you have experience? I know it isn't what you want right now but it sound like you need a job to restore your financial position so you can continue to save for your own business.

[waitaminute]

if you have the skills to build a boat, I bet you could also fix up houses to resell them. Use what little you have to buy a  reparable house. Maybe you have to get a job too... .  any job to qualify for a loan.  buy, repair, sell. repeat. I don't have those skills but I've heard of people doing this.

or maybe do the same with old boats.

[Whatwasthat]

Do you have a trustworthy family member or very old friend who you think would make a good business partner for you and  and who would be interested in joining you in your charter business?

If they have a good credit rating they could help raise the necessary funds for the boat work while you also contribute by earning what you can now and putting that towards the project.

Good luck! WWT.

[GlennT]

I'm seeing that You've been working on this boat full time for three years now. Has it made you any money in all that time? What else have you been doin? Your BPD partner prostituted herself for this boat, and you lost her, and now, you will lose the boat too if you don't get 30,000 more dollars? Seriously, already this boat has cost you too much.  Now, you want a loan with bad credit during this divorce. What does your lawyer advise? Have you been getting advice on the divorce board here? If I was in your situation, I'd make and save money for my boat, driving a truck for a year or two.

[afterdeath]

You can do well painting peoples houses. Perhaps find a local painter who needs help. Florida is a great painting market you just have to deal with the rat race but anything is better than zero. It should also leave you time to work on the boat

[yeeter]

Sorry, but my advice is as the others:  Get a paying job - cut expenses to the bone, and finish the boat 'on the side'.  It will take longer but debt is no way to start a business.  (and avoid the 3 F's:  Friends, Family, and Fools - I know people that have lost considerable savings, and also their friends and families savings - financing business startups).

There is a website called kickstart you can pitch for funding on.

Good luck.

[TheRealSully]

Ok, thanks for the advice.  

The boat chartering is what paid for the boat, to begin with, for the most part.  We (ex BPD and I) have always chartered boats since 2005.  She was dancing on the side for extra income while I built the boat.  

Building the boat more than doubles your money.  As in... .  if the materials for the boat cost $10, the boat is worth $20-$30 when you are done building it, plus rents out for $1.20 per week.  

It was an extremely sound financial and business decision to build it and chartering is where we derived our income from.  This isn't a "startup", but a continuing business that has been running well since 2005.  Well enough to fund me to build a new one, working full time building it for 3 years, with employees, who were laid off just before the holidays, when my exBPD wife flipped.  

Regular work is probably the only way to go, but the income is much, MUCH higher just running the charter boat.  A $30K loan could be paid off in less than 2 months running the boat.

So... .  it's not like raising this tiny little debt would hinder the business in any way.  The boat is worth much, much more than that.  $30K is pocket change for this project and the income it brings in when in operation.  

But... .  trying to get a job outside of my career (chartering boats) is problematic.  I have been self employed since 2005.  Actually, since 1999, when I owned a small software company.  I do not have a CDL to drive a truck, or connections or any type of experience to get these jobs people talk about getting.  Ex wife didn't really prostitute herself out like that, ex wife was a dancer on the side while we were building.  She was a dancer before we met, so it was just what she did when we weren't chartering.  Her side job.  She decided to become a prostitute behind my back (never would have allowed it) after her 180 personality shift.  

Anyway, the loan is the best way, but my credit is destroyed.  My divorce is also 100% final and all assets are split already.  That's why I'm short to finish the boat.  She has take the liquid funds I needed to do so.  I'm short liquid funds (have half the funds necessary to finis the boat), have bad credit now and have just a couple assets.  I have a vehicle I own outright.  It's worth around $15K.  Could I finance that somehow to bridge this while also working, so I can get the boat running ASAP, rather than waiting?  The income running the boat dwarfs any income I could make in a "regular job."

[OTH]

If what you say is true and you can show your earnings history on running your business. If you can get an assenment on what the boat is worth now and what the boat will be worth when finished and the timeline for completion and bring this to a bank... .  I don't see how you can not get a loan by offering your boat as collateral. Regardless of your credit history. Bring documentation from your divorce as well. 

As a fall back position... .  I do not see why you would be looking for a job outside of your career. This means working for someone else's company for less pay but it is what you know and what you have a passion for. Sometimes we have to take a step back to move forward again. Good luck.

But... .  trying to get a job outside of my career (chartering boats) is problematic.

[ambi]

Couldn't you get a co-signer for the loan and use the boat as the collateral? 

[TheRealSully]

Couldn't you get a co-signer for the loan and use the boat as the collateral? 

IMO, this is the best path forward.  I have a $15K vehicle (RV) that I would love to use to raise half the required bridge funds while I earn the other half. 

I would love a co-signer, but as we all know... .  BPD spouses destroy our ties with people.  I am all alone.  My family would not consider it (I have already asked) and I have no friends.  100% alone here.  No help at all.

That's why I was thinking that at least with the collateral from the RV I own outright or the boat, I could move forward, but I need an "outside the box" type lender.  Banks won't look at me because I have been spending for 3 years, not earning and now have bad divorce credit. 

[Grey Kitty]

I've got plenty of experience living on and building/re-building boats, so I understand pretty well what you are getting into. I'd have to agree that your chances of getting a normal bank loan aren't very good.

I've got an interesting idea for you to get funding, it came to me when somebody mentioned kickstarter (aka crowdsourcing or crowdfunding).

If you have been chartering successfully for years, you probably have lots of happy customers who might want to come back for another cruise. Offer them a very good deal where they pay for a charter now, and get it after you finish putting the boat together. Perhaps offer a discount. Once you finish the boat, you stop spending to put it together, and schedule your charters so that every other one is a pre-paid one, so you still get some income.

You might combine this with a kickstarter (or indiegogo)  campaign or something like it... .  but that won't help you find people who want to fund your boat. If you are good with online/computer things, this might be a good way to manage getting former customers to sign up. I figure that a week's charter has to bring in more than $1000 so you only need a dozen or two of these deals to bring in $30k