Boat in the backyard

[cs]

A couple of halloweens ago I had seen an old boat in some guys backyard (fiberglass). It has been bugging me, so I went and asked about her tonight. It is his father's and he said that he might be willing just to let me take it.

It appeared to be around 20' in length and had a fairly roomy cabin. It had weeds grown over it, but from tapping around on it it sounded sound. The hardware seemed to be good and the blocks were Shaefer (sp?).

Sorry no photos yet. I did leave my number for them to call me. Might be a good summer project when I get finished with the weekender.

Chad

[cs]

Does anyone think I should pursue this if I get it for free?

Chad

[John Bell]

Depends if it's all there. If you have to come up with sails, all new rigging, a new rudder, a new trailer (cuz' the one it's on is rusted to hell), and an outboard, then it'd be cheaper and better to buy a boat in better condition. There was what might a be pretty decent Catalina 22 on the Atlanta Craigslist yesterday in a distress sale for $1500 that would in all likelyhood be a better buy than this free boat.

[cs]

John, the trailer looked good. I didn't see the rudder or the sails. They may be stored somewhere else. All the other hardware including the mast looked to be in great shape.

Chad

[John Bell]

Post a picture and let's figure out what it is. It might be a classic or it might be a classic dog.

The main thing that kills FG boats is rotting deck cores and structural bulkheads from deck leaks and poorly bedded hardware. I'd look for soft deck coring, rotted bulkheads, particularly at the chainplates, and be prepared to re-bed all the windows and hardware. I'd also look hard at the hull-deck joint for separation and damage.

You'll probably still spend a lot more time, effort, and money than you think on the trailer (tires, hubs, bearings, wiring, etc) and you'll want to cough up for an outboard sooner rather than later. For certain most of the running rigging and some of the associated hardware will need to be renewed in the first year or so. Depending on how the sails were stored, you may find that they'll need some repair time with the local sailmaker. The standing rigging will probably need some attention, but not immediately and not all at one time either.

I know of a couple of old Flying Scots that could be had cheap or for free, but are missing sails, boom, running rigging, and rudders and are sitting on trailers of unknown integrity. The cost of coming up with all the parts necessary makes it cheaper to pay for a not-free but complete boat rather than to pursue these.

[Thorne]

As John said, the sails are critical. You can easily spend more than the cost of a comparable boat in buying new sails, or even used sails on eBay or from lofts.

See if you can ID the boat maker/model, as that will have a big impact on purchasing new or used gear for an older 'glass boat. I actively trailer-sailed a San Juan 21 for a number of years all over CA and the Left Coast including the San Juans, and the ability to buy parts was essential -- owner's groups are also a great help when the manufacturer is out of business.

http://www.luckhardt.com/sail1.jpg

[cs]

If the guy calls me back I will try to identfy this.

Chad