In cleaning up my boat, I have discovered more than a few things that have made me shake my head at what the previous owner had done. I begin to fear for his newest sailboat as this man should not be allowed near anything that floats.

just a simple list:

1: all navigation lights were in place, but not wired to anything.
2: The switch panel was 1/8 ply hung off of the edge of a bunk using zipcord and no(!?!) fuses
3: Engine mount used no backing to hold it secure to the hull. Just nuts on small washers
4: Nuts holding engine mount on were hand tight and it fell off of the boat easily
5: Bilge Pump Thruhull was loose and not sealed into place
6: Hose from Bilge Pump to thruhull was heaterhose
7: Boat name and registration was done with stencils and spraypaint

It's one thing when a car fails due to a lack or maintance or faulty maintance. you can get out and walk. On a boat, that is not really an option. Getting out and going somewhere using your body is a good way to find yourself dead. While you can drift until you get help, it's not exactly good practice.

And as a Coast Guard Search and Rescue pilot, I can tell you, fiberglass isn't a great radar reflector! Fix that E36 M3!!

Didn't you say "Sailboat" ? the wind blows 99.9% of the time. And then there is always the paddle.

you are welcome to try paddling a 23 foot full keep sailboat that weighs in at 3200pounds....

And yes, I was going to put her in this year, but after getting her home and seeing her rear state of (dis)repair. I decided to leave her on the trailer and fix everything that was wrong. Thankfully the rigging appears to be in decent shape, but I am still going to replace it all for piece of mind

What's wrong with #7 other than looking ghetto?

Here's some good news, If you believe in luck then you could consider this boat lucky

3: it's a SAILboat... the wind is it's "motor"...

You guys ever try to sail a boat that is half submerged due to all the (potential) leaks mad_machine described?

Yeah, I bet the commentary on just sailing it will drop off quickly.

GameboyRMH wrote: What's wrong with #7 other than looking ghetto?

it's more an indication on how the previous owner worked/would work on the boat. Putting in the smallest amount of effort, time, and money into it. Most people go to the store and spend $20 on the proper sized stickon letters. They are not fancy, but they are the standard and look decent enough if put on straight

mad_machine wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote: What's wrong with #7 other than looking ghetto?

it's more an indication on how the previous owner worked/would work on the boat. Putting in the smallest amount of effort, time, and money into it. Most people go to the store and spend $20 on the proper sized stickon letters. They are not fancy, but they are the standard and look decent enough if put on straight

Yeah, but you knew that when you bought it, right?

The warning signs were there.

oh, I admit I swim in the cheap end of the pool. I prefer to buy cheap cars and boats and put lots of sweatequity into them. When I am working, my time is worth some serious cash.. when I am off, it's mine to waste as I please.

Just today I sanded the stern down to the gelcoat, removing about 10 layers of paint. Found more than my fair share of fibreglass repairs. Some good, some not so good.. stuff like this keeps me at a managable level of insanity

You are doing it right, and that is most important on boats. I have had my share of adventures on the water, mostly caused by screwups. Don't forget to join up with the local tow service ahead of time. Will save a huge amount of money when the inevitable happens. Saturday I was fishing under the 17th Street bridge, Port Everglades area and watched a 30' go fast come in on a tow line. That was expensive.

Let's see her!

can show you what I did today:

How her stern looked yesterday. Covered in 50 years of badly applied and thick paint

And how she looks now, with it all removed, exposing 50 years of gelcoat crazing and bad 'glass repairs.

This week, I will glass up the holes from the engine mount and bilgepump thruhull and then get some epoxy primer to seal everything up nice and smooth. Then I get to sand the rest of her 23 feet smooth. My shoulders are already sore from using an orbital sander for an hour today

Mezzanine wrote: You guys ever try to sail a boat that is half submerged due to all the (potential) leaks mad_machine described? Yeah, I bet the commentary on just sailing it will drop off quickly.

I had a pylon shoe bust through the side of my old hobie 16. We were blasting downwind in 25+mph winds and the boat just didn't feel right. Sure enough we end up in this slow motion pitchpole. Took forever to get it righted because basically it had to take on enough water so that the sloshing wouldn't keep dumping it one way or another.

Once righted it was a handful lucky for us we didn't have to spend to much time with the submerged hull on the leeward side. But I tell ya what. Trying tacking in those conditions on a H16. Then fill the boat with water and try it.

Yeah

I have no idea though how you would even know if a leaner was half full of water.