Grassroots Sailboat - 1981 Vagabond 14

Soo....I bought a sail boat. After hanging out on a defunct, dock-ornament 30' whislt drinking all day, I decided I wanted to learn to sail. Then I went out with a friend in his 1960s 13' fiberglass sailboat on a local lake for a lesson. It was slow. It was hot. It was kind of uncomfortable. I was hooked. I started watching CL half-heartedly for something I could lean in, but most of the small boats seemed to be selling for almost as much as the 22 footers, so I didn't have much hope. Then Friday a little yellow Vagabond 14 sailboat popped up for $800, negotiable. After a couple emails to discuss sails and condition, I roadtripped about 2 hours each way and came home with a boat for $600.

It's 14', fiberglass hulled, and the sails are in good but not perfect shape. Came with the trailer and all. These were designed by Ron Holder and sold as the Vagabond 14 from 76 till 82, then Vagabond was bought by Hobie and it was sold as the Holder 14 for two years, then as the Hobie 1-14 until the late 80s or thereabouts. Reputation for being stable, dry-sailing boats that are good for families and beginners. not racers, but comparable to a Laser generally.

So, things to do before getting it wet:

replace both halyards and main sheet. They're present and usable for testing, but I wouldn't want to stress them. Been left outside too long, kinda moldy.

get a drain plug for the transom.

Patch a quarter sized hole in the luff of the mainsail.

Replace the trailer tires. REALLY bad. Didn't think I'd make it home, TBH.

need a hinge bolt for the mast step and a couple shackles.

varnish/oil/whatever the rudder and daggerboard. Both are reproductions of the rotted originals the PO had made by a local cabinet maker and are stained but not sealed. i think they're pine .

reassemble the kick-up rudder so the linkages are correct. guess the cabinet maker wasn't a good mechanic. It's together and all the original hardware is there, but he put it together backwards.

Get a trolling motor and battery to get me home when the wind dies.

Fix the trailer lights.

Sort out boat and trailer registry. The PO bought the boat from the original owner, a friend of his who's a judge, and never registered the boat or the trailer. He told me to let him know what paperwork he needed (PO's an attorney) and he'd take care of it, so no problems, just process.

Other things that need doin' but aren't critical:

several teak pieces of trim need to be replaced, there's a small chip in the gelcoat in the bilge, it needs cleaned really well stem to stern, cradle boards on trailer may need to be replaced.

I'm going to have questions for you sailboat guys, so stay tuned.

Sweet, looks like fun! I just picked up my Dad's old Hobie 18 that hasn't been on the water in 5 years or so, so I have some similar work ahead of me.

I've developed a much better system, you simply befriend others who have sailboats, and offer to help repair and crew them. You still have to/get to (depending on your outlook, I enjoy maintenance) wrench on things and sail, but you don't spend any money!

Needs more Ferrari:

You bought a $600 trailer with a boat attached to it. Good deal!

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:
Yes, racing/sailing OPB (other people's boats) has been my modus operandi for nearly 20 years now.

In reply to ultraclyde:
As you may know, or you will learn, the term Marine Grade is code for "3 times the price".
For stainless screws and fasteners, try to shop HD/Lowes as much as possible. It will still be expensive but not as much as "marine grade" retailers.
For true boat parts, I like www.defender.com

You run into trouble with that old boat and can't find parts I may know where a couple old hobie holders are rotting away.

bgkast wrote: Sweet, looks like fun! I just picked up my Dad's old Hobie 18 that hasn't been on the water in 5 years or so, so I have some similar work ahead of me.

H18's are such great ole boats...

I love sailing... Some of yesterday's action. http://youtu.be/JOklkf2fV4w

I'd go with a paddle over a trolling motor, but I don't know how far you plan on sailing.

Do yourself a favor and get new sails. It will be costly, but the boat would likely sail much better without that old rag at the mast.

As it is a 14' boat, you shouldn't have to register it... I thought you only had to register sailboats if they exceeded 16'. My 14' C-Lark isn't registered and I've never had an issue.

John - oh yeah, I've already priced the stainless stuff online. Luckily, nothing I need is really boat-specific, so Lowe's should do fine. So far.

Mezz - It's a five foot beam, so it's wide enough that paddling will be a nightmare. Plus there's nowhere to store them when not in use. In Georgia anything over 12' has to be registered regardless of propulsion. Under 12' has to register if you have a motor. The sails are in really good shape, other than the one small hole. (and replacing the multi-color sails would be well over a grand) Heck the whole boat is in good shape. I don't think it was used much at all, and I'd bet it was kept covered until the last few years.

worlds slowest bassboat

good score.. that boat should teach you a lot. Everything from weight distribution to mast bending (it is a fractional rig) for optimum performance.

Dinghies also plane, so be ready for that over the 30footer you spent time on

Cool!

Excellent, I love sail boats.

slefain wrote: Needs more Ferrari:

I once worked on a Beneteau First 53F5, designed by Pininfarina.

man, those Beneteau boats are the secks, every model I've seen.

Added up all the lines I need and the few stainless fiddlys from RiggingAndHardware.com (highly recommended) and I'll be out for less than $100 incl shipping. The only lines I'm NOT replacing are the jib sheets and the main backhaul, both of which were stored with the sails and are in good shape.

So....what should I seal the rudder and daggerboard with? They'll be submerged, but only for a day at the time with plenty of time to dry between. Is Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane up to the task or do I need some secret voodoo boat sauce?

I spent a couple hours tonight pulling the boat off the trailer in the grass and washing it good. Rolled it over and cleaned the bottom, rolled it back and scrubbed out the inside. The bottom has a couple slightly concave spots from the trailer cradle boards, some scars, and maybe some patchwork around the dagger slot but overall it seems solid. got some of the general schmutz off. Looks a little better. It ended up being a soaking wet, full contact event. Welcome to boat ownership!

with the boat off I had a chance to get a good look at the trailer. Wiring's shot, lights are chipped and don't match...I'm going to slap a $38 Harbor Freight LED light/wiring kit on and call it good for now. And some of their DOT rated, $30 8" premounted tires. Winner. Need to replace the missing front cradle boards but the rears are in good shape.

the dents from the trailer will pop out in time. Most 'glass boats get them from either trailer, cradle, or supports when out of the water.

The spare finish should be fine for the board and rudder. You could glass them, but any nicks or holes in the glass would allow water in and trap it against the wood, causing the issue you are trying to defeat.

For what it is worth, when I raced sunfish, the hot ticket was not to varnish the board or rudder, but to leave the surface smoothly sanded. It would trap a smaller layer of water against it as a boundry layer that would then allow it to be more slippery than a similarly varnished rudder and centerboard.

Not saying you should do it.. but that is the theory anyway...

Well, I ordered all the rigging I need and a few stainless bits. I'm out $79.34 including shipping.

I also picked up a $3 drain plug. Need to get this puppy to the pond and see if the boat actually, ya know, floats.

I got to work on mine yesterday.. got the ports out, the cabin hatch out, and the cabin top handrails off. Now I need to sand, repair some 'glass, and paint

Nice find, a few years ago I bought a 1981 Vagabond 14 for $300 and a 4 hour (each way) drive. All similar concerns and condition. After I scrubbed the bottom clean I decided a nice sky blue marine paint on the bottom and the tan bits topside would do wonders for it.

I had the same problem with the trailer so I reengineered the bunks to be lengthwise to the boat rather than crossways with the roller wheel.

HF premounted tires were fine of all the towing I ever did.

Mine came with a Sears 1.2hp game fisher outboard which was JUNK so I went with a modest trolling motor and mounted a battery box under the tiller.

Sold it for $800 a few years ago but I would like another one like it. Fun little boat :-)

I looked at the HF wheels, but decided to spend a little more and get Kenda six ply on galvanized rims. Ordered from etrailer. I've got a minimum 1 hour tow on the interstate to get to the water, so I figured it was worth the peace of mind. I may also get it to the coast (4 hours) eventually. Besides, the HF ones were$60/pr, these were only $90/pr.

KyAllroad - Did you have any issues with the battery under the tiller affecting weight distribution? I'm about 250 lbs, so the boat will be rear-heavy already. I was thinking of trying to mount the battery in the front cuddy, but I'm not sure there's enough space. Got any pictures of the boat?

On the maintenance side, last night I got the mast and boom cleaned of all the tree schmutz, and replaced the hook on the trailer winch. Hopefully tonight I can get the rudder assembly straightened out.

Hey, sorry for the delay..... The battery I chose wouldn't fit in the front cuddy (it's very shallow IIRC). Maybe something lower profile would work.

Sorry, no pics.

I'm about 180 and yeah, with the battery at the rear it was down by the stern but the tiller allows you to sit fairly far forward.

I don't know what your looking for in a trolling motor but I have a very old Sears that I used to push my little 14' fiberglass john boat around on small electric motor only lakes. It's in Knoxville, I'm not sure how far away that is for you but it's free for the taking.

Well, I splurged on an Optima D34M AGM-type deep cycle - it's about 20lbs lighter than some of the big led-acid marine batteries, but with 55Ah it should get me in off the lake. I figure almost 2 hours with a 30lb thrust MinnKota on speed 4. Right now I'll keep it in a box at the stern, but since it's AGM I may eventually be able to lay it down in the cubby, I think. Side mounting is the reason I went AGM - that and surviving being dunked in the lake if I get knocked down. For now it will be tethered to the aft cleat so it could be hauled up after righting the boat.

The rudder had been rebuilt and the guy used an 18" piece of skinny red oak for the tiller - too weak to kick up the rudder using the over-center linkages, and WAY too short. My GRM fix? Bought a $10 replacement axe handle and shaped the blade end to bolt on to the rudder. I now have a nicely shaped, American hickory tiller that cost about $90 less than the ones at West Marine.

So far I've got all the work done but running the new rigging, which should be done tonight. Hoping to put it in the water this weekend, even though the wind forecast is dismal. At least I can see if it floats....

nicksta - thanks, but I decided buying a new trolling motor at $109 was cheap piece of mind.