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Someone's giving me an Islander 24'

8K views 27 replies 15 participants last post by  Happy Mullet 
#1 ·
Hey all! Someone's giving me a 1967 Islander Bahama 24', but it's got some issues and I need some help deciding on whether or not to take it.

It's moored around Destin, and I live in New Orleans so the plan was to go work on it for a few days and sail her back. I had a marine survey done for State Farm so that I could have liability insurance active from the first day. He found some issues that the owner didn't know about because he hadn't seen the boat in while. The biggest issue was that there was about 12" of water sitting in the interior, and he wasn't sure how long it's been there (anywhere from 2 to 6 months). It might need to be completely gutted. It seems like the cockpit drain line through-hull was clogged by barnacles and so the cockpit would fill up with water and leak down into the interior. There's no auto bilge pump on her either.

I've got three guys who willing to go there with me to help me work on it for a few days and then sail it back to New Orleans. The marina where it's being kept has pulled it out of the water and is scraping down the sides before we get there. It will need new paint top-to-bottom and inside, but the rigging and sails are in decent shape.

Does it sound like a stupid plan? Should I look for another free boat closer to home? I've had multiple people tell me locally that they can get me a 'free boat', but I'm not really sure how realistic they are. I don't mind spending about a $1000 on materials for this boat to get her seaworthy. I like Islanders because of the stability and the super thick hull; I'm not a racer.

Any thoughts? I'll post some pictures of the interior that the marine surveyor sent me in another post.
 
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#4 ·
Ha, no thankfully it shouldn't have any unpaid bills. I've talked to the marina, and it was kept there for free as a favor to the owner. I really don't mind fixing it up, and kind of like the idea.

Trying to figure out if it will be seaworthy after a few days worth of work by four dedicated 25 year old guys.
 
#5 ·
Well this is a project boat ! I would think of it as a clean slate: after you gut it! The good thing is the price is right. You will need to love her to do this project,& will have to be ready to work, this isn't a simple fix; But, you could build what you want!....Dale
 
#6 ·
Does the engine run? When I worked the Pensacola harbor tug we used to make the run to New Orleans in around 24 hours via the ICW at 8-9 knots. You can make the entire trip on the inside, I would just get her home using the most risk conservative method (ICW) that you can. If you have problems you can tie up somewhere, fix it and then continue, running outside with an unknown boat kinda limits your options. :)

fair winds and following seas

dan
 
#8 ·
Does the engine run?
The existing engine does not run, but we're bringing down one which definitely does. Our plan was to take 3-4 days sailing back, only during the day, only in the IWC except for maybe the part between Perdido Key and Dauphin Island because it gets narrow just before Mobile Bay. We're making the trip next week, and the weather and winds look great (knock on wood). I'm buying a BoatUS or SeaTow membership before we set sail, so maybe they would tow me back to New Orleans if we got stuck somewhere.
 
#7 ·
Well, I don't own a boat - I've only sailed the J22's at my local sailing club. And before I take anything free or buy anything I wonder about how I'm going to unload it when I'm done with it.

But having said that ... if I had a place to put this thing to work on I'd take it in a heartbeat. What a great experience - you're not going to ruin something you paid money for as you learn how to work on it! If I thought I had a reasonable chance of making it work I wouldn't think twice about it. What an amazing opportunity to learn how to work on a boat without risking your primary ride.

I have done this with bicycles - tearing a working but in poor condition bike apart so I could understand the gears and experiment with repairs and parts without risking my primary ride.

That's a great opportunity.
 
#9 ·
Well, I don't own a boat - I've only sailed the J22's at my local sailing club. And before I take anything free or buy anything I wonder about how I'm going to unload it when I'm done with it.
Ha, yeah, I thought about that already. I live in a marina now, and we've got some docks that have been condemned by FEMA since Katrina. My friend has moored two of his boats there for three years and never had a problem. I can keep an eye on it from my back porch. If the city/FEMA ends up getting their stuff together and rebuilding the docks, then I might sell it or move to a friend's marina an hour away. At that point I may also donate it to the university sailing team which was the original idea.
 
#11 ·
I don't have pics of the whole boat except from an old survey. It's 250 miles away in Florida. The current marine surveyor hasn't finished his report, but tomorrow I should have them.

I think we just decided about 15 minutes ago to go for it this weekend. We were scared off by the 12" of sitting water in the interior as we didn't plan on redoing that initially. We were also worried about the keel, but the surveyor said it was an encased keel, and shouldn't give us any problems.

Anyone have any experience w/ this boat? My friend's parents have an Islander that's 30+ feet long, but I've never been on a smaller one before.
 
#12 ·
ISLANDER BAHAMA 24 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com



Columbia - Islander Connection
Joseph McGlasson, the Islander 24 and Bahama 24.

Joseph McGlasson, a west-coast wooden boat builder, developed an interest in fiberglass production in the late 1950s. According to his widow, Evelyn, Joe formed a corporation called McGlasson Marine Corporation to begin production of his first fiberglass boat, the Islander 24. Using a 24 foot wooden boat, the Catalina Islander, which he had designed, built, and successfully marketed in the mid 1950s, Joe made a mold. The resulting mold had planking lines from the wooden boat and gave the fiberglass version of the Catalina Islander the look of the wooden boat.

The hand-laid up hull with internal lead ballast resulted in an incredibly durable boat. Ed Thrall, a Islander Bahama 24 owner and yacht broker who sold more than 135 of the Islanders before production stopped in 1970, hit a 15-ton channel buoy in a fog and only scratched the chrome off a couple of bolt heads on the stem fitting. When he dug one out to replace it, he found it was 5 ½ inches long. Ed asked Joe why he had put so much glass in the stem and Joe responded "You didn't break the stem did you?" As an owner of an Islander 24,I also can attest to the study construction.

Mass production of the Islander began in 1961, when Joe worked with Glas Laminates to begin full scale production. The boat was very popular and McGlasson was able to sell out the entire production run the first year. Excited by the initial popularity of the Islander 24, McGlasson became involved with Wayfarer Yacht Corporation and continued production of the Islander 24. As the popularity of sailing increases, boat sales soar, and at some point, Wayfarer production is taken over by Islander Yachts of Costa Mesa, California. McGlasson's relationship to Wayfarer, although it appears he was at least part-owner, remains vague. His relationship to Islander is even less clear. By 1965 at the latest, Islander Yachts is producing the Islander 24 and Islander Bahama 24. Islander Yachts in the mid-1960s was a subsidiary of Cosmodyne Incorporated and by 1972 Islander had become a subsidiary of Radlon Incorporated. This changing corporate ownership suggests that by the mid-1960s, Joe McGlasson had walked away from the boat and its production.

The five years following the production of the first fiberglass Islander 24 were surround by intense production pressures as demand for the Islander 24 and Bahama 24 was apparently greater than production capacity. Where there are quick profits to be made unsavory businessmen are sure to follow, and so they did. Indeed, Joe McGlasson's foray into fiberglass boat production left him bitter at the industry. According to Evelyn, Joe believed he had been ripped off by Glass Marine, Inc. While Evelyn could not remember all the details, she was clear that Glas Laminates could not keep up with production demands and that Joe agreed to let Glas Laminates contract out some of the production.

The relationship between McGlasson, Glass Laminates and Wayfarer sours when Glass Marine Industries begins to produce the Columbia line of sailboats. Wanting to quickly capitalize on the demand for small affordable yachts, someone at the Columbia Sailing Yachts Division of Glass Marine Industries modifies the mold for the Islander 24 to eliminate the grooves and the wooden boat look of the Islander 24. The modified mold is used to produce the first in the series of three Columbia 24s. McGlasson was outraged at having his design stolen. The Columbia 24, Columbia Contender 24, and Columbia Challenger 24, all have the same hull, McGlasson's Islander 24 hull.

As Islander Yachts expanded into the bigger yacht market, the corporation's interest in the Islander 24 and Islander Bahama 24 rapidly declined. By 1971, Islander Yachts did not even have files on the Islander 24. In response to a letter from and Islander 24 owner inquiring about winches for the Islander 24, Charles Underwood, Chief Engineer for Islander wrote "We have almost no documentation of the Islander 24. I am enclosing a print of the only drawing on file, which happens to be stamped obsolete. The Islander 24 hull is the same as the Bahama 24 hull. We have no available information on LWL, Draft, Ballast or displacement for your boat." By 1971, after producing over 500 Islander Bahama 24 and unknown number of Islander 24 models, Islander Yachts washes its hands of this particular line of boats and its creator Joe McGlasson moves to Newport Oregon to open a small shop and retire. Joe passed away in the early 1990s.

Back to Columbia History
 
#14 · (Edited)
Here's some advice I am certain that you will ignore.

For a few thousand dollars you can buy a vessel like this with a nice interior, working engine, battery and electrical system, some instruments, lots of expensive gear, and you can enjoy your boating, eventually selling it for what you paid for her. This would be the wise thing to do.

Alternatively you can take something free (because it has no value), put days on weeks in trying to sort it out, spend thousands of dollars adding the equipment a vessel needs, then eventually you will also give it away.
 
#16 ·
For a few thousand dollars you can buy a vessel like this with a nice interior, working engine, battery and electrical system, some instruments, lots of expensive gear, and you can enjoy your boating, eventually selling it for what you paid for her. This would be the wise thing to do.
That's why I'm a little hesitant about the deal. It seems like the current owner might kick in some monetary help to make it a little easier, and he's already paying the marina to haul it out, scrape down the bottom, and replace some through-hulls. We'll still need to paint it inside and out.

Our tentative plan is just to go down there and look at it, and then make the final decision.

Thanks all for your thoughts.
 
#18 ·
I updated the album with some exterior pictures that the marine surveyor took. I still can't post pictures or links in the post, but here's the link to the picture if you copy/paste it.

Code:
sailnet.com/forums/members/ap11-albums-1967-islander-bahama-24-interior-water-picture2655-photos-1-378032013-24-islander-bahama-1967.html
 
#19 ·
Would be interesting to see what the surveyor says. But, it looks like you've got quite a bit of work cut out for you. It looks like a lot of rotted wood is waiting in store. But, if the hull is in super shape, it can be quite a fun project gutting and rebuilding the interior + deck repair + painting the boat.
 
#20 · (Edited)
For me a boat this small that is not trailer-able would just not make any sense. Can you borrow a flat bed trailer and build a cradle for the boat on it and tow it home? Sounds like the boatyard owner might be wiling to drop it on your trailer to get it out of there. That would be the only way I would even consider this. You could have it in your drive way till you finish the work on it, then tow it to the water and have it put in the water by a crane.

First of all it will need a lot more than "paint inside and out." The painting part will come in three or four years. It might be OK if you are looking for a project and a place to work on it. (IE a driveway or space in the back yard) If you are going to have to pay a yard for storage while working on it, then I would say forget it. If you will have to pay just one person to work on it forget it. If you are thinking you can work on it in the water, forget it. For close to a years storage fees you will should be able to buy a boat of similar type in decent shape. Keep in mind a fully restored boat is going to only be worth around $4,000 and that is if everything is done correctly and perfect, with all new marine grade plywood and exceptional workmanship down below. But $2,000 is more likely all you will get for it.

Judging from the pictures it looks like all bulkheads will need to be replaced, along with the interior furniture. Looks like the decks are de-laminated, so you are in it for several thousand before you look at standing and running rigging, a couple more boat bucks, then add in some sails and a working outboard for a few more boat bucks. Have you looked at the price of decent paint? Then when you get frustrated 1/2 way through and you give it away after putting 6 grand into, you will realize those who said it was a bad idea were right.

By the way I am not pessimistic at all, just a realist. I would hate to see someone get into something like this and get over there head. On the plus side it likely has 1500# of lead and figure about 30 cents a pound, it will at least pay for the dumpster to put the cut up fiberglass into.

Oh and by the way I like the look of the boat, very plucky. Check out your local Craig's list to see what boats are going for locally.
 
#21 ·
Okay, if you're simply going to plow down the ICW all the way home, (as you should) then any structural weakness caused by spongy bulkheads is a non-issue.


But, having said that....

As it stands you are into this boat for nothing, so, if it was me, here's what I would do:
When you get to the boat, grab something pointy and poke at the bottom of the bulheads and around the chainplates. if it's all mostly solid, you can consider stepping the rig.
Now, check the rig- how is the standing rigging? no meathooks, no tang cracks, bad looking swages, etc.? Running rig all present and usable? Good - step the rig.

Check any and all through-hulls for operation, and if they are even remotely suspect, slam a tapered plug in now, and mess with them later at your destination.
Clean it all up and bleach the hell out of it, and spend $50 on paper towels, garbage bags, cleaner and gloves. Yeah, i know, it odesn't need to be clean to sail. You're gonna be onboard for a while. Nothing makes a bad boat feel worse than being surrounded by filth.

Have fun, stay safe.
 
#22 ·
Okay, if you're simply going to plow down the ICW all the way home, (as you should) then any structural weakness caused by spongy bulkheads is a non-issue.

But, having said that....

As it stands you are into this boat for nothing, so, if it was me, here's what I would do:
When you get to the boat, grab something pointy and poke at the bottom of the bulheads and around the chainplates. if it's all mostly solid, you can consider stepping the rig.
Now, check the rig- how is the standing rigging? no meathooks, no tang cracks, bad looking swages, etc.? Running rig all present and usable? Good - step the rig.

Check any and all through-hulls for operation, and if they are even remotely suspect, slam a tapered plug in now, and mess with them later at your destination.
Clean it all up and bleach the hell out of it, and spend $50 on paper towels, garbage bags, cleaner and gloves. Yeah, i know, it odesn't need to be clean to sail. You're gonna be onboard for a while. Nothing makes a bad boat feel worse than being surrounded by filth.
Really good advice, thanks! The marine surveyor thought the bulkheads were sound, and he thought they were made of solid mahogany. We'll double check when we get there. We plan to spend a good two to three days working on it while we're there, and were planning on replacing the through-hulls and painting the bottom anyway.
 
#23 ·
ap-
Your biggest problems may be the chainplates, which are heavy metal straps that connect the rigging to the hull on each side of the boat. If the material they are bolted into is the hull, or the bulkheads, you need to examine that very carefully. if it is wood that has rotted, literally the mast can pull them out and really ruin your day.

Then there's the deck, particularly where the mast is stepped on it and around that area. If it is mushy form water getting into the core, again, the mast can come down and really ruin your day.

Last is the interior woodwork, the settee bases, the bulkheads, all of it. If it has taken water damage and is unsound, the repair can be huge. To fix that properly you need to unbuild what is rotten, and then rebuild with proper marine grade lumber, not just plywood from Home Depot.

And then there's the rigging itself. If you run a white terrycloth over the cables, and ANY part of the cloth is torn off by "meathooks", the cabling all needs to be replaced. Not a huge expense on a 24'er but still, not cheap.

Could be a great adventure, and Islanders are generally well-behaved soundly built boats. The rule of thumb is that any work you do on a boat will cost 2-4x more than you think it will, and it will take 2-4x longer than you think, too. And that's optimistic.

Take a long hard look at it, put down some numbers of paper for what you think materials or repairs will cost, go to a diner (or bar<G>) and think it over carefully before you decide. If you take it home but change your mind later--that's a big expensive piece to haul to the landfill.

There can be other surprises, small problems that require expensive repairs to the rudder or keel, but that's an awful lot to get into with so little time. Boats can get very expensive, or you can get very lucky.
 
#24 ·
ap-
Your biggest problems may be the chainplates, which are heavy metal straps that connect the rigging to the hull on each side of the boat. If the material they are bolted into is the hull, or the bulkheads, you need to examine that very carefully. if it is wood that has rotted, literally the mast can pull them out and really ruin your day....

or you can get very lucky.
Thanks, hellosailor! More really helpful info. We'll try to look at everything very carefully. It can be difficult to do with the emotion of getting a new boat.
 
#25 ·
I had an Islander 24. Was the first sailboat I owned. Deck and cabin is half inch fiberglass. The hulls are solid glass. No coring. Full keel with outboard well. Cabins were small with a sink to starboard and a small cabnet to port. If I was given one I would take it. The hull is bullit proof.
 
#26 ·
Thanks again guys, just an update: hull does look sound, we've already painted the bottom, but will leave the rest of the painting for when we get back to New Orleans. The bulkheads need to be replaced at some point, but we've had two more experienced guys look at them and tell us that they are good for getting back home. They've been scabbed once already. The interior should be gutted as well, but we've got a lot of help and we'll enjoy doing the work. We haven't tested the running lights, but that's next on the list. The wind looks great this week for the gulf coast, even if it will be a little chilly.
 
#27 ·
That's the right attitude. Go for it. It will all buff right out.
No need to worry about the mold or the leaky chain plates or god for bid the hole in the deck. Splash some bottom paint on and drop her in.
How much time you putting in again? I think I remember hearing a "Good 2-3 days" prior to departing? And How far do you have to go? 250Miles or so?
One of my biggest concerns would be where are we going to sleep?
Off watch for me is very important and I don't think I would get much rest on a moldy board in a sleeping bag.
Hey, chances are you will be just fine, maybe not comfortable but you should survive.

One thing I remind myself of every time I am out there... I am the ONLY one responsible for my ship and every soul on board. Me and only me. There is not anybody that can come help if I get myself in a tight spot. "I" have to be responsible for getting my own ass and all those on board home safe.
You mentioned about getting Tow Boat Towing Insurance. This is probably a good idea, BUT DON'T think of it as a get out of Jail Free Card. YOU are responsible for your own safety and the safety of everybody on board that leaky boat.
When things go South, you have to be able to get North. NOBODY is going to come help you. You need to be able to react.

Do you have all the necessary safety devices; PFD's Throwable, MOB Recovery techniques, Flares, Fire extinguishers, First Aid Kits, Etc, Etc,

Just because you are taking a motor boat ride down the ditch does not mean stuff can't happen. It can and it will. You need to be prepared for any scenario.
 
#28 ·
I just returned with my $1000 boat on a $4000 trailer from Central FL East Coast having spent 5 mos. there; good fun, small budget. She is an Islander 24 Bahama. The advice given here is great! You can sure pour a lot of money into a boat, so buying one in good condition is very wise! Take your time, try to listen and consider all the advice and then take some more time. You are marrying this gal, not going for a weekend.:eek:
 
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