Picked up my first boat

[MtHopeBay]

An '82 Balboa 24. I just brought it home today from a nearby town. I hemmed and hawed about it for a couple of weeks and it's just too good a deal to pass up. Not much of a looker, but solid and well used. Tandem axel trailer, 15HP Honda, roller furling jib, tiller pilot, gps plotter/sounder, etc. It's not pretty but it has everything I need and would have wanted to add on later.

I really don't plan to trailer her often, but I do need a better tow vehicle. I hauled her home with my 1.3L 4 cyl. std. trans. Mazda PU. The "truck" part handled towing just fine, but the 4banger can barely pull the boat and trailer on level road and there is little level road between us and the sea.

This is our first boat, my wife and I, and we're both in our 50's. We were leaning toward something a little smaller and easier to learn on, but this will last us longer because we can really cruise with her as her previous owner did.
Mike

[BigMoe]

We were all excited when we bought our first boat! My first boat of any consequence was a 22 O'Day and I have fond memories of it from 40 years ago!

Big Moe

[sailingdog]

Congratulations Mike. Post photos of the boat when you can. Oregon isn't known for being a flat state... You'll probably want something like a V8 Ford Explorer AWD/4WD to tow her with. That should give you enough HP to deal with hills and such.

[AllThumbs]

Congrats!

[Jim H]

I considered a couple of Balboas when we lived in Oregon. Nice concept: keep her on the trailer in the winter for tuning up. Put her in a slip on the Columbia for the sailing months. Trailer her up to the San Juans for a couple of weeks each year.

There were some good sites about maintaining Balboas, especially the lifting keel mechanism and box.

[Selkirk]

What an exciting day for you!
I remember our first day.................We were nearly 50, too.

[djodenda]

Congratulations, and Welcome to Sailnet!

Once you get the right tow vehicle, you should consider cruising the San Juan islands. They are amazing. We can help guide you.

David

[Wayne25]

Mike:
I solved my tow problem by renting a Uhaul pick up or small box truck rather than buy a larger vehicle. I figure its about the same price as one months truck payment and non of the ownership costs. As far as I could find, they are the only renters that allow you to tow your own trailer.
Let the fun begin!

[MtHopeBay]

I think the PO sailed exclusively around the San Juans and there is even a Navionics chart card for the San Juans. He did exactly what you guys are saying: tow her up for the season and bring her back for the winter.

We're starting off in Yaquina Bay, Newport, Oregon and we'll expand from there. There are plenty of reasonably priced used trucks and Suv's around that are more than capable of towing this boat. We really only need to tow it twice this year: to Newport to put her in and back home in the fall. I'd gladly trade my wife's Oldsmobile for a used truck.

[timebandit]

If looking for a tow vehicle be sure it has positraction.