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Help ID this boat?

4K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  OutnBacker 
#1 ·
Hello,
I'm new to this forum and rather new to sailing anything bigger than a canoe. Yes, I sail a canoe :eek:. I've run across an interesting sloop located in Oregon, about 250 miles south of here. Too far for a casual look-see, but what intriques me is that the owner/seller doesn't know anything about it's manufacture, other than it says "Malibu 18" on the title. The pics he sent me show a beautiful boat, well kept. It's a 1978 with what I think is a north sea stern??? He says there are no visible hull or serial ID plates that he can find, just a molded-in number in the glass. The title is valid.

Here's a link to a few pics, showing a crude rendition of the logo that I made in Paint. I blew up the image of logo off the rudder. I've found absolutely nothing on the web. Neither has the seller.
Malibu Sloop pictures by OutnBacker - Photobucket

Any help is appreciated. Thanks,

John
 
#2 ·
#3 ·
Thanks, Faster.

I let things slide for awhile, but with this new info, I think I'll shoot the guy a line and see if he still has the boat. I wanted to go down to Oregon and check it out in Sept but there are so many boats here in the Puget Sound area that I figured I could find one here that would somewhat match it. But no deal. Open 18 footers are hard to find it seems.

Meanwhile, I'm open to any other input from the forum...

John in Everett, WA
 
#4 ·
No idea what the boat is but it's a cutie and very unique with that "bum". From the pictures, looks decently built.
 
#5 ·
I have to admit, the style is what keeps me so interested. I can't decide if the hull looks fast or stable under fire. Most 18ftrs look like slabs to me - and very wet riding. It was suggested on another forum that I write Ted Brewer, as the opinion was that it looked to be of his design. Mr. Brewer wrote back the same day, saying it was a very lovely boat, but not one of his. So, I remain stumped.

I just sent an e-mail to the seller (yes, I kept his pics and his contact). If he still has it and is willing to trouble with it, I'll have the hull numbers soon.

Keep the guesses coming. Someone HAS to know this boat.

Thanks,
John
 
#6 ·
‘Looks like a boat made by Orion Yachts of Mt. Jackson, VA, now defunct and I assume, not connected to the current yacht builder in Turkey. The logo looks a bit like the rings of Orion with a wave / boat pattern superimposed, don’t you think? I did a quick search and the only thing I found was that the first 3 characters of the HIN would be “YLX” and they went out of business in 1978. Anybody know any more??
 
#8 ·
Geoff54,

Thanks for that. I now recall that the seller saw a plaque on the mast that said Orion. But he suggested that the mast could have been made for lots of different boats and that he didn't think it definitely ID'd the boat. Plausible enough. But I think you may be on to something here. The boat is a 1978, the year Orion went down. They are listed as a sailboat maker only - which might be why this boat seems so stout. If I can positively ID the logo and match it to Orion Yachts, then Bingo! I'll pull the trigger and drive down to McMinnville, Oregon if he still has the boat. Til then, I'll have to wait for his response, if any, on the prefix.

Thank you.

Venturecat15,
I'm not sure of the lifeboat aspect, but it does indeed give the appearance of a stout, North Sea cutter type - not too fast, but it'll get you there when things get rough. The seller says it is a bit tender til it heels to 10degrees, then stiff as a board no matter what.
 
#9 ·
Update;

The owner still has the boat. And, he says he remembers that the previous owner did indeed mention that it was built by Orion. So, that does it. Still, not one single reference on-line as to any club or associations, pictures, specs, or anything at all that would help a virtual novice know his boat. So why should I buy it? Maybe because it's the ONLY open boat in this size around here for 250 miles, and it fits the requirements that I have for it. Plus, it's only $1600.

I'll be contacting the seller again forthwith.

...gawd, this is gonna hurt at the gas pump!
 
#10 ·
She is good looking, and may not be very slow. She's no laser, but she has firm bilges to keep her upright and a fine enough bow to go through the water well. Boats like that can be great fun. I own a 19' dory that I've sailed on both shores of Long Island, and towed as far as Cape Cod and the Chesapeake.
I also sail a canoe.
 
#12 ·
Wanderingstar,
Gratifying to hear of another insane canoe sailor. That's doin' it by the seat of your pants, which get wet frequently. What dory do you have? I also sail a 15ft Bolger "Sweet Pea" peapod. I use the 66ft gunter rig from the Grumman canoe. I'm beginning the process of modifying it for better upwind performance.

John
 
#16 ·
My dory is a one-off, built by two brothers in Ct in the '80s. She's a Swampscott type, stiched and glued with ply and glass tape. Her rig is a sprit main, club jib, leg o' mutton mizzen. 18'9" x 6'6". My canoe is ultra light glued lapstrake with an older BSD sailrig. The boat is only 28" wide, so quite tender. Yes, I've spilled her more than once. I didn't build any of my curent boats, mostly got them from craigslist. I have built a couple of dinghies, one for some one else, and a glen-l topper that was stolen!
 
#14 ·
Geoff54,
That's the one. The current owner is the poster on that thread. That's his red Forester hooked to the trailer. He refers to his daughter coming home and that she wanted to learn to sail. That corroborates with our earlier coms this past fall.

The work to be done was new thru hull fittings and a new tiller, which he did. Also, he rebuilt the trailer.

This is the only braodside pic I've seen of the boat and I take back what I said earlier about not being able to tell if it was capable of good speed. Now seeing the lines, I think this boat would do very nicely against many others in it's size range. Better, maybe in rough water.

I'm gonna to have to shake a leg on this. Starting with... "Honey, we need to talk..."
 
#15 ·
Geoff54,
Wondering if, perhpas, you know the seller. There is another Geoff on that thread - on the west coast.

Anyway, seller sent the numbers. It's an Orion, alright. Hull#55 of that model. Built in July of '78.

This is weird, but hopefully meaningful: My boss is a once-upon-a-time sailor who did the trip to hawaii in his wayward youth at college aboard a 41ft boat. Today I showed him the pics and he instantly knew the boat was an old Orion. Go figure. Says the hull is very seaworthy but he doesn't know the details of the construction.

So, now to go start a fight with my wife, who does not share my love of things that float and cost money.
 
#18 ·
No, I don't know the seller -Sorry! I was on the left coast for a while but I'm currently in D.C. for a few years en-route to Massachusetts (in the spring, if all goes to plan).

I recognized it because I stopped to talk with someone I saw sailing one, or who had just been out sailing one, to be more accurate. That was a few years ago and I don't really know why I remembered the details, except that I am famous for remembering useless trivia while forgetting important stuff. It reminded me of a fiberglass version of a clinker-built (lapstrake) boat that was owned by a friend, on the "other side of the pond" when I was a kid.

'Hope it all works out for you. Let us know how it goes!

Geoff
 
#17 ·
The Dory type(s) have long been a favorite of mine, closely shadowed by the Caledonia Yawl, with gunter rig. There is a rare sighting near here of a neglected 16ft Roger Crawford Swampscott just sitting on an old trailer, wasting away. The owner won't let it go but he doesn't seem interested in doing anything with it either. Shame. I've never seen one in the Puget Sound area. Dories of any type are rare here.

I've just added an avatar. That's the Bolger "Sweet Pea" that I have. I'd say it's a cross between a gunning dory and a Maine peapod. By far, the most seaworthy 15 footer I've ever had.
 
#19 ·
Geoff,
I agree. It does have that look, and I freely admit that when it comes to boats or babes, looks count. Shallow perhaps, but that's the tough truth. I stated in an earlier post that most boats in this size range look like slabs, in my opinion. Efficient, probably, but ugly. So, when I saw this one on C-List, it sort of made it's way into my Cool Boats folder and I keep coming back to it.

Anyway, the fight continues. My wife is a compulsive saver, bless her heart, and it is very difficult to get her to agree that there is no downside beyond the fact that we are people of modest means and this is a bad time of year to spend on ourselves. So, I'm the Selfish Bastid (not her terms ;))

Problem is, as I've tried to explain, is that this is the best time to buy a boat. And, it'll be a 1/1 exchange when I sell my other one, so it'll be a wash in the end. "Make sense, honey?"

The negotiations continue...
 
#22 ·
Geoff,
I agree. It does have that look, and I freely admit that when it comes to boats or babes, looks count.
There's nothing shallow about it re: boats. Our boats are self indulgent toys. If they aren't good looking, what's the point in having them?

Is it shallow to expect any kind of art to be good looking?
 
#21 ·
"I declare this field of honor to be Roman Ground - Roma Victa!!!"

The She finally succumbed. It was a tough fight, bloody and brutal, emotionally scarring. But in the end, I have prevailed.

And, the best part is that The She is happy - I took her shopping.

Next weekend, I go get the boat. Road trip! :D
 
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