She''s Out and Ready (Helms 25)

[SailinCowboy]

Ok folks, I''m back.. I''m sure everyone is tierd of the same old questions, but here goes....
I''ve had my 1974 Helms 25 for 3 years, she''s been in lake water, but badly needs a refit.
I broke the mast hinge tring to bring it down solo (no choices) and some of the stantion pole bases are cracked the standing rigging need new cables (some frayed), and top to bottom painting (lots of gelcoat cracking). I''m tring to equip her to blue water cruise, so I need all the help I can get. Where do I start? She''s on a sailboat trailer so I have pleny of "air" under her.

[trecksail]

This may be elementary, but just in case: I have found some decent gear at good prices on ebay. Of course ebay''s no big secret, but I make sure not to bid on anything there without checking right here on sailnet first. There have been many times I have found an item new on sailnet that was actually used and still priced higher on ebay. Also, depending what area you''re in, I saw a thread on sailjazz about a "marine flee market" in Florida that sounded huge and reasonable. I''d think especially after the storms there would be plenty of gear stripped off of trashed boats.