just bought a venture 17

[marcusagee]

hello - i just purchased a macgregor 17 (the venture model), and although it's in pretty good shape overall, it has a couple of problems that i'll need to resolve before i can put her in the water - paint and an non-working outboard motor.

the paint appears to have never been wet (as in sailed), and i'm guessing (a sailing friend looked at her tonight at agreed) that it's not real bottom paint. i want to remove the paint without ruining the gelcoat and paint it correctly.

regarding the motor, it looks fairly new, but i need to get a marine battery for starters. i've got a couple of gas tanks, but beyond that, if someone could give me some pointers on either or both of these challenges i'd sure appreciate it. i'm hoping to have her in the water for the new year!

thanks in advance.

marcus

[Fstbttms]

Check this thread for ideas on getting the old paint off the bottom:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...tom-paint.html

[sailingdog]

Soda blasting is probably the way to go. The process is far more environmentally friendly than sandblasting and won't destroy the gelcoat like sandblasting can. Then you'll have a very good surface to prime and paint.

I would highly recommend that you read one of the "handbooks" on marine electrics, like Nigel Calder's The Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual. Then figure out how much electricity you'll use on a regular basis, between re-charging the battery, and then size the battery based a figure about 30% higher than that, to allow for some additional equipment use in the future without resizing.