What not to do

[anemoneii]

West Marine gets less than 10% of my boating dollars. You need to search the internet, not everything you use needs to be new. There is an economic crisis going on, boats in good condition are bargains right now.

[kpgraci]

That is a great story and one I can defiantly relate to...trust me.

I only wish Mav had used more white space in his post - it's free!

[merc2dogs]

Originally Posted by kpgraci

I only wish Mav had used more white space in his post - it's free!

One thing I've noticed is that if you have 'noscript' running when you post here, it gets rid of all the white space.
Spaces and carriage returns aren't shown.

I edited one posting twice, and was on my third go when I decided to try setting noscript to temporarily allow all the page. Worked great.

[SecondWindNC]

Holy wall of text Batman!

Great story, though. I bet it was kind of therapeutic to write it all out.

[arf145]

Great story Maverick!

I think most first boat, especially old boat, stories have some of those same elements in them. I'm not sure there is any way to really understand the cost of boat ownership--including the cost of fixing up that thing that you first thought you'd be happy just to sail as is--before you've done it.

A friend who happily did the whole old boat experience and is now out of it said recently that if he had known the true costs ahead of time he'd never have done it, so thank god he didn't know!

[Beersmith]

I'm in the same "boat" as you man. Except I was stupid enough to purchase a 38' cruising boat with the same problems...and probably more. Learning as you go is fun though, and the end result will be a great accomplishment.

[smackdaddy]

Freakin' awesome story Mav. Goin' in the Salts thread.

[carl762]

Ya, Sailingdog, I'm sure glad I found a local marine supply place that deals in new, used, consignment goods. Sometimes, she actually orders from West Marine's warehouse, and I get the stuff cheaper than West charges.

I like using the huge catalog as a reference for things I want to get.

Yes, OP, paragraph breaks and punctuation do help. I had to almost put a ruler up on the screen to get through the post. Good read though.

Pics pics pics.

[remetau]

Originally Posted by carl762

Ya, Sailingdog, I'm sure glad I found a local marine supply place that deals in new, used, consignment goods. Sometimes, she actually orders from West Marine's warehouse, and I get the stuff cheaper than West charges.

What's even better is when your admiral works at WM

[Siamese]

Some of your post sounded entirely too familiar. I've been sailing 30+ years, and I make fewer mistakes now.

One of the things you've learned is, no procedure...painting, sealing, etc., is ever as simple as you think. There's something unforgiving about a boat, if things aren't done correctly. Wrong products, improper procedure, shortcuts?.....you will be PUNISHED.

I've brought a couple old fiberglass boats back to life. It was more difficult pre-internet. Just about anywhere you turned (West Marine!), somebody with no clue was willing to give you lousy advice. I wish I could have had this site as a resource when I was doing my restoration jobs. I'm certainly glad I can use the search function or ask a member about anything I want to do with my Catalina 309.

Nobody should criticize what you've done so far, because when you're new to old boats, there's really no knowing what you're up against. Now, you're way ahead of the game because you're aware of some basic boat rehab truths and know where to get the right advice the first time.

Keep the faith.