86 Starwind 223

[xaulzan]

Hello,
I bought an 86 Starwind 223 today, my first boat sailboat, needs a bit of work but was a steal of a deal ($500), came with a trailer, 7 sails (2 brand new), 2 600 GPH bilge pumps, solar panel, battery, fish finder, clean inside (somebody already removed the original carpet on the ceiling). Overall nice boat, the hull is in good condition (needs painted), mast is new (2 yrs old but boat hasn't been on the water in 2 yrs either), only thing is some stress cracks in the fiberglass on the port side seat of the cockpit, and some teak that needs refinishing. The boat seems nice, but something keeps telling me I got "too good" of a deal (mainly my wife). Anything I should look for? Especially since it hasn't been in the water and has been sitting in the sun uncovered for so long. I knocked on the hull all around, no de-lamination, no stress crack/damage, just a slight surface crazing on the starboard side. I don't know anything about this model, or much more about sailboats in general, just seemed like such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Joe

[sailingdog]

Hull delamination isn't usually an issue on smaller boats, since they're often solid glass hulls. If it had a cored hull, that'd be a different story. How is the deck and cabin top?? If you've got stress cracks in the port side seat, it may be due to delamination of the cockpit laminate.

Most often, boats that are priced at "too-good-to-be-true" prices are priced that way for a reason and end up being far more expensive than spending the money on one in good condition.

That said, I'd also recommend you read the Boat Inspection Trip Tips thread I started, as it will help you figure out what the real problems on this boat are and then you can go and start fixing them.

[xaulzan]

Good thread, I checked most of that stuff out, missed a couple things Ill have to check today. Studied the book "Inspecting the aging sailboat" by Don Casey, thats how I checked the boat out, since I have no sailboat experience. Just curious if there are any things particular to this model that I dont know about. Thank you for your help.

[CalebD]

Since you did not mention an engine with this Starwind 223 then your price is still good but not too good to be true. If you only had to add an engine then your total cost might come to $1500 which is in line with some of the Starwind 223s I saw listed on Starwind 223 Sailboat Photo Gallery
(the lowest listing was for $1700 up to $6K with $4K being the average). If you have to add new sails, cushions etc then your total cost goes up to ...

[xaulzan]

Thats a good point about the motor, since I dont know how to sail Im wary to take her out and learn with out a motor. She does have sails though, 7 of them, including a spinnaker, spinnaker pole and roller furling for the jib. I found a 5 horse mercury outboard on craigslist for $300 obo, is that big enough to push this thing or do I need a bigger one? I already have two fuel tanks that my dad gave me. Oh, and the cushions are in pretty good shape too, just need to be cleaned. Thanks for your input and any tips, I greatly appreciate it.

[craigimass]

I think, BTW, that Starwind is similar to modern Precisions......
Nice looking boats......and anything that floats and sails for that price sure seem OK.

Yes, 5HP should push it along just fine, the only exception being if you have really strong currents....like over 3 kts and are trying to always go against them.....slow moving.

Also, make sure the motor is long shaft.

[xaulzan]

Oh ok, thanks, Ill check out that motor then. I also have a question regarding cockpit reinforcement. As I said before the cockpit deck is showing signs of stress cracking. I crawled under there today to asses the damage from the bottom and figure out how much matting Ill need to reinforce it when I noticed that the previous owner (Im assuming) tried to reinforce it with a poorly made wooden arch that is tared (looks like roofing tar) to the hull. My question is, from the factory, would there be any reinforcements of this type? It seems to me that with any flexing of the hull or cockpit it would put undue pressure on the other. So Im thinking I should take this wooden reinforcement out and just put more fiberglass matting on to reinforce, leaving the area below deck wide open to the cockpit. I just dont know if this is the correct course of action, mabye its suppose to have a reinforcement from the hull? Id greatly appreciate any input, thanks.

[wspencer2]

FYI - I have a '86 Starwind 223 on Lake Thurmond at the Augusta Sailing Club. I bought it used about 9 years ago and was sailing it on Saturday. I think you will like the boat as long as you plan to cruise and not race it. I jokingly call it my tub but it isn't that bad and much more comfortable than a Catalina 22. My kids felt much safer on it than the dinghies that I do race while growing up. I have a 5 HP outboard motor which does great on a lake sail but might not be so great if you have lots of current or tide. It has the long shaft and a swing mount which is needed to make reaching the water from the cockpit within reach of the motor controls.

I have a copy of the original Rebel Industries, 1220 Tallevast Road, Sarasota, Florida 34243 -- Starwind 223 Operating and Rigging Instructions. I could scan and send it to you if needed. Unfortunately it is very weak on true details and not in great shape. For example it describes how to string your rigging lines but does not give the recommended line sizes and lenght specifications, which on my boat all need to be replaced. If you have those numbers I would like to see them. I believe the mast is 28.5 feet but I am not even sure about that and I would like to replace my halyards without dropping the mast. Dropping the mast is not hard but you need to get about three guys to help to be safe.

My hull seems to be in good shape. I keep it on a trailer but it was in the water for many years and there are several water blisters that have been repaired. I do get a couple of small very iritating leaks at the windows in a good rain. One of these days I will get around to getting new windows cut and replaced. I have had to replace the cushions a couple of times.

Be very happy with your sails. I need new ones and only have the small lapper jib and a cruising mainsail. I expect to pay up to $2K to replace.

Good luck and I suspect you got a very under valued solid boat.

wpencer2

[xaulzan]

thanks for the info! where your mast attaches to the deck is there a u shape metal bracket with a slide groove cut out of the port and starboard sides? what kind of bolt do you have securing the mast to the u bracket? as far as rigging, mine is in pretty poor shape, Im planning on using the existing rigging as a template so when I get the measurements done Ill let you know. I think my roller furling can be salvaged but I dont know. Thanks again for the reply.

[jkimberly]

I had a 1985 Starwind 19 for about 5 years. They're good boats and handle pretty well in most conditions. Does the 223 have a centerboard or keel? One of the things you need to check (if it has one) is the hinge pin for the centeboard (swing-keel?). Mine was still pretty tight but others I've talked with that had that model had to do quite a bit of work to repair/replace the pin.

Mine had a Yamaha 4hp short-shaft on it mounted on an outboard bracket to raise/lower it and was adequate for what I did with the boat - it would push it at hull speed in calm, flat conditions but in a breeze agains the tide it was kinda slow.

That U shaped bracket on the cabin top for the mast base uses a stainless pin with washers and cotter pins or stainless nuts. This runs through the bottom of the mast and drops into the slot with the washers on the outside. Made it easy to single-hand putting the mast up but basically it takes all of the weight of the rig - make sure it's up to it!