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Starrett-Jenks Morgan45 info-opinions

108K views 198 replies 41 participants last post by  JerryStar 
#1 · (Edited)
Starratt-Jenks Morgan 45 info-opinions

Hello everyone, read some old threads and opinions about Morgan 45's built by S-J. Not all good comments, but like someone stated ,if you love the boat buy it. Iam looking hard at this boat and can see its been hauled out now for 3 years sitting dry and getting neglected. Some interior moisture. Some worn teak decking with a few spots where the flexible seal between the boards has gapped. The boat needs to be saved NOW before I think it gets beyond reasonable repair. There is a noticeable rust 6 inch "crack"and "buldging" in the lower section of the starboard side of the keel where water will seep out after a rain storm. The seeping will last for a week. Question; is the S-J built morgan a lead keel or a cement keel with steel encasing? Cosmetics I'm not to worried about but those issues can be a sign of larger hidden ones. Iam looking for someone knowledgeable with S-J built Morgan 45's, sloop rigged, center cockpit, for a survey or for your opinions of points to take notice about. I'm north of chicago about 1 hour in, racine, wisconsin. thanks guys, Dave

If your available for survey, please PM me and I'll give you my number to set up appointment.
 
#2 ·
starret jenks 45 Morgan

The starret Jenks 45 is the most undervalued blue water ocean cruiser on the market. She is a well built hull designed specifically for long ocean passages and anyone that has one knows how well she handles the big swells and strong winds. She is a great boat for those wanting to learn the ropes on a long 45 footer and I would recomend anyone buying a starret to go for it. You will now be disapointed. Her 11' bean makes her faster than any other cruising yacht on the market. I have a starret and like many other starret owners, i would rather keep her than trade her in for the fat clumsy slower
14' beamers that have litle control or manuevarability. Don't let weekend sailors used to sail along warm safety coastlines mislead you. if you want to cross any ocean in any condition, the Starret is the boat I would recomend.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Agree with allstops with a caveat

We love Enchantress. She's not only a good ocean sailor but does well in the light air of the Chesapeake.
First a little history. The hull was designed under the IOR formula but just as the boat went into production the rule changed and Morgan was stuck with a boat it couldn't sell. So it sold the mold to S&J which built the boats more or less to the buyer's specifications - I gather some of the boats were actually finished by the buyers to save expense, However Morgan did actually produce a few of the boats, a couple complete and a few without rigging or interior finish. We have one of the hulls actually build by Morgan, same hull but in an aft-cockpit very low to the water sloop/cutter version -- it has a detachable staysail stay and running backstays.
The good news - she is a very good sea boat and sails like a witch (thus her name - Enchantress). She was build to sail at about a 20 degree angle of heel which significantly increases her waterline and speed - we've had her over 11 kts. Her 6 ft draft and 25000 displacement keep her from being thrown about in a seaway so she's comfortable to sail.
On the ocean we sailed with a 110 jib and full main - she has a nice big main and I like that) occasionally reefing for comfort. In the Chesapeake we use a 135 genny .
More good news - IMHO she is one beautiful boat unlike the fat-assed 14-ft beam boats that abound in our marina (my wife calls them condominium boats). She also is very easily handled in fact we can back her into our slip which is no mean feat with a 46-ft boat without bow thrusters and a narrow fairway.
But before you buy you need to be very careful. As our surveyor told us before he found out our boat was actually built by Morgan, because how these boats were finished was almost entirely up to the buyers some were very, very good and others would not be worth buying at any price. Our boat has a lead keel. Some of the S&J boats also had lead keels, some were iron and some concrete. You need to find out which. The rudders can be a weak point but this is true of lots of boats. You will also need to pay particular attention to the area around the chainplates to make sure nothing is pulling loose. Also the keel join to the hull and the deck join to the hull.
After we got Enchantress home to the Chesapeake, I spend a couple of long winters refitting - not for safety but for comfort and cosmetics. My wife wanted a much better fresh water system and a flush toilet so I redid the plumbing. The wiring was okay for 1977 but did not meet current code and it had a fuse panel rather than breakers. I also more than doubled the size of the battery banks. I bought some Bluesea breaker panels and rewired the entire system. We also the floor was in bad shape so we had it replaced. Also the standard new cushions, sailcovers dodger and bimini. There are photos of Enchantress' interior in my Sail Net photo gallery.
Anyway, if your boat passes survey you would be getting a very good sailor and a comfortable boat that you would be happy with.
:D :D
 
#4 ·
allstops,
Any idea of how many of us there are? Also where do you keep your boat?. We use our boat fopr sailing the the bay and for coastal cruising. Probably take her to Bermuda this spring. Unlikely to do any really long passage as my wife doesn't like the idea -- but maybe after Bermuda...
 
#5 ·
S&J Morgan 45

I strongly agree with both of you on the S&J 45. I'm in the process of restoring one at this time. Mine is kept on the Tampa Bay. I'll keep this short because I'm making last minute preparation for a New Years day sail. Trying to develop a list of owners of S&J 45's. We now have three on the list. :)
 
#6 ·
I strongly agree with both of you on the S&J 45. I'm in the process of restoring one at this time. Mine is kept on the Tampa Bay. I'll keep this short because I'm making last minute preparation for a New Years day sail. Trying to develop a list of owners of S&J 45's. We now have three on the list. :)
Make that four. I did end up buying the 1979 #179 august 2007. After poking around the boat in and out, making lists. I figured she needed the deck fixed first to stop the leaks. She had 30 year old teak decks screwed and glued, sanded too many times, beyond repair.Some of the caulk joints failed years ago and water got under the teak found the fastening screws and wet out the core. I first ripped up the old teak teck, then using a vise grip pliers removing thousands of screws. Then I cut the upper layer of the deck off exposing the core. I left about a 4 inch border of glass deck around the perimeter and beveled that edge for re-assembly. The core on my boat was 4x4x3/4 plywood squares. I removed all the squares, which was kinda tough when they are wet. Then I prepped the inner fiberglass deck with my sander after picking out all the wood from between my 4 inch border. Now I had a nice clean dry platform to begin in spring. I took the outer fiberglass deck home in large workable sections and ground off all the old crazed/craked gel-coat to bare glass, beveled the edges for re-assembly. Then I molded in 2 new secondary winch towers in the cockpit. I plan to set this up as a cutter rig. I moved the primary Lewmar st44's to the new secondary spots and bought 2 nice used Lewmar st 55's for the original primary spots. I built the new mounts from aluminum and bolted them to the cockpit and glassed over them to blend them in. You cant even tell they are not original. First winter of 2007-08 cover her up and gathered supplies to attack in spring.
Spring 08 bought balsa core with glass backing, dry fit the panels first, then soaked the balsa panels with penatrating epoxy then coated the inner glass deck with thickened epoxy. installed the balsa panels, applied a coat of epoxy to the prepped outer glass deck panels. I installed them, used patio bricks to countour and control shape, it also helped bleed air out thru the old teak deck screw holes. Then applied 8 inch wide glass strips epoxied to the beveled edges. After that cured then I installed a new 7/16 inch teak deck, no screws, only deck epoxy used to install. Then built up the glass around the ends of the teak deck to give the deck the "inlaid" look instead of the "installed on top" look. Sanded all the caulk joints the taped the teak and caulked the joints. I bought 1000 board feet of teak 7/16 x 1 7/8. 8 gallons of teak epoxy and I forget how many teak caulk cartriges. I used Maritime Wood products for those supplies. I use Polymer Composites for my fabricating epoxy. That was june 1st thru sept. 1st. then I got a jump on removing the salon floor and leaking tankage and rotten bulkheads. As we know the companionway hatch is narrow. I cut the old diesel tank out in sections and the water tank out in half. That exposed the cause of the leaking old aluminum tanks. There were not any leber holes passing thru from the fwd section ahead of the mast chainplate thru the salon and out to the bilge. When the tanks were installed they used puorable expanding foam to set them. well that prohibited any water from passing fwd to aft. After 30 years of leaks, shower drain hose loose and mast step draining, the water soaked the foam and ate thru the bottom of the tanks with tiny pin holes. I chopped out the salon bulkhead all the way down. I swore with every hit of the prybar used as a long chisel to remove wet plywood all the way down to the metal tube spine. Well, my keel is lead. The crack on the starboard side was from 30 years of water collecting between the lead and double hull, being heaved out during winter storages. I remedied all those problems starting in spring '09. Spring-Summer '09 I rebuilt 4 major bulkeads, knocked all the rust off the chainplates and coated with POR-15. Awesome stuff for rusty metal. Rebuilt both heads, fabbed new battery box, fabbed and welded new fuel tanks (3) pulled the Perkins 108, sent it to TAD for a complete overhaul with new injectors, new pumps, new lines, new motor mounts, new PYI dripless gland, New PYI flex coupler, new serpentine belt system, to run the 170 amp alt. or my new larger battery bank. Rebuilt the fiberglass engine mount pads. Reglassed the cracks in the bottom of the bilge. Those cracks weeped crap into the lower section of the double hull foam. Ground the entire engine and bilge area then gave it 2 coats of awlcraft 2000 sans the bilge itself. Removed more wet foam from the double hull, removed and patched 12 non-working seacocks. bought and installed 5 new Forespar Marelon seacocks. 4 of which are in the engine room and one in the fwd head. Had the hull blasted to remove tons of bottom paint, some VC-17 under there and VC Tar, too. Rebuilt my sea stariner, bult a raw water manifold system. and a raw water dump manifold to use only one thru-hull. New ehaust hose, custom 316 loops and tons of ceramic coated and powdercoated parts. New Teleflex engine gauges in the cockpit. New subfloor in the salon. The sink used to be under the companionway ladder. That did 2 negative things. the sink location sucked and the engine access was limited. I moved the sink to the staboard side consuming half of that setee. Built a butcherblock top and cabinet underneath. The butcher block top can be used to mount a vise for a workbench as needed. Looks factory original to the boat now. This boat has an unusually large engine room, and refer box, good for cruising, which I plan to do. This year 2010, finish the hull, install new electronics, rigging, mod the bi-folding hatch into a sliding one. re-shape the helm seat from a sqaure block into a contoured one. mount new windlass and tons of little stuff. Here are some basic pis. I'll post more in spring of the galley sink and rebuilt heads and engine room.
 

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#9 ·
engine pics, shown installed but I have since cleaned up the wiring mess. Notice I cut and welded a 2 1/2 inch section to the oilpan and pickup adding 4 more quarts of oil to the 4 quart pan. Added a dual remote oil filter for 2 more quarts. Now I have 11 quarts of oil in the system instead of 4 1/2. I also moved the heat exchanger pipes from hugging the engine out to the port stringer wall, giving me alot of room to access the starter and injector pump. Also, moved the fuel filter from covering up the lift pump to the bulkhead fwd portside corner for easy access. Put a cover on the Header tank and fabbed a remote coolant resivoir in the engine room mounted just higher than the hot water heater. They had disconected the hot water heater from the engine because with the coolant cap on the header tank you could not get enough coolant in the system to pump it up to the hot water heater without having a huge air pocket. Now it works awesome. I figure I could shower and do dishes while charging the batteries on the hook.
 

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#10 ·
Great Pics

Talisman,
That looks like one monumental job you're doing. Engine looks really good. Be interesting to see the interior of your boat. As a center cockpit it has to be a lot different from mine. I too completely redid the water system, doubled the size of the holding tank. Put in new sinks and head.
I got my sinks from Home Depot (or was it Lowe's) In any case, after we found that new marine stainless sinks would cost us hundreds of dollars, My wife picked out a deep white acrylic sink for the galley and a smaller oval sink for the head. I think I have a picture of the galley with its sink in my photo album. The white acrylic really brightens up the galley and for 69.95, when it gets dull ans scratched I'll just pitch it and buy a new one.
Glad I didn't have teak decks especially poorly installed ones. That must have been a hellish job. Anyway keep us posted -- very interested in what you're doing.
BTW happy new year and best to you and yours for 2010
:D :D
 
#14 ·
We are proud owners of s and j 45 center cockpit im looking for some info on an auto pilot any suggestions??? sizes? wheel or below deck?
I removed the old wheel pilot. I am installing a Raymarine Type 2 Long Linear below deck mechanical ram rated up to 44,000lb vessel along with the X-30 corepack tied all to the new Raymarine intruments, GPS, E80 chartplotter, HD radar etc.
 
#12 ·
david,
We have an older Raymarine hydraulic autopilot. It's basically a contol panel a fluxgate compass and a hydraulic pump. The unit is at least 15 years old and works flawlessly. The pump seems to be very robustly put together and there is no evidence of any leak problems. Our unit was made before there were interfaces to GPS units -- in fact it was made before GPS became a common feature on pleasure boats so all it does is hold a pre-set course. This it does very well under both power and sail (though we rarely use it while sailing.
If I were replacing this unit I would probably check for recent reviews online and in Practical Sailor but you've probably already done that. After that -- assuming the all cost about the same -- I'd go with one that was easiest to interface with my plotters and other instruments.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I would like to touch on a couple points raised in the original post and correct one minor point which I will do first. The Morgan 45 was designed under the CCA rule, not the IOR rule. By the time the boat actually hit production the CCA was about to die. Even under the CCA rule the boats were not successful, but they became totally useless as race boats under the original IOR rule which initially was written with the intention of curbing the excesses of the CCA rule that limited the seaworthiness of boats like these. Given that the Morgan version was not seen as being particularly useful as a cruising design, after sitting around taking up space for a few years the tooling was sold cheaply to S-J rather than being trashed out right.

While good sailor could probably justify one of the Morgan built boats for use offshore, the Starratt Jenks versions of these boats would never make ideal or even decent offshore cruisers. In its original form, these boats were well built, deep draft, and had cast lead ballast. When Starratt Jenks took over building these boats, they cheapened the boat greatly and in the process of trying to change a grand prix rule beating race boat to some kind of cruising boat, made some very big changes (shallower draft, less ballast, in most later boats lead or steel in concrete which was a lower density ballast, cruder/heavier glass work, heavier cruising oriented interior and so on), all of which reduced the seaworthiness and motion comfort of the design, a design, which was known for having pitch and roll issues as compared to the better designs that followed it.

Most of the S-J boats were owner finished and the workmanship and corner cutting that I have seen were dismal and which would require a whole lot of time and money to rectify. At least in the case of the S-J boats, you are dealing with an outdated design, poorly constructed, typically poorly equipped in terms of deck hardware and sail handling gear. You may be able to make one into a mediocre island hopper, but with its long ends, deep canoe body, round bilges, low ballast ratio, low density ballasting, crammed accomodations. it would never be a particularly good offshore cruiser.

It is on that basis that I completely disagree with the statement above that claims that the The Starratt Jenks 45 is the most undervalued blue water ocean cruiser on the market. A knowledgable blue water cruiser would never classify the Starratt Jenks version of these boats as blue water cruisers by any stetch of the imagination, and given the really great blue water cruising designs out there that can be bought at similar prices to a those of an S-J, I would never classify the S-J as a bargain.

Jeff
 
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#15 ·
At least in the case of the S-J boats, you are dealing with an outdated design, poorly constructed, typically poorly equipped in terms of deck hardware and sail handling gear. You may be able to make one into a mediocre island hopper, but with its long ends, deep canoe body, round bilges, low ballast ratio, low density ballasting, crammed accomodations. it would never be a particularly good offshore cruiser.

It is on that basis that I completely disagree with the statement above that claims that the The Starratt Jenks 45 is the most undervalued blue water ocean cruiser on the market. A knowledgable blue water cruiser would never classify the Starratt Jenks version of these boats as blue water cruisers by any stetch of the imagination, and given the really great blue water cruising designs out there that can be bought at similar prices to a those of an S-J, I would never classify the S-J as a bargain.

Jeff
Jeff, I've read your other articles on S-J boats when I was considering buying an older classic designed boat. My budget is to have a fresh up to date zero time restored boat for between 75-100k. I figured 50-60k for the restoration/refit process in parts alone, plus my labor. I looked at many boats 40-50 feet, classic lines, full keel, narrow beam, masthead sloop rig. Every boat I looked at as a "bargain" priced 40-50 footer was really junk when compared to this S-J boat. I did not want ferro cement, wood or fin keel or a 80's thin glassed modern cruiser with a fat beam. There are no other 45 footers with similar prices to S-J boats. But I did not buy this S-J based on pricing. I feel this hull is very well built, almost overkill with its double hull design below the waterline. This boat had/has the best deck equipment at the time. Its fully rigged with Lewmar and Schaefer components. The standing rig is stout as well. These boats have a nearly 50% ballast to displacement ratio. 12,000lbs of lead to a 25,000lb displacement. That is among the highest ratio that I've seen when comparing this type of boat. Sure its not as roomy by todays standards, but there is still enough. As I redo this boat, I am keeping in mind weight and balance as priority. I build race cars and thoroughly understand these dynamics and affects on performance/handling. I don't care about what this hull use to be, and about its white elephant history. But when compare to similarly sized boats, this S-J I have is really a bargain, well at least it will be when I'm done. Where could you get basically a new 45 boat for less than 100K? This boat I bought has a nice quality interior fit and finish. This boat was built for the '79 Annapolis boat show as their model boat. The people that have these step children seem to like them. Why do you emphatically hate this boat? Have you sailed one or two or three S-J's? They get a bad rap, but I think they are an undervalued bluewater boat. Does the hull fall apart out at sea? Does the open ocean twist S-J's into pieces?
 
#16 · (Edited)
The quick answers are:

At the time when my mom and Step father was considering buying and building one of these I spent a lot of time crawling around these boats, talking to Morgan and talking to folks who had and have them. At the time I sailed on the factory demo boat, which may have been your boat because we were told that it was one of the few S-J's being built with lead vs steel in its ballast. That boat was miserably wet, tender, and hobby horsed terribly in a chop.

To be clear, the original Morgan race boats had well less than a 50% ballast ratio. The advertized ballast ratios were down around 40 %. Starratt Jenks literature showed less than the Morgans and the S-J factory said few if any of the owner built boats came anywhere near thier published number.

Since then I have been aboard a lot of finished and semi-finished S-J's. and talked to a bunch of folks who owned them and who talked about them in very negative ways. I helped one couple sell thiers and move onto Kelly-Peterson 44 that they described as a revolation compared the miserable sailing capabilities of the Starratt Jenks. And yes their boat did fall apart at sea where a poorly glassed in a bulkhead came loose under wracking loads and fractured the hull to deck joint. Do a search and you should find their story here on Sailnet.

Beyond that, when you say that you did not want a boat with a fin keel, I can only say, then why the heck did you buy an S-J. Call it what you want, but the keel length is so short on the S-J that for all intents and purposes the S-J has a fin keel only its one that someone misguidely has its rudder hung on its aft edge. That arrangement is the worst of all worlds in terms of tracking, and vulnerability. (At least with a properly designed fin keel and Skeg hung rudder the rudder bottom is a foot or two above the bottom of the keel.)

If you actually " build race cars and thoroughly understand these dynamics and affects on performance/handling." you would understand the dynamics of a boat with the such an impossibly short waterline length relative to its overall length, with such excessively long overhangs, with such a deep canoe body and especially how these factors relate to performance and handling and would therefore also understand the reason that the boat's origins are so significant.

To clarify my point about "typically poorly equipped in terms of deck hardware and sail handling gear" Iam not talking about manufacturer but the placement, size, and type of equipment and the lack of key sail control hardware. The S-J's that I have been aboard had not enough mainsheet purchase for the size of the mainsail, have had either no travelers or have had short travelers without control lines and roller bearing cars. They have had crudely fashioned external chainplates with out proper internal knees or bulkheads. Control lines are not lead back to the cockpit. Winches were under sized for the loads in heavy going or missing altogether and were often two-speed rather than the three speed winches that you would expect for a genoa are as big as these boats typically fly.

And lastly, while these boats are 43 to 46 feet on deck (depending on version) and are moderately heavy for that length on deck, and so have all the costs to own of a 45 footer, in terms of seaworthiness, performance and accomodations they are much closer to be a 40 footer with tail fins and $100K is no bargain for a 40 foot rebuilt, kit boat with homely lines and poor sailing characteristics. That is especially true if you do not ignore the cost of your labor. As a general rule of thumb for restoring an older but sound boat, the cost of labor is generally estimated to equal at least the cost of materials, although it generally ends up being more.

I am glad that you like your boat, because that is what counts for you, I should note, that what ever I feel about these boats generically, it looks like you have done a beautiful job restoring your boat.
But my post is directed at someone with $100,000 to spend and a goal of doing some real offshore cruising, and for them, given all the great boats out there in that price range, the S-J makes a very poor choice indeed.

Respectfully,
Jeff
 
#19 ·
we have had ours for 2 years now and according to him its a terrable boat ,oh well we like it and we didnt pay anywhere near 100 grand ,i have put alot of sweat into it though .

i have had several boats and didnt like things about all of them ,so upgrading and changing things to make it your own is what its all about .
i proabably wouldnt like his boat for that matter
1989 cc starratt
 
#20 ·
progress report...

Stripped the cabin top and cockpit, modified the helm seat, added secondary winch mounts added cheek block mounts. I fabricated these mods from aluminum then bolted them to the boat, followed with epoxy/glass mat/cloth layers...etc. Modified the cockpit for control lines. Getting ready for coating the cabin top/cockpit. waiting for a weather window. In the mean time I'm fairng the hull and fixing some gelcoat surface cracks. I replaced the old teak deck with new in summer of '08. Its dirty now but will final sand and clean up real nice.
 

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#21 ·
Progress

Looks like you are making some good progress. I have put restoration on hold for the summer and am logging some sailing time. Made a good run to Egmount Key last weekend and spent a great two days on the water. It was about 60 miles round trip. Trying to get the boat out every weekend this summer. Will hall and do the bottom in October.
Mick s/v Mysti.
 
#22 ·
October '10 progress

The cabin top and cockpit areas are done, 99%! Still have to mount the Edson pods for autopilot and anchor windlass. I used Durabak Cream for non-skid and Alexseal Eggshell for topcoat. Installed 8x8 Bomar hatches in each head. Mounted the winches and hardware. Had our glass company cut 3/8 bronze tinted lexan for the companionway. Installed a teak 34 inch wheel, Ebay buy. Going to cut in 2 coaming boxes for storage, on order.

Below the waterline is done! fixed all blisters, removed original bronze seacocks. Patched most of them, installed Marelon seacocks, and a raw water intake manifold. Mediablasted the bottom, faired the hull and put 5 coats of 2000E on, 10 gallons. Paint the hull spring 2011, electronics, rigging...

Winterinzing in the next week or 2. Covering for winter.
 

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#26 ·
Nice!

I'm restoring a Morgan 462. My project is not as extensive as yours. I noticed that you went with a TAD rebuild. Which model engine do you have? I'm considering a Yanmar, but have not made a final decision.

You are doing a great job.
Happy sailing...
 
#28 ·
Hello fellow S&J 45 owners! I just wanted to drop in and add my name to the list of S&J 45 owners! I bought my S&J 45 9-23-10 from the original owner and am in love with her. Her name is currently Halunke, which means rascal or villain in german, we plan to rename her something more suited to us. She is a 1976 Starrett and Jenks 45', hull # 27. Her hull was built in St Pete FL and has a 12,000 lbs lead keel. The interior was custom built and installed by St Pete Yacht Design. All work was professionally completed and she was launched in the spring of 1978. She is the only factory finished S&J 45 that I know of. She has a sloop rig set up for single handing and holds a 492 sf main sail, and a 672 sf jib. Her drifter is also 672 sf. I have only sailed her once so far but was very pleased with her! I only had the main up in 13 knots of wind and was seeing a steady 5.3 to 5.7 knots on the GPS. Her little diesel engine is a Volvo-Penta MD-17c, 35 HP. She holds 205 gallons of fuel and 200 gallons of fresh water. All electronics are from 1984 and are now obsolete. I purchased a Garmin 440s chart plotter for her and am VERY impressed with it. I installed 2 group 27 house batteries and one group 27 battery for engine starting. She needs a paint job from top to bottom but is very sea-worthy.

To see a beautiful S&J 45, look up "restoration of Grace" on Google. Those guys did a top-notch job on her.

Does anyone know how much these S&J 45's sold for originaly?

MickHowk, Thanks for helping me set her mainsail for the first time, it was nice to have someone there who knew how her rig was setup. I still want to get together with you for a tour of Mysti and also show you the blueprints and other paper work I have for our fine vessels
 
#29 ·
S&J 45 Ground tackle?

What are you guys using for ground tackle? I have a 45 lb CQR plow with 150' of 3/8 bbb chain, a 35 lb danforth with 20' of 3/8 bbb and 250' of 3/4" nylon rode, a little 22 lb danforth lunch hook with 20' of 5/16 bbb and 150' of 5/8" nylon rode, and just picked up a 65 lb danforth and 250' of 3/8 bbb. I have not used the new anchor and chain yet as I dont have a windlass...:puke ... yet! I am not very impressed with the holding power of the CQR in our all sand bottom here in the Gulf, the danforth fluke style seem to hold much better. What are you guys using and in what type of bottom?
 
#30 ·
Just so you won't be too discouraged, I am sure that you know that seeing a steady 5.3 to 5.7 knots on the GPS in 13 knots of wind would qualify as painfully slow for a cruising 45 footer. You should be able to get a little better speed once you learn to sail your boat.

Jeff
 
#31 ·
Huh? I thought that was pretty decent speed for only having the main up? She does do a bit better with the jib up.. now that I have all the bird poop and anchor chain mud off the deck. The jib is hank on and I didnt want to have to wash it after I drug it across the deck. The previous owner said 9.2 knots wasnt unusual but after all, he was trying to sell me a boat....
 
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