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Mr. B Buys A Boat- Adventures in Boat Shopping

14K views 85 replies 23 participants last post by  NJBoatDad 
#1 ·
My " Introduce Yourself" posts were morphing into boat shopping discussions, so, I thought this would be a more appropriate place to continue that thread. Biggest thing I've sailed is a Hobie 16. Now, I'm looking to get a proper dry sailing vessel with some of the comforts of home. On advice of a friend who owns a 130" scooner, I am looking at 1980's era Catalina 30's. I've decided that I will stick to older boats whose bulders are still in business (I contacted Catalina about hull numbers and their engineering dept. responded immediately.) so far I have looked at two, a settee model and not sure of the other, I didn't like one because it had an outboard and trim adjusters on the stern. The other just stank of deisel in the cabin. Today, I am looking at a 1980 C30 with a gas Atomic 4 and tomorrow a 1986 C30 with a Universal 21. The 86 is listed for less than the 1980 boat. I'm not sure of what to make of the inverse price relationship. The 1986 owner admits to a small Catalina smile and a need for bottom paint this year. The other guy is just evasive, or worse, just doesn't know, about such things as mast compression and keel separation. He is first up today, so I'll let you all know how that goes. Carry on.
 
#52 ·
Now I've been presented for my consideration a 1973 Ranger 29 with Atomic 4 that runs (gas) for $5000. Quick Google search tells me the keels were molded into the hull and the ballast poured in. So no keel separation concerns? Or maybe that's worse as a keel separation would actually be a big hole in the hull?
 
#53 ·
Have you looked at Schock Santana's? They made 2 30 foot varieties...I have the Santana 30, and there is a Santana 30/30. They are still in business making boats and they sail very well...the 30/30 is a pretty fast boat. The 30 is not as fast...BUT is a very sturdy boat. I bought one for under $7K...NEW Yanmar in it, and I just did the catalina trip in 15-20 foot waves and 25+ MPH winds...stable as a rock and wa making 7 knots in the old girl. My buddy I bought it from only sold it to get a Schock 35, as he wants to do some racing and the extra room works for his family. He used to get from San Pedro to Avalon in like 3 hours in the Santana 30. I have seen many in the $6-10k range that I wished I had jumped on just to flip...great boats.
 
#55 ·
#57 · (Edited)

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#59 ·
I love the lines on the older cabin cruisers/sport fishers. So for giggles I contact a Craig's List poster about his 1975 Skipjack. So happens it's at the marina I was at today. First thing I notice is the sagging forward deck. Typical for this age/style of boat. Message the guy back about the sagging deck and politley say I'm going to pass on the boat. Guy responds, "Not sure what you mean by sagging." Another boat flipper?http://www.sailnet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10519&stc=1&d=1333591446
 

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#72 ·
Followup: Having purchased my first boat last April, a 1970 Ericson 23, the first thing I did was have her hauled out and the bottom stripped and painted. The cost was nearly twice the purchase price, but it needed to be done and I had budgeted for it. Subsequent bottom jobs will be less. I took a basic keel boat sailing course and spent last summer happily sailing Lola back and forth across the Long Beach harbor. At the end of summer, I noticed some frayed rigging. I called a local shop and prepared for an expensive service call. However, the rigger did not try to gouge me and did only what was necessary- replacing the inner shrouds and main halyard and tuning the rigging. Having gained my trust I had him replace the VHF antenna and anchor light. My neighbor told me the guy spent two days on her. Got out for less than a grand. I replaced the two year old outboard. Although it ran just fine, I had no service records and I did not like the location of the shifter on the side. Plus it had a nasty pull to port in reverse. I'm in a very narrow channel and it was a pain in the ass. So, I ordered up a brand new Tohatsu Sail Pro with and extra long shaft and a shifter on the front of the motor. Much better! And I was able to sell the "old" motor to a neighbor who was tired of her fussy old two-stroke. She's on the opposite side of the slip so the prop walk will work in her favor. I also have begun to eliminate unnecessary electronics. I've removed the stereo and two heavy speakers and the REALLY unnecessary electric water pump under the sink. I have removed the no longer functioning original cabin lights, replaced with individual battery powered LED fixtures. I replaced the main winch with a self tailing winch (the second most expensive new item after the motor). I had the cabin upholstery redone, surprisingly expensive. I had to move the fairlead that directs the main halyard back to the cockpit- its previous location had the halyard rubbing against the yard arm and hanging up on the steaming light. Sail goes up nice and easy now. The genoa needed repair as the previous owner told me before purchase. The repair was surprisingly inexpensive. Oddly, the furler was missing a very small but essential part that prevented me from rigging up the genoa. I had to do a little research to identify the furler and locate the manufacturer who sold me the needed part. Then I discoverd that the furler line was to thick and would not allow me to completely furl the genoa. Several of the lines on the boat were unnecessarily thick and I've been replacing them with lighter but more appropriate lines. Bigger is not always better. Now the debate is to paint the deck or not. If it's too much money I'll take the advice of another sailor and just sail her as is as long as she sails well. Which she does. I'm still learning, but last Sunday (I am in California, after all) I got it all just right and was able to let go of the tiller, sit back and just enjoy the 5 knots ride. It was a beautiful day on the water.
 
#73 ·
You could paint the deck with Interlux Brightside (shiny bits) and Interdeck (nonskid) for relatively little money and a bit of elbow grease. A scuff sanding of the clear bits, and a vigours TSP scrub of the nonskid should get you to the painting point. These are not expensive paints relatively speaking, and do a decent job.

The Interdeck is a pretty decent grip, rolls out evenly and seems to stand up pretty well. We've had a two coat treatment on our cockpit sole that is going on 6 years old now. Kiwi grip is another popular product but I don't know about the pricing..

Anyhow nice to hear you're making good use of her and improving as you go!
 
#75 ·
It's definitely best to remove as much hardware as you can, esp if this is you're 'forever' boat. But careful masking and caution with the brush can result in an acceptable job and will likely raise the resale value - or at least the resale-ability of the boat quite a lot if it's not your 'forever' boat...
 
#79 · (Edited)
If you're doing nonskid with inter deck a roller will do nicely-I think kiwi grip is applied with roller as well. "Roll and tip" is a non-spray technique to get as high gloss a finish as possible. Tipping takes out the typical stipple most rollers leave behind. Yes it would only be used on the smooth areas.

Btw a heavy rolled on coat would likely still sag after tipping.. Multiple thin coats is a better bet.
 
#80 · (Edited)
when rolling on non-skid, roll first in this direction / over the surface, then roll acorss the surface in this direction \ to even it all out and eliminate marks.

It really is easy.

The rolling part is self explanatory, the "tipping" is just LIGHTLY dragging a brush across the work to remove bubbles, lay down the stippling of the roller, and help the paint flow out. You not really painting with the brush, in fact it might best be described as UNpainting.
tip like you are doing a "touch and go" in an airplane. Gently and smoothly land the brush on the wet surface on the move, move it across the work and gently and smoothly lift off.

I recommend buying a cheap piece of 4x8 good -one -side plywood and paint it, practicing your technique. Then cut it into 2 2x8 lengths, lay on top of some 4x4s resting on sawhorses, and now you have some scaffolding to walk on when painting the side decks.
 
#82 ·
I heard back from the painter. His quote was $7,400. So, I will be attempting to spruce up the deck myself. It's not my "forever" boat so the 7G paint job on a $1300 boat doesn't make any sense. I just need to keep the thing in a state of arrested decay until I move up to a bigger family boat.
 
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