[TSOJOURNER]

I am interested in buying an older boat locally. it has been suggested to me by a sailing buddy that the sailboat''s keel is in very bad shape. the owner''s representative says that the keel is easily repairable.

the keel looks to be lead or some other metal.....it has a small chunk gone from the forepart of it...maybe5"x7" near the top of the keel like it ran into something. it is also pitted looking and may have a few deeper looking holes which don''t go all the way through. the boat is an older model...maybe early 70''s or late 60''s and I think the name plate on it said columbia yachts.

I don''t have a price yet from the owner whom I understand is an older man in ill health in another part of my state. my question is this....would the boat be fixable...and would it be a big expense?

thanks in advance

 

[JeffH]

When you say that it is pitted looking, chances are you are looking at a boat with an external cast iron keel (quite a few of the Columbias were built that way.) Without seeing where and how extensive the damage is it would be imposible to tell you whether it can be repaired or not. If you are really interested in the boat you should be able to get a marine surveyor (or someone from the boat yard) to take look at the damage and give you an opinion. The surveyor could do an initial ''first look'' and typically these are not terribly expensive.

Jeff

 

[JeffH]

One more point, if the boat hit something hard enough to do that much damage, then the internal structure needs to be checked as well.

Jeff