Hi all,
New member to the site and first time
posting.
I'm Joel Quillen. I'm originally from Nashville, I currently live in Denver, and own an
Allied Princess 36 which is in St. Pete, FL. I bought her a couple of years ago for a catharsis and mechanical
project to tinker on, but due to an untimely job loss, had to put her needs aside to address my own. I am an amateur mariner, but interested in
learning all I can and respecting the process as I come along.
I'm about to pull my tent stakes and move to FL to get her fixed up and pick up where I left off.
She is a 1973 model with the original layout for that year range. I had spent some time researching what kind of
boat I wanted, and for what purpose. I wanted a sturdy
boat that is safe and capable enough to take
offshore, when my abilities are up to snuff. I paid 10k for her, and despite some issues that will require attention, I feel I will come out ahead. I know what BOAT stands for, but I'm
single and childless, so I have the luxury of blowing my checks on the impending
refit.
I had purchased her from the PO with a handshake as to the condition she would be in when I took her over. I'm a helicopter
mechanic, so I have a general insight as to whether things are in order or not. My first and most salient issue thus far has been the
engine.
On my first trip out in 2013, the
engine experienced a catastrophic
oil leak and threw a rod out of the crankcase. I had test run her in the yard with
coolant and everything seemed fine then. Go figure. So, my first serious
repair is to do an engine swap with another
Perkins 4-108 I have a bead on. I had planned to do an accessory swap w/ new gaskets and
hardware, look over the
Hurth tranny, and put the whole lot back in. I'm not trying to do an
overhaul right now, just the minimum needed to get her
seaworthy and closer to a cheaper yard where I can begin to do a legit
DIY refit.
So, some general questions for those who've gone before:
What
advice can you offer about swapping one
Perkins for another as I've described? Common problems, labor bottlenecks, incompatabilities with different S/N's, etc?
There has not been a
marine survey done. Yes, I know. Newb mistake.
I haven't detected any soft spots on the
deck other than a wobbly stanchion. If the rest of the
deck hardware seems solid, is it reasonable to assume all is well, or do I have to take them all off, drill the old
epoxy & re-epoxy, rebed & refasten as part of the refit?
As I've come to learn, the Princesses of this vintage were mostly finished using that cheesy Formica veneer and trimmed in
wood. I'd really like to look at something nicer in there, but I'm not an experienced woodworker, nor do I want to screw with removing the bulkheads if I don't have to. Is there a such thing as covering the 1970's student desk-esque formica with a another
wood veneer that could perhaps be glued over the old stuff? I really hope so. I wonder why they didn't go ahead and put the cottage cheese and glitter ceiling
paint job and avacado green
oven for good measure.
I've already read a lot of great articles from this forum and look forward to getting to know you folks on here. I welcome your input, constructive criticism, and cajoling when needed. I will pass along my tidbits here as I get them as well.
Joel