Where to work on my boat?

[UnsafeSailor]

Hi,

My name is Zach and I am new to this site and to sailing in general. I am currently in the process of buying an old Tartan 30. If all goes well I should have the boat by next week. Its not very pretty but seems to be sound and sturdy. Nothing rotting, mildewed, moist, or rusty. As far as I can tell and from what the PO tells me this boat is sailed regularly and aside from looks is a good boat.

It does however need new bottom paint and a new paint job all around to be honest.

My question for you good seafarers is - Does anybody know of a place in Orange county/ Los Angeles area that i can have my boat hauled out and then be able to store the boat while letting me do the work myself?

I have made a few calls but it seems that most places want about 100 dollars a day for the lay fee. I would really like to keep the boat out of the water for about a week while I do any and all maintenance that needs to be done out of the water. The lay fee alone seems to make doing this exorbitantly expensive. $1000 dollars just to haul and power spray and then sit in a yard before I pay for any materials or do any work.

I know its ridiculous to expect anything cheap especially when considering boats but I dont have lots of money and am willing to work I just need somewhere cheap to keep the boat.

Let me know your thoughts good or bad

Thanks
-zach

PS- Not sure if this is the best place to post this so If I would get more responses or there is a better place for this kind of post let me know please

[Fortytwo]

Everywhere on the water I know of in Southern California will charge you per day and is short term only. There are cheaper places inland, but now your looking at the trucking fees.

[zeehag]

get the serious stuff done then sail her to mexico and go to guaymas to marina seca. is as cheap as you will get.

[ssanzone]

what she (^) said.

and as an additional note... even if you could find an affordable yard, most wont let u paint due to the 5353394503850385430 environmental guidelines.

-steve

[Cheechako]

Usually, you are under pressure to get the job done when bottom painting. Sometimes you just have to go at it dawn to dusk to save money. and you need a yard that will let you do it. OTOH, dont panic if it needs bottom paint, or you have blisters to fix, it can wait until you find a situation where you can do it. Is Ensenada an option? Guaymas is along way from LA!
As far as topsides paint goes.. use your boat some... it's a big job and evn the paint is expensive. make sure everything else is in great shape before you worry about aesthetics. All boats need something, your may have a long list of "must do's" by the time you get to know it....
Hope you find a spot you can work on your boat down there... it may be a tough area to do that in....

[zeehag]

ensenada is the same bloated pricing as san diego, and is in competition with shelter island boatyard, run by same company. if you go to ensenada, is not a savings.marinas are pricey and so is yard. onthe cheap inkmexico meanhs sailo farther and then go to guaymas. or san blas , near mazatlan. if you go there, bring paint and a crew and ....as nothing is there except many mosquitos.
for a quick haul and launch for painting,my friend mazatlan,mario, stated the yard was 2000 pesos for haul, 2000 pesos each gallon of paint, and he didnt say how much to splash, but i think it is 2000 pesos also...i have to check.

[UnsafeSailor]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I also wanted to have the boat hauled out real quick so I could look at the bottom and make sure all the through hulls and such are in good condition.

So the PO says the bottom paint was done with 2 coats about 3 years ago. He told me that the boat cleaner recommends new bottom paint mostly because it is getting thin from cleaning.

How long can you go without renewing bottom paint if the boat stays in the water all year?

I was planning on replacing the running rigging right away since its got steel lines right now which I'm told are old and an old way of doing the rigging.

What are some of the first things that I should look into with a "new" old boat?

Its a 77 and has a full set of sails including a spinnaker and storm jib. The 165 Genoa is the only sail that is looking a little beat and I was thinking of sending that to Sail Care or a similar place once I start sailing and figure out what I really want/need. The standing rigging looks to be in fine condition with no fraying wires or anything of that sort.

I agree that the sailing ability matters much more than aesthetics but I will eventually be living aboard so I'm probably going to start rehabbing the interior right away which brings up one more question. What paint should I use on the interior? I'm assuming it does not need to be quite as durable as exterior paint which is pricey.

Again I am totally new to sailing and boats so any info is helpful in my eyes.
Sorry for the novel that I'm writing.

In short - What would you look to replace/check first if you bought a 77 Tartan 30.

thanks
-zach

PS- Mexico would be great but I'm a total novice and would not be able to do that kind of sailing right away. Between not having the time off right now and my abilities it would be impossible. That's good to know in the future that I can get some work done there for cheap.

[Celestialsailor]

As I remember, the Oxnard area wasn't too bad. Maybe try that...Then leave!

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by UnsafeSailor

Thanks for the quick replies.

I also wanted to have the boat hauled out real quick so I could look at the bottom and make sure all the through hulls and such are in good condition.

So the PO says the bottom paint was done with 2 coats about 3 years ago. He told me that the boat cleaner recommends new bottom paint mostly because it is getting thin from cleaning.

How long can you go without renewing bottom paint if the boat stays in the water all year?
Normally a couple years is the limit, but the reality is bottom paint doesnt necessarily work that well. It depends on where you are and the type of growth in your area. In parts of the Caribe brand new bottom paint will allow growth so thick it nearly completely covers the hull in a month. This usually occurs if the boat is not moving. The option is to scrape your hull often.

I was planning on replacing the running rigging right away since its got steel lines right now which I'm told are old and an old way of doing the rigging.

What are some of the first things that I should look into with a "new" old boat?
Engine, stuffing box, seacock, rudder, rigging condition. Fuel tanks are a big one. Your boat can run fine but the first time you get out in the sea the rough water stirs up all the gunk in the fuel and you end up with a dead engine. You need to clean your tanks, have the fuel cleaned and inspect the tanks also to avoid this or a failed tank. It's pretty common actually.
Its a 77 and has a full set of sails including a spinnaker and storm jib. The 165 Genoa is the only sail that is looking a little beat and I was thinking of sending that to Sail Care or a similar place once I start sailing and figure out what I really want/need. The standing rigging looks to be in fine condition with no fraying wires or anything of that sort.
I thought you said the standing rigging was steel and bad? The 165% is a big sail and may not be the best to learn to sail with anyway. I would hold off and get to know which sails you like before spending money on cleaning etc. .... many would be happy with a 115-130% genoa.

I agree that the sailing ability matters much more than aesthetics but I will eventually be living aboard so I'm probably going to start rehabbing the interior right away which brings up one more question. What paint should I use on the interior? I'm assuming it does not need to be quite as durable as exterior paint which is pricey.
Paint work is all about good prep as you likely know. So the interior is painted not varnished? You will get a lot of opinions on paint. I tend to like good quality old fashioned oil based paint. It flows nicely. My favorites are Parker Paint or Miller Paint. Another option that a lot of people like is Brightsides one part Polyureathane. It is "boat paint" so much more expensive. Personally I dont like it nearly as well as the former. Dont use Latex paint.. once on, it cant be sanded and can become a mess. I have even used Rustoleum paints which seem to be tenacious on old surfaces.

Again I am totally new to sailing and boats so any info is helpful in my eyes.
Sorry for the novel that I'm writing.

In short - What would you look to replace/check first if you bought a 77 Tartan 30.
Do a good flush of the water tanks. Use some bleach in the full tanks, let sit overnight and then drain completely and flush and fill. You can drain to the bilge and let the bilge pump pump it out. Check the bilge pump that it works well.
Sounds like you are going to have fun!
thanks
-zach

PS- Mexico would be great but I'm a total novice and would not be able to do that kind of sailing right away. Between not having the time off right now and my abilities it would be impossible. That's good to know in the future that I can get some work done there for cheap.

What engine does it have?
Read upon how to inspect your standing rigging and do that.

[zeehag]

if you go to or are in oxnard area, there is a fellow name of mark on a boat name of alma who is awesome as a help and guru friend.. if you go there, please look him up and tell him his good friend sent you. he is a good guy to know, if he is still alive and fairly healthy.. he is a good friend i lost tracki of due to telecommunication differences usa-- mexico.

[ssanzone]

Originally Posted by UnsafeSailor

PS- Mexico would be great but I'm a total novice and would not be able to do that kind of sailing right away. Between not having the time off right now and my abilities it would be impossible. That's good to know in the future that I can get some work done there for cheap.

2 things...

1. it is nice to hear a bit of humility from someone on here...

2. sailing is the easy part and you will learn very quickly. i do not mean to suggest you recklessly undertake voyages for which you are not ready but give you a bit of hope.

-steve

[Hudson Force]

When I was younger and more willing to turn my boat during the late night high tide, - also more willing to work harder to save money; we would careen at a high tide with a 6ft range. We would carefully choose a time with subsquent increasing tides on a well protected sandy beach. Sometimes we would have three or four cruisers careening together.


We would choose places with little or no access from land. I always took a line from high in the rigging to an anchor inland in order to mandate the lean away from the open water. We also were very tidy and left the beach as clean as possible. This used to be a common practice, but I don't see it often any more.

[nimblemotors]

hmm, SoCal looks like a business opportunity for a floating boat lift repair dock..
We come to you and lift your boat out of the water right where it is.
Like a micro Dockwise.

[UnsafeSailor]

Thanks everyone and especially cheechako for the in-depth response.

I got the title and the keys yesterday and the PO is taking me sailing on Sat to show me the ropes

Its got an atomic 4 which I have heard mixed things about. In my mind its been around forever. there are still plenty of them running. Its simple and like all good old things with maintenance it should last many more years. I can work on it terrible easy seeing how its sitting in the middle of my cabin and it starts right up so i know that at least right now it is working.

Im pretty overwhelmed right about now but looking forward to saturday to take the boat out and see how everything works. After that I will start the long process of taking things apart and cleaning everything up. The interior has teak all over which is pretty cool but I do want to paint the fiberglass and other random pieces that have yellowed with age. Exterior teak is trashed. Im going to sand everything down and put some oil on it to see if it can come back to life. Looks like the PO started to do this then gave up and did a terrible job. Some pieces have globs of some sort of clear coat that yellowed and cracked. It looks awful. The guy before him also decided to paint part but not all of the deck. So I have white that is mixed with beige all over the place. Lots of unfinished painting. The good thing is the deck feels really solid all around. I found no weak or soft or hollow sounding spots.

I did look around a bit more last night after I got the boat and I noticed the seacocks or through hulls (that's the same thing right?) are a bit crusted over with green. Should I be looking to replace these right away?

The other thing I noticed is a lot of the plumbing for the water in sinks and such is clear tubing that is now a nasty brown color but the water looks clean and runs clean. How hard is it to re-plumb a boat with fresh tubes?

One last question- Has anybody painted their mast while on the boat and in the water? Is that the worst idea ever? haha

[smaarch]

congrats. always liked the old tartans
replacing the water tubing shouldn't be difficult

interior fiberglass: i well imagine the "yellowing" can be solved without painting. I would try a few test samples cleaning with various products and even rubbing compound. 600 grit wet sand? unless i'm missing something: It should clean up.