A LITTLE HELP IN THE BAY AREA?

[Ashleykentc]

Good day fellow sailors - I am brand new here and a bit unsure how to go about seeking what I want.

I have just purchased a 56 foot ferro cement sailboat docked at the Berkeley Marina and am looking for help fixing her up for sailing and liveaboard.

Specifically she needs some navigation aid - installing a good GPS, maybe a used one as there is a budget to respect.

But also some modification of the pilot house, i.e. a bit of carpentry.

Ideally I will find some quality, and fun, help in the area and trade for some use of the boat....Later on I will be looking for crew to sail her Westwards. I live in Argentina and anticipate vacationing overseas (Burma, Papua New Guinea etc)

There you go

cheers,

ashley

[Celestialsailor]

Welcome to the forum...You're probably better off getting a 6 month visa and cranking out on the boat, limping it south.

[Stu Jackson]

Welcome.

The Berkeley Marine Center is right in your marina, great place to get work done. Look them up.

[model 10]

You are looking for free help with electronics? That might be a mistake. Free help rarely has the patience for problems.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Guy

Free help rarely has the patience for problems.

Plus, you get what you pay for.

[Ashleykentc]

Understood, thanks, - that free help rarely has patience. Fair enough - was thinking of "paying" for help with boat use as I will be gone for 8-9 months every year to my estancia in Argentina.

So now I will post that help could be compensated with a free stay at the estancia - it is a 100,000 acre place deep in the Andean Patagonia with two excellent rivers filled with rainbow trout and some uniquely pleasing and classy guest suites.

Not sure if I can post the website info here? Sure don't want to violate any codes of behavior.

It is not so much that I cannot or won't pay actual money for help - I just like the creative energy of a trade - maybe make a new friend in the process.

I am also in the market for an inflatable dinghy and motor.

cheers,

Ashley

[Steadman Uhlich]

Hello Ashley. Welcome to this forum.

I have a few suggestions for you, based on what you have written so far above. Everything is written in a friendly tone of voice and with the sole intent to help.
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Suggestions:

1. Post a better description of your boat (details) in your forum "Profile" page/tab "About Me" You should include the basics such as LOA, builder/designer, type of boat, year built, etc. Then come back to this thread and post a comment that you have added that information to your profile page. That way others in the future will find it by simply clicking on your avatar or name, whereas this thread will likely be lost to view soon.

2. Upload photos of your boat to a photo album in your forum Profile. You could start an album called "My Boat Refit" or "My Boat Projects." You can post many photos in your own photo album. More photos will help others who are curious see what might need to be done and the current condition of your boat. Photos are worth a thousand words, so even a few photos will show members what is possible or needed.

3. Upload (noncommercial) photos of your estancia/cabins to another photo album (My Estancia). If your offering a stay in Argentina on a ranch as your reward, you should show the potential reward.
___________________

Some more frank friendly comments:

It seems to me that offering a reward that is far off in location (Argentina guest room/cabin) or far off in time (someday I will go sailing and need crew…) is not realistic. The potential reward is far away and would cost anyone a lot of money just to get to Argentina to a remote ranch to stay for any time.

More importantly, it seems to me that a prudent property owner would want to hire competent, qualified help to fix up any kind of property, including a boat, especially one that is remote from the owner. Boats have been known to sink or burn at a dock, simply because of improper maintenance or shoddy repairs or a simple valve or hose was loose or left open.

Most importantly, if the remote owner intends to use that same boat to travel out on the ocean, it is essential that the systems or refit be done in a good enough manner to work reliably when needed. Your life may depend on that work and how it affects the boat.

So, I suggest you locate a local (SF) professional boatwright or boatyard and have them do the work for you (for money). That way you are utilizing skilled workers and giving them what they want too (money). And, if you are thinking of using the boat to go across an ocean or out "blue water sailing" I suggest you use the professional shipwright and ALSO hire a SF Bay Area professional boat surveyor to do an assessment (check) of the work that is done, before you take that boat across the Pacific.

I hope this helps you. Good luck on your project and sailing too.

[Ashleykentc]

Hello Steady Hand,

Many belated thanks for the considerate and thorough mail with suggestions and advice, all of which is well appreciated.

I have been traveling lately and am just now landing in the Bay Area and looking forward to the adventure of putting this new sailboat in shape,

cheers,

ashley