Learning on a 56 foot sailboat

[IceDog]

Michael, below is a quote from my blog introduction:

Time will tell if it is an act of lunacy, idiocy or inspiration.
I went against some good general advice about sailboat purchases.
1. Never buy sight unseen
2. Don’t buy a custom boat
3. Don’t buy anything other than a fiberglass hulled boat
4. Don’t use an existing survey from the seller (I did hire the same surveyor to review the boat, walk through it again and send me high res photos)
5. Buy the smallest boat you can be comfortable in
6. Don’t buy until you are ready to work on or use.


I understand that it is a gamble and it is one I am comfortable with...



Tropical Escape, No problem, I'm glad you weren't at the club when it happened.

[model 10]

Well its a great big boat with some cool features. However one should have reasonable expectations about how long it will take to get it ready for sea. To some, it looks like years of work.

[IceDog]

Fair enough Michael, but I do have options if the work required is more time consuming than I hope it is. For one thing, I can afford to hire out some of the work. After I spend 7-9 days working on it in May I should have a better idea of what is needed.
Here are some assumptions I am making (and I know what assuming is)
Since the boat was launched in 2007, the rigging dates from that time period and will need inspection but not replacement.

The deck and hull paint is still good for at least a few more years. I will hire out the bottom paint work.

The hatches and port lights are still good (hatches covered with canvas and entire deck and cabin protected somewhat with screen.

There is minimal bright work on the exterior.

The sails and running rigging are in good shape in storage.

The interior needs a lot of work but I'm not planning to do the cosmetic work yet, I want to do that type of stuff after I get to cruise for a while.

I'm assuming the Perkins is still good. If not there is a place in Jacksonville that rebuilds them for a reasonable price.

I am a licensed electrician and I have spent all my life building stuff and fixing my own stuff. I have built my own sustainable house and always worked on my cars, trucks and backhoes. I am studying boat systems now so that I will have a better understanding of them when I start working on the boat and I will hire professionals and or general help as needed. My wife ran a cleaning service for many years and is an expert on cleaning methods.

The bottom line is it will take X number of hours of labor to get the boat to where I am comfortable using it, while postponing some of the cosmetic work. I can schedule to have some of the work done while I am back in Afghanistan finishing my contract.

[IceDog]

The moment of truth fast approaches... I am at home in Costa Rica for some R&R in Playa Zancudo near Golfito but we are flying to Florida on Friday to see the boat and to spend 12 days working on it. I should have a fair idea of the work required by the end of this month. My brother is meeting us there to bring us our dinks, a Bauer 10 sailing dinghy and an Avon Redcrest I bought through Cruisers Forum.
I will be returning to Afghanistan but will be finished by Nov 3 and perhaps sooner depending on the drawdown.

[gjordan]

Since you are likely to have dirty fuel problems even if your tanks are polished, the previous recommendation about lots of filters is very valid. You might also consider putting a vacuem gauge that is visible from the helm, so that you can detect the need to change filters before the engine quits at some critical time. Just a thought! ____Grant.

[JPA Cate]

If there's room in the engine room, just installing another fuel filter, all ready to go can facilitate things immensely. On ours, it's just close the fuel flow to the clogged one, open the flow to the fresh one, and away we go. Then you can replace the clogged one while someone else is on the helm or keeping watch, or vice versa, if your good lady enjoys the mechanical end of things.

Ann

[sailpower]

Congratulations and good luck! You sound like you will do fine.

Always remember that while you are doing lots of naysayers are just dreaming.

[Paul Annapolis]

I sent you a PM... thanks

[gjordan]

Anns suggestion of dual filter set up is the best, and even better with a vacuem gauge, so that you dont wait for the engine to stop before you change over to the other filter. Dual filters, gauges etc. doesnt make any difference in the number of filters needed if you have crud in your tanks. Polishing often cant get behind baffles, or clean lines. A good rough offshore passagfe will break all kinds of things free, which will clog up your filters. Enough motor oil, and a spare filter should also be on board. just in case. Best of Luck with your adventure._____Grant.

[IceDog]

I am sitting in the cockpit of my boat at Green Cove Springs Marina on the hard sipping on a beer at 9PM. So far I am pleased with the condition of the boat. There have been both pleasant and unpleasant surprises but the boat is about what I expected and better in some respects, The engine turns over easily by hand. The exterior looks great with a couple of isolated cracks in the fiberglass but nothing that seems like a big problem yet. There is lots of electrical work to do with unfinished devices installed but not wired and tails nearby. There are some nice electronics that have never been wired in. The floor is ugly but I have a friend who does yacht floors in Florida professionally. Keeping my fingers crossed so far so good for a blue collar sailboat...
As reported by the surveyor, the batteries are shot. We got them out of the engine room into the galley and tomorrow will get them off the boat. One is in bad shape with the top separated and will need great care to avoid spilling acid to get it off the boat. They weight 165lbs each. The solar panels are only putting out 3 volts or so disconnected from the controller and I will troubleshoot them manana as well as installing a couple of golf cart batteries for a temporary DC source. They may become my starting bank when I get the lithium cells from Balqon. Our rental Crown Vic is full of anchors and sails and cushions oh my!
One pleasant surprise is the PO was an upholsterer and there are a lot of very nice cushions for the salon and the cockpit. The bimini etc is like new and I think the sails are too though I haven't pulled them out of the bags yet.
We love the boatyard atmosphere and look forward to coming back in December to really get this project rolling

[model 10]

Way to go. Just don't start the engine, you can't shut it off.

[IceDog]

Guy, The PO disclosed that the engine off switch is not working but I know I can shut off the engine by starving it of air (blocking the air intake) or probably using the manual lever at the fuel injection pump. No worries .
Are you a denizen of Green Cove Springs or someone who looked at the boat?

[model 10]

No you can not shut it down with a rag, I tried. You need to go around and manually shut it down at the solinoid. Good lesson for people here , I really tried to kill that engine with a rag and it would not stop.
I was next door for a while and the met the owner, nice guy. He started the engine but it would not stop, so I helped.

[AnsleyS]

Ice,

I just finished fixing up a boat at Green Cove and moving it to the Ft. Myers area. You can read about the project and trip on the thread of Florida Passage Note.

I may be available to assist with your project and help the two of you learn your boat and how to sail her. We sail a 39 foot ketch in the northeast but come December we are done for the season.

Keep me in mind as you get closer to your date. I may be doing a transport from Maine to the St. Martin in Nov-Dec.

Cheers

Ansley Sawyer

[IceDog]

Thanks for the replies. We have been very busy here...another good day though. Yesterday we cleaned the topsides from bow to stern and I installed a pair of Trojan T-105's as a temp system for testing purposes. I got the DC system up and most of it is operational. The anchor light doesn't work.
Today Elena worked on cleaning the interior and I worked on the systems. The Xantrex inverter was not working and tripping the temp AC feed to the boat. I installed the new in the box system control panel and could then read the error codes being generated. It turned out to be some miswiring in the electrical panel. The inverter/charger is now fully operational. I also did a quick test of the Simrad autopilot and it powered up and the rudder turned when I used the remote so I am pretty happy about that. I don't know how realistic a test it is out of the water but at least the electronics work and the hydraulics and cables are connected!
We also seem to have pressure in the fresh water system as Elena accidentally turned on a faucet. I checked the pump also and it is operational.
Tomorrow I have to remove the two old 8D batteries which weigh 165lbs each. I'm thinking of using the main boom and some tackle and hauling them out the hatch in the saloon.