New guy, first sailboat, first trip will be from Dana point to King harbor

[2xcrash]

A friend of mine from work talked me into getting into a sailboat. I work out of town 14 days a month and owning a boat will save me 700$ a month in rent, and I also get to learn how to sail.
Looked at a lot of 27/28 footers and found Boomarang, a 27' Catalina with an atomic 4. She has only had the original owner, a German engineer who took great care of her.she was on Craigslist for all of 3 hours. Got her for 2900$
I'm getting the bottom paint and the thru hull for the intake and the inlet valve changed out.
Any hints on making the boat comfortable for overnighting?
Good online classes, and how to rig the boat for solo sailing. The most I plan on doing for my first year or so is staying in the Santa Monica bay and maybe Catalina later in the summer with the wife and kid.
Getting her from Dana point to King harbor will be done motor sailing if I can't have my friend come with.

[Don C L]

Well welcome here, and it sounds like you may have gotten a great deal if she really has been well cared for! Which model do you have? That is, where is the galley or cooking area? I have a good friend who lived on one for years with his girlfriend and a dog! So it can be done. If you are new at this be sure to have a friend who knows sailing to help you move it up to King Harbor. The boat is in Dana Point now? It's a bit of a long uphill slog for a first time out.

[2xcrash]

I've never done things the easy way!
I was going to Dana point to look at a 28' islander for 7k. While stuck in traffic I glanced through CL and the add had just popped up.
The boat seems well taken care of the motor compartment is so clean you could eat out of it. As you walk into the boat the tally is off the right. The cushions are original and don't look like they've ever been sat on. And it came with lots of notes about everything that had been done on the boat. I didn't even bicker on the price. I just handed him the cash.
What am I looking at getting her to King Harbor? I'm thinking 12-15 hours?
I'd like to get going 2 or 3 am if it's clear out. Don't want to try to get through the harbor traffic or around PV in the dark.

[cpt_757]

Maybe from this thursday, wind will be favor for you.
I will try to be there before early afternoon.
Btw, would you tell me how can you save $700 for rent if you have a boat?
Thanks,

[Don C L]

Sounds like it could be fine, but did you run the engine? Before heading up the coast, be sure to run it around a lot and make sure it really is running alright and cooling properly too. Change the oil. I'm sure you probably know all that. So it is about 50 miles and figuring a steady 4 knots (you might do better, but currents are against you) that is about 12 and a half hours. So, just shooting from the hip I'd say aim for leaving around 3 and you'll likely be sailing into King Harbor from Pt Vicente in the afternoon breeze. But this all hinges on whether the engine on a $3000 boat is ready to motor for 10 hours straight.

[2xcrash]

I own a home out near Palm Springs but work a rotating shift job in Torrance. So I've had a studio in Redondo that runs 1050$. I'm only sleeping on the boat 7 nights a month and my slip is 350$. If it was my only home I'd be getting a bigger boat.

[2xcrash]

The motor fired right up and purred from dead cold then warmed up to 160 on the water over 10 min..
Tomorrow before it gets pulled for paint and thru hulls I plan on running it for at least an hour and hope to run it out of the harbor... Better to brake down their than in the middle of the shipping lane out side LA.
I would have bought this boat for $5000 and still felt like I got a deal compared to the dozen other boats I saw.
The couple were in their late 70s and we're just done with her.

[Bill Seal]

You might consider stopping and anchoring in the lee of Island White (Queen Mary) for a night. My buddy and I used to chug up and down the coast in a pre 1920 25' yawl with an ancient Atomic Four.
Really reliable little chunk of cast iron, maybe moreso than the green monster in our new(er) boat

[jeepbluetj]

If you don't want to slog for 12+ hours, you could do the short trip to Newport on day 1 - letting you make sure everything works. Grab a mooring then head from Newport to King Harbor. You could do it all in daylight that way. (But it'll take 2 days).

I really appreciate having an AIS receiver around the shipping lanes.

How big is your fuel tank? I burn about an gallon an hour with my A4, so 10-12 hours of motoring would be most of my 15 gal tank. I wouldn't think that a C-27 would have much smaller of a tank, so you should be good if you top off before you leave.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Crash.

➥ CATALINA 270 OWNER’S MANUAL AND RIGGING DIAGRAMS
➥ C270 Tuning Page 3

➥ C27 - Lines run aft

[Cadence]

Greetings! It sounds as is you have everything under control so the best of luck.

[bruce v]

Two things you had best do before you try this run (actually will include a third). Make sure you have the boat insured for fair market value (obviously not what you paid for it - what a great deal). And secondly, get some kind of tow insurance. My suggestion is Sea Tow as you are in Cali and they have been very reliable for me there. Vessel Assist is also good but more pricy and finally, try boatUS. If you have that, good navtronics, a good cell phone and vhf, you should be good to go. Also be careful about leaving and entering the harbors at dark. Unless you know them well, they can present unforeseen problems. Since this is sounding like close to a maiden voyage, you want it to be a positive memory. This being said, know you are going against the seas,current and prevailing winds so pick a good calm day to head out. I have done the run on various boats hundreds of time and will say it is always fun when you plan correctly. Fair winds and following seas. Bruce

[peterbeale]

Why not make your first trip a little shorter? Consider going to Newport.

Before going spend half a day learning to maneuver under engine. Check how the prop walk affects your left and right turns and reverse.

Also spend the other half of day testing basic sailing maneuvers.

Also practice anchoring in Dana Point harbor.

Anchor overnight and cheek out galley, berths, heads etc and you will find out a lot while your close to your own berth.

Good luck and welcome to a new life time of learning and fun.

Peter

[Michael Hubman]

Hello 2xcrash,
My name is Michael Hubman I live in So-Cal. If you would like a hand or some company moving your boat, please email me. michaelcirclewider at yahoo dot com.
I would just like to get out on the water for a day or so. I am competent crew.
Michael

[a64pilot]

Having bought an older boat myself and launching out on a ten day delivery trip, I second the shake down cruise and Sea Tow.
99% of my problems which thankfully I was able to work through reared up the first half day.
Something as simple as water in the fuel tank can screw up your schedule, so if not a shake down cruise or two before you go, plan on it taking two days.