Restore & Refit

[BSV2]

Captains...Ahoy,
I have been sailing for almost 7 years. My first vessel was a Catalina 27, very beautiful boat. She sails in Texas now with a Captain who takes excellent care of her. My second...a Catalina 31 Tall. She had the head room my six foot wife needed, so she wouldn't bump her head. She is gone with the wife. oh well....

I now have acquired a CT Ta Chiao. She was seized by the Florida coast guard and now I have her all the way in Indiana! Yes, you read correctly. Indiana!

She was gutted and searched, but her parts are there, with a bit of structural damage to mostly the cabin, where the Coast Guard cut out possible hiding places. She has been in a storage building for 22 years. Her hull is sound, and the person I bought her from, repaired the teak deck.

My question is this....now what? after a thorough interior cleaning, she is mostly empty. wiring, plumbing etc. needs replaced. I have the circuit board and think that is where I should begin. Please advise.

Lou

[Pblais]

I have the circuit board and think that is where I should begin.

Sounds like you need a total plan to refit this boat before you just start doing things. It is very possible the sitting for a long period and the USCG destruction could make this boat more trouble than it's worth and you need to seriously understand how much money you'll need to complete the whole boat. Walking away could be the cheaper alternative. For the same money you could just get a boat.

In any case you need an assessment of the total picture of this boat so you can make financal decisions. There are probably a lot of obvious things you could do but you need the big picture nailed down first. I would start with where you can keep this boat until it's done and what those arrangements might be. Doing it yourself could require a year or more. There still may be more things you don't know about too. A boat just sitting acquires problems.

Just don't jump in withoput knowing where the off ramp is.

[BSV2]

Thanks for your input Paul. As an expert on this type of question, I am grateful for this forum and your assistance. I have had it surveyed and the report lists items that need attention.
I had hoped that this boat would be my "Hot Rod" so to speak. Kind of like Tool Man Taylor...or Gibbs from NCIS. A retirement project. However, I have heard nothing but negative news. I hate to admit it, but I am starting to think that I need to sell as much as I can for parts and be done with it. I hate that feeling. It's like having a dog, whom is your best friend die.

I have lots of items from the boat, including radar, brass and bronze portals and plenty of extra teak. Oh yes... a trailer too. Do you think I should sell parts on here, or should I move her to Lake Michigan and have an auction on each item? Lou

[David_Old_Jersey]

How many years have you got?

[BSV2]

I've got plenty of years to do this, however I am not confident that I want to spend a "boat" load of money doing it. I think the initial assessment is the right one. I can piece out the parts for more than I spent on it so far.

So far, I have had interest in my spinnaker and mainsail cover (since yesteday). I am going to post all of the sails probably today.

Thanks, Lou

[FloridaWriter]

Make a punch list and start working the list. It will take much longer than you think and cost much more.

Good luck!

[DSDman]

Think about this. While you may not be willing to take on a complete refit there might be someone out there who is looking for just such a project and cost is not a primary concern. So it wouldn't hurt to try and sale the whole boat for some price. might save you a bunch of hassles and be just the project a new owner might want. try it for a few weeks if no takers then part it out.

[BSV2]

Thant's a good idea. Thanks. I will post it ASAP...