Hey everyone!
Thought it time for a new update. Nothing particularly important has happened in the last little while, though..
The only thing I thought I would mention is that another boat did catch my eye for a little while. There's someone selling a 1975 Bayfield 23/25 in my area that's in pretty sweet condition. Has a 1991 Vire 12 instead of the original Vire 7, as well as a 1997 Mer. 9.9
outboard and
trailer for $1800. Pretty sweet deal.
So I've now been tossing between the
Newport 28, which is free, and the Bayfield, which is almost free. Originally, I had thought that the Bayfield was the larger 25, with standing
head room and enclosed head. If it was, I would probably be leaning towards it for sure, considering it's
full keel with an impressive <3'
draft. But after discovering that it's the 23/25 model, without standing
headroom (5'9" and I'm 6' tall) or enclosed head, I decided against it, I think. I have to admit, in the process I've fallen in love with the Bayfield design and would
trade up the Newport 28 for a Bayfield 25 (or a Bayfield 29
) in an instant. The
classic lines and heavy use of
teak are stunning, they're designed for
bluewater cruising, and I could see a properly commissioned Bayfield turning a lot of heads hehe..
So, anyway, I've been starting to figure out the plan for commissioning the Newport, come Spring time. The logistics are going to be somewhat difficult. I live in
Canada, and the boat is currently registered in the US. I'm planning on taking a holiday from work towards the end of April, around 10 days. I'll head down to
Ohio where the boat is, and spend 7 - 10 days getting her up and running. The Atomic 4 in the Newport hasn't run for quite a while, but she looks brand new in photos, and was properly winterized the last time she WAS run. I'm fairly confident that I'll be able to get it started. Once splashed and running, I have to drive her across Lake Erie, and through the Detroit River against the
current, so a running
engine is a must.
The boat has
sails, although she
lost one of her
head sails when it was blown out during
Hurricane Sandy. The
paint job looks perfectly fine (based on photographs from when she was hauled in the Fall) and I've been assured she's watertight.
One point of concern is the
keel bolts. Newports were designed with
keel bolts "permanently" encased in
epoxy. However, the
epoxy in this boat has completely cracked apart, and there's a good amount of rust covering the bolts. I've attached a pic. I would really like an opinion from some CF'ers about these bolts and whether they seem sound to you or not. There doesn't appear to be any
keel separation or any
water intrusion at the joint. Still, I think I'm going to have to at least dig the bolts out, clean them off, and re-encase them somehow. Still figuring out what I'm going to do about this. Any advice would be appreciated.
The other thing I'm wondering (i.e. worrying) about is bringing the boat into
Canada from the US. I've researched the procedure for importing a boat from the US to Canada, but the part I'm foggy on is the fact that I'm getting the boat for free, so I have no idea how the Canadian Border Services is going to charge
taxes and duty. Like, would they try and figure out some sort of perceived value of the boat, or would there be no tax and duty as the boat was free? This, I have to figure out.
One idea had was this: my father lives in the US as a landed immigrant (he married a woman from Detroit). From what I understand, the PO wouldn't be able to "gift" the boat to me, as we are not related. However, I could have him transfer the
ownership to my dad, who could then, as
family, gift it to me. Am I way off on this assumption?
I really can't wait for this snow (2 feet yesterday!!!) to melt so I can start tackling some of these questions. More updates to come! Any feedback is mightly appreciated. Thanks!
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