We bought a boat! Oh my...the adventure begins

[SVGraceMD]

Hi everyone! We are two old farts that bought a 81 Morgan Out Island 41' sailboat sight un seen. My husband and I have been looking for 10 years for "the boat" I didn't think this day would ever come and if we waited much longer it probably wouldn't have.
So here we are a little nervous, slightly excited and a great deal less in our bank account. We bought the sailboat through Gov deals auction.
You might think we are crazy? But is not our first purchase through them and the boat looked amazing in the pictures. Now that reality is sinking in, and I have had a quick survey done. It may not have been as good of a deal as I thought it was. But life is adventure and you only have a finite amount of time here so let's make the best of it.
This is our first sailboat.
Any suggestions for newbies?
Thanks,
SV Grace

[Stu Jackson]

Welcome and congratulations.


There was a contributor here who had one of your boats and recently sold it, he had it for a loooong time and loved it. I forget his name, but he's still active and may chime in.


Enjoy. Always fun with a new-to-you.

[Ballsnall]

Pictures please

[ChrisJHC]

I would suggest having a thorough survey done rather than the quick one you already have.
The aim of this would be to identify the things that are safety-related, must-haves and nice-to-haves.
Tell the surveyor what you are looking for and be prepared to pay a fair bit for their time.

Assuming it’s safe to sail, I would sail it for a few months before starting any significant changes and/or upgrades.
You are likely to find your priorities and the sequence in which you do things will change as you become more familiar with it.

Oh, and have either a notebook or e-version handy so you can continually jot down all the things you notice that need to be done.
You might like to categorise these as “Urgent”, “ASAP” or “When I can” or some other system.

Good luck - exciting times!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, SV Grace.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by SVGraceMD

Hi everyone! We are two old farts that bought a 81 Morgan Out Island 41' sailboat sight un seen. My husband and I have been looking for 10 years for "the boat"

Impressive. 10 years to get a sight unseen boat.

Enjoy the journey.

[Tetepare]

What Chris said. Pay for a professional survey. Then fix the safety issues. After the survey figure out how much it’s going to cost to get it seaworthy, see if it’s even worth it.

[Adelie]

Welcome

[Calif.Ted]

This is our first sailboat.
Any suggestions for newbies?

Get your bottom work done and get it back in the water, get it sailing asap, cosmetics etc. can be done in the water. The longer a boat stays on the hard the closer it comes to never sailing again. Do not start with a multi-year rebuilding project. I'd guess this is the boat, claims it was "operable" when abandoned at city dock by owner July 2021. This is gonna take a little money regardless how you do it.
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm/c...91&acctid=1426

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Impressive. 10 years to get a sight unseen boat.

Enjoy the journey.

They're gutsier than I am, that's for sure.


One thing's for sure. If anything is going to happen, it's going to happen out there.

[Ballsnall]

Originally Posted by Calif.Ted

I'd guess this is the boat,

Nice, very nice, very very nice. Congratulations on a fine vessel. Ignore the doom&gloom crowd. I once bought a house unseen, it will all work out just fine.

It's good to have a little spontaneity in life!

[JPA Cate]

Hi, SV Grace, congratulations on your boat, and welcome aboard CF.

I know free advice is worth what you pay for it, but I'd like to second two different bits of advice you've had so far. The first is that if you have little experience with boats, then getting a good survey now, to help you prioritize the jobs that may need doing, will see you a long way. Also, though, as long as there is nothing that MUST BE FIXED IMMEDIATELY, then get the boat in the water and start learning her while she's giving you what you bought her for.

Then, as questions about how to handle various projects come to you, come and ask them here. There are many aboard CF with years of boat owning experience, and some with lots of sailing experience, and there will be help available. Most things you can learn, if you have the will to do it.

The one single factor that helps people stay safe on the water is experience on the water. There are books to be sought out, and there is experience to be gained.

Ann

[Rumrace]

Congrats Grace from another old fart on the lovely boat. So fix her up. If the boat sat for a while got well used possibly neglected one of the best ways to reclaim your interior is throw every bit of fabric out.
My wife and I did this two a 12 years old boat and are about to swap out the upholster in the Settee and love seat bench thing.
We bought this great 330 Sea Ray was perfect in many ways except the designer who picked out the upholster. It was awful and had a stain. I had all the panels and cussions off to reupholster and was not surprised to find out the foam was falling apart on a ten year old boat. The upholsterer refused to use the old foam. He near ordered me to take in the mattress from the two birth. He tossed them too
We had the main interior from this awful striped mess to a fabric deep pile called wild rice. The boat had a whole new odour like new. The wild rice fabric has a wisebeck 200 commercial wear rating and stain resistant. Made the boat bigger. Despite Sea Rays rep for a strong faster boat for big water. The interior fabrics egh.
Mechanically please come to the forum often and ask questions. There are a large bunch of helpful folks here.
Think of it as a dock you walk down and ask neighbours for advise.
Things like fuel tank and cleaning oiling engine before you start it. I’ve bought several cars and motorcycles in similar situation. Even one corvette made out of three stolen ones. The buys all worked out all need careful restoration from neglect or just sitting too long.
My final advise is get use to it Come up the the Hudson River to the New York canal system into lake Champlain or Lake Ontario and across to Canada to visit. We give two free fish a day.

[leecea]

I would see what a good survey says - including an engine and rig inspection. Then try to get some estimates of what it will take to get the boat to the condition you want or need.

I think it's good to have a big picture view of the likely costs, even if you don't plan to get everything fixed right away. If you are in way over your head, better to find out asap, and if not, you can relax and enjoy the boat.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by Ballsnall

Nice, very nice, very very nice. Congratulations on a fine vessel. Ignore the doom&gloom crowd. I once bought a house unseen, it will all work out just fine.

It's good to have a little spontaneity in life!

Charlie Morgan knew a thing or three about boatbuilding, that boat will come back just fine.
Yep, some spontaneity is a good thing.
I usually mark my calendar for the days I plan to be spontaneous.