First, thanks in advance for this great forum and the experience found here.
First about me: I'm a newbie sailor looking for a smaller sailboat to learn to sail and possibly cruise up and down the California coast. I don't have a lot of money to work with up front but have a good income (school teacher). I have summers generally open unless I'm teaching summer school. A few years ago I took some sailing classes to get familiar with sailing but only sailed a handful of occasions after that due to time constraints. Now I'm finding the time to again start thinking about sailing and boats and perhaps living aboard at some point.
The boat: a very needy 1968 Cheoy Lee type II, Steppenwolf, in San Diego. Nearly all the teak has been removed two owners ago. The mast and everything else needs paint and god only knows what else. The cabin isn't much more than a fiberglass shell. And the owner will take 1000 dollars for it.
This could be a great deal on a classic or a horrible liability unlike any I've ever come across. What are costs of restoring an old fiberglass boat? What special skills and/or tools are required? Should I just forget about it?
Thanks.
Frisco Flyer in San Diego.... Should I buy?
-
Tim
- Shipwright Extraordinaire
- Posts: 5708
- Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2003 6:39 pm
- Boat Name: Glissando
- Boat Type: Pearson Triton
- Location: Whitefield, ME
- Contact:
Projects can be satisfying and fun, but they prevent you from going sailing while the project is underway. And this often ends up stretching into years for many people, when that wasn't their initial intention.
Don't buy a project boat, however cheaply, unless the project is what you want first and foremost. Otherwise, you'll likely end up frustrated (because you aren't sailing), frustrated (because the project is taking a long time), frustrated (because the project is costing a lot of money) and poor (because projects are expensive). And then you won't succeed in completing the job and enjoying the potential fruits of your considerable labor.
If you want to go sailing and enjoy a boat, then spend a bit more for one that is more or less ready to go as is. You can always choose to improve certain aspects of the individual boat later, but too many people get in over their heads with big projects despite their best intentions. Often, people new to boats and sailing don't even know what they really need to do to "improve" the boat. So sailing a boat for a while before diving in to a project not only gives you time to enjoy the boat, but also to determine what, if anything, requires your attention, repair, or improvement.
You need to consider your skill set, potential availability of work space, and your tool inventory before you jump into this.
You've been warned. Proceed with care--and if the project is what you want, then terrific. But be sure you know what you might be getting into before you take the plunge. I'm all for project boats, but too often they seem like a better idea than they really are for the individual. It takes a special sort of commitment in time, energy, resources, and skills to make your way through a gut job.
The failure rate for new project boat owners is high because there is so much more involved than most people think. So look before you leap. Nothing is more expensive than a failed project. What looks like a good deal rarely is. Often, a $1000 initial investment buys you only a liability that will require many thousands of dollars and hundreds of working hours before you are complete.
Think about it, and decide what you really want.
Don't buy a project boat, however cheaply, unless the project is what you want first and foremost. Otherwise, you'll likely end up frustrated (because you aren't sailing), frustrated (because the project is taking a long time), frustrated (because the project is costing a lot of money) and poor (because projects are expensive). And then you won't succeed in completing the job and enjoying the potential fruits of your considerable labor.
If you want to go sailing and enjoy a boat, then spend a bit more for one that is more or less ready to go as is. You can always choose to improve certain aspects of the individual boat later, but too many people get in over their heads with big projects despite their best intentions. Often, people new to boats and sailing don't even know what they really need to do to "improve" the boat. So sailing a boat for a while before diving in to a project not only gives you time to enjoy the boat, but also to determine what, if anything, requires your attention, repair, or improvement.
You need to consider your skill set, potential availability of work space, and your tool inventory before you jump into this.
You've been warned. Proceed with care--and if the project is what you want, then terrific. But be sure you know what you might be getting into before you take the plunge. I'm all for project boats, but too often they seem like a better idea than they really are for the individual. It takes a special sort of commitment in time, energy, resources, and skills to make your way through a gut job.
The failure rate for new project boat owners is high because there is so much more involved than most people think. So look before you leap. Nothing is more expensive than a failed project. What looks like a good deal rarely is. Often, a $1000 initial investment buys you only a liability that will require many thousands of dollars and hundreds of working hours before you are complete.
Think about it, and decide what you really want.
---------------------------------------------------
Forum Founder--No Longer Participating
Forum Founder--No Longer Participating
Tim,
Thank you. I've called the gentleman selling the boat and told him I haven't the skills or time to invest in restoration of Steppenwolf. I appreciate your polite and informative response and will heed your advice.
Next summer I'll be in a better buying position for a complete boat, and I think I'll take some sailing lessons as well. Already, I've begun meeting some very friendly and knowledgeable folks locally. It seems the sailing community is filled with 'salts' ready to steer a novice in the right direction.
Thanks again,
vince
Thank you. I've called the gentleman selling the boat and told him I haven't the skills or time to invest in restoration of Steppenwolf. I appreciate your polite and informative response and will heed your advice.
Next summer I'll be in a better buying position for a complete boat, and I think I'll take some sailing lessons as well. Already, I've begun meeting some very friendly and knowledgeable folks locally. It seems the sailing community is filled with 'salts' ready to steer a novice in the right direction.
Thanks again,
vince
Oh thanks, Tim.
Vince sounds like a potentially interesting and agreeable forum member, from whom we could have been getting project updates for literally years to come, and you just have to remind him that if his goal is to go sailing, he shouldn't buy a big project.
:shakes head:
No, actually, I was already mentally typing my response as I read his post, but then I scrolled down and you had said it perfectly.
Vince: I think you're making a smart move; I hope you'll post photos, etc. when you've found "your" boat :)
Rachel
Vince sounds like a potentially interesting and agreeable forum member, from whom we could have been getting project updates for literally years to come, and you just have to remind him that if his goal is to go sailing, he shouldn't buy a big project.
:shakes head:
No, actually, I was already mentally typing my response as I read his post, but then I scrolled down and you had said it perfectly.
Vince: I think you're making a smart move; I hope you'll post photos, etc. when you've found "your" boat :)
Rachel
-
Zach
- Boat Obsession Medal Finalist
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 6:28 pm
- Location: Beaufort, North Carolina
- Contact:
Yeah... I gotta say Tim nailed that one.
Get a survey! From a SAMS/NAMS certified surveyor, no matter how inexpensive the boats purchase price, theres a whole lot of expensive stuff on board that can be wrong. Its cheap in the long run... 2-3 gallons of epoxy, maybe?
I had a survey done on another Triton, prior to Tim pointing me towards Pylasteki... Didn't have one done on her 'cause I'm dumb, and didn't follow my own past experiences with boats. I still would have bought her knowing what I know now... but it would have been nice to have the head start finding some of her problems. "Gee, you won't be sailing for the next year..."
Here's a story I went through while looking at a (Free) Cheoy lee Bermuda 30 project that wasn't much more than a fiberglass hull. There are some pictures later on of the interior construction... essentially a wooden boat deck on a fiberglass hull, with an added infusion of steel angle iron. There are some boats that "just because you can doesn't mean you should" and Free is to much to pay for what you get. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f47 ... -3062.html
If she has a wooden mast, under that paint you don't know whats rotten. If she has concrete and cast iron ballast, theres a good chance of water damage and other fun stuff.
I think a lot of us around here dream big... and the difference between dreamers that just dream, and dreamers that get stuff done: A lack of a social life, and love of instant gratification. You will be married to this boat, it'll crawl inside your brain and take up residence. Your priorities will change. The way you live your life will change... if it is to ever get done. (I blame Tim, a little tiny bit... Blame may be the wrong word, as there are few things I'd rather do than work on boats. So... Thanks Tim!)
The costs: If you can't drop the boat in your back yard. If it doesn't have a trailer, it costs money to get it dropped in your back yard. It has to be moored somewhere, or a plot of dirt rented at a boatyard. Then you have to drive (Tally up the hours both ways, gas prices) to the boat. Next up... the literature to learn the methods required to repair her. And the tools. Then the materials. For the most part, you can't drive down to lowes or the hardware store and pick up anything that will give a long lasting economical repair... Deck screws, solid copper wiring, sugar pine and ac plywood don't make the grade.
Nothing. Nothing... is square. Every piece on her must be hand cut, hand crafted, eyeballed, measured, and massaged to fit. Every piece of nautical equipment, is slightly different... and must be massaged to fit properly. While standing on your head, wedged into the most contorted position possible. You can't get to anything. Everything must be disassembled. Then "While I'm at it..." you put it back together the stripped screws and rotten wood you found have to be replaced... that bit of corroded wire, and rusted pipe clamp have to be fixed. Eventually something that should take an afternoon has monopolized three weekends, and 12 lunch hours, 7 hours of driving... Then when you get to the boat you forget a widget, and tomorrow you will be finished with it. Except "While I'm at it I need to...."
You've got to source everything prior to doing the work, or it'll take forever. If you don't have a tube of miracle goo, 27 1/4 20 stainless machine screws and 33 sanding disks and be able to produce them in a minute and a half, it'll take you forever. Catalogs coming out your ears... stacking up all over the place. Pictures, loose sketches... books. Oh gosh, the books.
So: Plan. Everything takes 2-3 times longer (of actually working) than you think it should. Everything will cost 2-3 times more than you think it should. You will do one out of every 3 jobs, 2-3 times getting it right while the learning curve happens. You'll be driven to anger, to tears... and no one in your life (Except us...) will understand why at dinner you smell like a chemical factory, have a nervous itch, take cold showers and often look like a space alien with respirators, ear muffs, eye glasses, latex gloves, tyvek suits...
100 dollars a week on boat parts is a small number during the buildup of this project. The materials are expensive, theres a lot of scrap (Curves!) and a lot of potential for screw ups. Then theres shipping... (Can't get it here, warehouse doesn't have it, gotta order it anyway... cheaper online... P.S. Jamestown Distributors. Then theres the markup, 30% retail so you find it in a catalog and wait for it to arrive. Speed = Expensive. Speed = finish the project. The longer it takes, the more it costs... work fast. Powertools baby!
Then, it'll be to hot. Then to cold. Rainy... windy... You can't paint because the humidity is to high. You can't finish installing the ____ because the paint hasn't dried... Which means in order to have efficient use of your time you have to juggle multiple projects at once. Wiring, plumbing, rigging, engine, structural... and we haven't even started making things look nice.
The car blows up, you have to fix some other project with your new found skills. You take a week off that turns into a month... catch the flu, acquire a significant other... have to work another job to afford your boat habit.
If you made it this far, you have the bug. You will end up with a boat no matter what you do. What are you waiting for! Buy it! Send pictures... (Grin)
If you don't have time... Hire Tim so he can send us pictures! We need more boat porn in this world! (Sorry for whoring you out Tim, but it had to be done... Grin)
Book recommendations (One boat Unit total... $100)
This Old Boat by Don Casey - http://www.amazon.com/This-Old-Boat-Don ... 766&sr=8-1
Inspecting The Aging Sailboat by Don Casey -
http://www.amazon.com/Inspecting-Aging- ... 821&sr=8-1
Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual - Nigel Calder
http://www.amazon.com/Boatowners-Mechan ... 886&sr=8-1
To remind you that there are other boats, who put up a good fight:
The Boat Who Wouldn't Float by Farley Mowat
http://www.amazon.com/Boat-Who-Wouldnt- ... 033&sr=8-1
Get a survey! From a SAMS/NAMS certified surveyor, no matter how inexpensive the boats purchase price, theres a whole lot of expensive stuff on board that can be wrong. Its cheap in the long run... 2-3 gallons of epoxy, maybe?
I had a survey done on another Triton, prior to Tim pointing me towards Pylasteki... Didn't have one done on her 'cause I'm dumb, and didn't follow my own past experiences with boats. I still would have bought her knowing what I know now... but it would have been nice to have the head start finding some of her problems. "Gee, you won't be sailing for the next year..."
Here's a story I went through while looking at a (Free) Cheoy lee Bermuda 30 project that wasn't much more than a fiberglass hull. There are some pictures later on of the interior construction... essentially a wooden boat deck on a fiberglass hull, with an added infusion of steel angle iron. There are some boats that "just because you can doesn't mean you should" and Free is to much to pay for what you get. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f47 ... -3062.html
If she has a wooden mast, under that paint you don't know whats rotten. If she has concrete and cast iron ballast, theres a good chance of water damage and other fun stuff.
I think a lot of us around here dream big... and the difference between dreamers that just dream, and dreamers that get stuff done: A lack of a social life, and love of instant gratification. You will be married to this boat, it'll crawl inside your brain and take up residence. Your priorities will change. The way you live your life will change... if it is to ever get done. (I blame Tim, a little tiny bit... Blame may be the wrong word, as there are few things I'd rather do than work on boats. So... Thanks Tim!)
The costs: If you can't drop the boat in your back yard. If it doesn't have a trailer, it costs money to get it dropped in your back yard. It has to be moored somewhere, or a plot of dirt rented at a boatyard. Then you have to drive (Tally up the hours both ways, gas prices) to the boat. Next up... the literature to learn the methods required to repair her. And the tools. Then the materials. For the most part, you can't drive down to lowes or the hardware store and pick up anything that will give a long lasting economical repair... Deck screws, solid copper wiring, sugar pine and ac plywood don't make the grade.
Nothing. Nothing... is square. Every piece on her must be hand cut, hand crafted, eyeballed, measured, and massaged to fit. Every piece of nautical equipment, is slightly different... and must be massaged to fit properly. While standing on your head, wedged into the most contorted position possible. You can't get to anything. Everything must be disassembled. Then "While I'm at it..." you put it back together the stripped screws and rotten wood you found have to be replaced... that bit of corroded wire, and rusted pipe clamp have to be fixed. Eventually something that should take an afternoon has monopolized three weekends, and 12 lunch hours, 7 hours of driving... Then when you get to the boat you forget a widget, and tomorrow you will be finished with it. Except "While I'm at it I need to...."
You've got to source everything prior to doing the work, or it'll take forever. If you don't have a tube of miracle goo, 27 1/4 20 stainless machine screws and 33 sanding disks and be able to produce them in a minute and a half, it'll take you forever. Catalogs coming out your ears... stacking up all over the place. Pictures, loose sketches... books. Oh gosh, the books.
So: Plan. Everything takes 2-3 times longer (of actually working) than you think it should. Everything will cost 2-3 times more than you think it should. You will do one out of every 3 jobs, 2-3 times getting it right while the learning curve happens. You'll be driven to anger, to tears... and no one in your life (Except us...) will understand why at dinner you smell like a chemical factory, have a nervous itch, take cold showers and often look like a space alien with respirators, ear muffs, eye glasses, latex gloves, tyvek suits...
100 dollars a week on boat parts is a small number during the buildup of this project. The materials are expensive, theres a lot of scrap (Curves!) and a lot of potential for screw ups. Then theres shipping... (Can't get it here, warehouse doesn't have it, gotta order it anyway... cheaper online... P.S. Jamestown Distributors. Then theres the markup, 30% retail so you find it in a catalog and wait for it to arrive. Speed = Expensive. Speed = finish the project. The longer it takes, the more it costs... work fast. Powertools baby!
Then, it'll be to hot. Then to cold. Rainy... windy... You can't paint because the humidity is to high. You can't finish installing the ____ because the paint hasn't dried... Which means in order to have efficient use of your time you have to juggle multiple projects at once. Wiring, plumbing, rigging, engine, structural... and we haven't even started making things look nice.
The car blows up, you have to fix some other project with your new found skills. You take a week off that turns into a month... catch the flu, acquire a significant other... have to work another job to afford your boat habit.
If you made it this far, you have the bug. You will end up with a boat no matter what you do. What are you waiting for! Buy it! Send pictures... (Grin)
If you don't have time... Hire Tim so he can send us pictures! We need more boat porn in this world! (Sorry for whoring you out Tim, but it had to be done... Grin)
Book recommendations (One boat Unit total... $100)
This Old Boat by Don Casey - http://www.amazon.com/This-Old-Boat-Don ... 766&sr=8-1
Inspecting The Aging Sailboat by Don Casey -
http://www.amazon.com/Inspecting-Aging- ... 821&sr=8-1
Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual - Nigel Calder
http://www.amazon.com/Boatowners-Mechan ... 886&sr=8-1
To remind you that there are other boats, who put up a good fight:
The Boat Who Wouldn't Float by Farley Mowat
http://www.amazon.com/Boat-Who-Wouldnt- ... 033&sr=8-1
1961 Pearson Triton
http://pylasteki.blogspot.com/
1942 Coast Guard Cutter - Rebuild
http://83footernoel.blogspot.com/
http://pylasteki.blogspot.com/
1942 Coast Guard Cutter - Rebuild
http://83footernoel.blogspot.com/
-
Zach
- Boat Obsession Medal Finalist
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 6:28 pm
- Location: Beaufort, North Carolina
- Contact:
Damn.
If I were not as verbose/ full of hot air I might have seen that coming. (Grin)
Oh well... Time to get back to work.
Zach
If I were not as verbose/ full of hot air I might have seen that coming. (Grin)
Oh well... Time to get back to work.
Zach
1961 Pearson Triton
http://pylasteki.blogspot.com/
1942 Coast Guard Cutter - Rebuild
http://83footernoel.blogspot.com/
http://pylasteki.blogspot.com/
1942 Coast Guard Cutter - Rebuild
http://83footernoel.blogspot.com/
-
Idon84
- Skilled Systems Installer
- Posts: 245
- Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:06 pm
- Boat Name: Cosmic Dancer
- Boat Type: Hess Cutter
- Location: Olympia, WA
- Contact:
AGREED
I totally agree with EVERYTHING said thus far.
I have no social life, unless friends show up to help which is almost never, even with the keg of beer I have on site.
Working in anything other than my backyard would have been quite expensive and futile. Having to pay the marina for space and follow all of their rules would have been the death of me & the project.
I have to make plans 5-6 steps ahead to be sure I'm not waiting for the epoxy to set or the paint to dry to do the next job. Sourcing of parts is constantly on my mind so they are ready when needed. 2-3 times should be added to any estimates, time money etc.
The itch is always there... learn to love it or get out.
Even though I knew what I was getting into, I still find myself sometimes asking myself "what did you do?" But at the end of the day I'm excited about what I've accomplished. Day by day is all I can do. Of course it helps to have my Fiance so into working with me on the project, after all it's her boat too.
What about starting small...
My thistle is always ready for me in case I have to go sailing. It certainly helps with the sailing blues but at the same time I feel guilty knowing that I could have been fitting this part or measuring for that part or grinding this part, or... etc.
Good luck on what ever you choose, and BTW I love those Frisco Flyers. Almost bought one myself a few years back in the kind of condition that would have needed a serious rebuild.
Cheers,
Bryon
http://www.picasaweb.com/idon84
I have no social life, unless friends show up to help which is almost never, even with the keg of beer I have on site.
Working in anything other than my backyard would have been quite expensive and futile. Having to pay the marina for space and follow all of their rules would have been the death of me & the project.
I have to make plans 5-6 steps ahead to be sure I'm not waiting for the epoxy to set or the paint to dry to do the next job. Sourcing of parts is constantly on my mind so they are ready when needed. 2-3 times should be added to any estimates, time money etc.
The itch is always there... learn to love it or get out.
I found this forum AFTER beginning my refit. "The best resource I have" I have worked on smaller boats in the past, lasers, thistles, hobie cats, etc. and prior to boats rebuilt several old VW Beetles but this is the largest things I have ever done. Tim's pictures make the process look easy. I chalk that up to experience and that fact that Tim seems to be quite the boat building Master. I belong to a LARGE racing club here and have many people to bounce my ideas off of. So I guess what I'm saying is to be sure you have some resources in place. Without them I would still be about 6 months behind where I am now.I blame Tim, a little tiny bit... Blame may be the wrong word, as there are few things I'd rather do than work on boats. So... Thanks Tim!
Even though I knew what I was getting into, I still find myself sometimes asking myself "what did you do?" But at the end of the day I'm excited about what I've accomplished. Day by day is all I can do. Of course it helps to have my Fiance so into working with me on the project, after all it's her boat too.
What about starting small...
Go find an old neglected, trailerable dinghy for a few hundred bucks, fix that up, learn how to sail and then work on you plans of coastal cruising. I've been sailing of over 12 years (mostly racing) and I could not have imagined, at the time, the skills needed to do the kind of cruising you mention right off the bat. Then when you get your coastal cruiser to fix up in your backyard, you will still have your dinghy to fill your need to go sailing when you want.First about me: I'm a newbie sailor looking for a smaller sailboat to learn to sail and possibly cruise up and down the California coast.
My thistle is always ready for me in case I have to go sailing. It certainly helps with the sailing blues but at the same time I feel guilty knowing that I could have been fitting this part or measuring for that part or grinding this part, or... etc.
Good luck on what ever you choose, and BTW I love those Frisco Flyers. Almost bought one myself a few years back in the kind of condition that would have needed a serious rebuild.
Cheers,
Bryon
http://www.picasaweb.com/idon84
-
Idon84
- Skilled Systems Installer
- Posts: 245
- Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:06 pm
- Boat Name: Cosmic Dancer
- Boat Type: Hess Cutter
- Location: Olympia, WA
- Contact:
Goodness... in the time it took to type the message above EVERYTHING changes. I hope we didn't scare him too much.
Vince... seriously go find a small trailer sailor under $1500 ready to sail. Then you can learn how to sail and repair stuff too. You'll be much more skilled by the time you start to think about rebuilding something larger.
Good Luck.
Bryon
Vince... seriously go find a small trailer sailor under $1500 ready to sail. Then you can learn how to sail and repair stuff too. You'll be much more skilled by the time you start to think about rebuilding something larger.
Good Luck.
Bryon
-
Steve'O
- Bottom Paint Application Technician
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:59 pm
- Location: NY/NJ
Wow. I thought Tim had summed it up.... until I read Zach's response!
Byron I raced thistles too, and you’ve given Vince some good advice- get a small boat to learn on.
Vince one of the best places to learn is at a Sailing Club, there’s always people looking for crew and there’s always a class in seamanship, sail handling navigation etc
Byron I raced thistles too, and you’ve given Vince some good advice- get a small boat to learn on.
Vince one of the best places to learn is at a Sailing Club, there’s always people looking for crew and there’s always a class in seamanship, sail handling navigation etc
Steve
"Good Hope"
Tripp/Lentsch 29
"Good Hope"
Tripp/Lentsch 29
-
Idon84
- Skilled Systems Installer
- Posts: 245
- Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:06 pm
- Boat Name: Cosmic Dancer
- Boat Type: Hess Cutter
- Location: Olympia, WA
- Contact:
Sailing clubs are great! Become stable/reliable crew, work hard, listen, and most importantly show up(nothing's worse than training someone only to have them NOT show up when you need them)! Be there to work on the boat when needed too! Eventually the skipper just might let you take the boat out on the weekend with your friends! Did that for many years.
I use to say "why buy a boat when I could be using O.P.B.(other people's boats)." ... as it turned out I wanted a cruiser not a racer, hence my current status.
Bryon
I use to say "why buy a boat when I could be using O.P.B.(other people's boats)." ... as it turned out I wanted a cruiser not a racer, hence my current status.
Bryon
Can't wait to start
All good advice.
The thistle or another small trailered sailboat makes good sense for now... or a sailing club may be even better. In fact, just last weekend I picked up some literature at a local marina advertising their sailing club... classes, boat rentals, little or no maintenance, and just a small monthly fee.
Based on what i'm hearin', 1. local boat club, 2. small trailerable sailboat to practice the care and feeding of sailboats, 3. small coastal cruiser and short trips, 4. and the world beckons.
Keep you posted... by next summer we'll be sailing and until then I'll be trolling Plastic Classic...
Vince
The thistle or another small trailered sailboat makes good sense for now... or a sailing club may be even better. In fact, just last weekend I picked up some literature at a local marina advertising their sailing club... classes, boat rentals, little or no maintenance, and just a small monthly fee.
Based on what i'm hearin', 1. local boat club, 2. small trailerable sailboat to practice the care and feeding of sailboats, 3. small coastal cruiser and short trips, 4. and the world beckons.
Keep you posted... by next summer we'll be sailing and until then I'll be trolling Plastic Classic...
Vince
-
MikeD
- Candidate for Boat-Obsession Medal
- Posts: 375
- Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2005 1:42 pm
- Boat Name: Totoro
- Boat Type: Sea Sprite 23 (#626)
- Location: Scarborough, Maine
...or you could just forgo Tim's advice and join the rest of us who did and are now happily up to our elbows in Plastic Classic to-do lists.
Mike
Totoro (SS23 #626)
Totoro (SS23 #626)
Funny you should say that, Rachel.Rachel wrote:WAY too much self-control for this list ;)
The fellow selling the Frisco Flyer called me tonight. Said I could have the boat for 600 dollars. Told me that he "saw" the bottom and a diver said it looked OK. That most of the work can be done at the marina whilst in the water. Reminded me of a used car salesman, "Just needs a new paint job...the foredeck is supposed to flex like that... who needs a sink or toilet anyway...etc.
Self..control... breaking ...down...
Whew! That was a close one. Thought about the thousands of dollars likely needed for this boat. Again, I'll wait until next Spring to think about buying a boat. Sailing clubs in town rent out boats that I can practice with in the mean time.
Sorry, Sam, you sound like a nice guy but Steppenwolfe needs more than I can give her.
Steppenwolf
It's a shame that this boat has ended up in its current state. I received an email when it arrived there in the boat yard and was then lucky enough to get a couple of things off of it for our 65 Flyer (not the missing sink and toilet). From what I've heard, it does sound like a real project boat but is "do-able" by the right person. I think it would be a lot of fun to bring back it to life but unless you have the patience, time and money to invest in it, it should be avoided. That being said, I suggest that you have more than a few drinks so your in the right state of mind to make this decision then just buy it against all advice and better judgments and deal with the consequences when you get home. If you don't want to go sailing anytime soon, it could be a great learning experience that brings you a lot of joy. Our old Flyer needed a total restore as well. So far it hasn't cost us too much and we enjoy the process a great deal probably because I'm lucky enough to sail regularly with friends and family.
Let go of that that self control.
Matt
Let go of that that self control.
Matt
Restoring a Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer....
http://friscoflyer.blogspot.com/
http://friscoflyer.blogspot.com/