New to sailing, opportunity to get a Venture

[tails359]

Hey everyone,

I have been lurking and pouring through the forum for several weeks now looking for information. My story is pretty simple. I have recently moved onto a large lake here in the southeast, and now have a dock and I want a boat. I have been taking it slow, looking for maybe something small such as a Snark/Sunfish to get started. When I mentioned this to my barber a few weeks ago, he turned me onto his buddy that is trying to get rid of a boat he has had in his backyard for 4 years. Long story short, per the owner its a 1974 MacGregor/Venture 26 foot (I think its actually 25). The owner states it was sailed on the lake for 'years' by a friend of his, and he purchased it about four years ago as a project boat. He replaced some of the sailing hardware, but never got around to fixing it up further and it has sat there since. I am interested in purchasing the boat, and there is a sailing academy twenty minutes away to teach me how to use it.

I went to look at the boat. It is stored on its trailer in the backyard. The owner swears there are no leaks in the hull. There is water in the bilge, that per the owner is coming through the hatch and windows. He has kept it covered with a tarp, but it obviously hasn't kept everything out. The boat is dirty, but I did not notice any major damage to the hull or deck. All the outside woodwork is rotten, but he has all of the metal hardware for everything. The mast is off of the boat, but looks straight. He has two sets of sails, including a 'racing' set, all of them seemed to be in decent condition, though I am no expert. Sails were stored in original sail-bags inside the house He says all the cushions for the berth are new, never used, just been sitting there. The keel winch is rusty, but owner says that it raised and lowered when he bought it. I did not know to check the keel bolt at the time. All the wiring has been stripped out, though he says the control panel is new. There is no motor. The big issue is that it is missing its entire rudder assembly.

He wants three hundred dollars for the boat, trailer, and all the parts he has stripped out.

Given that a new rudder is 869 dollars plus shipping at Idasailor , and a used motor for it will be 500-1000 dollars, along with new rigging and repairs being even more, I am wondering if it is a good deal. I was never interested in doing a full restoration, nor am I now. I wanted to slap a motor on it and putter around the lake until I learned to sail, then sail it as well. I plan to restore the cabin to the point where my wife and I can comfortably camp out in it. The reason I was prompted to write this is the news that the rudder is missing, which drove up my estimated costs almost a thousand dollars. Do you guys think this is still a good deal, given the missing rudder? I have included a link to pictures of the boat, so you can see for yourselves if there is anything obvious I am missing. I appreciate any advice you can give, and for putting up with my wall-o-text. I figure I might just be joining the forum full time if I end up getting this boat, so I wanted to chime in.

https://plus.google.com/photos/10627325 ... ZzukOme1AE

[Catigale]

Aaahhhh..the old boat in the backyard scenario..

Used motor for puttering...500 USd. This would get you on the water in putt about mode for the cost of the boat, you can unload a working 9 HP or smaller outboard on craigslist for whatever you paid for it btw

To sail, that keel will have to function. It could be rusted and swollen and stuck up in the slot. If I have the boat right, this the 400-500 pound cast iron keel that is hard to deal with if stuck. The only way to feasibly test it is On the water

If you are going to get a season or two of happiness on the water just puttering, buy it today. Get a small 4-6 HP outboard and enjoy this summer. Try the keel in shallow water so you can recover it if it falls off...you will need a chain to drag it back to shore,

Keel alone is probably sellable for 500 USd btw, too.

To get the boat into sailing...

Keel has to work as noted

You can make a wood or even Aluminum rudder for a mere 200-300 in materials. You can get a template from friendly people here.

Running rigging (lines to haul up and control sails) runs about 1-2 USd per foot. You can spend 200-300 here if you need new stuff

....missed part about camping with the Admiral...add 10 bottles of tilex and 10 bottles bleach to budget

[Ormonddude]

I would be concerned with picture 13 and 15 it looks like body filler in the hull other than that its not in nearly as bad a condition as many of the restorations we see on this board

[Catigale]

That boat will clean up nicely with bleach

That trailer might collapse into a pile of scrap metal when you pull on it though ...do you have another way to get it to your lake?

[chipveres]

If cost is a problem, you can probably sell the extra set of sails for the price of the boat. Or keep them ashore and have insurance against a major expense. I second the idea of providing her with a plywood rudder.

Chip V.

[kmclemore]

Is this where I chime in with something witty like... "Nothing Ventured, nothing gained"?

[Catigale]

oowwwwww...we have been KMac'd....

[DanInCanton]

It's going to be a lot of work getting that old girl back up and running, but it's not a bad price for an intact project boat. If you have the time and energy, more power to you. The trailer may not be safe/suitable for long-range hauls, so factor that into your decision. As a previous poster noted, it does look like repair filler on the starboard side about mid-cockpit in the photo...if that is the case, I would walk away. Also, it looks like the rub rail channel is bent in the same location and the rail itself is missing. You should be able to crank up the centerboard a few inches while on the trailer to get an idea of whether the winch is working or not. The board should have been left down, resting on the trailer frame during storage; If not, check carefully for deformation in the hull around the trailer bunks.

If you aren't excited about the idea of doing the restoration work, I wouldn't get involved. There are lots of old used boats on the market ready to sail away for $1500 to $2500, and you'll probably end up putting at least that much into her right off the bat.

Having said that, if you decide not to buy the boat yourself and it is located within a few hundred miles of Ohio, let me know...I would be willing to buy it myself just for the mast and the sails.

[81venture]

Hah! For $300 buy it!!!!

You got two sets of sails, a decent hull...trailer looks ok.

I could make soooo much $$ on that if it were close to me. Those winches sell for at least $100 each...

You can make your OWN rudder assembly yourself. It's not hard to do with simple hand tools...I want to replace my resin/glass covered rudder with a true wood one I can stain and polyurethane later on.

It would be easy to get some regular plywood, cut and glue it together, then coat with resin and or/mat and paint it.
The Keel doesn't look that bad....check the bolt and the cable but otherwise it looks as "bad" as mine does.

I see close to $1200 easy if you Donald Trump the boat.

Don't be a chicken

If it doesn't end up working for you there is plenty of money to be made stripping it, and then save some gear for the boat you do buy...

i did the same thing with the "Ss Crackboat" and I cleared close to $2k easy for my $400 purchase

Cheers

Dave

[ntzman28]

It is a heck of a deal in a monetary sense, and as others have said, the rest is work, and that really depends on how much time you have to devote to. In the case of our project, I found last year that work and travel and life and getting married and having my first grandchild were all getting in the way of working on the boat, so I finally broke down in January and paid a boat yard to work on all the parts that would be in the water and run the running rigging kit I bought from Cajun Ropes. Even after that, I had a lot of work to do, scrubbing the inside, pressure washing, organizing, sorting out the motor situation, etc. All in all, I wound up being very surprised at how long it all took to actually get to sailing, probably a five month process, although admittedly that was only a couple of days per week when I was home. I'm very happy with our 25, and I know it extremely well, which I think is right and just with a boat of any kind. That having been said, I could have had a boat ready to sail, with a good trailer,for probably under $3k if I wouldn't have got hung up on all the potential I tend to see in old modes of transportation of any kind. I'm in for easily double that at this point, not counting the time. Again, for all that, I've got a pretty boat, new tires, new motor, new running rigging, new sonar/gps, new battery, new switches, new stereo and speakers, recovered interior cushions and so on, just saying it took a lot more than I anticipated. Love it though, and as someone reminded me early in the process, don't try to put balance sheet on a boat, since the measure of what it's worth is not in dollars or hours, but in the joy it brings you.

ntzman28
Eagle Mountain Lake
Azle, TX

[Johnacuda]

Where are you located? I'd say snatch it up quickly. If you are anywhere near NY, I have a nice reliable, low-hour, 2004 Johnson 4 hp 4-stroke that I can let go cheap. I even have an old Edel 540 rudder you can have to adapt or pull the hardware/tiller from.

[Catigale]

That flora looks like South to me...SC or GA?

[Johnacuda]

That flora looks like South to me...SC or GA?

LOL I couldn't play psychic and read the registration numbers.

[Catigale]

I can't see any on the boat or cars so will have to wait for the OP

[Catigale]

Search for Fix it and Sail by Brian Gilbert for some insight into a project like this