VN23 New Owner, New Mods

[Venture Out]

I am the new owner of Dave's VN23 (aka 81venture). I couldn't be more excited. She's in good hands and Dave was cool enough to let me store the boat at his place for the season. As you all have heard, Dave has upgraded to a Mac 26 and he's probably posting some awesome mods on another thread.

I bought the "pirate ship" from Dave last week. Myself, my wife, a friend, and Dave all took the boat out to Falls Lake and had a great time. We ran the "lake rig" for about an hour and Dave showed us the ropes. After building some confidence we got her heel over a little!

We spent a couple of days last week getting her ready to travel. After some elbow grease, a new battery, and some trailer lights, my wife and I trailered her down to Holden Beach for the 4th. It's been a great trip so far. We've motored her through the intracoastal and even pulled the jib out for a little while. Unfortunately, the seas have been pretty rough, so we've been limited to just the waterways. Hoping for calmer/less windy seas before we leave.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132755823 ... ed-public/

Since we've been at the beach, Dave bought another VN23! He's been sending me pics of all the stuff we can salvage and add to my new boat. I've never been more excited to come home from a vacation. Can't wait to start doing my own custom mods to this awesome boat. I'm a noob to the forum, and still trying to figure out how to upload attachments/images. Will be posting pics of the new mods soon!

Arrrrg,

J

[kmclemore]

Welcome! Glad to have you join our 'club' here. They'll be lots advice here for you if you need it. Good luck with your new Mac!

[Tomfoolery]

When I wrap your flickr url in UBB code to show the image, I get a little place holder graphic rather than the image. I've seen that before with flickr images, though the issue may be with my computer rather than flickr.



For a quick post, I often use http://www.tinypic.com. No sign-up required, but no way to track uploaded pics either (unless you keep track yourself). I copied your image and uploaded it to tinypic. Click 'quote' to see what the image link looks like. Tinypic returns four links, one of which has the proper ubb code on each end, so you just copy and paste the link right into your post. Leave a blank line before and after for best readability.



And welcome to the forum. Make mine pepperoni. Two slices.

[Russ]

Welcome to boat ownership and the Macgregorsailors forum. Yea, Dave seems to have a boat buying disease. What does his wife call him, Sanford?

That's a great boat and I'm glad to ditched that lake mast. A proper rig will be so much more fun. Be careful as a noob. I hope the 4th weekend isn't as insane as the places I've been on the 4th.
Also, get educated on boating. Lots to know. I'm not sure what the regulations are in NC, however many states require some education and certification to operate a boat.
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Boa ... ochure.pdf
I'm a big proponent of boating education. USPS offers near free courses. Check it out
http://www.usps.org/index.html/index.ph ... ng-courses

Since at this point you are probably on vacation, please post stories.

--Russ

[Hamin' X]

When I wrap your flickr url in UBB code to show the image, I get a little place holder graphic rather than the image. I've seen that before with flickr images, though the issue may be with my computer rather than flickr.

Flickr has always been difficult, but they have simplified it a bit. if you go to Jason's link and look at the lower right, there is a swoopy arrow pointing to the right. This is the share link. Click on it and select the BBcode link and copy the code. then paste into your post. For privacy, I recommend deleting everything on both sides of the tags; it just cleans things up a bit. The result is below.

Original Flickr code:

Code: Select all

[url=https://flic.kr/p/uB5GoN][img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/499/18774983194_dd344aa7c7_k.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/uB5GoN]IMG_0291[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/132755823@N05/]Jason Jinorio[/url], on Flickr

Cleaned up Flickr code:

Code: Select all

[img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/499/18774983194_dd344aa7c7_k.jpg[/img]

Result:

[Venture Out]

Thanks for the welcome and all the advice! Today was a great day. We had beautiful weather and spent a couple hours motoring in the intracoastal earlier. The seas are still choppy, so I didn't want to test my luck. Other than one moron who flew past us in his yacht, cruising was pretty laid back. The tide is out right now, once it starts coming back in we'll probably go out for one last cruise. Maybe even go out tonight and watch fireworks from the water!

To RussMT's point, the 4th at Holden is pretty hectic. LOTS of boats out, but I didn't expect anything less. We were extra careful and haven't had any incidents yet (knock on wood). Russ, I read up on your links about boat education. Looks like NC requires you to take a boat safety course if you're motoring a boat with a motor that is greater than 10 HP. I'm running an 8 HP Tohatsu that Dave let me borrow for the weekend, but I think I'll still take a course regardless. My uncle showed up to the beach yesterday and offered me an old 25 HP Johnson that's been sitting for a few years. I'm sure I can get it running again. Any recommendation on max outboard size for the VN23? I feel like 25 HP would be like putting a jet engine on a kayak. Any advice would be great.

Thanks for the tips on posting pics. Here's a few from today. I'm heading back home tomorrow and will be heading to Dave's (aka the Rolesville Marina) where my new VN23 mods await me .


My Wife, Shelly


Holden Beach Bridge


Anxious to leave the dock

Yargg,

J

[81venture]

I finally got a chance to get back on...

"Venture Out" I like it

RussMT is right, I do have a disease....but it is a lot of fun, and I get to meet a lot of cool people. I am very glad that although I did sell the Vn23 I still get to have a hand in working on her. The New Venture I bought is Captain Judy's old boat....she's in pretty sad shape at the moment...When I picked it up the stern was so full of water that the trailer was sitting on it's ass and the boat had slid off some. I had to drill a hole in the stern to drain it just to get it the two and a half hours back. Most of the things on it are going to be cherry picked off for Jason's boat. Then we will re-rig this one as best we can and sell it. Her days as a VN23 are pretty much over....all the wood is missing, no rudder, and no boom. luckily I have some booms and a spare rudder in my hoard pile....but she will make someone a basic sailboat

The Pirate ship is still sporting the Oday mast Russ....it's only 4 ft shorter than an OEM mast, and there is no noticeable difference in sailing....it's not the first "lake Rig" with the hobie anymore. She sails as well as any other sloop rig would, but mast raising is a one man operation and no winches or gin poles required...its also very handy being able to "dip" under a bridge if needed....Since I now have 2 OEM Vn23 masts we will be making sure Jason can switch if he wants to....He's in good hands.

The 25 is way to much weight for the motor mount...but I have another guy I sold a ski boat too was given a 9.9 sailmaster.....Just like the 25 it hasn't been started in years, but is a good motor and perfect for your boat. I am hoping we can work a trade with him and get the motor you need....meanwhile just keep using my tohatsu 8 until we can find you a perfect motor..

Stay tuned....going to be lots of adventures!

Still jelly you got her to the coast first...I owned her 3 years and never could get down there with all the in-law issues we have had

Cheers

Dave

[81venture]

BTW the "Safety Course" is only REQUIRED if you were born after 1988.....that is why I never took one, nor am required to...as I am an old fart

can't remember how old you are, but you may be exempt as well.....still a good idea if you want, couldn't hurt.

I however am not planning on taking it as I have been on the water for over 20 years...

[Catigale]

1988... I have warts older than that....



No point going bigger than a 8 or 9 HP motor on the sailing hulls. They don't have the flat portion which lets them be powerboats, so HP over hull speed requirement ( about 6 HP) is wasted.

[Rumdirty]

BTW the "Safety Course" is only REQUIRED if you were born after 1988.....that is why I never took one, nor am required to...as I am an old fart

can't remember how old you are, but you may be exempt as well.....still a good idea if you want, couldn't hurt.

I however am not planning on taking it as I have been on the water for over 20 years...

All my kids have been born before that date. I must be decrepit!

[Venture Out]

So I've begun taking apart the VN23 that Dave (aka 81venture) bought the other day. This boat is in pretty rough shape. It's obviously been neglected for a long time. So far, I've pumped over 30 gallons of water out of the cabin.The plan is to take some of the salvageable pieces, add them to my boat, and fix up this old one to sell it. The stuff we've found so far is awesome. The biggest find was a blue pop top enclosure that covers the entire pop top and hangs down. And it matches the hull and bimini! There was also a nice wooden floor for the cockpit. I plan on taking the pulpit and bowspirit off the old boat and installing it in mine. It's in great shape and I like how the puplit extends all the way forward. Can't wait to get it installed. I'm also planning on reusing some of the electrical components and whatever else I might be able to find on this beater. There was a solar panel sitting in water in the cabin, not sure if it works. There's also a galley that would be a nice addition to mine, but there was a bullfrog underneith it when I was checking it out earlier. Lots more work to be done!

Here's a couple pics of the old VN23 that Dave bought:





My boat with the new pop top enclosure:




Arg,

Jason

[81venture]

hmm...the frog is going to cost you extra

Sent you a message today..A bunch of friends coming over to the Marina tonight to have a "work on our boats" party....come join us


Will be live music (consists on us beating on the instruments) and a lot of beer

I have unpacked all the boxes of crap came with that Vn23 and found a lot of cool stuff...Can't wait to see what ya'll do with some of this stuff...the pirate ship is really going to look amazing

Cheers
Dave

[Russ]

Landlocked Marina party at Sanford's. Sounds like a must attend.

[TaZ-n-Izzy]

Venture Out...welcome to the forum

...Where i can get that enclosure...toomany bugs here in the island

[Russ]

BTW, I think that Venture 23 was the coolest looking boat Roger ever made. Such a classic boat. The actual wood trim on the boat and wood combing. Love that boat.

But lose the lake mast and sail it properly. Dave needs to learn the glory of sailing a proper rig.