The last several months have been spent diving into my search for a sailboat I can singlehand and liveaboard.
.
Hitting many online forums, getting advice from the members, reading books, viewing YouTube videos, accessing other online resources as well as speaking with many sailors in person, I decided on the 1985 Hunter 28.5... the Osprey.
.
Some folks have cautioned me to leave it off my list because it no longer had the Yanmar, just a Mercury 9.9 OB, and a Thunderstruck 10kW Electric Motor Propulsion conversion kit... yet to be installed.
.
I'd been to over half-a-dozen marinas, looked at many boats in the water and on the hard, searched online to the south of me... this boat wound up being top of my list.
I purchased her for $6200.00. Other than the motor work to be done, I need to clean up the DC wiring (the PO did put in 2 new RV/MARINE batteries... but the DC system drained them down enough you couldn't even start the OB unless you used the pull-start).
.
I've removed the V-berth and Quarter-berth cushions... smelly, some mold... I am shopping for new foam, will purchase new fabric and sew new covers.
The cabin sole has a soft spot, so I'll be pulling that out and seeing if I can save it by cleaning up the underside damage and reinforcing it.
.
I'll be going through the toilet, checking the joker valve and other seals and hoses. I need to replace the manual pump for the tank, located out in the cockpit locker. I will also move the boat over to the pumpout station and see what I can get out of that.
.
Fortunately, the AC checks out! But while working on the DC, I will look into modernizing the whole system, possibly replacing my switch panel... looking a bit long in the tooth.
.
Go over all deck/mast lighting to ensure everything meets requirements
.
I'll remove the interior wall coverings and replace them as well.
.
Other things to do include...
- Inventory all line for condition, proper size and type.
- Rebed forward hatch and small hatch over saloon
- Dive again on the boat and do a full hull cleaning and zinc inspection (did a cursory dive on it early in my inspection period)
- Start planning on replacing and installing backing plates for deck hardware
- Clean, repair, and/or replace Companionway cover, sail cover, wheel cover....
- Make new docklines
- Purchase and install new VHF radio (old Standard Horizon currently in shop for a checkup)
- Likely to sell old, unused, Raymarine plotter and depth sounder equipment, purchasing more modern equipment in anticipation of coastal sailing in the future
.
So it's mid-April.... figuring by June it'll be ready to circumnavigate.... the marina! LOL
.
There's other things like reinstalling the stereo, going through the whole fresh water system, setting up the bar-b-que and having a nice cookout onboard...
As she sits currently.... once I get the mold/smell issue taken care of... I could move onboard!
Planning on a few nights each week, then fulltime later.
I'm just wanting to get the feel for living in/on a sailboat and having lived in confined spaces before in my life, like pickup truck, tents, even a cave... I'm thinking I can handle this as well.
.
For the initial price, the condition of the boat, what I need to do and want to do in the immediate future... I'm happy with the purchase!
I have people offering help and advice for the boat... for sailing... a friend who really wants to sail on my boat (he has been sailing a long time, currently sails a Coronado 23, and is a member of the Yacht Club)... so I should be able to get some good experience sailing in our bay before venturing over the bar and into the wide open of the coast.
No rush! ....yet... hahaha
.
Taking sailing classes on Lasers and Coronado 15's.
Planning on buying myself one of those small craft so I can not only sail local lagoons and the bay in them, but take my girlfriend and her daughters out to see if they get the sailing bug as well. I've taken my GF out on Hobie Cats and she did well.
She thinks the Osprey is, "...kinda small!" hahaha
But she's excited at the prospect of sailing around the local waters as well!
.
Hitting many online forums, getting advice from the members, reading books, viewing YouTube videos, accessing other online resources as well as speaking with many sailors in person, I decided on the 1985 Hunter 28.5... the Osprey.
.
Some folks have cautioned me to leave it off my list because it no longer had the Yanmar, just a Mercury 9.9 OB, and a Thunderstruck 10kW Electric Motor Propulsion conversion kit... yet to be installed.
.
I'd been to over half-a-dozen marinas, looked at many boats in the water and on the hard, searched online to the south of me... this boat wound up being top of my list.
I purchased her for $6200.00. Other than the motor work to be done, I need to clean up the DC wiring (the PO did put in 2 new RV/MARINE batteries... but the DC system drained them down enough you couldn't even start the OB unless you used the pull-start).
.
I've removed the V-berth and Quarter-berth cushions... smelly, some mold... I am shopping for new foam, will purchase new fabric and sew new covers.
The cabin sole has a soft spot, so I'll be pulling that out and seeing if I can save it by cleaning up the underside damage and reinforcing it.
.
I'll be going through the toilet, checking the joker valve and other seals and hoses. I need to replace the manual pump for the tank, located out in the cockpit locker. I will also move the boat over to the pumpout station and see what I can get out of that.
.
Fortunately, the AC checks out! But while working on the DC, I will look into modernizing the whole system, possibly replacing my switch panel... looking a bit long in the tooth.
.
Go over all deck/mast lighting to ensure everything meets requirements
.
I'll remove the interior wall coverings and replace them as well.
.
Other things to do include...
- Inventory all line for condition, proper size and type.
- Rebed forward hatch and small hatch over saloon
- Dive again on the boat and do a full hull cleaning and zinc inspection (did a cursory dive on it early in my inspection period)
- Start planning on replacing and installing backing plates for deck hardware
- Clean, repair, and/or replace Companionway cover, sail cover, wheel cover....
- Make new docklines
- Purchase and install new VHF radio (old Standard Horizon currently in shop for a checkup)
- Likely to sell old, unused, Raymarine plotter and depth sounder equipment, purchasing more modern equipment in anticipation of coastal sailing in the future
.
So it's mid-April.... figuring by June it'll be ready to circumnavigate.... the marina! LOL
.
There's other things like reinstalling the stereo, going through the whole fresh water system, setting up the bar-b-que and having a nice cookout onboard...
As she sits currently.... once I get the mold/smell issue taken care of... I could move onboard!
Planning on a few nights each week, then fulltime later.
I'm just wanting to get the feel for living in/on a sailboat and having lived in confined spaces before in my life, like pickup truck, tents, even a cave... I'm thinking I can handle this as well.
.
For the initial price, the condition of the boat, what I need to do and want to do in the immediate future... I'm happy with the purchase!
I have people offering help and advice for the boat... for sailing... a friend who really wants to sail on my boat (he has been sailing a long time, currently sails a Coronado 23, and is a member of the Yacht Club)... so I should be able to get some good experience sailing in our bay before venturing over the bar and into the wide open of the coast.
No rush! ....yet... hahaha
.
Taking sailing classes on Lasers and Coronado 15's.
Planning on buying myself one of those small craft so I can not only sail local lagoons and the bay in them, but take my girlfriend and her daughters out to see if they get the sailing bug as well. I've taken my GF out on Hobie Cats and she did well.
She thinks the Osprey is, "...kinda small!" hahaha
But she's excited at the prospect of sailing around the local waters as well!