32' Morgan Rebuild

[denniswbaber@aol.com]

Hello All,

We've recently purchased a 32' Morgan, w/ the interior completely removed. I'm looking for original plans, so that I can rebuild it to specs, also if any one can recommend a few books on woodworking for sailboats! Any help would be greatly appreciated!​

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What have I got myself in to? I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time asking for advice on this forum.

So what's a 4,000 lb lead keel worth at the scrap yard?

Thanks,

Dennis Baber and Fam!​

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[Stu Jackson]

"This Old Boat" by Don Casey is THE book for you. Others may have additional ideas for interiors, but you either rebuild as original which may have had some drawbacks, or you design for new.

Look at earlier postings about lead keels, same question.

Good luck, nice boat.

 

[tommays]

If you google Morgan 32 sailboat you start to find pictures and owner groups


I am looking at a CAL 29 that needs a lot of work and was able find most anything by taking the time to look through all the dead ends to find the good info

 

[Ross]

Why would you want to build back the original? This is your opportunity to custom design the interior to meet the needs and desires of you AND your family. How old is the hull? how old are the kids? do you plan to sail with a pet(s)? What does it have for an engine? Will you keep that engine?

 

[sailormanbigd]

Go for it, hell its only time and money. I think the M32 is a good boat to rebuild. I am rebuilding a 33 outisland. Spending money is all up to you. What you put in it. A new stove and oven or a bunsen burner kindof thing. I am at least following the design for bulkhead placement as I am not an engineer. Have fun and go for it. Patrick

 

[denniswbaber@aol.com]

Ross....

The hull is an 82, and the exterior of the boat looks great. The kids are 5, 3, 1 ... My wife and I are considering this the starter/practice boat, before we live aboard. I picked it up for $1,500.00 and I'm hopefull that after rebuild I can resell it for a small profit, and continue to upgrade? (thoughts) if not I'll probably keep it, and do some day sails, or Island trips? (thoughts)

As of right now, there is no engine, although I do have a 25hp Mariner I was planning on mounting to the transom. I'm very seriously considering not installing an inboard at all... The issues of closing off the engine space, adding heat barriers, and gasoline amd exuast fumes and concerns, are steering me away from installing the deisel engine.

Does anyone have suggestions for interior woods? Obviously, I'm trying to minimize expenses, but I'd like something that'll look nice finished.

And, lastly I'm dying to take her sailing now! Is this structurally feasible, or a bad idea?

Thanks again for al of the encouragement!!! I'll besure to post a couple of pics as we go!

 

[Ross]

I rebuild Bietzpadlin from a bare hull. Islander 30 1968. I went first clas on every thing and spent a lot of money. I use cypress wood for the interior with some locust and black walnut n areas that were high strength and vunerable to getting wet. The boat is certainly large enough to serve for day trips or serious cruising. There are some good books for study. Bingham has written on interiors as has Ian Nicholson and others. What you have is in the same catagory as a shell house it needs and interior and how you do it is a matter of choise but I suggest that if you make it just as you want it you will keep it for many years. Do the work such that later you won't be wishing that you had done it a little better or thought about it a little more carefully.

 

[Prime Time]

Profit from Rebuild?

I did a major rebuild on my Mirage. Bottom job, thru hulls, seacocks, all hoses, new bulkheads, electrical system, ports, bulkheads, running rigging, etc...If you plan on a return on your money, better figure our what your boat goes for in good shape. IMHO I think most people underestimate (myself included!!) how much goes into a renovation. Resale of a boat like yours without an inboard might be difficult. There are tons of boats out there at very reasonable prices. Figure out how much you are willing to budget on a rebuild and go shopping to compare.

 

[Stu Jackson]

A couple of specific generalities

These are my personal ideas, which is what you asked for. In addition to my book suggestion above, as a result of your new info in your reply #6.

A 32 foot boat with an outboard engine just is not "right" and would not sell, ever, especially with a big, read: heavy, 25 hp motor. Folks with Catalina 25s have 9.9 HP 4 strokes that weigh close to or just over 100 pounds and they are seriously complaining about access, removal, adequate brackets and mounting. Older 7.5 HP 2 strokes were all of less than 75 lbs. The stern / transom may not be able to support that weight.

If you have a lazarette with a well that you can install the outboard, then seriously think about how the outboard will get hauled out of the water when sailing. Keeping it in the water in a well is not good for the engine, the shaft material is aluminum - bad corrosion. For instance, the Catalina 27 with outboard engines was designed for a certain size engine to be able to pick it (tilt it) out of the water when sailing. When engines got bigger, the old engine well wasn't adequate and many owner modifications had to be made.

A small diesel is appropriate for that size boat, and the simple shaft log and stern tube design has been around since they invented propeller shafts through hulls and still work quite well.

Determine if you're going "basic" or like bells & whistles, which will determine the details of any electrical support systems. Hand water pumps, hot water or solar showers? Separate wants & needs.

You really have to make up a design criteria before you even get started with the plans.

Young kids: a temptation to make as many berths as possible will end up with a claustrophobic boat with too many small cabins. Resist the urge. Either the kids will love sailing and you'll keep the boat, in which case it'll seem way too small with multiple small cabins; or the kids will hate sailing and it'll be just you and your wife or maybe just you - how many cabins do just (the two of or just) YOU really need? The original layout was probably a good sea boat, too.

If you plan an "historic" renovation, then that's something else, and your history research should be interesting, informative, and could be just plain fun. But then you will have to be pretty good with woodworking and materials selection or else the historic part will just be a copycat with no special cachet.

Like any boat purchase (understood that yours is already purchased, but you have a bare hull) YOU have to decide what the intended purpose of the boat will be and build for that.

And for goodness sake, please, don't put a Euro-style open V berth C270 interior in a nice boat like that!

Good luck, sounds like fun, keep us posted.

 

[Hermit Scott]

I definitely agree with Stu about not mounting an outboard on that boat. That is not the right thing to do. No one will buy that boat with an outboard hanging off the back. If they do, they will want it cheap enough to be able to afford putting a diesel inside. One of the main reasons is in rough weather that outboard will be popping up out of the water and revving up and not propelling the boat forward. When you install an engine correctly, there are no exaust fumes or fuel smell in the cabin. Diesels are fuel injected and encased in a water jacket.
The price you paid is kind of deceptive. Even if the previous owner gave you the boat and $3000 to fix it up, you are still looking at $10,000 to make a safe boat you would want to put your family on. Oh yeah and the time. You will pour countless hours into it. Ross is right on when he says make it like you want to keep it forever. No one will appriciate what you have done with it more than you.
I am in the middle of what you are starting. I take my time and look for deals and buy nothing at reatail if I can help it. I should have kept track of what I was spending. I spent $3500 on the boat and probably another 5k or 6k on parts. and many many hours. I love it though. I wouldn't have done it differently. Now I know everything about my boat. This is my first boat so there was a steep learning curve about how to fix everything. Every aspect of repairing your boat is a small religion on how to do it right. Forget about sailing for now, just love fixing it or you'll never get to sail it.

 

[denniswbaber@aol.com]

Stu!!! "This Old Boat" !!! I owe you one! I just bought this book, and I haven't put it down for 2 days! I feel so much more confident in this entire endeavor.

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice!

Pictures coming soon.

 

[BobM]

I'd DEFINITELY check the decks for moisture. If the decks aren't reasonably sound this won't be much of a bargain. I looked at a $10000 boat that turned out to have tons of improperly mounted deck hardware and the most saturated decks the surveyor had ever seen. The broker was the marina owner and the only way the boat was worth repairing was DIY. She wasn't worth $5000 in her condition. Now if she had no interior she would have been literally worthless.

So if you didn't get a survey, break out your plasitic hammer or a plastic handled screwdriver and start tapping, especially around deck hardware (genoa tracks, chain plates, winches, mast steps, cleats, cockpit floor, stanchions...etc..). A sharp sound = good, a dull sound = bad. Pick what should be a dry area for reference. Somewhere in the middle of the deck with no protrusions around and a wet spot, to teach your ear a little.