Reaching out as I embark on my first iteration of making a terrible financial (but excellent quality-of-life!) decision to start a boat project, and hoping to learn from your collective experience...
I've been gifted an old sailing dinghy by neighbors trying to cut down on boat projects. I'm a beginner sailor living in the San Juan Islands, and I decided to take this on in the hopes that it will be quite the learning opportunity - and humble me with regards to money/time required to keep these things in proper shape! The way I see it, better to take on a rusty musty trailer sailer to play around with now on a small budget than impulse buy a money pit cruiser just because she looks like the one that will take me to Baja some years from now
I've identified it as a Lido 14 based on design, although transom modifications appear to have been made. The hull looks to be sound. Came with a trailer, sails, mast/boom, rudder, rigging, and a handful of unattached hardware...also two non-standard centerboards (?) One is fiberglass, shown in the boat. The other is solid metal, shown laying on the ground, attached to a line through the centerboard case. The centerboard case has some soft rot spots, looks a bit warped, and I assume there was once a varnished wood cap with hardware installed. I suspect I need new standing and running rigging, a tiller, and to fix or replace the cracked rudder attachment. I'm considering making my own tiller and would appreciate input if anyone has done so. As I'm new to sailing and to sailboats in general, there are parts here that I don't understand and can't match to a factory Lido 14 because of modification or wear & tear.
What do you suggest are the necessary fixes to get this boat out on the water ASAP? Note that I'm working with about a $1K budget.
I've been gifted an old sailing dinghy by neighbors trying to cut down on boat projects. I'm a beginner sailor living in the San Juan Islands, and I decided to take this on in the hopes that it will be quite the learning opportunity - and humble me with regards to money/time required to keep these things in proper shape! The way I see it, better to take on a rusty musty trailer sailer to play around with now on a small budget than impulse buy a money pit cruiser just because she looks like the one that will take me to Baja some years from now
I've identified it as a Lido 14 based on design, although transom modifications appear to have been made. The hull looks to be sound. Came with a trailer, sails, mast/boom, rudder, rigging, and a handful of unattached hardware...also two non-standard centerboards (?) One is fiberglass, shown in the boat. The other is solid metal, shown laying on the ground, attached to a line through the centerboard case. The centerboard case has some soft rot spots, looks a bit warped, and I assume there was once a varnished wood cap with hardware installed. I suspect I need new standing and running rigging, a tiller, and to fix or replace the cracked rudder attachment. I'm considering making my own tiller and would appreciate input if anyone has done so. As I'm new to sailing and to sailboats in general, there are parts here that I don't understand and can't match to a factory Lido 14 because of modification or wear & tear.
What do you suggest are the necessary fixes to get this boat out on the water ASAP? Note that I'm working with about a $1K budget.
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