FREE BOAT, SCENE ONE-ACT ONE-WITH PICS!!!!

[sailormanbigd]

Hello all, just spent 6 hours on "free dumb". The past post about getting a free morgan 33oi. Well today i drove there, took pics-they only let me post one-if i can get it right. It was difficult to decide where to begin. The inside was trash and had stuff floating. All the po stuff was in the drawers and shelves. But it was soggy and stinky. He had a sump pump settup in the bilge, problem is that the sump has a float, and the float is about six inches above the bottom of the pump. The boat never dried out, alwas had about a foot of water in the bilge-just above the floor. So, took out about a dozen garbage bags of nasty junk, sprayed bleach everywear, and cleaned it up abit. I have run into stuff i am not familiar with. There is a cylinder thin like a small propane tank with a gauge and a nipple? In the cockpit settee there is a tire pump connected to another thingy. THe steering wheel turns like butter, but the rudder does'nt move. Undernieth it has a small chain connected to a small box with what feels like brake lines comming out of it. I am used to seeing a big wheel wit a cable on it. The motor is almost inposible to get to, like the built the boat around it. From underneith the cockpit it looks like a flange and a sepperate floor, like a hatch, but from up to in the cockpit it looks finished. I think you have to remove the cockpit floor to get the engine out?Thanks Ross for the tick stick post, but i am too tired to understand, I smell like raw sewage. Oh, where is the toilet holding tank anyway? Tomorrow i will go at it with a sawzall to remove the floor and prep for bilkhead. Thanks all. Patrick

 

[CharlieCobra]

You can post links to

pics in a free service like Photobucket. I do it and it works great.

 

[higgs]

Have at it

For free - what have you got to lose? You seem to be ready to take on the challenge. You will end up ripping out a lot of the stuff you desrcibe once you figure out what it does. First thing is to track down how all that water got in. Is it salty or is it fresh?.

 

[Ross]

Patrick, There is something to be said

for rustic and paint. It doesn't have to be teak and mahogany all with 12 coats of varnish. Hold the float up on the sump pump and run it until the bilge is empty. Use a GFCI outlet on your sawsall and save your life.

 

[Stillraining]

So far

I like scene one act one. 20 years ago I would have went for it.

 

[sailormanbigd]

thanks for the advice again Ross

hi, last look befor bed. How do i use gfci on an extension cord? Maybe the dock power already has it? How do I tell,reset button? The po called me after the post. The canister-propane like tank with gauge and nipple is an alcohol stove pressure tank. The tire pump in the cockpit setee hatch is for pressurizing the hydraulic steering, that has some kind of leak in the hydraulic ram hose? He is giving me an emergency tiller. I plan to work on the boat wed, and thurs. Then work sat and sun. With luck i will be moving the boat next week. Gotta get it out of there, the dock fees are due jan1 at over 700$. I don't have that kind of money. will put down temp floor and bulkhead and scrape banicles, instll outboard bracket and 8hp outboard and limp it to Hudson, if it all happens.Its a 1-1/2 hour drive to downtown Tampa and will be much easier to fix in Hudson-10min trip, and no deadlines. Going to bed to det up early in am. Patrick

 

[Jim]

Nothing is FREE

Remember that. There is NO free luch in this world!

 

[Stillraining]

You can buy

a GFI circirt breaker that looks like a very short extension cord at Home Depo or what ever you have over there , and put it in-line up at the dock ( Not! at the tool ) This is where it starts 20 bucks here 20 bucks there.

 

[Benny]

Tow it with a powerboat at slow speed.

You should be able to cover 30-40 miles inside 10 hours. With no rudder nor hull structural integrity maintain the stress on the hull to a minimum. When you say a sump pump do you mean a 120V pump? Do what Ross suggests, hold the float switch up and get as much water out as you can. Mop up or soak the rest. Locate all through the hulls and check for leaks. Check keel bolts for leaks. Open the engine cover and check the packing gland and tube for leaks. There is a possibility that the sump pump is there just to keep it afloat so thoroughly check for leaks and consider fixing them before moving the boat. Have a back up plan to dispose of the boat if after you accept it, you should find a fault that is not practical to repair. You have not mentioned if the boat has a title and if it is clear of liens. It would be heart breaking if after you put considerable money and hard work into it for you to loose it because it owed money to some salvage company, marina, mechanic or others. Money spent on getting and acquiring a good title should be among the first expenditures you should make after determining that it is worthwhile fix it.From what I can see in the picture it looks a lot better than the derelict I anticipated so maybe it is worth a try. Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[sailormanbigd]

try more pics

here it goes for more pics, i think-not real putr savy

 

[Fred F.]

Your links don't

When I take out the "[/IMG][/URL]" part at the end of the url, it worksRegards

 

[Fred F.]

After seeing this pics ....

Grab the outboard, the anchor and the garden hose and run like hell.Regards.

 

[Tom s/v GAIA]

Hey, if you want it to happen

You can make it work, I wish I would have had that to start with!!Just keep us posted.Toms/v GAIA

 

[Stillraining]

I have my hands

on my wallet just loking at thease pictures, Patrick *yksBut its doable, just not practical. But then again I was never practical with my first dream either . Looking forward to watching this one evolve.

 

[Jim]

You have to love that boat to save her

She is not a classic. She never be worth what you are going to spend to fix her up. You have to love it like an old dog you just can't put to sleep.

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

looking good patrick!

Hey Patrick you will probably sail further in the next week, on a boat you own outright, in nicer weather than most any other poster here!! P.s. a wet/dry shop vac can really help get the last of the water out of bilge. Also will help pull a bunch of the stank out if you exhaust topsides. Enjoy! Lance

 

[Napa Ed]

Don't touch it. It's evil.

That boat will be a timebandit. Nothing in those pictures offers much hope. There is nothing worth keeping. Go on Craigslist and you'll find something that can be sailed next spring for $5000. Ross is a nice guy and supportive, but this is wrong. Run away.

 

[sailormanbigd]

nuts

you guys are nuts. So far i have invested $2.50 for bleach, $4 for toll, and $15 for gas. Plus 9 hours of my time. Sure the boat is very rough but it is an empty slate to which I can remodel to my own desires. I have already learned alot about the "big boat" that hope to someday have. Before i knew nothing about flushable head, maserrators, Air cond, hot wAter heaters, thru hulls, inboard diesel engine, wheel stearing, and on and on. What was an unknown will become known. I will learn how to install and plumb a marine head, REmove and install an inboard diesel, and so much more. The money that i spend will be neglegable compared to the knowledge i will recieve. Also, it will be in smaller increments than if i bought a boat, remember it is free. Can't you remember your first boat and the feelings it gave you, the unlimited energy you had to fix it up? In two week i will have a sailable 33 footer with only a few hundred dollars invested. Then I will methodically remove, redesign,and replace items as I go along. Hell i can sail it out to the island and do work on it. Majority of the work will be manhours, not money. The things that need replacing are things that always need replacing; running rigging, through hulls, cabin sole, motor, pumps, and wirering. topside paint and bottom paint, etc. I will do it all myself to save money and to be self reliant sailor.

 

[Marcia]

Recommended Reading

Two invaluable books I've found: "Fix it and Sail" by Brian Gilbert and "This Old Boat" by Don Casey. Great info for those days or nights you WON'T be working your butt off on the boat. Of course there are many, many more great reference books. Best wishes with your project boat. Keep us posted - I for one am very interested in your progress reports and bottom line numbers when all is said and done.

 

[Jim]

You can sail a raft with a broom for a mast

and a sheet for a sail too! This boat is big trouble.Buy it sound like you love it so good luck!I am sure if the engine runs you can restore her for under $20,000!