Looking to buy a Venture 222

[GreenNCSailor]

The hatch doesn't really fit snugly. If the hatch came up much higher, you couldn't get the top closed. Mine takes a good hard tug to pull the top closed over the hatch.

As for cleaning, go pick up a bottle or two of Mold Armor (sold everywhere). Remove wood and vinyl from the cabin, open up all possible ventilation, and just spray anything that isn't smooth (that's most of the ceiling). If you have padding on the ceiling you'll have to decide how to work around or replace it. Be careful not to breath in the fumes when working in tight spaces. After spraying everything, walk away for 10-15 minutes, then come back with the hose and spray out the interior. You'll be amazed.

Next, come back with a bottle of Wisk, a bucket of warm water, a big sponge, and a soft brush. Do your worst with that and rinse with the hose. Now you'll be able to identify the tough spots. If your boat it like mine, you've got perma-dirt ground into the gelcoat on the interior. An acetone-soaked rag helps quite a bit with much of that.

As for paint, there is nothing special about boat paint (on the interior). It's all about the prep work and cure time. I would definitely clean all smooth surfaces to be painted with acetone because you don't know what is on the surface (wax, etc.) You may find after cleaning that you don't need to paint, but you may still want to. Just take the extra day or two to get the prep work done right and you won't have to revisit the project at the end of the season.

I'm painting the ceiling of the interior in my boat, but am trying to decide on something to do with the smooth surfaces that won't just get scuffed up after a season or two. I'm pretty hard on stuff.

wow, it sounds like you have way to much experience cleaning the interior haha! thanks for the advice, that is what I needed. Do you need a respirator to be able to work down there with all those chemicals?

The thing I was most worried about the with hatch sealing issues was rain coming in. We quite frequently get some nice hard sideways rain that would blow right in!

 

[dkdoyle]

Been cleaning boats a long time. Tilex mold and mildew remover. You can pick up several bottles at rhe dollar store. Spray it on and wipe it off. If you kill it all and the vetilate the boat itwill stay clean.
Any left over youcan use on your house.

 

[rgranger]

Haven't paid to much attention to the foam flotation yet... I did see some white blocks up in the bow compartment, should they be elsewhere??

Yes! Do a search on macgregors sinking (two recent posts). You should have foam up under the V-birth, some jammed in under the cockpit and some jammed under the port birth. There is a lot of controversy about the need to have floatation foam on a boat and you will see a lot of different opinions on this forum (might want to search and read?). However, I take my children out on mine and like the peace of mind knowing that the worst that can happen is we get wet and scared but in the end it will be okay.

One more question about cleaning the interior... I thought about just wiping it down by hand instead of pressure washing as there is really not that much surface area... also, could you paint after bleaching it or would it need a quick acetone wipe down... I'm thinking of using the Rustoleum 1 part white epoxy paint you can get at Home Depot for the Interior, about $30 gallon...

Well the boats I got were in really bad condition ( = cheap). One had the companionway hatch rot through, fill with water and a tree was growing in the boat when I got it. The other (my current V222) had several hornets nests, many wasp nests and mud daublers and a family of field mice had made a home in the flotation foam. So I had to pull EVERYTHING out and then I pressure washed the interior. If yours is not that bad.... then great!

Paint! I always use mildew resistant bathroom graded paint on the interior of my boats. At Lowes it comes as a special paint and at Home Depot they add something to the paint. I could be wrong but I go with Home Depot on this one and use a high quality exterior graded paint with the anti-mildew stuff added.

Once your boat is cleaned up, you can keep both the wasps and spiders as well as mildew out by hanging a lady's stocking full of moth balls in the boat when you are not using it. The active ingredient in mothballs is called naphthalene and it is volatile and will become air born and drift around the entire boat. It kills mold spores. In fact the active ingredient in that green wood preservative you spray on your deck is paradichloro-napthalene. The addition of the two chlorine atoms is just to make it less volatile so it stays in the wood but for our use, we want it to be volatile. When you want to use the boat, just remove the stocking, open up the hatches and while you are driving to the ramp, the boat will become aired out.


ENJOY!

 

[Faris]

wow, it sounds like you have way to much experience cleaning the interior haha!

Let's just say it's fresh in my mind.

Do you need a respirator to be able to work down there with all those chemicals?

Depends on you. The only thing that are very harsh are Mold Armor and acetone. Mold Armor is just Tilex only a bit stronger and a buck cheaper. I didn't worry too much about it until I was spraying under the cockpit and got a lung full. Now I use a fan to keep the fumes going the other way. Same with the acetone. Make sure to wear gloves though, and eye protection is probably a good idea.

Definitely, though, give the Mold Armor a try - no scrubbing - just spray, wait, and rinse. I spent an hour scrubbing a couple of square feet with several different substances when I finally went and picked up a bottle. I was done with the whole boat in a half-hour.

Also, I'm assuming you are doing this out of the water and not rinsing into the water supply directly.

The thing I was most worried about the with hatch sealing issues was rain coming in. We quite frequently get some nice hard sideways rain that would blow right in!

Yeah, I hear you. I haven't had this problem, but mine fits a little tighter than yours. When it really rains/blows, I get a few drops blowing through the cracks, but nothing major. You could adjust the track to prevent the hatch from settling down so far, but I would be concerned with producing a gap in the bottom which risks taking on serious water.

 

[GreenNCSailor]

I think I am going to give the Mold Armor a try! We'll see how the interior turns out after that. I will just have to get creative in sealing the hatch, I have a few ideas

I will definitely check out the condition of the flotation, I will be having the family on it as well...

I did get the motor running today, not quite idling right. I ordered a carb rebuild kit and new float, so we'll see how it goes after I get those installed.

Thanks for all the advice and tips, more questions to come!

 

[GreenNCSailor]

ok... so one more question...

I have a number of topside fittings, bolts, cleats, and even the mast base that need to be resealed (small cabin leaks)... what is the recommended way to do this? I have had great luck with OSI Quad caulk which is oil based, super tough and still flexible. I have also seen some recommending butyl tape too.. thoughts on this one??

 

[MrMikey64]

Butyl tape seems to be the way to go, IMO. Another option is 3M 4200 sealant. Do NOT go with 5200.

 

[GreenNCSailor]

MOLD ARMOR rocks!!!

By the time I was done spraying down half the mold was already gone before I even washed it off!! This stuff really did the job well. I let it sit for about 15 mins and they pressure washed it all off. The walls looked pretty good but the floor and ceiling definitely needs some paint. That's my next project!

 

[Tom Stiles]

Roller Reefing

The venture boom is, as far as I can tell, a roller-reefing setup - no reef points in the sail... you ease the halyard, roll up the bottom a bit and lock the boom, then tension again. Won't work with a vang or mid-boom maiinsheet mod, though.

Smithy, or any of the rest of you:

I have never figured out how to "lock the boom". I am not sure if I am missing a part, or just not seeing way to lock it.

I am happy to hear from some other 222 owners, I have been reading on line for several years, but seldom see anything from "us"

 

[Smithy]

There should be a thumb-screw at the base of the boom.

http://macgregor.sailboatowners.com/images/kb/pdf/1361.pdf
See page 8.

 

[Tom Stiles]

Thanks, I will go out tomorrow and see if I can see where a thumbscrew would have been.

 

[timebandit]

Yep, that is the same as my 25.

The screw just screws through the tang and then rests in the sail track to keep the boom from rotating.

There should be a thumb-screw at the base of the boom.

http://macgregor.sailboatowners.com/images/kb/pdf/1361.pdf
See page 8.

 

[Freedom77]

Are you Kiddin'? She's a beaut. You got a deal. Interior is mostly cosmetic. If your worried about gap in hatch and access just put a tarp over it. Looks like the original stern hatch has been replaced, no biggie. What is the Hull #. Mine was #441? We had her for five years and traded up to Freedom. Fair Winds and full sails..

 

[GreenNCSailor]

Check this out! looks like #210 maybe???

Interior ceiling, walls, v-berth are all prepped for painting. I have to finish a few small repairs on the floor and prep everything from the walls down for paint.

I haven't decided what to do or or how much time to invest in redoing the area under the cockpit as I am planning on putting a full wall with quick access for storage...

 

[Tom Stiles]

Yep, that is the same as my 25.

The screw just screws through the tang and then rests in the sail track to keep the boom from rotating.

Smithy and Timebandit:

My "tang" and the "gooseneck swivel" are seperate, are they supposed to be tacked together? If they were attached; I see how you could remove the thumb screw and then rotate the boom and replace the thumb screw to hold the rotated boom, in place. Is that how it is supposed to work?

Thanks for the help. I have been puzzled about this for the last 4 years. Fortunately I havn't had to shorten sail, the few times I have been out but have been wondering how to do if I had to.

Tom Stiles

 

[Freedom77]

Check this out! looks like #210 maybe???

Interior ceiling, walls, v-berth are all prepped for painting. I have to finish a few small repairs on the floor and prep everything from the walls down for paint.

I haven't decided what to do or or how much time to invest in redoing the area under the cockpit as I am planning on putting a full wall with quick access for storage...

Think it might be 510 unless this pic is upside down. If you have the original main the sail # should be the same as the hull #. Fair Winds and Full Sails....

 

[rgranger]

Hmmm

Well I rotated it and it looks like 210 then I rotated followed by a flip it and it looks like 510. (?)

See pics.

 

[GreenNCSailor]

the picture was taken right side up exactly as it looks, so I am assuming it was done upside down which would make it #210??

 

[GreenNCSailor]

I retract my previous comment, I was looking at it from the wrong side. the battery box was covering it up. the hull number is 510

 

[GreenNCSailor]

Took her out on the water today with the previous owner for a test run! The winds were pretty light but we did have a couple gusts that got us moving for a little while.

Here is a short video I took:
http://s867.photobucket.com/albums/ab232/ABankert/?action=view&current=2011-06-12_13-14-31_250.mp4

Also, check out the pic below, the motor in the all the way up position still drags in the water about 2-3 inches, of course it will be more when heeled over.. is this a big deal in performance??