New owner of a Balboa 20

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Aug 7, 2005
2
- - Jacksonville, FL
It's an amazing feeling to be excited and scared witless at the same time. My wife and I just purchased a 1976 Balboa 20 yesterday. I grew up sailing Sunfish and have some experience on some 27s and 30s that my friends own, but this is the first time I've owned a sailboat. But from what I've read, the Balboa 20 is a good boat. We're not picking her up until next weekend (Aug 20), so I haven't been able to go over her in detail yet. The hull and deck seemed to be in fairly good condition, aside from the spider cracks that I understand are inherent in a boat her age and there are some chips out of the deck. Oh, and the original owner dropped the mast on the hatch and cracked it, but it's nothing a little fiberglass can't fix. The keel looked like it had some minor damage, like part of it was pulling away. I know it's a cast iron keel, so I suppose it was coated with something. Fiberglass maybe? She needs quite a bit of work on the inside. In fact, she's pretty much gutted. Can anyone offer suggestions for restoration? I doubt highly that I’ll ever find anything original, but I'm worried that I won't be able to find parts that will fit. I've done some research on the Internet and found some original brochures/instructions, but haven't found much else. The second owner, who I bought her from, said that the electrical had never even been hooked up, so I'm also looking for wiring schematics. I haven't taken any pics of her yet, but I've included one of the pics from the listing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Dave
 
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Phil

B 20 Restore

I too am in the process (Three years now) of restoring my B20, Theopnuestia. I have her to the point where I can sail now and find myself sailing instead of restoring. Oh well. My B20 has proven to be an excellent boat. She is very easy to sail and very forgiving too. I find that with the genoa up I can make way in very light winds. On the same note She really hauls in 10 - 15 knot winds. Someday I will get back to the restoring but for now I am having too much fun. PS. My wiring was stripped too. I just rewired without a set of schematics. I only have the lights and a bilge pump so it wasn't very difficult. Keep the pointy end towards the sky, Phil
 
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