I found a Venture22 sailboat for sale $1500 but they say the keel fell off into the lake. What would it take to find a new one and reattach it? I am new to sailboats and I am looking for a 22 foot trailerable boat. Any help would be appreciated.
Izzy
Run, don't walk, to the nearest exit on this one!
Here is my story of woe: (cue sad music here)
I did the same thing when looking for my first boat. A charity advertised a Mac 25 for $1000 without the keel. I figured it would be an easy fix.
When I got to the charity location, I found out that someone else in the group had just sold off the mast, boom, and rigging as well. That should have been a sign...
I was urged by "someone" to get it anyway - that those things could be found and easly replaced. Stupid me, I listened. (and, surprisingly, we still talk to this day)
I was lucky. I searched through many sources with no luck. I happpened to find a boat scrapper who just happened to have "parts that might work". I negotiated with the seller to lower the price enough to compensate for the items needed.
I then went to the scrapper - over 100 miles away. He did have a keel (he was using it as a ramp to transition between a gravel yard and his concrete driveway). He said he had a "mast that would work". Yet, it was from a different vessel. Wrong spreaders and such. My faith in the project began to wain.
There were other things wrong with this boat as well, but the story is getting a bit long here as it is.:zzz:
To summarize, I ended up spending $1000 plus time and energy to gather a bunch of parts, which to this day I'm still trying to figure out how to make into a working vessel. In the meantime, I have come across a number of other boats, and even picked up a newer Mac 25 (complete this time, thank God) for $1000.
Take your time, look at a number of boats, watch the advertisements such as Craigslist, and you'll be sure to find a better deal.
'Nuf said.
Pics of my disaster attached...
