Tips for inspecting a moored Mariner 19?

[Anchored87]

Considering purchasing a Mariner 19 that is described as being in great condition ( painted and cleaned yearly) however, it’s moored. I’m setting up a time to go see it but I assume the mast will be up so I may not get a look at all the rigging up top and im not sure how I’d inspect the hull for blisters / centerboard for flaking / damage.

Any way to get a feel for these things while it’s in the water or should I ask the owner to have the marina pull it out for the visit?

Tangentially, anything else I should explicitly be looking out for in an early 1970s version?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jssailem]

Look for leaks. Water damage. Water lines near the cabin deck. Aged rigging. Sloppy rigging. Soft decks. Hardware that does not work. Rust on stainless. Leaks near ports. sloppy rudder of floppy tiller.

All are some of the usual suspects.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Welcome to SBO, Anchored87. You have come to the right place.

I think inspecting on the mooring is a great advantage, unless inspecting on a trailer at the ramp. You should take your prospective boat for a sail. Check the CB, if she is a centerboard model. The mast can be raised and lowered right there on the mooring. You will have the owner there to help, I assume.

What year is she? The 2+2 models after 1972, I think, is a compression post to brave the cabin top under the mast tabernacle. Inspect the base for softness and rot. The Mariner is a beautifully designed basic sailboat. Very few issues are difficult to address. As jssailem says, inspect the hardware and and look for soft spots on the deck. Make sure everything is tight where it should be tight, saltwater in the bilge is a bad sign, but inspect the cb pin. It could simply be a new set of rubber washers.

Good luck and keep us posted.

-Will (VP-Communications, Mariner Class Association)

 

[Anchored87]

Welcome to SBO, Anchored87. You have come to the right place.

I think inspecting on the mooring is a great advantage, unless inspecting on a trailer at the ramp. You should take your prospective boat for a sail. Check the CB, if she is a centerboard model. The mast can be raised and lowered right there on the mooring. You will have the owner there to help, I assume.

What year is she? The 2+2 models after 1972, I think, is a compression post to brave the cabin top under the mast tabernacle. Inspect the base for softness and rot. The Mariner is a beautifully designed basic sailboat. Very few issues are difficult to address. As jssailem says, inspect the hardware and and look for soft spots on the deck. Make sure everything is tight where it should be tight, saltwater in the bilge is a bad sign, but inspect the cb pin. It could simply be a new set of rubber washers.

Good luck and keep us posted.

-Will (VP-Communications, Mariner Class Association)

Thanks so much for your prompt reply! It’s a 1976 model. Just a few additional questions while I have you here:

- Can I trailer, haul and launch this with the mast and rigging up? I’m thinking of putting off a mooring until next season and I’d prefer not to have to deal with stepping the mast every time I want to go out.
- Is it worth getting a a survey for this size boat before purchasing?
- You mentioned the CB pin and leakage above, what are some major red flags when inspecting those? I’ve heard a little water is ok but “little” is subjective.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Can I trailer, haul and launch this with the mast and rigging up?

You can raise the mast on the trailer, then launch and retrieve, but as far as hauling, that would be between you and the power/phone company. Trailer sailers get electrocuted, lose rigging, and damage cars and other people when they fail to look up. This applies at the launch, as well as any roads you might want to haul down. If you can keep your boat at a marina that has storage/parking for your boat and trailer and a nearby boat ramp, then yes, but you won't get far with a masthead sticking 32' in the air.

As far as red flags, go through the routine of preparing to sail, lower the CB, inspect the pin at the forward base of the trunk, just inside the cabin, look for water streaks, sail her, then inspect again. A '76 may have water logged floatation, but that is harder to inspect for, unless a previous owner has installed inspection ports under the births.

If she is being kept neat and clean, and the owner seems like the caring and meticulous type, You can feel better about using your own eyes and common sense. A '76 shouldn't be priced in the professional surveyor's range, but that will depend on how well the boat was maintained and the upgrades. Mariners were designed as picnic boats. They had a MORC certification for self-righting, but they did not come with nav lights, or a any options, that I know of, for night-time sailing. Owners often install nav lights and electrical systems, upgrade the sheeting, setup asyms, and more.
O'Day Mariner #1922 "Orion"
https://www.usmariner.org/

-Will

 

[Anchored87]

You can raise the mast on the trailer, then launch and retrieve, but as far as hauling, that would be been you and the power/phone company. Trailer sailers get electrocuted, lose rigging, and damage cars and other people when they fail to look up. This applies at the launch, as well as any roads you might want to haul down. If you can keep your boat at a marina that has storage/parking for your boat and trailer and a nearby boat ramp, then yes, but you won't get far with a masthead sticking 32' in the air.

As far as red flags, go through the routine of preparing to sail, lower the CB, inspect the pin at the forward base of the trunk, just inside the cabin, look for water streaks, sail her, then inspect again. A '76 may have water logged floatation, but that is harder to inspect for, unless a previous owner has installed inspection ports under the births.

If she is being kept neat and clean, and the owner seems like the caring and meticulous type, You can fell better about using your own eyes and common sense. A '76 shouldn't be priced in the professional surveyor's range, but that will depend on how well the boat was maintained and the upgrades. Mariners were designed as picnic boats. They had a MORC certification for self-righting, but they did not come with nav lights, or a any options, that I know of, for night-time sailing. Owners often install nav lights and electrical systems, upgrade the sheeting, setup asyms, and more.
O'Day Mariner #1922 "Orion"
https://www.usmariner.org/

-Will

Thank you, Will! I’ll post back to let you know how it goes.

This seller doesn’t have a trailer, it’s always moored. I’m considering purchasing a brand new roller trailer in that case. In your experience is that necessary or is it ok to go used with the trailer? Seems like something I shouldn’t skimp on which is why I’m thinking of going new.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Good use trailers are hard to find especially when it comes to a trailer built to fit a specific boat design.

-Will

 

[Anchored87]

Good use trailers are hard to find especially when it comes to a trailer built to fit a specific boat design.

-Will

Saw the boat today, there were a few concerns but I don’t have a reference point as I’ve never owned a Mariner. What would you say would be the worth of this given these images. Main sail was fine but May have been rigged wrong and it looks like the jib standing rigging needed to be tightened. I wasn’t able to take her out for a spin but was able to hoist the mainsail.

biggest concern was the center board pin. There was water in the bilge but it rained last night and the owner mentioned that it was rain water and not salt water.

I’m tempted to walk away but she floats. If these issues would allow me to sail and continue to learn for a couple seasons maybe it’s worth it?

 

[Anchored87]

A few pics got cut off

 

[Will Gilmore]

jib standing rigging needed to be tightened.

That looks like the RF jib is on a halyard, no worries there.

My impression is she is in OK shape for a 47 year old boat, but the owner has been relaxed in her upkeep. She's a project boat. Most of the work looks cosmetic, but I'm concerned about her scuppers. The plastic of the thru-hull fittings looks old and sun damaged. My '73 Mariner looked intact until I gave the scupper hoses a tug. The plastic thru-hulls, on both sides, broke right off in my hand. I'm glad I hadn't tried to launch her before that.

Are those dents in the topsides, near the waterline?

The water in the bilge could be rain water. That can also be a concern, but again, not difficult to address. Hatch leaks, scupper leaks, deck/hull seam leaks, deadlights leaking, chain plates, tabernacle,... . There's also a vent on the foredeck, if it was windy, but you would see water on the Vee-berth.

The hardware is old, but looks like there's still life in them, with some maintenance.

I don't know about the motor, of course, but I would, without actually walking the deck and working the rigging, consider that boat to be pretty average for a used 50 year old Mariner. I'm not going to give you a number, but do some want ad searches and get a sense of that average.

If you do buy her, haul her right away and be prepared to fix a few things before getting her wet again.

Good luck.

-Will

 

[Anchored87]

That looks like the RF jib is on a halyard, no worries there.

My impression is she is in OK shape for a 47 year old boat, but the owner has been relaxed in her upkeep. She's a project boat. Most of the work looks cosmetic, but I'm concerned about her scuppers. The plastic of the thru-hull fittings looks old and sun damaged. My '73 Mariner looked intact until I gave the scupper hoses a tug. The plastic thru-hulls, on both sides, broke right off in my hand. I'm glad I hadn't tried to launch her before that.

Are those dents in the topsides, near the waterline?

The water in the bilge could be rain water. That can also be a concern, but again, not difficult to address. Hatch leaks, scupper leaks, deck/hull seam leaks, deadlights leaking, chain plates, tabernacle,... . There's also a vent on the foredeck, if it was windy, but you would see water on the Vee-berth.

The hardware is old, but looks like there's still life in them, with some maintenance.

I don't know about the motor, of course, but I would, without actually walking the deck and working the rigging, consider that boat to be pretty average for a used 50 year old Mariner. I'm not going to give you a number, but do some want ad searches and get a sense of that average.

If you do buy her, haul her right away and be prepared to fix a few things before getting her wet again.

Good luck.

-Will

Thanks so much, Will. Really appreciate the help and insight.

 

[Sunbird22358]

The only "red flag" that I see is why the heck is one of the port shrouds connected to the spinnaker guy hook instead of the chainplate? (See starboard chainplate pic), that roller-furler is the "Luff-Wire" type, which is "OK" for just furling, but will not allow reefing, they tend to set poorly due to the way that it is hard to really tension the halyard enough for smooth operation of the furler without affecting forestay tuning. That is a Schaefer 100, which is borderline size-wise for the Mariner, as it is made for a 100 SqFt jib or smaller, they were used on the Day Sailer III for a while, but O'DAY also used them as standard equipment on the 192 and 222, despite cautions from Schaefer. Not a "deal-breaker, but just be aware of the limits on that type of furler. It will be very handy while learning to sail this boat, and makes it easy to switch from sailing with the jib to without, and not need to go forward. A lot of people still use these furlers with no problem, but upgrading that to a better "Luff-Extrusion" type fuler like the CDI or Schaefer Snap-Furl will be worthwhile later. Overall, a very nice Mariner!