There has been an informational update...
I spoke to the owner. This was after communicating with Martin County Florida about the status of the boat. They were close to declaring it derelict before I contacted them. They would have, if the owner had not reappeared (after 6 months), worked with me to legally claim the boat under the Florida found property statutes. In the end the owner showed up and moved the boat. I'm glad I did it though, I think I inadvertently bought the guy some time from the county to move it to a safe anchorage.
It is in fact a steel hulled Colvin Gazelle, junk rigged, 42' LOA. The boat had been dragging its anchor for a couple months. The owner and his wife had become disabled and don't check on it regularly. It ran aground on the grass beds, and that's where I saw it sitting when I took these pictures. He has recently moved the boat and reanchored, with a new 42 pound scoop anchor, in the Jensen Beach mooring field.
The boat is generally sound. There is a hole that needs a weld repair above the waterline from when it came aground. It is temporarily sealed with a FG patch. He found out that the builder had not used light poles (as called out for in the builder drawings from Tom Colvin) when he tried to use a job to help him power off the spot he went aground. The mast snapped at the weld (which was cleaned, so he never knew it was there) between 2 pieces of 5 inch oil well casing. So it needs new masts. There are some spots on the deck suffering from corrosion. Nothing leaks, but these spots need repair. I've been in the boat, and the hull seems to have been welded on both sides of the plate as it should have been, with only minor corrosion present. The interior is ok, but clearly of DIY quality. The wood on deck is rough. The boat has hydraulic steering with a back up tiller, and both function properly. The galley has a LP (canister mounted on deck) stove, fresh and raw water sinks. There are 6 single and one double berth, and a navigation station. There is more storage than I've seen on a boat this size. It has 4 anchors, and a windlass. Communication is newer VHF and an SSB. The boat has a fiberglass dinghy. It is powered by a 60hp Saab diesel that is in good repair, and functions fine.
The owner is kind of desperate to let it go. He doesn't have the money or energy to get it back to seaworthiness. He said he would sell it all for $5k. I agree with him that another $5k of repairs/updates and this would be one hell of a cruiser. I suspect he could be talked down quite a bit. He really can't handle the expense anymore, between health and lost income.
In the meantime it just sits at anchor in the Indian River Lagoon waiting for a savior.
