Breaking All the Rules ...

[ErikFinn]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

Pictures please

+1

Yes please

[atlantical]

I have bought two boats without seeing them. I bought a Grampian 26, that was a good deal, came with loads of equipment, and i even made 500 dollars when i sold it, well didnt really make that, but i got 500 more than i paid.

I also bought a southern cross 31 for 8500, guy wanted 10000, i said, "give you 8500 right now, without seeing the boat" i told him if i saw it, i may not want it, so he took the deal, i had big regrets when i saw the boat, outside was rough, but just needed a clean up, rig was good, inside was awful, he failed to tell me, he had bought a hull and deck, and fitted it out himself.

I had it hauled, spent a couple of thousand, then sailed it from Wilmington, NC, to Bermuda, then Antigua, Montserrat, Guada loop, then back to Bermuda, then on to Scotland, had it hauled out of the water at Fairlie on the River Clyde, if it hadnt come out them, it would have sunk, after about 8000 miles, it was near to dead. Reckon a two year re build, and a huge cash injection will see it good for another thirty years.

I say i dont regret buying it, but if he refused the offer, i was going to look at a bristol 39, for 18000, and it was very nice inside, so i do wish i went to see the bristol, first, and then viewed the southern cross before deciding getting a southern cross was what i wanted to do, and at 39 foot, i may have struggled with the marina fees for the Bristol.

[darylat8750]

I think you have a good project. I wish you would take seriously two parts of the advice you have gotten here.

The biggest is the corrosion issue with the hull. There could be square yards or meters of plating just waiting for wrong moment to fail in such a way that even a large crash pump couldn't keep up with it. At the very least before you venture off shore put on your fins and mask and systematically poke (HARD) at every square foot of the bottom with a screw driver.

The other is the fuel issue. My friend had the big Racor filters on his boat. He got some bad fuel and went through 2 cases of filters and still ended up dead in the water. I bought a boat that had been sitting for several years. Even though I had run it several times before attempting crossing the Gulf of Mex I pumped all the fuel out of the boat through Racor filter and a Baja filter into 55 gal drums. Then pumped it back through the same filter set up. I went though 15 Racor filters and had about 5 gallons of milky looking crud that I was really glad was not in the tank. Even though you have a sail boat are you prepared to be completely without engine and electricity for an extended period?

Good luck with your project and I add my request for pictures also.

[endoftheroad]

Such details in print and wild knowledge of a restoration for a first boat owner with no photographs.
Baffled?!?


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[homeless]

33 30.079 151 27.085

[giant]

I would stay close to shore or you will likely get a knot or more current against you, and some reefs around you there.

And good luck, I think you will need plenty.

Cyclone season around the corner where you are heading.

I am sure you are aware of all that info.

No photos yet?

Solo sailing?

[jongleur]

33 30.079 151 27.085

Google maps puts you 1000 miles east of Japan?

[giant]

Google maps assumes you are in the northern hemisphere because "Homeless" didn't give the designation "S" for south, nor "E" for east.

The northern hemisphere people seem to forget there is a another part to this planet we live on.

[cabo_sailor]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it but I would definitely recommend that at the least all that old diesel be polished and have plenty of replacement fuel filters on board. I learned that the hard way when I was delivering my own boat to her new home.

Rich

Edit: Oops, I see I am not the first to post this sage advice. I do remember going through a half dozen filters and having to stop overnight to hire some folks to clean out the fuel tank.

[jongleur]

s33 30.079 151 27.085

Okay, now it puts him about a mile offshore
of Copacabana, NSW.

[Cadence]

A good buy or not? I would be more concerned with your safety. Aluminum is not impervious to deterioration. Best of luck and be safe.

[homeless]

Sailing solo, so no sleep last night. Now anchored in Port Stephens to catch up. Spectacular entry, but a bit too shallow in most parts for a 7 foot keel.

Fuel ...

Yes, I am aware that old fuel may have issues with water or dirt. I have used a dewatering solution and had plans to add more filters to the fuel lines and inspect the tanks, but ran out of time. The fuel tanks do have inspection plates, but to get to them you need to cut out the 1/2 inch ply nailed into the bottom of some cupboards.

Starting at 1am today I cleaned the fuel pump filter and bled the engine about 15 times, down in the engine room while the boat rolled and drifted, the autopilot beeped, the sails flapped, and big ships passed. It was not fun, and due to a slip in the dark my tools, clothes, and much of the boat now have blood stains to be removed. Each time the problem was caused by something as small as a few grains of sand. On the bright side I can now bleed perkins diesels in my sleep, and can reliably bring an engine back to life in less than 2 minutes.

I replaced the original fuel pump that came with the boat because it was corroded and was not delivering the pressure required, and the manufacturer kindly added an in-line fuel filter for the new pump whose only purpose is to push fuel through a filter. Yes, the in-line fuel filter may reduce damage to the pump, but the fact that it gets blocked by a tiny bit of dirt that would have been removed by the big Racor filters and stops the engine is a bit silly. I was a bit tired and frazzled, so it took 15 times habitually clearing that filter before I finally decided to remove it, and take the fuel pump back to the same as was replaced. Since then no problem.

On the bright side the boat survived well being punished by a 2 meter swell, being bashed and rolled and bounced all day yesterday, so that gives me more confidence in the hull and rigging.

When I get time I will test to see if the pump can be put after the Racor and suck instead of push.

[darylat8750]

After the Racor is the preferred position for the fuel pump. The stuff that looks like little grains of black sand is the stuff that is left when the biocide that you put in the fuel kills the organisms that live at the interface of the water and fuel in your tank.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I would suggest that you have the fuel polished before you take off on any longer trip. Given the state of the rest of the boat, there's a fair chance that the fuel is fouled. And you may not discover it until you get offshore and the tanks are well agitated. Polishing, while not a magic bullet depending on the baffles in your tanks, would be cheap insurance and will give you baseline off of which to evaluate the state of the tanks going forward. Ideally you'd pump all the fuel out and give the interior of the tanks a good visual inspection but that's a more involved process.

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Suijin beat me to it....

You would be 100X the fool if you did not polish your fuel, and/or investigate the tankage...

Buy some dewatering system for the voyage...

Posts 9 and 12.... Plus the other times it was suggested after...

[Cadence]

Checked the bilges, and noticed water seeping through the hull close to the sonar transducer. Scratched it with my finger, and the seeping becomes a small stream.


That would scare the hell out of me. I did a little reading on non destructive testing and corrosion of aluminum. I won't even try to paraphrase the info. just suggest you do some reading.


Best of wishes.