Just get a survey

[Fore and Aft]

Well 15 weeks later the young couple finally launched their yacht today. There is a new rudder, propeller has been refurbished, new engine bed, new shaft, new paint, all the seams raked and new sealant, all the worm damaged timber removed, rot cut out of the decks and new fiberglass laid on top. Now they are launched it is time to start on the interior, replace the cockpit, finish the decks, bolt all the hardware back on and then sort the new mast and rigging out. Still a long way to go, but it is good to see they have stuck with the project.
I would hate to think what she has cost and I wonder if it would have been better to just cut her up and except the purchase price as an expensive lesson? I know she is a sweet yacht, and that is the trouble when the heart rules the head.
Cheers

[TooCoys]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

I wonder if it would have been better to just cut her up and except the purchase price as an expensive lesson?

Unless you're the one signing the checks, you'll never know, and neither will the rest of us. They will, however, undoubtedly have a boat with a TON more character and soul than most anything else on the water.

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

I would hate to think what she has cost and I wonder if it would have been better to just cut her up and except the purchase price as an expensive lesson? I know she is a sweet yacht, and that is the trouble when the heart rules the head.

If I'd ony been sensible and have the logical thing, never would have done anything obviously stupid, my life would have been a easier and a lot more boring. And I definitely wouldn't be sitting on a boat being annoyed by jetskis with loud stereos passing by.

Sometimes it's necessary to be stupid.

[marcjsmith]

Originally Posted by Joh.Ghurt

Sometimes it's necessary to be stupid.

sometimes the only way we learn is by making mistakes and being stupid.


Also, Sometimes, making mistakes and being stupid leads to some of the most fun though...

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Still a long way to go, but it is good to see they have stuck with the project.

I would hate to think what she has cost...

I know she is a sweet yacht, and that is the trouble when the heart rules the head.

WOW! Now THAT'S a lotta work! What a dramatic improvement from your first picture on this thread.

Have they done all the work themselves? That would have kept costs down significantly, but even your list of completed tasks represents an amount of ready dosh, wouldn't you think?

Thanks so much for your continued updates, F&A. It's really fascinating to see. Please do post some final pics at some point - if you can.

Gratefully,
LittleWing77

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

I would hate to think what she has cost and I wonder if it would have been better to just cut her up and except the purchase price as an expensive lesson? I know she is a sweet yacht, and that is the trouble when the heart rules the head.
Cheers

imho definitely would have been better to cut their losses and find another boat

there are literally hundreds of sweet boats out there that won't need a total re-build. i think that if they honestly looked at what they could have purchased for the same money spent on this one, they would be shocked

if there is one thing all my mistakes has taught me it is to rely on your head...not on your heart

cheers,

[Cadence]

God bless them with a wooden hull. Finding someone to work on her today? It looks like a hell of a restoration from the pics of the rudder.
I hope the hull is sound.

[Fore and Aft]

LittleWing77 they have had to pay for some repairs, I think the top of the rotten stem was the most expensive repair. They have had a fair bit of free help from friends and family. Plus other people have been fairly generous with favours and prices on some items. It's good to see and reminds me off when I restored my first yacht when I was a teenager.
They were thanking me for something the other day, I said "Your only young and dumb once" I am sure years down the track they will look back at this and laugh at how naive they were.
I will definitely post some more photos when she is starting to look like a yacht.
Cheers

[Old Sport]

Hello hello,



We, Lisa and Chris, are the couple who bought ‘Joy Too’ many months ago. We just wanted to say thank you to those of you who have shown support on this forum for this colossal project. What an unbelievable learning curve. I’m sure if we had to do it over again we’d do a few things differently. At the same time we are so very grateful to all the amazing people we have met and who have helped us along the way. ‘Joy’ has finally left the boatyard and is now safe on a private pontoon over Christmas. We are all set to step our newly re-rigged mast in January and have her looking more like a yacht again. There are still many things left to do but we are working through them. We would just like to emphasize the major role Fore and Aft has played in this project. We have on more than one occasion referred to him as our guardian angel, answering many questions that have stumped us. Without his incredible depth of knowledge and insightful advice our project would never have seen ‘completion’. We are extremely grateful to have had Fore and Aft’s guidance throughout this project. We cannot recommend him highly enough.

All the best to you all out there,

Stay safe,

The young naive couple

[NevilleCat]

Good on ya guys for remaining positive!
Don't worry, no matter what you had bought there would have been many more jobs than you could possibly have foreseen to get her into a state you would be happy with anyhow. Sure, a survey would have been a great idea though!
Please keep us updated...a character yacht is always appreciated even by those who wouldn't dream of buying one!

[OldManMirage]

Yeah, definitely keep us posted, let us know more, and especially post some more pictures !!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Lisa and Chris.


And, thanks for acknowledging Fore and Aft's effective assistance. It's nice to see members get credit, for their valuable contributions.

[LittleWing77]

A Christmas story for Lisa and Chris, the young naive couple, and our beloved Fore and Aft:

At dusk on the Friday of Labour Day weekend, 1973, ten miles short of Indianapolis, the old Chevy in which my girlfriend and I had driven from the East Coast to the West and back again had finally given out. Almost out of money, we limped into a gas station off the highway.

The owner-mechanic's diagnosis came in 5 minutes: our drive shaft was shot; we needed a new one.

My face fell. "How much will that cost?" I asked.

He studied us - disheveled 24-year-olds with a pair of anti-Nixon bumper stickers on that useless vehicle - for a moment.

"Wait here," he said. And then, to his assistant, "Eddie, I'll be back in a while."

Although, according to Eddie, the place was due to close for the weekend in an hour, the owner was gone for 3 hours, until after 10pm, when he returned with a drive shaft for our Chevy. A used drive shaft, found, we eventually understood, after a search of every junkyard and auto graveyard in town.

"How much do we owe you?" I asked finally.
Then, quickly I added, "we only have $35 dollars; we'll send you the rest."

He furrowed his brow. "Well, let's see," he said. "It'll cost you another $15 bucks for gas to get to New York and you'll need a motel room tonight, and you've gotta eat... let's say $7 dollars".

"Seven dollars? That's ridiculous."
"Nope. Seven dollars it is."

After I stopped resisting and paid him the money, he clapped a hand on my shoulder and smiled a smile I still remember all these years later. "Have a good weekend," he said.

Excerpt from "Uncommon Decency"
Ethics and Other Liabilities (1982, out of print), Author: Harry Stein

[double u]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

I managed to convince them that their rotten mast was not worth saving. I then found them an aluminium mast on Facebook for $700. We checked it out this morning and they purchased it. So now it's just the hull, rudder and decks that need rot/worm removal.
Cheers

Mark 2:22: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins..."

[Hoodsail]

Lisa and Chris, good of you for sticking with your boat and rebuilding/re-fitting her. As much work as you can do yourself will deepen your understanding of your boat, its construction, and its systems. The picture that F and A attached of your new rudder was amazing, given the "before" picture. All the best in your ongoing projects to make her a sound boat. Definitely send along pictures as you make progress. Looking forward to seeing one of the two of you sailing her on a beautiful, sunny day with every stitch of sail out. Owning an older boat is more an ongoing project of the heart than one of the head as has been noted earlier. But wouldnt have it any other way..thnks Dave