32' MOTOR-LESS SAIL TRIMARAN

[stevelf]

Hi, there, all-- my name is Steve and I have been lurking-- 1st time poster....

OK, please don't flame me here but I really would appreciate your various experience to help me make a good decision here...
First off, I am 58 yrs. old, a lifetime sailor-- mostly Nacra beachcats, a 5.5 meter my last boat, although I sold Morgans in MDR for years and sailed them A LOT..... but I am clearly a multi-hull guy, ideally.

I have been looking for a CHEAP way to enter into sailboat ownership for months now...
I have been offered a 32' Brown trimaran , basically for free at a local (not telling you, YET...! ) marina....
Issues are:

1) no motor-- I plan to use it as a SAILboat, somehow (Craigslist/ e-bay..??) acquiring a 10-15 horse outboard that I will figure a way to attach to the center transom, for navigating into marinas or getting out of trouble....

2) starrboard-side rot on the deck and vertical deckhouse section--- it's 3/8 ply, and I will fix this-- been in the carpentry trade for 40+ years now... you can gingerly walk on the deck at-present, but NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.... some leaking into the main cabin, not a lot, but some...

3) rough-looking-- haven't seen the bottom yet. I spent 2+ hours tap-tap-tapping the entire boat to check for dry rot. Only as above...

4) I am cash-strapped..... a bit.... They want the fees for taking out of the water, power-spraying it, and the time it takes me to sand/ paint the bottom and sides, which takes $$$$, and probably some surprises....

5) mainsail looks good, NO JIB....

That's it-- the boat has personality... if I could only find a "reasonable" live-aboard slip where I could focus on the fixing part (Bay area...), I could maybe swing this....

I appreciate your thoughts....

[Thumbs Up]

Walk away!

[maxingout]

That doesn't sound very affordable in the bay area. If the boat was at Monty's Boatyard in Australia, it would be a viable project. Long term projects abound at Montys. This sounds like a lot of work and money, and in the end, you might not have much for the trouble.

I know a yactie who lost one leg in a motorcycle accident, and after the accident he decided to build a plywood trimaran from scratch as a sort of rehab project. He made an awesome trimaran with a little help from his friends.

I would go to an affordable location and probably start out from scratch and build something new in plywood that would reflect my skills as a carpenter.

[Stumble]

Steve,

There are a lot of these plywood tri's from the 70's lying around either free, or close. As with yours though they require massive core repair. All of them are fixable, but rarely is it a cheap or easy fix. And at the end of the day you have a boat with little to no resale value because the brands have taken such a beating.

[ozskipper]

You will need at least 10k to get it seaworthy!

[GaryMayo]

Welcome to non lurkville.

[Pete7]

Steve, there is another thread running about cheap tri's. Given the prices some are being advertised at I would look elsewhere. Buying something more up together could cost you alot less in the long term.

Pete

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.
It'll cost a lot to repair and it'd be better to fine the marina or mooring first before you set out on this path.
kind regards,