Q&A - #78

I get Questions ...

Hello,
My husband purchased a Bruce Robert's steel hull 36 foot sail boat. It was only roughly finished inside. We planned on fixing it up enjoying it and using it as a summer get away! I spent a lot of time with my husband insulating the inside, cleaning, painting, making cushions etc. It still needs major work inside. We had it shipped from Florida to New Jersey where we live on a lagoon. The sail boat is at a marina because it has a Ft 6 draw and the bay has many areas where it would hit bottom.

Since we got the boat we've had many distractions prohibiting us from completing or working on the boat. When we finally planned on enjoying the boat with friends, the engine quit working. (Diesel engine.) Now my husband wants to figure out a way to move the boat here to our lagoon and work on it when he has the time. It still needs a tremendous amount of work to finish it. My husband Steve, mentioned something about when boats sink they put large floatation's on them and move them where they can fix them. Do you know anything about this? Also we really don't have the money to keep the boat in the marina and we can't sell it in the condition it is in. Do you or your readers have any suggestions on moving the boat? Would you consider a very worthy cause and have one of those boat improvement show's where you surprise the owner and fix the boat up for him? LOLAnyway if you have any suggestions on moving the boat to our lagoon I would appreciate it. Thank you for your time and I would appreciate any advise you would have.Sincerely,
Trudy

Trudy,
That would be great if we had a fix up show. I'll pass that on to Darren, our show's producer. For now I'm pretty sure we don't have the budget for that (Have you seen my boat?).

As I see it:
Option 1) I suggest you sell the boat for whatever you can get (or strip it and sink it) and get a nice little 20 something foot daysailor that you can actually use. It would be small enough to keep on a trailer in the yard but big enough for the two of you to enjoy overnighters on the lagoon or anywhere that has a boat ramp (FL Keys??). On the weekend you could either be covered in rust or anchored in some secluded cove sipping wine while Steve BBQs or fishes or does whatever he does. We are shooting for minimal investment in time and money yielding maximum R&R value. Your boat should work for you, not the other way around.
I assume that's not going to happen so ...

Option 2) I don't think adding floatation will solve your problem. I see a potential World's Funniest Videos entry. You could haul out, put the big boat on a trailer and have it shipped over to the lagoon and put into "a deep spot" at a dock. But that won't solve your marina expense problem. FYI, when I bought Low Key I had to rent a crane, a hydraulic boat trailer, and finally a Travelift at the destination, to finally get her into the water. All that cost me under $1000.

Option 3) Execute Option 2, except instead of taking her to the lagoon you could drop the boat off at your house ... if you have room. The cheapest way to go is to find a spot on land, whether it is behind the house or some warehouse down the street, and put the boat on stands (or in a hole) there to work on.

With all of the fixer upper stories that I've heard, in the end, the person or couple ended up putting more money into the boat than if they had bought the same boat already fixed up. Buy someone else's money pit ... after it's mostly filled in.
Hope this helps!

CAPTAIN WOOD:
OF ALL THE BOATING/CRUISING/SAILING MAGS THAT END UP IN MY MAIL BOX YOURS IS MY FAVORITE. I LOVE THE HAIRY ADVENTURE STORY'S AS WELL AS THE SAGE ADVISE PIECES. KEEP EM COMING.
QUESTION: I AM INCUBATING A PLAN TO TAKE WIFE AND DAUGHTER ON A 1-2 YEAR CRUISE. LOOKING FOR FUN IN THE SUN. WE WILL RENT OUT THE HOUSE . TAKING A BREAK FROM WORK AND SCHOOL. OUR DAUGHTER WILL BE 7-9 YRS. OLD .WE ARE NOT RICH SO A BASIC 35-40 PRODUCTION BOAT IS WHAT I HAVE IN MIND. WE LIVE IN SACRAMENTO CA SO SAN FRANCISCO WOULD BE CONVENIENT PLACE TO DEPART. WHAT CAN YOU SUGGEST FOR SAILING ROUTS /STOPS /BEST TIME OF YEAR TO HEAD SOUTH? Ron

Ron,
Thanks for the kudos. Best time to head south: you want to cross the Mex border around Nov 1. That's when most insurance companies allow you to go to avoid hurricanes. I would suggest that you depart SF a little earlier and enjoy some of the coastal cruising that California has to offer in the summer. It might be nice for your family to go through the initial shock of living aboard while you guys are still in a familiar country. Of course, on your way down, in mid-October, you'll want to stop by Catalina Island to visit us at the Lats & Atts cruiser's weekend!

Be sure and pick up some cruising guides for the areas you will be sailing in. They are not just an invaluable resource while cruising; they also make the planning stage so much more fun. An inexpensive way to get the charts you need for that run is to buy a Chartbook. Maptech makes 'em. We sell them at our Ship Store.

Once in Mex, you can pull in somewheres everyday if you'd like, but the best anchorages are Turtle Bay and Magdalena Bay. Turtle's a good stop because it's halfway to Cabo. Last time we had great wind, almost 30 knots, so we opted to stay out and sailed directly from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta. You'll find that the mainland is greener than Baja and a little warmer. Most people roll up into the Sea of Cortez and swing by La Paz and other spots north. You can cross over to the mainland and hit Mazatlan before heading down through Puerto Vallarta, Yelapa, Barra Navidad (my favorite) and Zihuatenejo.

For a winter trip, most people never head more south than Zihuatenejo. Then they turn around and come back before June. Generally, you want to be out of the hurricane belt (from Costa Rica to the US border) by late May.

On a two year plan consider the Big Circle. I'd like to do this sometime. Sail south as far as Barra, Mexico. Cross over to the Marquesas heading SSW first to get down to the trades and then WSW to the islands. That one's a long leg (3000nm) but it's mostly downwind. Do the Marquesas, Tuomotus, Moorea, Huahine, Maupiti, Bora Bora. And then head north to Kiritimati (Christmas) Island, maybe Palmyra (heard it's private now) and then Hawaii. After getting your fill there you can make the big north arc around the high pressure system and shoot back into San Francisco.

Try to have fun.

www.captainwoody.com