# Hello everyone. 1st post. 1st boat. 1,000,000 questions.Part 1



## Garrett Newman (May 22, 2016)

Hello all. My name is Garrett and I live with my family in Jacksonville Fl. Have had the dream to cruise the world for about 3 years now (im 28) . I was planning on saving for a couple more years to buy a decent cruiser to stay on a while and was looking for a cheap trailerable sailboat (under 3k$) so we could get out on the water in the mean time. just 4 days ago i was looking for boats on craigslist and a 33ft westerly ketch popped up for 2,000$. It was owned by a very nice old man that was immediately bombarded with cash in hand offers. He was cruising in the boat when he had 2 heart attacks that left him where he was. the boat had sat there at a private dock for a year. at the moment I still new nothing of the boat but simply told the man I have the cash and I'm ready to buy If i like the boat and its sound. so the next day I traveled two hours west to see it on the west coast of fl. he informed me that for another 1,000$ from me, he would include the brand new autopilot system ($1,900), and a 1,000$ chart plotter still in the box. he took out the old motor and has a westerbeke 4-107 diesel in it. he said it ran a year ago but need a starter. He had already started the repair. I got a set of charts for florida and cuba. 3 sails, an anchor, and he threw in the 1 year old west marine dingy. I wanted to know what you guys thought? I have been remodeling houses for 5 years and figured for the price we could day sail it while we fix it to cruise in later.

ps. tried adding all pics and maxed the file limit and dont know how to delete them to get yall the good ones so ill just post this in parts.


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## Garrett Newman (May 22, 2016)

more pics


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## Garrett Newman (May 22, 2016)

even more pictures


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## Garrett Newman (May 22, 2016)

So he cut out half of the cockpit seats which were the leg portions for both berths in the aft cabin but I think I will try to restore that to the original design. He did it to free up room in the cockpit. He also attached rather big and heavy dodger and hard tops. however it had 3 solar panels, an inverter. I want a composting head so the lack of a toilet doesnt bother me. might rip out the diesel all together and refit with electric like Uma did on youtube.


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## Garrett Newman (May 22, 2016)

I figured with the new electronics and the dingy I at the very least (worst) got my moneys worth of stuff that can go into our next boat. now I have to get it to jacksonville, get it out of the water and tear into it. anyone willing to wager how much shipping it 250 miles and putting it on the hard will cost?


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## Garrett Newman (May 22, 2016)

I forgot the best two pictures


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## Garrett Newman (May 22, 2016)

its got a 3/4 keel and a skeg rudder. the more I learn the more I fall in love.. anyone know what I should inspect particular on this boat? this is a westerly renown I believe someone correct me if im wrong. 1972 32.5 ft 9.5 ft beam 4.5 ft draft


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

There is an old post on here that was reposted recently about how to do your own pre survey before bringing in the professional survey person. It also had a list of tools you would need to do your own in-depth survey. It was really quite thorough and detailed. You would be able to assess a boat pretty fully to know whether or not you would want to spend the money on further survey.

It sounds like you may have gotten a great deal. I've heard people say on here often, that there are some pretty big costs involved in junking a boat if it turns out to have some problems that are irreparable. But like you say, you have your money's worth and more in the dinghy, the engine and the electronics.

Ask around, and I bet you could find somebody who would be willing to help you sail it around to your home port.

I forget whether it is yachtworld or boat trader but they have a hauling calculator where you can put in the size of the boat and the distance between two points and it will calculate the cost of transporting across the land.

Congratulations. It's exciting. You sound like you are the right age and have the right enthusiasm and attitude about undertaking a project that could turn out to be something very nice for you.


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## Caribbeachbum (Feb 23, 2014)

Probably cost more to ship the boat than you paid for it. My 2¢ - finish repairing the starter and motor across Florida (Okeechobee Waterway) and then take the AICW to where you want to stop and work. A few days of your time will save at least a couple of boat bucks.

EDIT: Draft shouldn't be a problem in the Okee, but check mast height ... I could be offering poor advice here.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

I found that Forum that has a list of tools and directions on doing your own pre-survey survey. It is really excellent.

http://www.sailnet.com/#/forumsite/20526/topics/48177?page=1


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Caribbeachbum said:


> Probably cost more to ship the boat than you paid for it. My 2¢ - finish repairing the starter and motor across Florida (Okeechobee Waterway) and then take the AICW to where you want to stop and work. A few days of your time will save at least a couple of boat bucks.
> 
> EDIT: Draft shouldn't be a problem in the Okee, but check mast height ... I could be offering poor advice here.


Yes to what he says above. I have looked at a number of boats in the Great Lakes and considered moving them to the Atlantic. There are places where I would have to take the Mast down and have it restep it because of low bridges. You can look on the ActiveCaptain website on their live map and it will show you every bridge on any Inland route and the height.

At your age and enthusiasm, I imagine, if you ask around enough in marinas and boat clubs, that you could find some old salt who would be willing to help you sail it home just for the adventure and to encourage your enthusiasm. If I had enough sailing experience I would come down to do it just for the fun of it.


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## gamayun (Aug 20, 2009)

Congrats and welcome! My recommendations would be to fix all the leaks, make sure the engine runs reliably and that the sails are in functioning order then sail it to Jacksonville and use it for a while before you put it on the hard (unless it's overdue for a bottom paint job). It might be best not to invest a ton of money until you know more about the boat (how it sails, what its deficiencies are, what you might not like about the layout, etc). It could turn out to be a great forever boat; or it could have been a bad investment. At this point, you don't know which side of the spectrum it is. As you save up money for projects, reassess where you are at each stage in the process (look up "sunk cost fallacy"). If this is not the boat you want for the long term, just get it going and get it cleaned up well enough that you could maybe sell it for what you bought for it. Above all, have fun with it or it'll just be a never ending money pit!!!


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Garrett Newman said:


> its got a 3/4 keel and a skeg rudder. the more I learn the more I fall in love.. anyone know what I should inspect particular on this boat? this is a westerly renown I believe someone correct me if im wrong. 1972 32.5 ft 9.5 ft beam 4.5 ft draft


That info differs a little bit from what I find on sailboat data.com

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3237


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Oooops, wrong boat. I found the Westerly Renown. Sailboat data shows that it was either a ketch or came as a ketch option. Is yours a ketch or a sloop?

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=1138


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

There is a Westerly Owners Association and they have a website. You will probably want to connect with them as they can tell you everything that you might want to know about your new boat. Those owners associations are great. You often can connect with someone that has the exact same boat as yours and can send you pictures of everything as it was originally. They also know common problems, things to look for, and how to repair things specific to your boat.

http://www.westerly-owners.co.uk/


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## Garrett Newman (May 22, 2016)

I have seen conflicting data in several places. I was hoping to find a westerly expert here. there were many very similar models made from what im gathering some with different keels. Ive seen different data on the internet, on my documentation, and from what I was told by the owner so im still trying to figure out exactly what ive got here.


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## gamayun (Aug 20, 2009)

Garrett Newman said:


> I have seen conflicting data in several places. I was hoping to find a westerly expert here. there were many very similar models made from what im gathering some with different keels. Ive seen different data on the internet, on my documentation, and from what I was told by the owner so im still trying to figure out exactly what ive got here.


And this is also all part of the fun and joy and excitement about having a boat - trying to discover everything about her. Seriously, enjoy it and take it one day at a time. Make sure it's a safe vessel for you and others, but don't get too overly worked up about everything all at once. You're going to find a lot of stuff that will need to be dealt with, but try to keep it in perspective. There's aesthetics and then there are the things that will sink the boat...


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