# First big boat



## hunintended (Dec 13, 2020)

Hello,
It appears I'm about to become the owner of a good old boat (Bombay Explorer 44). I've been lurking for quite some time and have read a lot a TQA's (Fair Winds, RIP...) posts and they have helped me make the decision to purchase this boat. I'm in the closing process as we speak and she's currently in the Pacific Northwest. She's very unique and I have a million questions and hardly know where to start. The previous owner (while he upgraded a lot of things) was not the best in the maintenance category. For example, there is a stack pack for the main, which is fairly new ( a couple of years old) and the stack pack has been filled with water from all of the rain in the PNW. The water's been in there for so long the surveyor said the water is green and needs to be drained; what type of deterioration might that cause to the sail? We tried tilting the boom but it was so heavy we weren't able to lift it. If I took the sail to be professionally cleaned, might that be enough to salvage it or might it be ok just by getting it out of the water? Is there something that can be done to mitigate something like that? The top of the sail which is not in water is really nice, clean, and crisp. The surveyor only raised the sail part of the way and water was running off of it, kind of gave him a shower. Is there an easy way someone could suggest to drain the water from the stack pack? There appears to be a lot of water in there. Dumping it all on the deck doesn't seem like that would be the best idea so I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks!


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

The sail cover/stack pack is essentially plastic. It's Dacron or nylon or something similar. So you can clean it yourself with soap and water it a bit of bleach to kill the mold... But rince the bleach off within 5 minutes. 

To get the water out you can drop the lazy jacks - the ropes that hold it to the spreaders. 
Or raise the sail then you should be able to get the water out. 

Congrats on your new boat. 😊😊😊


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Not sure why the surveyor couldn't slowly raise the sail the entire way. I'm sure you are questioning whether mold has infiltrated the seams or fibers. Green water suggests mold, of course. 

If the sail is not too old, which your view of the exposed part suggests, perhaps a vacuum wash would get it back to normal. Pricey sail washing, but worth it, if you truly have embedded mold. Get it out, as it grinds away the fibers prematurely.


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## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

You REALLY want to look at the main. We left our boat on the hard one summer and squirrels ate big holes through the main. Never know what you are going to find in there. Not to alam you, but it is due diligence to find out at the earliest opportunity.

I like the layout.



https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/bombay-explorer-44


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## hunintended (Dec 13, 2020)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> The sail cover/stack pack is essentially plastic. It's Dacron or nylon or something similar. So you can clean it yourself with soap and water it a bit of bleach to kill the mold... But rince the bleach off within 5 minutes.
> 
> To get the water out you can drop the lazy jacks - the ropes that hold it to the spreaders.
> Or raise the sail then you should be able to get the water out.
> ...


Thanks Mark, I'll try that. I'm really excited about getting the boat.! I'm hoping I can drop part of the lazy jacks a little at a time so it doesn't all dump out at once. It appears that I might need a wetsuit and swim mask if I were to raise the sail completely. 😄


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## hunintended (Dec 13, 2020)

Minnewaska said:


> Not sure why the surveyor couldn't slowly raise the sail the entire way. I'm sure you are questioning whether mold has infiltrated the seams or fibers. Green water suggests mold, of course.
> 
> If the sail is not too old, which your view of the exposed part suggests, perhaps a vacuum wash would get it back to normal. Pricey sail washing, but worth it, if you truly have embedded mold. Get it out, as it grinds away the fibers prematurely.


Thanks, the survey got fairly wet and it was blowing 20 to 25 kts at the time. That may have had something to do with his decision at the time. I'm not familiar with a vacuum wash but I will research.


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## hunintended (Dec 13, 2020)

hpeer said:


> You REALLY want to look at the main. We left our boat on the hard one summer and squirrels ate big holes through the main. Never know what you are going to find in there. Not to alam you, but it is due diligence to find out at the earliest opportunity.
> 
> I like the layout.
> 
> ...


I really like the layout as well. It seems perfectly suited for my plans. Fortunately, (or not depending on point of view) it's not been out of the water for any extended length of time in the last couple of years but you're right who knows what may be lurking in there. The closing is early next week so then I'll have greater leeway to explore.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

hunintended said:


> Thanks, the survey got fairly wet and it was blowing 20 to 25 kts at the time. That may have had something to do with his decision at the time. I'm not familiar with a vacuum wash but I will research.


I guess pulling a sail up in those winds is not practical, despite the water. Have you bought this boat already?

Here's the vacuwash link.





__





V A C U W A S H






www.vacuwash.com


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## SchockT (May 21, 2012)

Just swing the boom outboard so it clears the dodger, then pull on the vang so the outboard end is lower than the inboard and the water should run out the end of the boom. Not a big deal.

If the water is green, that is algae not mold. It is very common in wet climates like the PNW and will come off the sail and the canvas with soap, water and a soft brush. 

It was wise for the surveyor not to hoist the sail in 25kts! The sea trial is the point where you get to have a good look at the sails.



Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk


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## hunintended (Dec 13, 2020)

Minnewaska said:


> I guess pulling a sail up in those winds is not practical, despite the water. Have you bought this boat already?
> 
> Here's the vacuwash link.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link, I appreciate it. Yes, I have purchased the boat (more or less - we close in a couple of days), I just have to get back there to take possession and sign everything as I don't live in the PNW.


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## glossa (Sep 16, 2012)

I wouldn't worry about water getting on the deck, but I would be concerned about the condition of the sail. There are a couple of sail makers in Port Townsend that can recondition used sails in the $1,000 ballpark, depending on what you want done. I would definitely want to see the entire main and headsail before accepting the boat.

You might be able to tilt the boom upwards by raising the topping lift (line that connects the end of the boom to the masthead. You might be able to winch it up depending on where the line is lead. 

I looked at the photos; first thing I would do is put a large dehumidifier inside to dry things out. 

Do you plan to keep the boat in the Puget Sound?


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## hunintended (Dec 13, 2020)

glossa said:


> I wouldn't worry about water getting on the deck, but I would be concerned about the condition of the sail. There are a couple of sail makers in Port Townsend that can recondition used sails in the $1,000 ballpark, depending on what you want done. I would definitely want to see the entire main and headsail before accepting the boat.
> 
> You might be able to tilt the boom upwards by raising the topping lift (line that connects the end of the boom to the masthead. You might be able to winch it up depending on where the line is lead.
> 
> ...


I'm leaving tomorrow to go back and am bringing a dehumidifier with me (among other things) as she really does need it. It's a bit odd but between the surveyor and me, we could not locate the line to adjust the topping lift. When the PO had the rigging replaced in 2018 they installed a stainless steel stranded line (1/4 or 5/16" I think) to the top of the mast from the looks of it. We couldn't see a line leading down from there but it was pouring rain at the time so it was difficult to see. I'll look again this week. One of the things we did before the wind kicked up is we managed to unfurl the headsail and it looked really good. The main we tried a couple of hours later and really only got it about 1/3 of the way up, just enough to be able to check the battens. Up to that point, it didn't look bad, there appeared to be a little staining. For the time being yes, I plan on keeping her in Puget Sound. I plan on exploring the San Juans a bit this summer and Puget Sound in general.


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## hunintended (Dec 13, 2020)

SchockT said:


> Just swing the boom outboard so it clears the dodger, then pull on the vang so the outboard end is lower than the inboard and the water should run out the end of the boom. Not a big deal.
> 
> If the water is green, that is algae not mold. It is very common in wet climates like the PNW and will come off the sail and the canvas with soap, water and a soft brush.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the suggestion, sadly, one thing she's missing is a boom vang but it's close to the top of the list to outfit her with. I do have a couple of things to try from the sugggestions I've received so far.


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## glossa (Sep 16, 2012)

hunintended said:


> It's a bit odd but between the surveyor and me, we could not locate the line to adjust the topping lift. When the PO had the rigging replaced in 2018 they installed a stainless steel stranded line (1/4 or 5/16" I think) to the top of the mast from the looks of it.


On our Cal, the topping lift was part cable, spliced into rope that ran down the mast through a clutch.

We really enjoyed sailing in the South Sound! Be sure to check out Jarrell's Cove, Hope Island, McMicken Island, and Lakebay Marina. Beware of the shallow water in Budd Bay. The channels are plenty deep but very shallow if you get off course.


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## danvon (Dec 10, 2012)

hpeer said:


> You REALLY want to look at the main. We left our boat on the hard one summer and squirrels ate big holes through the main. Never know what you are going to find in there. Not to alam you, but it is due diligence to find out at the earliest opportunity.
> 
> I like the layout.
> 
> ...


The good news is that squirrels can't swim. Not even our PNW squirrels.


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## SchockT (May 21, 2012)

danvon said:


> The good news is that squirrels can't swim. Not even our PNW squirrels.


I would think squirrels are more likely to be a problem on dry stored boats, not boats in marinas. I can't say I have ever seen squirrels on the docks. Now raccoons and otters, on the other hand....they can make a bit of a mess!

Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk


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## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

SchockT said:


> I would think squirrels are more likely to be a problem on dry stored boats, not boats in marinas. I can't say I have ever seen squirrels on the docks. Now raccoons and otters, on the other hand....they can make a bit of a mess!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk


Funny yiu mention swimming squirrels. A couple of months ago I met a gentleman who swore there is this place with swimming squirrels. Somewhere up the NE US coast. Maybe Maine? Anyway it is supposed to he just this one one area, harbor.

Then there was the other guy who described how his cat fell off and swam 1 mile to shore.

Who knows!

I still aint taking no damn cat on my boat, unless it ears squirrles.


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## danvon (Dec 10, 2012)

hpeer said:


> Funny yiu mention swimming squirrels. A couple of months ago I met a gentleman who swore there is this place with swimming squirrels. Somewhere up the NE US coast. Maybe Maine? Anyway it is supposed to he just this one one area, harbor.
> 
> Then there was the other guy who described how his cat fell off and swam 1 mile to shore.
> 
> ...


Perhaps I stand corrected:


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## hunintended (Dec 13, 2020)

hunintended said:


> Thanks Mark, I'll try that. I'm really excited about getting the boat.! I'm hoping I can drop part of the lazy jacks a little at a time so it doesn't all dump out at once. It appears that I might need a wetsuit and swim mask if I were to raise the sail completely. 😄


 BTW - I wanted to provide an update. I just returned from spending 10 days working on the boat (being 1500 miles away sucks). I just want to thank you and everyone else for their suggestions. I was able to raise the main sail and dry out the stack pack by undoing the lazy jack lines. I then bought a small electric pressure washer which I used to got rid of most of the green stains on the main sail as I was raising the sail. It is now clean and dry; Thanks again!


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