# New sailing family from Easton Pa!



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

Hello, my name is Scott. When I was 17, a buddies family invited me to go sailing with them on their little 4 person day sailer, I'm not sure what kind of boat it was, but it had a swing keel and was probably about a 17 footer. They took me to Lake Nockamixon, and after a day on the lake, I was hooked! I have wanted to sail ever since...


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

After 21 years of dreaming of being able to afford a sailboat, a coworker asked me if I was still looking for one... I laughed, and said I have always wanted to buy one, but I don't have the money for one. He then told me that this one is free!!! I was immediately skeptical of a free boat, but figured it was worth checking it out.


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

I arranged a time to go meet his father who was looking to get rid of the old boat. Upon arrival, I almost turned the car around and bolted at the sight... It was an old Compac 16' which had been left under a tree for almost 10 years, it's cover had rotted off years before, and it had a thick growth of lichens covering the entire deck.


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

I couldn't just leave, because they were expecting me, and since I was already there I figured I might as well check out how bad things were...


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

All the tires were flat and rotting off the rims.


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

The fake teak companionway boards were rotten...


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

The cockpit drains were plugged, and it had a few inches of mucky, leaf filled goo laying in the cockpit floor.


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

The hull was in surprisingly good shape, and thankfully there wasn't much water in the cabin area! It was filthy, damp, and filled with spiders, but otherwise in good condition.


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

I quickly determined that things weren't nearly as bad as they first appeared!


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

One more post and I can finally reveal the picture whore that I truly am...


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

Wow, that was painful... In any event, here is the boat when I first found her:



















After several months of hard work, new tires and wheels, axle bearings, bearing buddies, all new LED trailer lights and wiring, new trailer winch post and winch, and about 5 hours of pressure washing the lichens off the deck. We ended up with this:



















I also made a quick set of companionway boards out of leftover plastic trim I had from our house:










We also repaired the failed and leaking deck to hull joint hidden under the rub rail:










Stay tuned...


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

My friend Evan and I took a day off work for her maiden voyage on Zlake Nockamixon!










It was fun afternoon of trying to get used to the boat, and was a great shakedown run for our next outing... Ontario Canada!!! This was my 9 year old son and I launching at our families lake cottage outside of Westport, Ontario.










And my favorite view of the boat:










So far, I'm about $550 into this boat, including title and registration fees! Gotta love cheap prices on the Internet and eBay! like I said above, we took the boat to Canada for a week in mid July and loved it, but it became clear that it is much too small for our family of 5... Can you guess what happened next?


----------



## angelfish (Nov 28, 2012)

Wow Smier, what a cool story! I'm new myself, but welcome anyway.


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

That's right, to my wife's and my mother-in-law's disbelief, I dragged home free boat #2!!!!










Took me a week to clean her up, and assess the damage... She's going to need new swing keel brackets, keel pin, and a new cable to raise and lower the keel. In the process of having the brackets and pin fabricated now. All the standing rigging looks good so far, but we will do a thorough inspection and replace if necessary. She sleeps 5, has a simple galley, and a spot for a porta-potty. She's the cousin of the Chrysler 22, but is called a Starwind 22 and from what I can tell was only in production for a short time in the 80's.




























Well, that's all for now! Hope you all enjoy the pics!!!


----------



## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Compac makes a nice looking boat, great job on her! Now a second free boat, I think I see a sickness starting!


----------



## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Welcome aboard! It's cool to see another small boat sailor here.

I like the pimpin' wheels on the trailer.


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

I am addicted already, thankfully my wife seems to be coming around! The compac is sweet little boat, and it only drafts 18 inches, so we can take it anywhere. It is also a very forgiving boat to learn on!
The pimp my ride wheels on the Starwind's trailer were extras off my wife's mustang that we had just sitting in the basement, so I figured why not? I originally put them on it in desperation, because the guy who gave me the boat just wanted it gone, and he basically told me the first person to tow it out of his driveway got the boat. They barely held air, and I actually didn't make it home that night, thankfully my work was on the way home from picking it up, and I managed to make it that far with one almost flat tire and no trailer lights. They have since gotten a new set of actual trailer tires and an actual spare since she is a trailer sailor and we will be traveling with her!

This was me sneaking into our yard at work the first night I had her, I thought for sure I was going to get a ticket (a free sailboat was worth the risk), and the bunk boards were so rotten ththeir was a blessing in disguise that I couldn't make it home that night, because the starboard side of the hull was actually resting on the bolt heads that were originally holding the boards on:


----------



## deltaten (Oct 10, 2012)

TWO free boats!! Well...I never 

Good t\start with the Compac; then the upgrade to the [Wellcraft] Starwind! Leaves me wondering if in a year or so, someone's going to call ya and offer a 37 foot Morgan OI or Beneteau ? ? ?



Best,
Paul


----------



## diverchick71 (Jul 3, 2012)

Can you please pass some of that "Free boat" karma my way???? lol That's awesome...nothing like results from a little bit of hard work!!


----------



## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

Great story, and great example of what some elbow grease can do for you - and a old boat.

Good luck sizing up to a 30 footer (I suspect that's going to be next).


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

I feel like I hit the lottery this year! Granted the Starwind is going to take some serious money to get things back in order... Thankfully, I enjoy working on the boats, maybe even as much as i enjoy sailing them. Also, I have room to invest in the boat without worrying about getting my money back if and when we upgrade...
I'm currently having a hard time finding a fab shop to make my new keel pin brackets in stainless steel, I may end up making them out of plain steel like the originals. A swing keel boat was not my ideal choice, but since we will most likely always be trailer sailors, I am thrilled nonetheless and think the Starwind will eventually be a great next step for the family. I'm still thinking of taking a year to redo the boat properly and not feel rushed like I did with getting the Compac seaworthy again. Plus, I need to let my wallet catch up... One trailer tire for the starwind cost as much as all 3 for the compac! Bigger boat = more $$$$, but even my wife is toying with doing some cruising in another few years!!! So yeah, a bigger boat may be on our distant horizon.


----------



## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Congratulations and welcome! I'm a few miles South of you, near Lansdale. Great job on the Com-Pac. That looks like a nice boat. The Starwind looks like you're ahead of the game, and can take your time to make it the boat you want it to be, which is nice. Enjoy them both!


----------



## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

You should be on boat #4 by now if you keep the same schedule.


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

Unfortunately, the winter weather and work has slowed any progress, so I've been hiding in my warm basement shop tinkering on restoring my old Yamaha Enduro. I wish I had a pole barn so I could work on the boats more in the winter...


----------



## chefbry (Nov 17, 2009)

I don't get on here much , but I'm in Nazareth! Currently restoring a 1950's bluejay


----------



## Atlas (Aug 21, 2012)

TWO free boats? I turned a very nasty shade of green just reading that far, and your photos just made for a darker shade of jealous colour  Need a karma reboot!


----------



## Smier (Nov 14, 2012)

chefbry said:


> I don't get on here much , but I'm in Nazareth! Currently restoring a 1950's bluejay


Small world, I live in Easton, but I actually work on my boats and store the Starwind at my in-laws house in Nazareth. I just don't have the room, at my house. Do you have any pics of the bluejay? My work is crazy in the winter, but once it warms up I have a lot of free time, we may have to get together and compare projects!

Atlas, I honestly feel like I hit the lottery twice! Both boats need work, the CP16 is almost all cosmetic repairs at this point. The Starwind looks great, but needs a lot of work. Most people would probably walk away, it was getting close to reaching the point of no return from neglect, and the swing keel is going to be a huge undertaking to ensure another 30 years of safe operation. Thankfully I always enjoy a good project.


----------

