Day 2 of Easter Break Cleaning!

Today, my father, girlfriend, and myself went to West Marine to get supplies. When I bought the boat there was a hole in the bow that I did not know what it was. We finally figured it was a hatch. So while picking out a new hatch, we also got a silicone seal to make it watertight to prevent mold/rot. It worked wonders and I think it will remain waterproof and keep the inside nice and dry. We also applied the silicone gel to other "at risk" areas where water could sneak in and ruin my day.

On top of those two purchases, we also picked up a chip/crack fill in material. This stuff ROCKED. It totally blew away our expectations as to how it could cover it up.

Finally, we went to Lowes and picked up 1/2 inch thick pressure treated plywood to start the interior. We made a template out of parts of cardboard and then traced that onto the wood so it will fit. MAKE SURE to find out if the pieces fit around the support post that goes underneath the mast.

Purchases today:

4" hatch - $14

Silicone Gel - $10

Chip/Scratch filler - $14ish

You can see in the above picture that there is some "goop" from the chip/crack remover that I did not peel off but it continues to the left of it where I did remove it. And above that you can see a crack which is what it used to look like.

We waterproofed the hell out of this area since it is constantly going to get blasted with water.

Spring Cleaning!

Hey to whoever actually reads this sucker. While on break for easter, and with the help of my dad, I started to clean all the years of dirt and oxidization off the exterior of the boat (including the area where sailing occurs). After unclogging the drains, we found out that the bilge still works! The bad news is that the entire interior needs to be gutted. That will be last on my list. Here are the pictures of the cleaner version of my boat

Name of the boat

My Bailout. It should be simply understood that you can bail out a boat, and that the boat will be my bailout. (also a level on call of duty modern warfare 2)

Removal of Wood Trim

Today my father and I started to rejuvenate the wood located around the hatch. After taking it off by simply unscrewing the nuts on the inside of the boat, we realized that there were some rotted portions. We are now looking at either replacing all of the wood or just the bad parts. If we keep the old wood it could have a different color compared to the new. Either way we are stripping the wood and then we will see what we are working with. Until then we are drying the wood off. If we replace the wood we are looking at a nice oak wood.

PS: There is still a decent amount of ice inside of the bilge area. We have a space heater trying to thaw it out.

Bringing the boat home!

I spoke with the owner (very nice man), and as soon as I was done with all of my final exams I drove two hours which luckily was on the way home. I loved the boat even though there was some work needed (mainly interior), and after paying the wife the money, I attempted to put it on my Jeep that has a 5 inch lift. I sadly found out that the trailer is VERY low to the ground and it wasn't even close to reaching the hitch. Frustrated I went home. A few days later I went to Harbor Freight to see what they had in terms of drop hitches. The first attempt I had a 2 1/2 inch drop so I needed something heavy duty that could really lower the hitch down.

I found an adjustable drop hitch that lowered my hitch 11 inches (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=95991). This made the distance from the hitch to the ground 20 inches. I strongly encourage anyone that looks at a trailer sailboat that they measure the distance that the hitch can go before the back of the trailer hits the ground.

Any ideas for the boat's name?

Even with this drop I still bottomed out while leaving their property, entering and leaving Burger King, and pulling into my driveway. Check out how low to the ground the end of the trailer is.

Found a great cheap boat!

So I have been looking for a sailboat for some time now. I am a 20 year old Politics major with a limited budget but up for a challenge. Looking on craigslist, I found a 1973 MacGregor Venture 17. I was a bit skeptical about it only being 17 feet long but the price was right ($650) and it looked to be in salvageable condition. Check out the pictures from Craigslist: