Bought a Never splashed Colvic Countess 33 on eBay, Looking for infos

[Owl]

One way to reduce costs is change to a junk rig - can be far cheaper than the conventional rig. The major disadvantage is the resale value of the boat, but given that isn't relevant then worth considering.
Other advantages - besides cost - are much easier handling, ease of repair, lower rig stress and good downwind performance.

 

[davidej]

One way to reduce costs is change to a junk rig - can be far cheaper than the conventional rig. The major disadvantage is the resale value of the boat, but given that isn't relevant then worth considering.
Other advantages - besides cost - are much easier handling, ease of repair, lower rig stress and good downwind performance.

Ideal for an east to west Transat

 

[GregOddity]

I couldn't tell from your early video, Greg, whether you've decided on an internal layout.

Thirty years ago I spent most of my time drawing layouts (not very practical) for yachts whose interiors I didn't much like...

...but I have to say, I've always found paper, pencil, eraser and ruler a lot easier to design with, than high tech equivalents.

Somebody drew a Countess 33 interior (below)...I found the layout by Googling. I reckon she's not the deckhouse version.

It's very clear, if not millimetre-accurate...she looks a lot beamier than she ought to be.

But may we see your planned interior? Just to give us an idea - I know how things evolve when difficulties emerge.

I also start all my designs with pen and paper, helps me to better understand what I'm doing. Only after do I use any other mediums. Ill try to post some tomorrow, dead tired.

 

[GregOddity]

On my friend's one, one minor irritation is that the forward bulkhead divides one of the windows in half - half being in the forward heads and half in the forecastle. This makes it almost impossible to remove the window - which leaks! Put a window each side.

yeah I know exactly what you mean. It's hell trying to change layouts and having to work around the windows so we don't end up with the same problem.

 

[GregOddity]

Dan, your layout looksidentical to my friend's except there is a step down from the saloon to the forward accommodation and no door. His is a deck saloon ketch.

That sounds very much like ours was.

 

[GregOddity]

I Bought a 40 footer 6 years ago. I thought she was tired and needed sorting. Some of my friends said sail her as she is. This is the third boat I have rebuilt.
I sat with a friend and worked out how much I’d spent on her over the 6 years and I had to stop adding up after 35k and that’s without mooring costs of 320 a month and the original purchase price.
So just on the mooring and work I could have bought something for about 60k but I didn’t have 60k. So this was the only way I was going to do it was A cheap boat and lots of work and buying stuff when I could.
I replaced the engine myself and had the shaft and controls in place and I still spent over 6k on the engine (a beta 38) now that’s an expected big price so you could see it coming. What you don’t see coming is things like battery wire. I paid over £100 on cables from the battery bank to just the charger not to mention the fact that the charger was £495. So all in I paid probably £200+ on battery cable. The house battery bank is two AGM’s which were £500. And two engine start which were £200.
I paid £1000 on an anchor and anchor chain I really wasn’t expecting that. I’m sure people will say you could have got secondhand chain and a secondhand anchor but I want to do some miles in this boat. I don’t want 6 years of my life sitting at anchor on £200 worth or scrap wondering if it will be there when I get back

The boat I had before this was a rival 32 and new sails for that 8+ years ago were £2200 and that was a good Dacron with 3 reefs. Nothing special

Now add into the mix you are looking at yours being a blue water boat?

Now can you do your boat for 20k? I think you probably could if you look on eBay and such like for all the old tat but what you will end up with in the end probably won’t be worth having and it will take years waiting for the right things to come up. Remember most second hand stuff isn’t taken off because it’s in good working order.
As someone said buying that one for 19k and stripping it will be within your budget and give you everything you need so yes you can do it for 20k.

As other people have said your best way forward would be to spend your 20k on good mast,sails, deck gear and engine and get out sailing her. Do the other when the weather is bad.

But the real question in my mind isn’t whether you can do it but whether you should?
If you have the 20k go and look at that other. But if you don’t and you’re doing this as an affordable way of getting a boat you have a lot of work ahead.

Good luck in which ever way you go.

Rob

Its actually the all thing that atracts me and the fact I can take some time to do it full time. It's like ZEN for big boys, Beer and tools and dust and cold cuts on stale bread. Paradise...I did think about goint that way. But there are a couple of big things I want to take care off and you got to start and finish or it WILL take forever and a weekend.

 

[GregOddity]

One thing I think Greg can be envied, is the opportunity he has to build modern plumbing, wiring and ducting into the accommodation, prior to bulkheads going in. Possibly the nastiest aspect of yachting is the dismal ventilation of bathroom compartments...

...but starting from a bare hull, Greg has the option to incorporate 3-inch diameter ducting to all cabins, especially bathrooms, enabling rapid forced inflow of fresh air, and (if he enjoys the company of ladies not demanding to be put ashore as soon as possible) he'll similarly arrange extraction of stale air, matching the inflow, so the fans don't fight a pressure gradient.

Likewise, insulation...this is the time to apply ample insulation to the inside of the hull...don't wait till all the cabins are finished and looking terrific, then start asking what to do about it seeming so cold and prone to damp, on board.

waidaminute.. have you read my mind?? hehe Youre right on the money. MODERN plumbing and wiring and INSULATION haaaa no water dripping on my noggin when I'm trying to get an extra hour in the morning.

 

[GregOddity]

I think you will find that the Main is stepped in the same place for ketch and sloop. The ketch has a shorter main boom. They also produced two mast lengths, shorter for bilge keel cruising rig.

Thats EXACTLY the model and the layout they were doing.

 

[GregOddity]

If Greg wanted a deep-drafted displacement motorboat, I'm sure he could have found one. He wants to sail, not just "mess about".

Yeah, were planing a round the UK then Staright of to Portugal, then Azores and .. that's where were at. ( and already designing a water maker )

 

[GregOddity]

I have made some modifications

hehe :encouragement:

 

[Keith 66]

Re costs on rebuilding a boat this size, decent marine ply, 18mm is £132 a sheet, 12mm is £96, 6mm is £62. A boat this size is going to consume several grands worth of plywood alone and several grands worth of resin & glass materials, it all adds up.
Of course you could use cheap chinese exterior that wil delaminate as soon as it smells water. Having like Iain C rebuilt a Sabre 27 to a high standard i think some of the costings on here are woefully low, I was in the boat trade & highly experienced on where to go for materials & where to find the best deals. I did all the work myself. I know that if i rebuilt that Sabre again today i would get no change out of 15k. Im looking forward to the progress of this project.

 

[NormanS]

I did a complete rebuild and fit out of a much bigger boat, from a tired bare wooden hull with engine, into a respectable motor cruising ketch. However, that was many years ago, before the days of internet and forums, so I just got on with it.
I didn't spend a fortune on her, but I was able to do all the work myself. She was out of the water for about four years, but the feeling of achievement, once she was up and running, was wonderful. We cruised with her for the next 30 years.

 

[GregOddity]

Re costs on rebuilding a boat this size, decent marine ply, 18mm is £132 a sheet, 12mm is £96, 6mm is £62. A boat this size is going to consume several grands worth of plywood alone and several grands worth of resin & glass materials, it all adds up.
Of course you could use cheap chinese exterior that wil delaminate as soon as it smells water. Having like Iain C rebuilt a Sabre 27 to a high standard i think some of the costings on here are woefully low, I was in the boat trade & highly experienced on where to go for materials & where to find the best deals. I did all the work myself. I know that if i rebuilt that Sabre again today i would get no change out of 15k. Im looking forward to the progress of this project.

That's the fight I'm in right now. No chinese ply ... not even smell, the mere mention of water will make it delaminate. Having said that it does not make my list. I do like some chinese things, like food but even that with a pinch of salt.

I must admit to the plywood being somewhat of the big-ticket item if you want to have a boat that will last you. Were not rushing to buy, you probably had better contacts then I do on that since Ply is not something I use on a daily basis. But were hanging in there doing the miles and fighting for a price.

 

[GregOddity]

I did a complete rebuild and fit out of a much bigger boat, from a tired bare wooden hull with engine, into a respectable motor cruising ketch. However, that was many years ago, before the days of internet and forums, so I just got on with it.
I didn't spend a fortune on her, but I was able to do all the work myself. She was out of the water for about four years, but the feeling of achievement, once she was up and running, was wonderful. We cruised with her for the next 30 years.

And THAT is the point ! nothing beats that feeling that youre sailing what you created. I'm hopping for just that. Nothing else matters.

 

[Tranona]

That's the fight I'm in right now. No chinese ply ... not even smell, the mere mention of water will make it delaminate. Having said that it does not make my list. I do like some chinese things, like food but even that with a pinch of salt.

I must admit to the plywood being somewhat of the big-ticket item if you want to have a boat that will last you. Were not rushing to buy, you probably had better contacts then I do on that since Ply is not something I use on a daily basis. But were hanging in there doing the miles and fighting for a price.

Those prices are for the best marine ply for external use and a bit OTT for internal construction except structural bulkheads. For most other internal uses you can use the lower grade which is roughly half the price. Arguably the best supplier is Robbins in Bristol www.robbins.co.uk who do both grades in their Elite range. For the volume you need no doubt you will get a discount, but it will still make a big hole in your budget along with the GRP materials and adhesives to attach it all to your boat.

If you build your boat properly it will be dry internally and delamination is not an issue, but good quality ply is both stable and much easier to work than WBP. However, I have a Ply built boat which I have owned for 35 years and have used (good) WBP internally in non critical areas without any problems even though with open bilges it is permanently damp. The secret is to protect it properly with an appropriate coating such as Danboline.

 

[Keith 66]

As above, Prices i gave were from Robbins, you may get better prices from somewhere like Timbmet, they have a minimum order of 10 sheets so i was stuck with Robbins.
I would simply not trust any so called WBP or Exterior ply from any far eastern source today, Regardless of what is stamped on it. I have bought exterior from two local timber yards & it may as well have been glued with wallpaper paste, infact probably was. Robbins may be expensive but you know what you are getting.

 

[ex-Gladys]

My mast step (different Colvic, but a Colvic) the moulded in deck reinforcement was shuttering ply, and had already disintegrated when I bought the boat in 2005, when the new mast was ordered, the step was "dismantled" and the contents were by then liquid. There was a bulkhead underneath suppporting it all though...

 

[Just_sayin']

I'm just wondering how you get a bulkhead sized piece of wood through your hatchway?

 

[pvb]

I'm just wondering how you get a bulkhead sized piece of wood through your hatchway?

Detail, mere detail...

 

[Wansworth]

Cut it into strips