First Time Boat Owner

steveej

steveej

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Morning all,

I was hoping for some advice. I am about to buy a 1985 Hurley 22 (Ravensail 22) but having only ever chartered, have never had to worry about maintenance etc.

Once in my ownership I want to give the boat a thorough review from top of the mast to bottom. It needs new running rigging and the current rig is not set up correctly, I know I can use mouse lines, but it makes sense to get the mast down and check the windex and anemometer as the wind speed is currently not working properly.

I would also like to inspect the coach roof for mast compression as I believe there may be some.

There is a small amount of dirty water in the bilge so I will need to investigate where this is coming from, which may require checking all the sea cocks, hatch etc. The interior otherwise appears to be very dry.

The gas bottle is ancient and needs to be changed and I would like to make sure the gas pipe to cooker are sound and not a danger.

There is a little bot of sanding and varnishing that needs to be done - grab rails, tiller and companion way.

I need to learn a bit more about the electrics as there are currently two batteries with a switch, on a trickle charge from a solar panel. I don't want my instruments to go down if the batteries run out and the boat only has an outboard so does not charge the batteries.

The outboard has a remote fuel tank so need to make sure I know how all this works, how big it is and how many hours a full tank is going to last when motoring.

She could do with a full paint job, anti foul, topsides, boot top. The deck is also a bit scruffy, it already has non slip sections moulded into the GRP so can I just use normal paint on this. The deck paint in the Chandlers is non slip deck paint, does this mean there is grit in it? if so, I don't think it would be suitable.

The boat is currently out of the water at the current owners yacht club, so it is possible to do some painting. I am not yet a member, so plan on taking her to a nearby Marina for say October to March. My plan is therefore to stick her back in the water to move her to the marina, sail her around for a few weekends to work out what works, what doesn't and what needs replacing.

February / March, stick her on the hard and carry out any required maintenance ready for the next season.

By which time I hope to be a member of the yacht club, and will have geared her up with flares, GPS, charts and nav gear etc.

My question is, does this sound a sensible plan and would it be worth sticking a coat of antifoul on her now given she is already out of the water, or will she not be in the water long enough for self eroding antifoul to have eroded causing me problems getting it off in February? Is there anything else I should be thinking about.

The boat is only worth £2k. And I have worked out I will be spending about £1k on basic safety gear - lifejackets, flares, GPS, charts, compass, dinghy etc. Obviously I want to make sure she is safe and seaworthy before taking my family out on it next season (without wasting money unnecessarily on multiple haul outs etc).

Oh and by the way, is it safe to move around on the boat whilst she is on beaching legs and wooden supports? she has a long fin keel and looks a bit precarious. Any danger of knocker he over climbing up with a ladder?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Nice, pretty, late boat. Sounds grand.

You seem to have it all in hand. I would put a quick coat of antifoul on now, it can always be rubbed down and overcoated in the spring, no problem. Be very wary about the gas system till you have checked it to your satisfaction. Give the engine a good test before you trust it. Maybe the last owner will be on hand for the launch and to help on your first trip.
 
steveej said:
The boat is currently out of the water at the current owners yacht club, so it is possible to do some painting. I am not yet a member, so plan on taking her to a nearby Marina for say October to March. My plan is therefore to stick her back in the water to move her to the marina, sail her around for a few weekends to work out what works, what doesn't and what needs replacing.
Click to expand...
If she is currently on the hard and you can keep her there save yourself the cost of two lifts.
 
Best 'new owner' post I can remember reading. Welcome to ownership.

If you think you will want any marine services (engineers/riggers/sailmakers) during the refit, you had better get on with it before feb/March. That is the time of peak demand and ordering any essential works at that time of year will likely delay your relaunch to the summer. If nothing stops you, sail it to the home marina, test any in-water stuff over a couple of weekends, then get it on the hard and get on with it in autumn. That way you'll be ordering any services before Christmas and have a realistic chance of getting the work done. You could probably also save on anti foul.

If you do it all yourself and/or want to make the most of the end-season now, of course, then the plan you have is fine.
 
Sounds like a good plan but the risk is you spend the next 4-5 weeks doing jobs - get to October then find the weather has changed and that you can't use for a bit. Before you know it you're in winter and haven't tried your boat.

Focus first on what might kill you - basically sinking or gas. Get a pro to look over the gas system. Fairly cheap and such a risky system. Inspect all through hulls yourself - anything that looks dodgy get someone to look at or just replace it if a seacock.
After that - ensure you have 2 means of propulsion , that you know where you are at all times and have friends looking out for you and providing you sail conservatively in sheltered waters maybe not even going out of the river / bay and have a plan for something going wrong then I would concentrate on finding out what is really wrong by spending time on the water over the next 6-8 weeks then use the winter and early spring to fix things.
 
PS,

Forgot to say, I would never paint a boat's topsides unless there was a lot of physical damage. Would also take some persuading to paint a deck.
 
It depends on your approach to things, but getting a bit of sailing in at the end of this season is probably more fun that just working on a project between now and the start of next year's season.

Marinas are proportionately very expensive for a 22 footer. You might be paying half of what a 44 footer would, although some marinas do have special rates for smaller boats on pontoons with less services.

If you go back in for more than a week or two you'll need anti-foul. Probably loads to scour off before redoing it next spring anyway.

Be cautious at first. Probably a fair few hidden faults if the boat has been laid up for a while. Test out the motor as well as you can before the first trip.

Get a multimeter to check the batteries. Check out the wiring pretty well. There's a lot of electrical idiots around who bodge things on boats.
 
Thanks for everyones replies.

I have a provisional list of equipment that I need to buy....

Charts
Compass
GPS
Dinghy
Flares
Life Jackets
Jackstays
Safety Lines

Is it worth me going to the boat show (I have never been). Is it anything like the dive show where there are bargains to be had?
 
Better policy might be to use what you've got and buy things as you find you need them and I say that because I've spent a small fortune on stuff that's hardly, if ever, been used in the past. Safety gear aside of course. A tiller pilot if you don't have one is a good thing to have, especially if singlehanded...
 
steveej said:
Is it worth me going to the boat show (I have never been). Is it anything like the dive show where there are bargains to be had?
Click to expand...

Best bargains are usually on-line. Consider the boat show as a day out, with perhaps the chance to look carefully at a few things or talk to vendors.
 
I bought my first (1970s GRP) boat last year, in April. I think you should try and get some sailing done this year. There is plenty of time for work over the winter. Also, you won't know what really needs doing until you've sailed her a few times. I made a list of all the work I thought needed doing, but actually some were not that important just nice-to-haves. After a few months sailing I found plenty of much more important jobs.

Regarding the boat show, it is a good day out and last year I got a deal on a new genoa, about 30% less than the best non-boat show quote. I went to every sail makers stall, spoke to them and got quotes. If you were prepared to order and pay a deposit everyone had very good prices. I might see about a new main this year.
 
Recently purchased a centaur, which had the benefit of a survey, i simply worked my way through what the surveyor picked up and what i found as i went along, a day and a half shakedown cruise after she was launched highlighted one or two other issues but mostly minor.

If the gas is not in a seperate locker that drains over the side insurance companies get twitchy so get that checked as has been said. If the rig is approaching 10 years old regardless of useage it will be up for replacement, you can do much of it yourself, a local rigger will make up the wire for you. Watch out for UV damage to windex mounting brackets......they can be replaced. Most mast have foam in side them to stop cables / halyards rattling inside them, if the mousing fails or parts you can use solid pulling rods as used by an electrician.

Minimise lifts and if you can stay in the club yard do so, the marina stay while nice will be expensive......

Enjoy, stay safe and have fun
 
Thanks again everyone.

I think I'll skip the boat show this year given it's a 5 hour round trip for me, maybe next year.

My plan is to give her a quick lick of antifoul and get her back in the water and do some sailing to work out what needs fixing.

The gas bottle is in a lazarette locker at the stern of the boat that also houses the outboard. I believe it would just be a rubber pipe led through the cockpit to the cabin where there is an old double gas burner/grill. I'm thinking the best solution is to just pull the whole lot out and replace with a camping stove.

Something like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IWXQMM2/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004913GZ2&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0XMX4CYGYQF1SRMRXBSW

I have checked the seacocks and there doesn't appear to be any obvious leaks so I will keep an eye on them.
 
Gas installations are suspect because leaks introduce gas into the sealed cabin of the boat. A camping stove brings the whole gas bottle inside! I recall someone blew up their boat in Pulldorran earlier this year using something similar to that.

In your case, I would just be vigilant about turning the gas off at the bottle every time you use it, and get hold of a gas detector/alarm.
 
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