TP52 as a cruiser....?

[flaming]

Well these guys think so...

J-Bird III Restoration Blog – Part 1 - MySailing.com.au

They bought the 1st ever TP52 for $30k AUS and have started a very extensive restoration program with the aim of turning her into a fast cruiser still capable of distance racing when the mood takes them. This will be an interesting project to watch I think!

 

[Motor_Sailor]

I think it will be. Some people have questioned the $30k AUS buying price considering the likely cost of the project as a whole, but if the mast, boom, wheel, lead in keel are usable, that will be why they paid so much.

Anyone with boats that have balsa core decks (Northshore built ?) should also look at some of the videos and be very, very afraid.

 

[flaming]

I think it will be. Some people have questioned the $30k AUS buying price considering the likely cost of the project as a whole, but if the mast, boom, wheel, lead in keel are usable, that will be why they paid so much.

Anyone with boats that have balsa core decks (Northshore built ?) should also look at some of the videos and be very, very afraid.

Yep, even if you just built a new hull for those donor parts and chopped the old hull up you'd be better off if they are in good condition. The mast alone would be far more than that.
Having to put a new deck on could end up as a blessing in disguise if they are able to reconfigure it to be a bit more cruising focused in the process.

 

[dom]

They bought the 1st ever TP52 for $30k AUS and have started a very extensive restoration program with the aim of turning her into a fast cruiser still capable of distance racing when the mood takes them. This will be an interesting project to watch I think!

Wow, this will be interesting to see E.g. crew weight supplies much of the overall righting moment so these hulls tend to be beamy and twitchy. The rigs are for example designed to support big Code 0 type sails, which it's hard to see having any relevance on a lightly crewed boats. And in such lightweight boats, they can't add much in the fit out.

Definitely better to watch than pay for! Personally, I am deeply skeptical.

 

[flaming]

Wow, this will be interesting to see E.g. crew weight supplies much of the overall righting moment so these hulls tend to be beamy and twitchy. The rigs are for example designed to support big Code 0 type sails, which it's hard to see having any relevance on a lightly crewed boats. And in such lightweight boats, they can't add much in the fit out.

Definitely better to watch than pay for! Personally, I am deeply skeptical.

Worth saying that the 1st generation TP52s were very different boats to the current. TP stands for "trans pacific" because that was the original design intention... It was only later that they became the very grand prix level racers we know now.
This boat is significantly narrower and more conservative than the current boats, being built primarily to go offshore. It has wheel steering as well, not a tiller on a 52 footer!
Agree entirely that they won't add much to the fit out, but if you see their blog it doesn't look like they intend to.

Code zero type sails though are very relevant to cruising. Especially ones that are on a furler.

 

[Triassic]

Didn't some young lad solo round the world in one a few years back...... anything's possible!

 

[dom]

Worth saying that the 1st generation TP52s were very different boats to the current. TP stands for "trans pacific" because that was the original design intention... It was only later that they became the very grand prix level racers we know now.
This boat is significantly narrower and more conservative than the current boats, being built primarily to go offshore. It has wheel steering as well, not a tiller on a 52 footer!
Agree entirely that they won't add much to the fit out, but if you see their blog it doesn't look like they intend to.

Code zero type sails though are very relevant to cruising. Especially ones that are on a furler.

Good point re the older versions and wrt Code 0s on a crusing plataform, I personally love them. My concern here is just the sheer size of the 'normal' TP52 coloured sails in a cruising format. And if the seriously want to race also we're instantly in the $$$$s again!!

Hopefully it works out well, but my instinct is that it will prove to be an indulgence the sense that the vast majority of the money invested will probably be lost in any eventual resale.

Then again, if they possess the $$$$$s to do it well, this could turn into a fantastic project!

 

[Bobc]

Weren't they originally designed for the offshore race from California to Hawaii?

I reckon one of those could make a really good fast cruiser.

 

[Lightwave395]

It doesn't look anything like the current crop of TP52's, just like an old 50 odd foot race boat

 

[dom]

It doesn't look anything like the current crop of TP52's, just like an old 50 odd foot race boat

Hence the price

 

[Motor_Sailor]

This boat is significantly narrower and more conservative than the current boats . . .

Yes, the first generation boats had a crew limit of 14 with a max weight of over one and a quarter tons, so that will give them some leeway in fit out. They were also IMS boats so the stabilty should be okay and the rigs didn't have any running backstays. So a mad project but not bonkers.

 

[flaming]

Good point re the older versions and wrt Code 0s on a crusing plataform, I personally love them. My concern here is just the sheer size of the 'normal' TP52 coloured sails in a cruising format. And if the seriously want to race also we're instantly in the $$$$s again!!

I think the theory is that there are a large number of TP52s being actively campaigned by high budget teams, and that a few beers in the right hands could get some pretty decent second hand sails coming their way... As I understand it, the rig dimensions have not changed for the TPs, so should be a large supply of decent secondhand sails....

 

[flaming]

J-Bird III Restoration Series: Part 6 - Going topless!

Replacing the whole deck, and decision made to go fully electric... This is a very, very interesting project.

 

[Frogmogman]

I'm full of admiration for people who take on these sort of projects. Daunting to say the least.

There's quite a nice youtube video about a couple who bought the old Whitbread maxi Ocean Greyhound/FCF Challenger/Creightons Naturally in an appalling state and converted it into a cruising yacht. For sure, if you have the time, the funds and the ability to realise such a project, it can be quite a good value way into a fast cruising boat.

 

[flaming]

I'm full of admiration for people who take on these sort of projects. Daunting to say the least.

There's quite a nice youtube video about a couple who bought the old Whitbread maxi Ocean Greyhound/FCF Challenger/Creightons Naturally in an appalling state and converted it into a cruising yacht. For sure, if you have the time, the funds and the ability to realise such a project, it can be quite a good value way into a fast cruising boat.

Wow. That's an incredible refit!

 

[Frogmogman]

I was very happy to see her being given a new life. I was briefly involved with the boat when I was a student and it belonged to Les Williams.

 

[Laser310]

There's quite a nice youtube video about a couple who bought the old Whitbread maxi Ocean Greyhound/FCF Challenger/Creightons Naturally in an appalling state and converted it into a cruising yacht.

what is the original hull construction of that yacht?

first i thought it was aluminum.., then maybe some sort of cold-molded wood..

 

[Frogmogman]

what is the original hull construction of that yacht?

first i thought it was aluminum.., then maybe some sort of cold-molded wood..

GRP.

 

[doug748]

You can see the sandwich construction at 12min 15.

I think the dodger is dodgy but after all that work they deserve to have just whatever they desire. : -)

.

 

[Neil_Y]

Well these guys think so...

J-Bird III Restoration Blog – Part 1 - MySailing.com.au

They bought the 1st ever TP52 for $30k AUS and have started a very extensive restoration program with the aim of turning her into a fast cruiser still capable of distance racing when the mood takes them. This will be an interesting project to watch I think!

I sailed a Santa Cruz 70 a few years ago set up for cruising short handed...That was still quite quick with all the cruisy stuff on board.