I just bought an old 20' Hood sailing boat, and have the use of the mooring for 3 months.
It's my first boat, I don't know much about sailing, but I intend to learn.
I swam around it today and had a look underneath, the rudder has some kind of sea squirt creatures living on it and seaweed, and I got a rough quote for $850 to antifoul it out of the water.
The standing rigging also looks a bit tired, there is rust on most of the wires, and the ropes are old looking. I have decided to have all of it replaced. the mast and boom look fine to me.
Inside the boat is bone dry, and in really nice shape.
The tiller is really really worn out, its wooden and has a driftwood look to it - like it's been wet too many times and crumbled. I'm obviously going to get a new one from somewhere, but I'm having trouble sourcing one, probably because I'm using the wrong terminology.
The deck is dirty but feels quite solid, up the front it flexes a little bit.
all in all I'm happy with it so far, and I'm expecting to spend about $2500 on the rigging and antifoul.
I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts for a new sailor. I only paid $600 for the boat, I think that was a bargain for what I got.
It also has a few sails, and an outboard bracket.
Does anyone know if the quote for rigging and antifoul sound about right for a boat like this??
The first thing to do is fill in a few detail in your bio, particularly where you are situated. You may find a lister close by that can offer face to face advice. The cost of slipping very much depends on your location.
The Hood 20/23 have foam glass decks that rot, the foam sandwich gets soggy. This can be repaired quite easily by drilling a series of holes then opening the foam with a bent nail in an electric drill. The spaces are then filled with epoxy and a filler of your choice.
Tiller should be a piece of teak. The teak is usually left bare and goes a grey colour.
Scrub the deck with Diggers Stain Remover, follow the directions and hose off with fresh water.
I would remove the mast and take the standing rigging in to your favourite ship chandlers have have them duplicated. Really the best bet is to get to know your neighbours on the moorings, bound to be some helpful pensioners who will just love to offer advice and help.
Thanks for that!
The drilling part I could probably manage quite easily although I'm terrified of putting holes in the boat. If I was to drill a hole or two, the solution to keeping water out is epoxy then?? I want to put a few more brackets up in the cockpit too.
I would love to take the mast down myself and send the wires away to be matched up, I don't have a car though, and the only tools I own are a few spanners and screwdrivers. I would hate to start pulling things off only to find I don't have the strength to put them back the right way.
I don't mind paying for important things, after all, the entire boat and all its lovely bits and pieces only cost me $600.
And thanks, I fixed my bio. My father is an old sailor with loads of experience, but he lives in Tasmania, and hasn't sailed for years. Although phone conversations are really important, I figured someone on here would know a few things that are useful today.
So thanks!
Here are some pictures of the boat taken over a couple of days. She really isn't too bad apart from the dirt. And the rigging. The tiller I need to get a closer picture at, it definitely has gone a gray colour but its also ridged and has lichen spots on it.
I think that she will have to be towed to the slip for her antifoul, do you suppose they will let me rinse her off of with freshwater then?? I have been ferrying jerry cans of fresh water from shore and I don't want to keep doing that. Is seawater such a problem for a fibreglass boat??
Hi, you say the deck "flexes" quite a bit, is it a solid type of springy flex or a soft mushy kind of flex? Either way after you determine what kind it is, leave that job till last, after all, if you have a deck now, it will keep the water out till you need to do something about it.
If you think you got a bargain, then you got a bargain, after all it's all about you and what you were happy to pay for what you got for that amount of money.
As Ramona pointed out, slipping costs vary, the further away you get from the champagne belt the lower the costs become. Till of course you are so far away from the champagne belt that they charge what they want. Ring around and get quotes.
Seawater is no problem for fiberglass boats, after all most other boats float in it as well. Though I am somewhat puzzled why you ask that question.
The tiller is that long sticky thing that you hold with your hands to steer the boat, the rudder is that bit under the water which attaches to the tiller to actually cause the boat to react to an input by you via the tiller. Now which is the bit that looks like crumbly driftwood? 
Mage
Welcome to the sailing world!
Just a few pointers, I'm sure others will have more to add.
It's fine to clean everything topsides with salt water. Down below you should only use fresh water - if you get too much salt down there you'll get corrosion problems and mould; wiring, electronics etc will degrade; and nothing will ever dry out properly.
I think your tiller is probably OK. Just clean it up with water and a scotchbrite pad, but rub across the grain (rub teak with the grain and it will gradually disappear).
Do get the bottom cleaned up before you start using the boat. If there's a lot of growth it will detract from the whole learning to sail experience. A good new antifoul will last anything from 1 to 3 years depending on lots of factors, and you can extend it without hauling out by giving a light rub using snorkelling gear.
Try to get some independent advice about the rig. Surface discoloration doesn't necessarily tell you anything about stainless condition. And you'll find that boats can absorb unlimited amounts of money, so you need to prioritise your refit. This is hard to do until you have some experience with the boat. So what I'm saying is don't blow the budget straight away - do only what is clearly essential until you've had time and experience to properly assess what needs to be done.
The brittle looking bit is the tiller part, you can kind of see it in one of the photos but not well. The rudder has the sea creatures living on it, but it felt quite sturdy when I poked it underwater.
Ok, I will try and sand it back then, I hadn't even considered that.
And that's good about the salt water washing of the deck, I'll conserve my fresh water for below! I was thinking that as long as all the stains are gone, the next good rain will rinse the salt away.
I am thinking that when it is slipped and antifouled I'll ask someone at the marina who looks like they might know, about the rigging. One idea I had was photographing every piece I can see bolted down, next to a ruler, and checking on Whitworths.com.au for an equivalent, then just screwing in the new part myself.
I mainly want her to be seaworthy and not to have to worry about things snapping and hurting my friends when they come on board as they inevitably will. Or worry that the first time I figure out how to put one of the sails up that there will be wire whipping around as the whole thing collapses.
So thanks for that, one reason I bought her as is instead of buying one for $3-4000 with nothing much to be done [like I was going to originally] is so that I can slowly learn about her and fix things up until she was good enough.
Hi Mage, reading your bio got me a bit worried. Instead of just " Motoring out and putting the sails up one at a time" why don,t you check out your local Yacht Club and see if you can jump on a boat doing twighlight racing for a bit of experience.
Where is the boat moored by the way ?
Cheers
Ken
Thanks for the bio update. Never occurred to me you were a young lady.
Its crazy what's available these days for $600. From the photos it seems that mostly its just a good clean up required. Metal Gleam or Diggers Stain remover mixed up in a bucket as per manufacturers directions. Use fresh water for the mix and flush it off with saltwater, [bucket on a rope]. Do the whole topsides including the SS fittings for the shrouds. Check the SS wire rigging to make sure there are no broken strands or daggy bits. Scrape off the shell and wildlife off the bottom with a metal scraper with the corners rounded off [watch out for MSB].
If you had a motor moving into the shallows and standing on the bottom makes it so much easier. I would suggest going sailing as soon as possible. Best bet is to get some instruction first though and suggest bludging a ride on small cruisers or a trailer sailer. Bound to be some pensioner gentlemen who would love to show you the ropes, talk to all your neighbour mooring occupants you come across.
Great suggestions guys, man this forum rocks for helping newbies out!
OK, looked up where you are and as was suggested before, contact a yacht club and go for some twilights, no better way to learn,
Give Phil, Mel and Robyn a call @ Deck Hardware on 9905 9400. They are marine wholesalers and can help you with alot of what you need as well as handing out some great advice and are not far from you. Phil and Mel love getting people into sailing and have some fantastic contacts in the sailing community on the northern beaches and will hook you up with the right people for some fun races.
Hi Mage,
Be sure to check what you need to carry onboard (on the NSW maritime website, cant remember their new name??) ie have a lifejacket for every person onboard etc etc.
Enjoy, cheers
Thankyou for all your helpful suggestions - I will go clean her up and then try and get a ride in a twilight race, that sounds like a good idea.
I'll post more pictures when I'm done. Thanks again! I feel way more confident now :)
Hi Mage
I have done similar projects a few times. Let me add a couple of bullet points.
Don't get sidetracks with future steps you going to undertake.
I guess the most important in this stage is -
3 months current mooring seems to long time, but work on new place for boat.
/is it available and withing your budget/
is the boat registered
do you have boat license,
give boat rough internal clean up,
get safety items on board need it for any boat movement
are you going to tow, borrow or get some sort of engine.
when you get all above get the boat moving around,
take it from the mooring and back.
Don't run out of the time. It would be probably costly
/surcharge for extra mooring time, expensive marina pen/
That's happen to me, than cheap boat become .... Good Luck
Hi Mage,
Just to add to what Charriot said,
In NSW no boat license required for a power boat under ten knots (18.5 kmh) no license at all needed for sailing boat.
Whilst the the three month grace period is generous, you will find yourself running out of time and as Charriot says, the time to get your own mooring is NOW, it will be cheaper in the long run.
You can't get a mooring for an unregistered boat.
Regarding safety items, buy the best you can afford, after all it is your life and those of your passengers. There are some brands out there that are best avoided. Going to a sailing club and asking what the members there have is a good way to get an idea for what is going to work for you. Be nosy, very nosy and ask lots of questions.
Gosford Sailing Club is a very good club to visit, they sail everything from dinghy's to keelboats. The Boat Captain there is a very approachable bloke .... just look for the high speed wheelchair whizzing around.
good luck, Harry
Hi,
I sent you a message with my contact details. I can probably have a look at it with you and give you some direction on what might be best to do now and what can wait.
Cheers
Mate, some of us are youngsters compared to you retired old farts. You might have been one of my instructors on S2 OFS in 1973, if I was younger I would remember.
My engine has been dismantled and looks not to be damaged by the petrol. Injection pump and cyl head are off getting assessed/overhauled.
Until she is back together I have spare days to help Mage have a good intro to sailing.
Sorry for the long post. But I want to thank all you guys for your generosity, it's making me feel more and more confident and much appreciated :) The sailing community reminds me of the motorcycling community in this way. Everyone seems to be an instant buddy, and there is a subtle pride that regular people just don't have and can't imagine.
I've just spent the last two days on her cleaning her up, and she is looking so lovely now, it was mostly just algae and lichen and bird droppings, I scrubbed her all over by hand and washed her down with buckets of water. Then I took pictures of the rigging, and made a list of the equipment she has.
She came with a vhf radio that appears to work, old solar panel on a pole, coastal maps/charts of Pittwater/Broken Bay/Hawkesbury, cabin lights/switchboard, large metal bilge pump under the deck, sand anchor and chain [rusty looking], boat hooks, one set of oars, one kayak paddle, one large rubber dinghy 2 person, fish landing nets, assorted ropes, fire extinguisher, tool box full of tools, 4 life jackets marked PFD1, two sets of fenders, scrubbing brushes, buckets galore and a deck of cards.
And I had another swim and pulled off some of the cunjevoi that are on the mooring rope and the underside, I think they might be good bait actually, they smelled quite seafood-analogue when I cut some open. You can't eat them can you?
Looking very good, you have certainly worked hard to get her to this state.
Cunjevoi are edible, Aborigines used to eat them, but I have no knowledge of how they prepared them, Maybe a bit of trial and error, try thinly sliced and fried in butter with a bit of garlic. If you need to wash them then it maybe prudent as with abalone to only use sea water, as fresh water renders them very tough.
Well the tiller is definitely not teak but the Turk's head gives an insight to an earlier owner!
I would be inclined to hunt down a piece of suitable sized teak, possibly secondhand or even a secondhand tiller from the secondhand yacht chandler, look at the ads in the back of the "Afloat" magazine. The tiller is a focal point in a small yacht. Mainsheet and control lines would look better replaced. Its interesting that if you were to ad up the cost of that deck hardware you would soon reach $600.
Nice job.
Nice bargin you got there!
Something I have always wanted to try is an axe handle from bunnings I reckon they could make a nice cheap tiller
Disclaimer ; I have never actually tried this and it may be a rubbish idea.
As for the old lines try soaking them in a bucket of detergent and maybe some mould killing stuff before you give up on them . I figure on a boat that size most lines are way over speck to make them comfortable in the hand so if the have lost a little strength ... Meh?
As some other smart arse said to me once "anyone can make a boat look nice by throwing money at it" but with a 600 buck boat the challenge is to not over spend.
Enjoy the ride !
Do you guys really wash your boats in salt water? I hate my boat covered in salt and always the first thing I do once tied up is wash my boat in fresh water....and all the charter boats I have worked for do the same....salt on chain plates,stanchions and all fittings need to be washed in fresh water as soon as possible. Just the same as any other water sports,diving,fishing,underwater photography....etc.
Yeah, I have to put my freshwater in a 10L jerry can and row it to the boat in the dinghy, by the time I've done that I only want to use it for drinking!
Just one more quick question guys, I have a chance to get this outboard motor for cheap, its a 6HP short shaft.
The short shaft I am not sure about but not too worried, I can always get a bracket if it's too short, but the HP I don't know about.
Is 6 HP enough for a boat like mine, to push it out from the mooring to somewhere the sails can go up??
The other motor I am trying to get, which is more expensive, is a 15 HP longshaft.
Would that be way too much for my little boat?
Thanks again!!
Hi Mage, I have a 6 hp evinrude from Noahs boat on my Boomerang 20 and it comfortably pushes it along at 5 kts. A long leg is a must especially in a following swell . Even the long shaft gets swamped and cavitates occasionally. Have a look on www.trailersailerplace.com.au/ as they often have outboards for sale
Cheers
Ken
The Mariner/Mercury 5 hp is well worth consideration.
One might call the 4 and 5 hp Mar/Mercs the Seagull outboard that got dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21 st century.
Simple single cylinder 2 stroke engine with updated carburettor and ignition and forward and reverse propulsion.
I had a short shaft 4 horse Mariner on the back of my 850 kg Windrush Wildfire and it pushed it along at 7 knots no problem in the river.
It would have been better with a long shaft and a lower pitched prop because the engine did not reach optimum revs at full load.
The 5 hp has an integral fuel tank as well as provision to connect an external tank.
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/accessories/details.aspx?R=7939668&__Qpb=1&Cr=9&__Ns=pBoat_IsPremium_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpBoat_HasImage_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpBoat_Make_String%7c0%7c%7cpBoat_Model_String%7c0%7c%7cpBoat_Price_Decimal%7c1&SearchAction=N&__N=1550%201555%204294902237%204294877070%201367&silo=1500&seot=1&__Nne=15&__No=0&trecs=20&__sid=13B5B2BE8463
Measure the cut out on the transom to the water to see if a long shaft is required. I think its 20 inches off the top of my head for a long shaft. Use the cut out provided, its far better and cheaper than using a bracket and will keep the propeller closer to the stern and lessen the possibility of it coming clear of the water in sloppy conditions. 6hp is ample, I would always go Tohatsu personally. This is a small boat and the weight swinging off the stern should be kept to a minimum. 3.5 Tohatsu [Mercury/Nissan] with integral fuel tank would be compact and light enough to lift off and on if you had to. Fuel tanks and line in a small cockpit are a pain.
if the cut out is low enough to use a short shaft look at a mercury 3.3 two stroke
$900 brand new, light enough to lift with one hand and you can use it on the dinghy as well
