Picked up my Swanson Dart on flatbed from Yamba to Gympie.

Hi,
Picked up the Swanson from Yamba. Its was a 3 am start from Gympie. The unofficial capital of Queensland! (just kidding) Set of in pea soup fog and headed south of the boarder. As mention in earlier posts bought the boat sight unseen. Seeing it in person I was quite relieved as I know boats always look much better in photos than in real life. It wasn't long before I was off the swing mooring and tied up to a jetty for the dismasting.Then had to wait our turn to use the crane lift so we went for some well deserved lunch. Finally our turn and we reversed the truck onto the dock and lifted the Swanson out. Cleaned the hull and started to lift her onto the deck of the truck. At first we thought the truck was too high and the lift was not going to set her on.The crane driver had to put her back in the water and adjust the cables and seating of the straps and try again. She just snuck on with a couple of centimetres to spare.Phew! Strapped her up and headed back north. Returned at about 9:30 pm. Tired and a bit sunburnt. Now building a cradle for her to sit in so we can take her off the truck and start some resto work on her. More posts to come if anyone interested.

Hi Windancer, just picked up my Swanson Dart 22 yesterday from Moruya NSW and transported it to Brogo NSW. Mine is an abandoned project but why you abandon it so close to finishing is beyond me (hull completely rubed back and repainted, internal fibreglass work all completed, no soft spots). I was wondering if you took any photos of the rig in place as I have a box full of fittings and no idea of where they go. Thanks Darren

The story so far is that the previous owner had her pulled out and delivered to to the shipwright for a complete hull rub down and repaint. The previous owner helped a little with the original clean up put a bit of money into the restoration than was never seen again. The shipwright handed the restoration onto his son apprentice shipwright who then proceeded to complete the work. I saw it on gumtree about a year ago or something like that and it popped up on ebay a couple of weeks ago for $900 nobody bid on it then returned with $500 I convinced the accountant (wife) that it was too good an opportunity to miss so I bought it.
The hope is to modify my flying 15 trailer to suit (flying fifteen suffered from delamination) then to sail her at Eden, Wallagoot Lake, Bermagui and Batemans Bay and other regattas.

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Ramona said..

DarrenJoey said..
The story so far is that the previous owner had her pulled out and delivered to to the shipwright for a complete hull rub down and repaint. The previous owner helped a little with the original clean up put a bit of money into the restoration than was never seen again. The shipwright handed the restoration onto his son apprentice shipwright who then proceeded to complete the work. I saw it on gumtree about a year ago or something like that and it popped up on ebay a couple of weeks ago for $900 nobody bid on it then returned with $500 I convinced the accountant (wife) that it was too good an opportunity to miss so I bought it.
The hope is to modify my flying 15 trailer to suit (flying fifteen suffered from delamination) then to sail her at Eden, Wallagoot Lake, Bermagui and Batemans Bay and other regattas.

You have done exceptionally well! I tried to get my son to buy it several times.

Excellent buy! Sensational! So sorry for late reply but I have't been on line over the break.
I left a message for the previous owner to buy it as well as I thought combining the two boats if one was average was still a cheaper way to go but he didn't respond. I now have a fellow Swanson Dart owner to talk to!
I took these photos before I dismasted her but I see by your photos you have figured her out. I see your flying fifteen mainsail does the job as well. Mine is now on a dis-mantlable cradle which Lorry( in the photo) helped me build out of 50mm x 5mm Galvanised pipe and knuckles with grub screws. Just started to strip the old anti foul off but has been very hot up here and my work is preventing me to get a quick start. Rocket (Rodney in the photo) is helping me here with the anti fowl removal. He is a fibrerglasser and spray painter and works as a sub contractor for my company. The restoration needs to be completed by end of February as we lose the site as its being developed.The last photo is of a Swanson 36. You can immediately see the similar lines that the Dart was designed from as a scaled down sister ship.
Have you had a chance to put her in the water? Where's the hard top? I saw it in the ebay photos.

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DarrenJoey said..
Hi, to answer some of your questions No she hasn't been in the water yet still some work to do. The hardtop isn't in great condition but I do have it, it needs a rub back and respray. The cradle mine is on will become a road trailer soon. I need to get her in the water by the end of Feb for the Eden regatta. I have bought a jib from Canberra that will need to be cut down to fit but the kite that came with the boat is in good condition. Do you have any idea of how much the boat weighs? I'm thinking in the region of 800kg but am not sure. Will your Dart be moored or trailered?

HeY,
I think the hard top should be easy to restore. I think it makes the boat as well as giving you some shelter. The previous owner of mine
had restored the cabin top so mine is in excellent condition. I will be mooring mine as I think it will be a chore to launch and retrieve with a keel. It would be interesting if any body does launch theirs from a trailer. I would like to see the set up. I am assuming you may need a trailer draw bar extension especially if launching or retrieving from a boat ramp at low tide.My mainsail is average and I believe the headsail is good to excellent. To be honest I haven't inspected them as yet. I have no spinnaker, pole, or set up so a little disappointed that it is lacking one. Weight wise I was thinking closer to the ton mark. May be more as these were built old school with lots of glass and resin. However a J22 weighs 812 Kgs so you may be on the money! PM me if you like with your number and we can chat. Noticed another one for sale on Gumtree today in Sydney.
Cheers.
P.s...I think you got yourself a great bargain and well done to you. A LOT of boat for the money. Yes you may need to spend some more on it like I am doing but I think it will be more than worth it once finished.