1980's vintage sail boats can have huge problems with core rot, very expensive necessary repair. With oil embargoes of late 1970's and high interest rates of the 1980's boat builders cut corners on expensive fiberglass resin using core materials like balsa & plywoods esp in decks transoms & stringers, as modern materials were not in wide use outside of NASA and military, often open cell foam prone to rot & deterioration was also used for flotation (huge transom & stringer problems in old power boats from rotten plywood which also affected sailers in stringers & decks, & both types affected trailer boats also from rainwater that may have soaked for years of neglect although bone dry when you see it after decision to sell) that developed rot became soft, could be dangerous & you could fall through deck or normal motor use could crack transom or waves crack hull from compromised stringers (esp boat weight on trailers)... Can be fixed with pourable closed cell foam... Modern materials... Anything can be done for enough money, elbow grease, time for diy... storage fees often cost more than the boat FYI.
I love the spirit of this content. Thanks very much for publishing it. As someone who believes there are always some hidden gems out there, I often find them. By this sort of a “great find” I am referring to discoveries with very few drawbacks. I appreciate the practical/fact-based cautions. There are almost infinite things to avoid. But there are also exceptional exceptions you have a chance to find. ☺️--chin up, back straight, heart open, and good luck.
Kind of reminds me flying. There are costs you don't really anticipate when you first get into it. But its less expensive than you expect at the same time. It's weird.
And like flying there's a certain built in bias that tends to inflate the price tag. You dont need a carbon cub or some slick high performance low wing to "go flying" and you don't need some super yacht to go sailing. But when the bug bites people they often start off expecting to step in somewhere in the middle range with a nice modern craft loaded with all the necessary modern equipment. In the real world you can sail a dingy or a bare bones 19 footer and get quite far with bare minimum equipment. Or you can fly a basic old fashioned wood plane with two gages in the panel and a radio in your vest pocket, no need to stress about that all glass cockpit the old guys with $$$ insist you can't do without.
Improve Sailing Well, my questions would most likely be: Where is it possible to get a boat for free? You mentioned abandoned boats on the side of the road, but Ive never seen a splendid freebie like that. Where have you seen them, or where am I likely to encounter such an intriguing article? A video about that would be splendid. Arent there options to rent live-aboard boats for sweet prices, and avoid all the costs related to reparations? I believe Ive seen rentals in different craigslist ads, and the slip fee is included with the rent.
1980's vintage sail boats can have huge problems with core rot, very expensive necessary repair. With oil embargoes of late 1970's and high interest rates of the 1980's boat builders cut corners on expensive fiberglass resin using core materials like balsa & plywoods esp in decks transoms & stringers, as modern materials were not in wide use outside of NASA and military, often open cell foam prone to rot & deterioration was also used for flotation (huge transom & stringer problems in old power boats from rotten plywood which also affected sailers in stringers & decks, & both types affected trailer boats also from rainwater that may have soaked for years of neglect although bone dry when you see it after decision to sell) that developed rot became soft, could be dangerous & you could fall through deck or normal motor use could crack transom or waves crack hull from compromised stringers (esp boat weight on trailers)... Can be fixed with pourable closed cell foam... Modern materials... Anything can be done for enough money, elbow grease, time for diy... storage fees often cost more than the boat FYI.
Thanks, that's really important information, I'll pin this comment so everyone can see it.
I love the spirit of this content. Thanks very much for publishing it. As someone who believes there are always some hidden gems out there, I often find them. By this sort of a “great find” I am referring to discoveries with very few drawbacks. I appreciate the practical/fact-based cautions. There are almost infinite things to avoid. But there are also exceptional exceptions you have a chance to find. ☺️--chin up, back straight, heart open, and good luck.
Kind of reminds me flying. There are costs you don't really anticipate when you first get into it. But its less expensive than you expect at the same time. It's weird.
And like flying there's a certain built in bias that tends to inflate the price tag. You dont need a carbon cub or some slick high performance low wing to "go flying" and you don't need some super yacht to go sailing.
But when the bug bites people they often start off expecting to step in somewhere in the middle range with a nice modern craft loaded with all the necessary modern equipment.
In the real world you can sail a dingy or a bare bones 19 footer and get quite far with bare minimum equipment. Or you can fly a basic old fashioned wood plane with two gages in the panel and a radio in your vest pocket, no need to stress about that all glass cockpit the old guys with $$$ insist you can't do without.
Thanks for strengthening my hope in sailing one day
My pleasure. If you don't mind me asking, what are your two top questions on getting started?
Improve Sailing Well, my questions would most likely be:
Where is it possible to get a boat for free? You mentioned abandoned boats on the side of the road, but Ive never seen a splendid freebie like that. Where have you seen them, or where am I likely to encounter such an intriguing article? A video about that would be splendid.
Arent there options to rent live-aboard boats for sweet prices, and avoid all the costs related to reparations? I believe Ive seen rentals in different craigslist ads, and the slip fee is included with the rent.
maybe if u buy a second hand optimist haha they sell for about 300 bucks