Three's a Crowd

I have had my eyes out for sailing gear on KSL (better than craigslist in Utah) for a couple of weeks now.  As you can imagine the market for used sailing equipment in the desert is very small, not many people selling or buying.  Last Monday I saw an ad for something that just might work for our boat...  another boat.  I had always tossed the idea around of buying a cheap run down boat for parts, but figured that with the limited amount of boats around here it just wouldn't happen.  But it did!   I called on this boat, a Tartan 27.  It turned out to be the perfect fit for us, the guy selling it had bought it with intentions of fixing it up, but instead he just let it get worse.  

The boat had been stripped of almost everything, winches, cleats, stanchions, windows, all work that we now didn't have to do.  I was concerned that the owner would be offended if I told him that we were going to cannibalize his boat, but he just wanted it gone and didn't care what we did to it.  The most important thing that we are getting from the Tartan is 2500+ lbs of lead.  With lead selling for 60 cents a pound this alone would have been worth buying the boat for. 

We moved pretty quick, borrowing the owners boat trailer and a truck from a friend, we moved it to the shop on Wednesday.  

The boat was in a neighborhood chock full of kids that were stoked to see the huge crane. 

It was pretty exciting lifting during lift off, there was lots of creaking.

Nestled in on the trailer and ready to go.

We hired another crane to drop the boat in front of the shop.  It looks pretty ghetto, so now we finally fit in!

Beth scrounging the hull for anything of value.

Sailing the high asphalt.  I have been slowly cutting away at the hull. I think I might just throw the whole thing into the dumpster piece by piece.  Its probably not allowed but most things that happen in this complex aren't allowed.   The Klan suit is to keep me from itching while cutting through loads of fiberglass.  

The keel!!  This thing ways 2400 pounds, and then there are some other lead bricks elsewhere.  I had all the bolts pounded out before we lifted it off the trailer.  The plan was that the keel would stay on the trailer and the boat would lift off without it.  No luck.  It is glued on pretty well and will have to be taken off another way.  

With crane fees we are into the boat about $1000.  It has been a lot of work, but we have so much stuff, lots of teak, freshly powder coated window frames with new glass.  The list goes on and on.  I think it was well worth it.  

Until next time.