"Roger Long" wrote in message
.. .
As it turns out, our boat had been lovingly cared for but by a world class
jury rigger. The boatyard was utterly incompetent. If I had gone out
there expecting to sail it back, I would have been living in a motel for
about six weeks while the completely bozo locals tried to get the engine
running. Then I would have had it trucked back and flown home to meet
with the divorce lawyers. If I'd gotten out of Detroit, I would have been
stuck for six weeks somewhere along the line. There are some things you
just can't tell about a boat when it's covered up in the snow.

Instead, the boat arrived early in the spring and I was able to work on it
for five weeks here in a good yard with the support of my home workshop.
We started our sailing with it in good shape and some upgrades instead of
worn out and beaten by a long trip. You should read the last part of the
story carefully to get an idea of what you could be in for even with a
"sweet" boat that was not a fixer upper.



Roger, I'm sure you don't know it, but I used your story (back then, when
you posted it) to illustrate why our "ready to go around the world" new
purchase had just eaten through its third decaboatbuck. And I didn't do
nearly as much as you, let alone in the tiny time you had available to you!
If only the contractors I'd had put out even a quarter of the work you did!

So, now double that, we're approaching the end. Of course, in our case, the
bulk of the big bux wasn't in repairing someone else' kludgery - though, it
turned out, there were plenty of things needing repair - but, instead,
markedly changing her to "our" boat.

To the OP, unless it's brand new, and under warranty, you can just about be
guaranteed that whatever you think you've bought won't, quite, be what you
expected. Unless this is the n+3 or more boat you've bought, I also know
that you can't - in your wildest nightmares - anticipate the time and money
bringing something up to your standards will consume. There have been lots
of Sailnet/Sailjazz/GoodOldBoat and others articles written on the folly of
estimating time and money in a project. Even the vaunted guru, Jim Casey,
takes what he thinks, after breaking down any project into tiny bites of
what must be done, and multiplies times three. He sez that usually works
out fairly close - but then, he's the one giving all the advice, based on
all the work he's done. If an expert is that far off, imagine you and me...

So, I'm with Roger. Get it to where you can use it in the fastest fashion -
which would be a truck, particularly suited to this time of year. Have it
somewhere that you can actually work on it, and have competent help
available.

L8R

Skip, rehabbing furiously - and getting close! - so I can refit finally

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain