Stephen Trapani wrote:
Thanks for the advice. How do I look for that? Like sail with only the
mainsail to twisty the boat, and look where?

You'll want enough wind to heel the boat at least 20 degrees, 30 would
be better. Look carefully at the joints between the hull & the
structural bulkheads, at the forward end of the saloon (on some boats,
the door jams... this is a sign of flexing) and at the forward end of
the cockpit. There should be no movement at all of the hull relative to
the bulkheads... unfortunately, at least a little movement is very
common... so the question then becomes "how much is too much?" If the
tabbing is cracking or already broken, that much can be fixed (in fact
it's not even very difficult although it's an unpleasant job) and will
restore some of the strength. But it's an issue because flexing causes
leaks, causes tremendous stress on other parts of the boat, and will
eventually lead to structural failure.


This boat hasn't been sailed for a while, I think. How do I make sure
the stays are close to right? Should I worry about that? It's
deckstepped with a compression post.

Getting the mast set up properly isn't an issue for the sea trial,
unless it's *really* hosed. But the mast tuning will affect things like
pointing, weather helm, and definitely speed. For the sea trial, be more
concerned about whether the rigging is sound & complete.

You'll definitely want to know if the compression post (and everything
it's connected to) is sound, It's relatively common for the compression
post to butt against a wooden beam under the coach roof, under the mast
step; and any wood structure in this area *has* to be totally dry &
sound. This is another area where structural flexing can be evident &
very destructive. One thing to look for is: are the shrouds & side stays
tight when at the pier, and then the lee side shrouds get very loose
under a press of sail? This is a sign that the mast is compressing
something in the hull that it shouldn't be.

Personally, I like to see every sail flown, to make sure that it has all
the rig components (you'd be amazed at how many people are carrying
sails around that they don't have sheets for, or the sheet lead is
comically inefficient) and isn't going to come unstitched the first five
minutes the wind gets her grip on it. How much of the running rigging
is going to need replacing? Do all the winches & clutches work? Turning
to the standing rigging (even more important) are the swaged terminals
about to break open? This is less of a worry if the standing rigging has
been replaced within say ten years. There are a lot of boats that have
been missing important pieces of the rigging for so long the owner has
forgotten it used to be there.

Most of the time, owners who don't sail their boats much do not have a
realistic picture of their boat. Many cannot tell you basic things about
their boat & it's systems... how many seacocks, where they all are; much
less exactly what they are for and the last time they were serviced...

You will not be able to learn *everything* about the boat during survey
& sea trial, but that should be the goal. You definitely want to see
every bit or wiring & plumbing & rigging do it's job, or fail in trying.
That way you won't have any (or at least, fewer) unhealthy and/or
expensive surprises later on. I hope this helps.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King