"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message
anews.com...

Don't buy anything until you NEED to buy something. Rid yourself of your
female shop until you drop mentality.

Here's what you need to do.

1) Give the boat a good cleaning inside and out. Inspect everything real
good while you clean and polish.
2) Move aboard and attempt to stow all the unnecessary crap that most
women feel they can't live without.
3) Put the remaining 90% that won't fit into storage.
4) Stock up on food and make sure your stove has plenty of fuel.
5) Then learn how to sail the boat.
6) Start a list of things that are broken, don't work well enough to suit
your needs, are worn to a dangerous or unserviceable point, etc. Buy all
the Coast Guard required safety things like life jackets, flares etc.
7) Replace things as needed depending upon how and where you cruise and
anchor.
8) If you don't have a nice little rowing dinghy you need to buy one. For
you a Walker Bay 8 would probably be just the ticket. Avoid inflatables as
they tend to get a flat tire at the worst of times and you can't row the
dammed things in anything but a flat calm even when they don't have a
flat.
9) Make sure you have no fewer than three serviceable anchors and rodes.
Learn how to use them properly.
10) Buy a new GPS if the boat doesn't already have one. Get the kind that
displays a chart.

In other words don't go out and spend 15 grand just for the sake of
spending fifteen grand. Wait until you learn enough to spend it on things
you really need. And to discover what you really need you must first use
the boats as you intend to use it.

Oh, and don't listen to the others who responded. They can't see the
forest through the trees. Few, if any, are long term, liveaboard cruisers
like me.

Wilbur Hubbard



I would second most of Wilbur's advice, though you might have trouble
fitting a Walker Bay 8 on deck. Towing a dink is okay in protected waters,
but for any real passage-making, it should be properly stored on deck,
upside down where it can't hold water. You may, or may not, have the
available space on that boat where it will both fit and not hinder crew
movement. And, of course, I would have to dismiss the advice not to listen
to advice from other posters. And finally, what Wilbur considers
"unnecessary crap that women feel (we) can't do without" is more necessary
than he comprehends. We do have to remain women, after all.

"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote:
My gawd, here we go again with the surveyor crap.

Seems like you have a certain hostility towards people who are paid
for their knowledge, and thus might actually have some

... The boat was given to her.

Sounds like you're very familiar with the circumstances.... hope you
are a bit more careful keeping your socks matching for the next few
days while this one plays out....

DSK

KLC Lewis wrote:


I would second most of Wilbur's advice, though you might have trouble
fitting a Walker Bay 8 on deck. Towing a dink is okay in protected waters,
but for any real passage-making, it should be properly stored on deck,
upside down where it can't hold water. You may, or may not, have the
available space on that boat where it will both fit and not hinder crew
movement. And, of course, I would have to dismiss the advice not to listen
to advice from other posters. And finally, what Wilbur considers
"unnecessary crap that women feel (we) can't do without" is more necessary
than he comprehends. We do have to remain women, after all.




And bless you for it!

Janet:

Hello and congrats on your "new to you" boat.
I think the first thing you need to decide, or if you already have, is
what do YOU plan to do with the boat?
Liveaboard, coastal cruise, sail the oceans, Bahamas or.....??

Almost everything will depend upon your ultimate plans.

Fill us in and many of us would be willing to provide knowledgeable
advice.
Seems as though you've already figured WH out, so no need to go there.

On Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:03:58 GMT, "Janet O'Leary"
wrote:

Hello again; women haters, know it alls, never owned but
full of advice, and then there are the nuts/bolts/screws.. all loose..

And of course,, The Hubbard ... question; how many Hubbards are there?

This is your assignment ::

You have been given a Sabre 28. Model year 1976..

The boat is in ok shape... Hull sound, deck sound .. basic equipment ..

You have xxxx to spend.. think?? at least $15,000 ..

What equipment will you replace, add, get, .. etc ??

My list so far :: and remember, this comes from a Barnes and Noble book ..

Replace the standing and running rigging .. add two self tailing winches ..
upgrade the
anchor and anchor equipment .. sails .. furling for jib.. [ maybe, the
book says the
furling systems don't work the sail very well and a second smaller jib will
sail the boat better ]

What stuff would you EXPERTS get ..

The windvane steerer? Or electric stuff ?

what about engine upgrades ?/ batteries? solar/wind power ?

Isn't Barnes and Noble a bookseller? What is the author and title of
the book?

I wouldn't rush to make changes or upgrade stuff - except for things
that are obviously worn out or otherwise unusable. Use the boat for a
bit, then you will be in a better position to decide what upgrades
will make sense for your use of it.

If you put on roller furling, new sails, change the engine, etc, then
decide to sell the boat in a year, you'll never get even half your
money back.

Self-tailing winches are nice, but I sailed (single-handed) for many
years without them.

As others have said, wind vane steering is of little use in coastal
cruising, but if you will be single-handing, an autopilot would be a
very good investment.


--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

On Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:30:48 -0800 (PST), pirate
wrote:

Seems as though you've already figured WH out, so no need to go there.

I think Janet and WH know each other very, very well.

On Nov 29, 5:35 pm, Dave wrote:
On Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:55:53 -0800, Peter Bennett
said:

an autopilot would be a
very good investment.

Or even a very good expense.

(Just pointing out peoples' tendency to call things of which they approve
"investments" and things they think unnecessary "expenses.")

If the standing rigging has never been replaced, REPLACE IT even if it
looks OK. I thought mine was ok when it was20 yrs old until someone
convinced me to really look at it with a magnifying glass and I was
shocked to find ALL the lower fittings had miniscule cracks.
Replacement will only cost about $2000, maybe $2500. Running rigging
is cheap.
If the furling system is still good then keep it, otherwise go with a
CDI system because you can install it yourself. Roller furlers really
will make you sail more than you otherwise would, I wish I'd got one
years before I finally did.
Replace the lifelines too
Electronic autopilot. Forget all the stupid NMEA BS and interfacing
to charts. Get the simplest one with the most force.
Why self tailing? I have a 28' and have never really needed it and I
sail single handed.
Get Lazy Jacks or similar because it will really make life easier and
your spouse less crabby when she/he is at the tiller and the sail is
dropped.
A new high capacity bilge pump.
Some good used sails
A dinghy (I prefer the non-inflatables but you choose)
A new VHF AND a handheld VHF
AUTO-inflate lifejackets.
EPIRB
This should be well under $10,000.
I bet the old engine is ok but needs some work. It is probably an old
Atomic 4, a great gas engine that will run forever and is very
simple. You may need to replace your fuel tank though. Get a CO
detector if it is a gas engine.

Here is my reasoning on going less expensive. This is an older boat
and you seem to want to cruise cheap. This means that you will not
want to be spending time in $80/night slips or be paying $400/month
for a slip. You need to keep her in a place that is a little less
safe but much cheaper, maybe even on anchor in a slough somewhere.for
free. If something happens to her, you do not want it to be a
financial disaster for you. You want to be able to shrug your
shoulders and say "Oh well, it was interesting but wont be a real
hardship of a loss".
Lots of new SOLAS flares.

Richard wrote:
KLC Lewis wrote:



I would second most of Wilbur's advice, though you might have trouble
fitting a Walker Bay 8 on deck. Towing a dink is okay in protected
waters, but for any real passage-making, it should be properly stored
on deck, upside down where it can't hold water. You may, or may not,
have the available space on that boat where it will both fit and not
hinder crew movement. And, of course, I would have to dismiss the
advice not to listen to advice from other posters. And finally, what
Wilbur considers "unnecessary crap that women feel (we) can't do
without" is more necessary than he comprehends. We do have to remain
women, after all.



And bless you for it!
Over the last three seasons, I've been towing a dinghy in everything
from a flat calm to a force eight all over the English Channel and the
southern North Sea. On our 26' mid 60's yacht, there is nowhere to stow
even a tiny hard tender on deck so its tow, deflate and pack or do
without. Towing a hard tender is problematic as if it flips, you will
almost certainly have to cut it adrift (if the bow didn't pull off the
moment it swamped) Also you cannot bring it alongside to bail it in
rough water.

We tow a 10' hard bottommed Avon inflatable. I have a 100' floating
towline, (I usually use 5' to 15' but in bad weather off the wind you
have to give it a lot of slack or you'll get the tender on top of you in
the cockpit) with a drogue just in front of the tender that fills if the
tender is overtaking us, and a three part bridle with a swivel to attach
the tow line to which keeps the tender more or less streight under tow
and prevents tangles. There is minimum gear in the tender and what
there is is strapped in place.

Ive had to get into the tender underway to bail it two or three times
and had to hove to once to recover it when it flipped. Any of those
occasions would have probably been the loss of a hard tender. I fully
expect to loose this tender sooner or later.

For an inflatable it rows quite well. You wouldn't do so for sport, but
a mile or so to get to the pub and back is no problem as it has good
quality two part oars and decent rowlocks unlike most inflatables.

If I was off on a passage of over 24 hours I would consider stowing it,
and if going blue water I'd definately stow it but towing a well chosen
dink is a lot less hassle than many people will tell you.

"Peter Bennett" wrote

As others have said, wind vane steering is of little use in coastal
cruising, but if you will be single-handing, an autopilot would be a
very good investment.


I use my Cape Horn windvane a great deal in coastal cruising around Maine.
I can't recommend it enough even for even near shore use. I have a small
electric autopilot that drives the windvane linkage when under power.

--
Roger Long

On Nov 29, 5:03*am, "Janet O'Leary"
wrote:
Hello again; * women haters, know it alls, never owned but
full of advice, and then there are the nuts/bolts/screws.. all loose..

And of course,, The Hubbard ... *question; *how many Hubbards are there?

This is your assignment ::

You have been given a Sabre 28. *Model year 1976..

The boat is in ok shape... Hull sound, deck sound .. basic equipment ..

You have xxxx to spend.. *think?? * at least $15,000 ..

What equipment will you replace, add, get, .. *etc ??

My list so far :: *and remember, this comes from a Barnes and Noble book ..

Replace the standing and running rigging .. *add two self tailing winches ..
upgrade the
anchor and anchor equipment .. *sails .. *furling for jib.. [ maybe, the
book says the
furling systems don't work the sail very well and a second smaller jib will
sail the boat better ]

What stuff would you EXPERTS get ..

The windvane steerer? * Or electric stuff ?

what about engine upgrades ?/ *batteries? *solar/wind power ?

not a drip with out the pressure!
I would look to the basics, hull, running gear, standing rigging and
sails, etc. dont buy it if you dont need it and dont spend on the
shiny garbage. personally i would find an OLD fishermen and have them
look over the boat and gear take them out a time or two. they may not
be able to sail it but i'll bet that they will have some
recommendations on how the boat runs and what stuff needs fixing. i
would also look for morages around the fishing fleets. its not going
to have the ammenities that the white boat docks have but its going to
be less costly. look at and ask how the working sailors fix stuff its
not gonna be like the white boats but it will work and it will for the
most part last. ask around the fishing docks for who the working
sailors call when the engine or electronics fail this guy will most
likly be some old codger that will talk your ears off but he will know
his biz. use your head if it looks to good to be true it likely is,
talk to folks, ask questions, watch the old guys and gals, often you
can learn more in an afternoon with your mouth shut. than toung
wagging will get you in a month. dont think that old sailor slowly
splicing a line has not noticed you he has and he slowed down so you
could see what he's doing. take the lession home and work on it
somewhere along the line that old sailor will see you learned it.
Offer to help on the dock, the fastest way to learn is to help someone
and when you need help they will show up.

compliment a good job when you see it but dont be effusive. a simple
nice work or i like the splice, mat, patch, anon will get you alot of
info and it makes you a welcome sight. dont flash cash most working
sailors dont give a whit if you got money and it will ruin your rep if
you try to drown them in money. oh and as to your REP make it good, if
you say you will be somplace or help someone, do it come hell or high
water most folks at sea will do the same for you as long as they know
its worth it.

this is my experiance on the west coast several countries and the
arctic but all claims are off for the east coast and gulf.