Looking at a boat in rough shape

[durwoodghib]

Greetings,
This is my first time here posting anything so be gentle. I was driving down the road the other day and saw a 16 ft. American Fiberglass Corp. Sailboat for sale. This would be a project boat. It was last licensed in 2000 and the body looks to be in rough shape in my opinion. It is oxidized heavily and in need of a bath. What I am most concerned with is the housing around the center board. I crawled under the boat, as best I could, and didn't see much problem from there, but from the top side it is cracked all the way around the base of it. Also the seating area is “pulled” away from the hull a little in the very back of the boat. I am guessing the boat is made with the bottom being a different part from the top but was still concerned. The mast and boom look to be in good shape along with the plastic coated rigging cables. The rigging ropes would have to be replaces along with all of the wooden parts. I have no clue what kind of shape the sails were in or if it even had any sails as they were not with the boat.
Is it repairable is it worth looking into further?
What would sail(s) cost if needed replaced?
These are some of the questions in my head right now, so if anyone would like to voice their opinions I would love to hear from you. If you would like more info I will try and give you what I can.

Durwood

[Raggi_Thor]

Is it like this one?
From
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16a.html
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16c.html
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16d.html
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16e.html
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16f.html

Seems like they are quite popular and sell for 1000 to 2000 USD.

I don't know what sails costs in the US, but from Lee in Hong Kong I would guess 600USD.

I am an optimist, so I think the centerboard case can be fixed with a large fillet and a few layers of fiberglass.

[durwoodghib]

THat is the boat. It is supposed to look like the blue one I am guessing...

[Raggi_Thor]

I think it looks good, seems like a practical boat to sail with friends and family in protected waters.

You see from the old ads that you shouldn't pay more than 2000 USD for one in perfect condition and maye 1000 for one in working condition...

[durwoodghib]

I was able to get a hold of the person selling the boat last night. They said that they do have the sails and they are in great shape. 1 Main, 1 Jib. The story behind it was they had bought it about 7 years ago, took it to a lake put it in sailed around for a while, took it out, and never got it back to the water after that. The boat is a 3 layer set up: The Hull, The seating area/cubby holes, and the top. As far as the cracked center mast area they told me that it was kind of a half done bondo job when they purchased the boat and as it has set the crack has gotten worse over time. My guess is it wasn't reinforced with any mesh, but could be fixed right. They are asking $300.00 as it is...but when I asked if the price was firm their response was it isn't a firm price but they are not going to cut it in half either..

[Raggi_Thor]

Seems like a good deal if you like the boat!
Old fiberglass can be fixed with polyester and glass, or epoxy.
Epoxy wont stick to fresh polyester, but work OK with old.

[PI Design]

$300 would be a steal! Cracks around the centrboard case shouldn't be too hard to repair. Does it come with a trailer for that price?

[alan white]

Funny how with a lot of these FG boats, the sails are always in good shape. but the nature of boat ownership for a lot of people is generally to forget you have the boat after a while, so the hull sits outside and the sails sit in the closet.
I wouldn't buy a sailboat without good sails, but with nice sails, it's a doable project, because whereas I know how to fix up boat hulls, I still can't make sails myself.
At $300.00, this looks like a doable project. Nice looking boat.
You can get a lot of help here when it comes time to fix her up.

Alan

[alan white]

Originally Posted by Raggi_Thor

Is it like this one?
From
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16a.html
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16c.html
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16d.html
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16e.html
http://www.sailingtexas.com/samerican16f.html

Seems like they are quite popular and sell for 1000 to 2000 USD.

I don't know what sails costs in the US, but from Lee in Hong Kong I would guess 600USD.

I am an optimist, so I think the centerboard case can be fixed with a large fillet and a few layers of fiberglass.

The sails, here, based on maybe a 100 sq ft main and a 50 sq ft jib would probably cost twice that much.
How is Lee's quality, Raggi?

Alan

[timgoz]

Nice find Durwood!

Looks like a great little boat for a good price.

Hope all goes well. keep us up to date with your progress.

Tim

[Raggi_Thor]

Originally Posted by alan white

The sails, here, based on maybe a 100 sq ft main and a 50 sq ft jib would probably cost twice that much.
How is Lee's quality, Raggi?
Alan

I don't know yet, but I ahve ordered sails for an Argie 15 (Dudley Dix design) from Lee. I think it was 5 or 6 hndred USD.
Dudley Dix told me he had used Lee Sails on one of his first boats. They are good for cruising, but maybe not for racing, he said.

[alan white]

I've got a jib to order, only about 30 sq ft. Nothing unusual, hanks and maybe 5 oz weight, mitered. The jib is like that of a Haven 12 1/2, which sailmakers around here want $600.00 for (!).
Thanks for the info, I'll give them a call once I find their website.

Alan

[Raggi_Thor]

It's simply www.LeeSails.com

[alan white]

Thanls. I already found them yesterday.

Alan

[messabout]

Alan; $600 for a 30 ft^2 sail ? Those guys are ambitious aren't they? Check out Dabbler sails. They make high quality small boat sails in the $5.00 per foot range. It'll take some time to get the sails cause the guy is covered up with work. I think his name is Stuart Hopkins and he is easy to talk to and if you have some special requirement he will not blow it off. Big time sail makers like to sell big boat sails and may be guilty of discouraging the guy who wants small stuff. Can't blame them too much because the real money is in big boat sails.