Porter's Boat Search

[Porter Wayfare]

A few things. I don't have the feeling that I want to spend much time on that boat now, even if they gave it to me.

When I arrived to see the boat I was waiting for the "broker" to get back from an errand. I was parked in front of his house on a very narrow and bendy asphalt residential street. The few cars that came by were moving slowly and one of them would pull over to let the other one by. One car, however, came around the turn going remarkably fast and used the whole road. I thought to myself, "Man, I hope this is not the guy..." But it was. It was a very telling first impression.

Second, I love my Wayfarer and they guy I bought her from is just as good. So I know it can happen. It took a while that time too.

I don't know if a project boat solves much of the problem, unless of course, what you want to do is work on a project. The Wayfarer is wood, so that's a bit of an ongoing maintenance project right there. That's enough for me!

It's not so bad. Distance helps.

At one gas stop I put $152.00 in the tank! I almost fainted. I'd never put even $50 in the Toyota.

Then, going west on the 401 north of Toronto I was in 16 lanes of grid lock traffic! Four express lanes each way and four collector lanes each way, stuffed full of cars and we were all stopped! Solid cars and trucks as far as you could see in both directions. I thought, "And they want to build more cars?!"

Porter

[Chattcatdaddy]

Second, I love my Wayfarer and they guy I bought her from is just as good.

That is one of the nicest compliments a man can recieve.

I still have respect for my boats previous owner. That says a whole lot about a man.

[Captain Smollett]

Porter,

So sorry to hear about your experience with this boat purchase.  I could hear the excitement you had about buying her.

A project boat has some advantages, weighed against possibly putting off using the boat for a time.

For example, the spread the 'cost' of the boat out over time but without interest on a loan.  Also, you get to make her what YOU want her to be. There's also the satisfaction of bringing a boat back to her true glory as a boat; see the thread somewhere on here about "sad boats."

There are many boats for sale around here.  I know someone with a Columbia 8.3 (with some rudder post problems from Irene) selling very cheap.  There are quite a few others; I'll keep my eyes/ears out for you.

[Jim_ME]

Porter, I just saw this ad for an A22 with trailer (home built, but hopefully useable)...

Alberg 22 Sailboat - $2900 (Skaneateles NY)
http://syracuse.craigslist.org/boa/2969494755.html

-Jim

[Chattcatdaddy]

Looks good in the ad. Might be worth a call....you never know.

[Porter Wayfare]

That's an interesting looking A22. Notice the rectangular port lights. And the interior picture shows that there are no port and starboard "cabinets" aft of the bulkhead. I wonder who made it. If the year is right (1982) as far as I know it would have to be Nye. But the two things I mentioned above are different than any other Nye I've seen.

A call to the owner is next! Thanks for the tip, Jim. I'm a little gun shy about another  home-made trailer!

Porter

[Jim_ME]

Porter, You're welcome.

Yes, I thought you might have some concerns about another home-made trailer...

Yet if the boat condition checks out as good, the price is enough lower to perhaps make investing in upgrading the existing trailer (or replacing it with a new one and possibly selling the existing one as a local/yard trailer) feasible.

You may be able to have the trailer thoroughly checked out and serviced/repaired/upgraded for the trip back (which is fortunately considerably closer than Nova Scotia.)

As I suggested earlier, one option is to rent a tandem flatbed trailer locally and go get the boat and trailer with that. If there is a nearby boatyard they should be able to lift both the boat and trailer onto your rented flatbed. I'd bring plenty of  blocks for cribbing and lots of good tie-down straps.

I guess another option, if you are up for it, would be to sail the boat back via the Erie Canal and lakes, and tow the trailer back unloaded, then repair/upgrade it at home, maybe use it as a local trailer meanwhile (and if needed, look for a better trailer at your leisure?) Maybe get some experienced sailor to assist and give you some sailing/cruising instruction along the way, if you could use it.

Anyway, best of luck.  :)
-Jim

[Jim_ME]

Porter, Looking at that A22's trailer again, I see that it does not have a bow stop/winch stand, a good structure to have to 1) help hold the boat back if you have to stop quick on the road and 2) to make it easier to winch in and position the boat on the trailer when hauling out.

I was just looking at the Triad design for the (similar sized) Sea Sprite 23 and its rugged well-braced bow stop, and the way that the two forward stands are angled backward (perpendicular to the hull surface at that point) and braced to prevent the boat from moving ahead. Also there are six stands/poppets (not just four)

One question may be whether the trailer meets your requirements in other respects and would be practical to modify to incorporate the bow stop, and better stands--or to eventually find a different trailer and modify it to suit your needs. It may depend on whether once you get the boat home you only need a local trailer, or would be doing some long-distance trailer sailing.

Also posted a photo of a Typhoon 19 and trailer loaded onto a flatbed for transport (I assume because there was a problem or doubts about its trailer for highway use). I would have added a couple heavy tie-down straps to secure the boat directly to the flatbed trailer (not just the boat trailer as shown in the photos), and probably blocked up under the boat frame to lift it off its wheels/springs.

[Porter Wayfare]

On my ill-fated trip to Nova Scotia, when I finally admitted to myself that the trailer was worthless, I drove around to the local boat dealers to see if anybody knew where I could get a trailer. One particularly helpful dealer, Larry Pringle of PrimiereSEA, in Chester, had a brand new dual axle Triad like the one in your picture. It had a very long launching tongue, a dual wheel launching dolly that supported  the road hitch, hydraulic brakes, --and of course, a boat on it. Some kind of deep fin keel. It was two weeks old. It was beautiful!

Right next to it was a Typhoon on a single axle trailer from Northeast Sailboat Rescue. The frame of that trailer was formed to hold the boat as low as possible, so that the bottom of the keel was only about 9" off the ground. It must have made for very easy launching! I could see over the deck standing on the ground next to it.

The first Typhoon I checked out at the beginning of this whole adventure had a Triad single axle trailer. I think it was that trailer as much as anything that convinced me hauling a nice boat around was not a problem.

An A22 is light enough to haul on a single axle trailer. How important would you rate a dual axle? Is it that big a deal?

Porter

[Tim]

My Ty has been pulled 1000s of miles on this single axle trailer, which doesn't look much different than the one in your photo Jim. It is also a breeze to launch with the extension that you can't see on the backside.

[Porter Wayfare]

Tim,
What about your Ariel? What's it like to trailer and launch?
Porter

[Tim]

The Ariel is on a trailer so I can move it to and from a destination by myself.



At about 6000#s you don't trailer it lightly, and the trailer doesn't allow launching so it has to be slung.

[David_Old_Jersey]

If you intend to use the trailor for more than the delivery trip (Weekends? / Vacations? / Winter ashore?) then why not source one locally to you, and then take the trailor with you (will be driving there anyway). That way you get something good (not simply have to accept whatever comes with the boat) and doing in advance means have time to source out / await a deal. May well have to customise whatever you find, as well as build in some adjustment.

But if only looking for a one way road trip for delivery, then I would go the flatbed truck approach - either with a rubbish trailor onboard or own frame made out of timber. Obviously an approach not without costs, but a boat with no trailer (or no long trip roadworthy trailor) probably easier (and cheaper?) to find.

Anyway, just a couple of thoughts.

[CharlieJ]

That's how we got Tehani from Rochester NY, down to the  Texas coast- Pulled a lowboy flatbed up, loaded her on on a cradle, and hauled her back here.

Cost us about 1500 bucks for the trip.

Here's what she looked like then-



and now-

[Jim_ME]

Charlie, Now I'm pretty sure that was a project!  ;D

Here's a free sistership--I want to call it a project boat too, but after seeing your work on Tehani again...just seems like the wrong word now...  ;)
http://maine.craigslist.org/boa/2964773520.html

Tim, Sweet...now that's a good set of trailer sailers you got there. :)

[CharlieJ]

It was a total "gut the boat" and rebuild. Two experienced folks, full wood shop, and 18 months.

Necessity was also a total, to the bare hull inside, rebuild.

Plus built 12 boats for customers in the 10 years before going cruising. And refurbished four.

At my age, I don't want to do another- I'd rather go sailing ;D

[Porter Wayfare]

What are you guys trying to do to me? I would love to have a Meridian.  I would also love to have a life.

[Jim_ME]

Porter, I took Charlie's post to mean that it was possible to go get a boat with a flatbed and transport it (in his case in a cradle, but could also be on a trailer that you didn't feel confident about, l as in the case of the A22) a long distance, as part of the process of getting a boat (whether or not it involved a restoration).

When Charlie included the photos of the Tehani restoration here, I took the opportunity to post the link to the post of the local Meridian 25, in relation to Tehani, and to toss it out there, not necessarily as a realistic option for you. However you had mentioned the aspect of a project boat as being of doubtful benefit in your case--perhaps in response to another post that I cannot remember [and won't take the time to go refresh my memory on right now, but go ahead and express these thoughts for now]. When I read your post, my reaction was that there is a wide range of what "project" could mean--from one extreme (as now shown in this thread), Charlie & Laura's restoration of Tehani to some boats that need some cosmetic work but can be sailed as-is during the process. I think that for some--many perhaps--restoring a boat and sailing the boat are both an integral part of the boating experience--the boating life, if you will. I believe that John may have written about this. Does not necessarily have to be--to each his own...

I actually went to look at this Meridian a couple years ago when it was advertized cheap in a local boatyard. It needed a lot of work, and it was more than I wanted to take on at the time. I was concerned that if nobody wanted it, the yard might cut it up just to make room for a paying customer's boat--as has been the fate of many other boats. I was prepared to take the boat in that situation, move it out of the boatyard into my yard, and to then try to find someone interested and capable of restoring her. Someone like Charlie and Laura at the time in their lives when they got Tehani. Someone else did take the boat out of the boatyard and I was glad [and relieved] to see that it was wanted. Anyway, since I had made the decision not to take on the restoration of this boat myself (given my other pending projects), I certainly was not suggesting that you had any obligation to take it on.

[Porter Wayfare]

Please forgive me: I didn't sufficiently infer that since subtle joking is not well conveyed by email it is probably not well conveyed in this forum either. What I meant was, I would love to have a Meridian and by showing me this ad you have really tempted me to go down the same path Charlie did who spent three man-years in a fully equipped woodworking shop fixing up an apparently junk boat into a gem one can only dream of having. What I mean is you tempted me to walk off that plank, so to speak. Three years from now my wife will say, "Are you kidding me? My life has moved on."

I did not really take umbrage at anything you or the other guys said. Actually I very much appreciate the responses I get on this thread and everything else I read on this site.

Thanks you all.

[Porter Wayfare]

Jim,
So just how bad is it? The Meridian, I mean.