Go Big, Or Stay Home

The purpose of this blog is to document the refurbishment of an Islander 36, from acquisition onward.

So the short story is this: I never sailed before 2-1/2 years ago. I tried it once, and was immediately hooked.

I started this blog at the suggestion of my good friend, Tim, who got me started sailing. I intend to use this medium as a way to record some of the ins-and-outs of the refurbishment, as well as keeping friends and family apprised of what I'm up to.

As an aside…these initial posts have been more time consuming than I anticipated due to the length of time that has transpired since last summer. I have tried to recall as much as possible about how I went about the research and purchase process. If this record seems a bit disjointed, that is why.

I will also mention here that this refurbishment project is dedicated to my good friend, Grant, who showed me how to tackle projects that most mortal(or sane) men would hire done. His wit was sharp, his demeanor always pleasant, even under the most trying of times. His escapades are legend among his many friends. His memory is with me every time I start my work, and helps guide me through to the end. Thank you, my friend.

"Go big, or stay home."

The Disclaimer

I have a background in engineering and IT/Networking. I also am fairly handy in home improvement projects and woodworking. I've milled and laid my own flooring and trim, built my outdoor sauna and deck, made my own furniture, and I am in the middle of milling and building interior doors for my house. I only mention it because it pertains to my decision making while researching boats to buy.

It may appear after reading some of these posts that I have no real experience in sailing, seamanship, boat refurbishment (or blogging for that matter). Guilty on all counts! So what? 80% of success is just showing up. I can figure out the rest.

I'm sure that there may be better ways to go about doing some of the things that I will be doing, and by no means is my approach the "Right Way", or the way you should do it. You will have your own way.

The Initial Research

Once I came to be in the market for a boat, it became obvious that some stars would have to align in order for us to pull it off financially. I say us, because my spouse, Anne, and I were not looking for a 6 figure vessel. Far from it.

I feel we were ahead of the game, because we knew what kind of sailing we wanted to do. We were not going to be racing, or circumnavigating the globe. We wanted something that could get us around the Grand Traverse bay for 2 and 3 day weekends, as well as support a week or longer if we wanted to cruise to a more remote destination. What we were looking for was a cruiser in the 30 to 40 foot range. This is the range we had been chartering. We had spent some time on some friends 26 foot Catalina. We just did not see us doing the things we wanted on that size of boat, comfortably.

The searching started online, looking at boats everywhere of this size, and then continued to some local marinas. The results of my search for 30-40 foot boats can categorized thusly:

1.) Fairly new boats that were in the 6 figure range. All in seeming great shape, would be fantastic to own, but way out of my ballpark.

2.) Mid aged boats that started at about 40K and went up from there. These mostly seem to be in fairly good shape, are seaworthy, and could be sailed from the moment of purchase. Still out of my range

3.) Old boats that start dirt cheap, and end up in the 40K-60K range. Wildly variable condition.

So I started analyzing what you typically get out of a boat in my size range for less than, say, 20K (asking). Answer: Typically not much. I looked at a lot of pictures, and then looked at a lot of boats. The pictures always look much better than what you see in person. Pictures hide all manner of cosmetic issues, to say nothing of mechanical or structural issues.

At the dirt cheap end of things, meaning under 10K, we see a lot of what are called “project boats”. This term is an understatement of epic proportions. Burned out hulls, boats that sank, boats that seem to have been involved in some sort of naval action, you name it.

However, every once in a while I discovered a potential “Diamond in the Rough” amid the flotsam. The boat that was tantalizingly close to the high end of my price range, with what looks like a sound hull, functioning motor, and set of sails. Not in perfect shape, but not outside the realm of possibility.

At which point, I usually see the boat is in Miami, or San Diego, or somewhere equally inconvenient. So it turns out that moving a boat across country is no small cheddar. About $3-7K near as I could tell, depending on whether it was coming from the east or west coast. I did not bother to get an exact quote.

Somewhere in the middle of this searching, I determined some criteria that a boat would most likely have in order to fit into my budget.

1.) It had to be local(Great Lakes)

2.) It had to be a boat that was built 25+ years ago.

3.) It had to have a sound hull and deck.

4.) It had to have a serviceable engine.

5.) It had to have a set of serviceable sails.

6.) It had to need some work done to it.

The last item was seemingly the biggest factor in determining price in my end of the boat buying market. It’s much easier to negotiate a lower price if there are major expensive repairs that obviously need to happen. I think that most boat buyers will walk away on seeing any major work, as they will not want to pay to have it done. That was my equalizer, as I could not afford a boat that didn’t need work.

The Islander 36 that I found had an asking price that was nowhere near what I could pay. However, I could not stop visiting the website. By now, after having looked at hundreds of boat descriptions, I know how to interpret all sales jargon into plain English. This description was more or less an honest one. It spelled out some of the things that were clearly going to be a problem right up front, without sugar coating it too much. It supplied pictures that illustrated some of the problems. I had an idea that perhaps this one could work. This was the most likely candidate that I had seen, and it was practically in the neighborhood, geographically(Bay City). Even better, I did some further research of the Islander 36 sailing qualities and reputation, and found that it was a well-regarded vessel.

I arranged a visit to the area, and by sheer luck, Anne has an old friend who happens to have his Ericson 37 tied up in the very marina that had my Islander. We went down for a weekend to visit our friends, go for a sail on his boat, and check out the Islander.  Larry's insights into the boat buying process were indispensable, as he just bought the Ericson not too long ago.

Seeing the boat the first time was when the wheels really started turning. We did not see any obvious deal breakers, and we both liked the design of the boat. I did some checking around, and found that this boat had been for sale for about 2 years. A couple of deals to purchase had fallen through, and it had recently been relegated to the marina’s “back lot” (where I assume boats go to die). Anne and I decided that we would pursue this one.

I determined that two things would need to be in place, prior to making an offer. Transport logistics, and a home for the vessel, in and out of the water. I researched the logistics of moving the boat, and eventually found a company out of Grand Rapids that could transport across the state, reasonably. Note: there are not very many transport haulers out there that can move a large vessel over distance, at least in Michigan. In talking with some friends, we discovered a mooring location in west bay that would be available to us when the time came. That took care of a home in the water. As for off season storage, I rent a small commercial space in town, and after checking with the landlord, and surrounding businesses, I verified that I could keep it there.

I did a substantial amount of research on the rough costs of the major items that I could anticipate. We came up with a shoestring budget that was wholly contingent on the seller taking our initial offer, which was an embarrassingly low amount. I downloaded some stock verbiage for an offer to purchase that included the terms that the seller would cover the cost of a sea trial, and I would handle surveying, and transport. The sale would be contingent on both.

We held our breath, and made the offer.

The buyer accepted our initial offer, no questions asked. Time will tell who got the better end of the deal.

The Survey

I spent a lot of time researching surveyors, and things that would be surveyed. I almost decided to forgo the survey, but in the end, we went with someone that was recommended to us. I don’t regret purchasing the survey. The surveyor confirmed a lot of what I suspected, and he also was a wealth of information about things I knew nothing about. He was very through, and very frank about what would be required.

During the survey, we did not disclose what the purchase price would be, nor did I let on that I was remotely handy. We wanted a completely unbiased opinion on the state of the vessel, and what would be need to be fixed.

Interestingly, the surveyor’s initial recommendation was to walk away. That was based on his assumption that I would have to pay to have the work done, and on the buyers asking price. We then told him that we would be doing much, if not all of the work, and what the agreed purchase price was. By the end of the survey, I think the surveyor, for good or ill, was just as excited about the possibilities as we were.

Sea Trial

With the survey completed, the next step was the sea trial. For this, I brought my good friend Tim, who has much experience sailing. I relied heavily on his advice when researching vessels, and he got right to work doing his own survey of the vessel. This would be the first time that I had seen her in the water. We met the current owner, and got started rigging the sails, and getting her ready to sail. If for no other reason, it was an excellent opportunity to see how everything was rigged, and discover some of the nuances of the boat. We motored out of the marina, and headed for open water. The engine is a Palmer gasoline 4 cylinder, and although rough starting due to not being run much, was smooth and quiet. Much more quiet than a diesel. We got under sail, and killed the engine. We had light winds, but the Islander performed quite well by Tim’s estimation despite that. After a couple of quick tacks, we turned her around, and headed back. I could have stayed out all day.

Transport

For those of you who have never transported a large boat, I can assure you that it is a nerve wracking experience.

13’-6”. This is the maximum posted load height on Michigan roads. The Islander, while in its cradle, measured 12’-6”. The transport company told me that the trailer would add 12” to the load height. It was going to be close, but close to what exactly? Is there some “danger threshold" in loads that are close to that? What if my load is really close, but an inch or two lower? If the trailer hits a bump under a bridge, will my cabin top get clipped or what? I learned that there are no good answers to these questions when it is your boat that is being moved. I had to trust the sage advice of the truck driver.

I pressed the transport company for more specifics on the trailer, and eventually talked with the driver. He said that he would most likely be able to shave a few inches off that, but that we would have to wait and see. Great. Very comforting.

On the day of transport, we got her on the trailer and we measured the height at 13’-4”. If we had been over height, I was prepared to unbolt the safety rail, and the wheel pedestal, which were the highest parts. (I have since removed them for re-bedding, and am glad I did not need to do it in the marina parking lot.)

The rest of the morning was spent getting her strapped down, and prepping the mast. The truck was on the road by noon. I elected not to follow the truck home, so I took an alternate route.

I had already marked the pavement where we would drop the boat off. With much difficulty, the driver got the trailer backed into position, and lowered the boat onto some 6x6 blocks that I had also prepared.

I thanked the driver profusely for not shearing off the cabin on some bridge or other, and took possession of my boat.

Storage

I knew from my inspections and from the survey that there were some leaks in the deck. Shortly after arriving, I fabricated a skeleton roof-like framework out of EMT that would keep a tarp shedding water, and hopefully snow as well. I found a tarp that would be large enough, and strapped everything in place.

Final Thoughts

The research and purchase of the Islander took place over the timeframe of last summer (2009), ending with the transport in mid-September. Much of the fall and winter was spent researching, pricing and planning. 

Next time, I’ll plan to talk in more detail about the boat and its condition. I’ll go into more detail about some of the obvious things that need to happen, and the overall plan to get her ready to sail.