'70 35-2, First Inspection

Well I probably should have done this before I bought the boat. But I got excited. And here I am, so I'm going to make the best of it. My plans for restoration depend on the condition of the boat as well whether the sails turn out be correct.


First look at the bilge. When I bought, there was a one piece molded in carpet across the entire cabin sole, so I conspired against myself to use that as an excuse not to look. I suspected the bilge had water, but not a pair of eyeglasses, a box of emergency boat repair?, a freshly lost lazarette hatch, and submerged wires laying around. The rest of the inspection revealed some real shockers...






All photos here

The through hull for the bilge pump out is about to disintegrate. A throttle or primer pump? cable was broken and had been replaced by a piece of copper wire with a strand running through it. I'm enthralled...

The head seems to have just broken. It used to pump and flush and all that good stuff but now it is hard to lift the handle and the seal at the handle base leaks. Maybe I'm missing something, but no water passed through the bowl, in either flush or dry mode.

A smattering of broken wires. Mast top light (correct term?) does not work. Running lights light on the bow only.

The companionway sliding hatch is in about 3 pieces now. That will be a priority project to be able to forego the use of the tarp I am using now....

Not shown here is a very badly rusted engine mount frame, with particularly bad rust on the forward starboard engine mount support.

I saw some of the chainplates, they appear to be in good condition, no significant apparent rotting, no major delamination. The stainless steel caps on the bottoms of the hand rail screws are rusting, and I'm debating if that is from condensation, or leakage. Resealing those looks like a huge project which might receive caulk for christmas.

Advice on the head and companionway hatch would be most welcome. Head is a Raritan. I'm also hoping to change the oil before moving here, but I don't think the boat has the original oil sump pump, is there a good inexpensive unit I could pick up at a harbor freight or at a local marine store?

Gracis,

At the haulout, get the yard to look at the keel, hull (blisters), rudder, prop and thruhulls. You probably won't have them do the work, but estimates and pro opinions are valuable information. (Sounds like you didn't have a pre-purchase survey)

Here's a good thread: http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?16172-Work-to-do-while-hauled

If the boat transmission shifts and the throttle works, there's plenty of time to figure out the mystery wires later And I don't see any rush to change the engine oil at this point.

Post your issues one at a time, it works better. It will draw experienced opinion, and others will remember relevant threads. There's nothing on our boats than somebody here has not already rebuilt or replaced.

Please put your boat model and year and engine in the signature line: Settings/My Settings/Edit signature line. It helps people know if they have knowledge that applies.

Congrats on becoming an owner.

Not all shotgun weddings lead to bad marriages. Might just be a matter of commitment. Good luck with the new bri...boat.

You asked about the sliding hatch cover.

You'll be rebuilding it, since replacements are not available and a carpenter is too expensive.

Fit the pieces together. If it slides, and seems to work, take it home, strip it, glue the parts that were glued back together, screw the parts that were screwed back together, and refinish it in paint (it's probably too far gone for varnish).

Or you can copy the parts and build a new one from scratch.

We have several threads on such projects you can find via Google, adding Ericson Yacht Forum to the search title.

Here's one:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?10548-Leaking-companionway-hatch/page2

First voyage

Thanks everyone. I will rebuild the hatch with epoxy / glue and some paint or varnish. I work full time and don't have the hours to do a proper rebuild so I'll just hobble back together what's there.

The reason for doing the oil change first was that we had a 3.5 hr voyage to move the boat to her new berth on the opposite side of SF bay. I predicted light winds and expected to be motoring the whole time. The old oil was up the level but looked like greasy water. The same SAE 30 oil lubes the engine and gear box. So, I diligently stopped at W. Marine, bought an extractor and 6 quarts of oil, a funnel, and a filter at a local auto parts. We tried to use the "Attwood 5 quart high speed oil change pump" from W. Marine but it was terrible. Pumped about .1 quarts per minute. Hardly "high speed". So we abandoned the oil change, topped off what we had, and started the journey. The boat sadly blew oil out of the exhaust upon start up. I suspect leaky valve seals. From now on I'll put a catch under the exhaust upon startup.

Cheers,

The oil needs to be warm/hot for extractors to work. Takes me 30 minutes of motor time in the slip, or more, in gear at 1200 rpms.