Assembly and Launch

After our arrival at Bahia Honda State Park, the place we chose as an assembly and launch site due to the sufficiently wide ramp, we set up camp and started the assembly process. We have heard that it could be done in as little as 4 hours......... it took us 2 and a half days!

2 parking spots for the amazing expanding boat

Employing the Uhaul to pull them apart

Beams in place

Trampolines and center console in place

Anyway, it all went well and the raising of the mast, which we were both kind of apprehensive about, turned out to be an anticlimax. The tabernacle works great and we can even raise and lower the 35' mast on the water. (How we found that out is another story over lots of beers!)

The purpose built Seawind 24 trailer worked great for transport as well as haul, launch, and assembly of the boat. We did a lot of work on this trailer but she has done her job and it is time to sell it. I would recommend the trailer to any Seawind 24 owner.

The actual launch, which we thought would be a piece of cake was a bit more difficult. There was only 8" spare on each side and the ramp was very slippery below the water. We took the vehicle down as far as we could with most of the boat floating already but she would not come off. We think the long trip may have flattened the rollers a bit and they would not turn. We used a ratchet strap to winch the boat off and finally she was afloat.

Finally she is in the water in the Florida Keys!

The Bahia Honda State Park is really beautiful and the staff treated us really well. We even had a manatee come right up to and under the boat.

A manatee under the trampoline in Bahia Honda State Park

I tried to get more photos but he was too interested in the camera

The only drawback of the Bahia Honda Park for sailboats is that it has some very strong currents flowing by the marina exit and only a small gap in an old bridge to get out to the sea. More about that next time when we talk about our first trip........

The Marathon to Marathon

Things became really rushed in the last few days before we departed Camas WA for Marathon FL. The trailer needed some modification to the mast support as Uhaul truck we were hiring was a lot higher than the vehicle the trailer was designed for. We needed to replace the rigging and had only 6 days to get it done. We also still had several items of furniture, a computer, and a car to sell.

Our friend Bill Jamieson had the new mast supports welded up in a few minutes and Rigging Products of Portland got all the rigging hardware we needed in just 2 days! The car seemed to be a problem but our landlord quickly came up with a buyer. We tried to sell the furniture within our building but eventually put "free" on everything and stuck it out in the hallway; the pile quickly dwindled.

The morning of our departure we loaded the truck and hooked up the boat in pouring rain. Everything was wet! We looked like a couple of drowned rats. The first few hours of the trip was also in constant rain which became really heavy at times.

Our first stop was Central Point OR. The rain had stopped and the mountain passes ahead were forecast to be clear in the morning so we got a good night's sleep. The next day was uneventful and we made good headway stopping the night in Madera CA.

Most mornings we departed early to avoid traffic

Something we were unable to get done in Washington due to low temperatures and rain was the bottom paint. We had called a boatyard in Florida thinking we could get it done there but they wanted way too much money and would not let us do the job ourselves. So day three of the trip took us to Quartzsite AZ and the desert boonies to do the bottom paint. This worked great; free camping, hot and dry weather, and nobody to tell us we could not do it. We did this over three days and enjoyed the peace and quiet, and the beautiful clear skies between coats of paint.

Our camp in the desert

Back on the road we camped where possible to save money and spent the night in a motel if we did a long day. We drove through New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and finally into Florida. We arrived 2 days ahead of our target date and decided to take a day off in a motel to regroup before starting the final stage of the trip, the assembly and launch of Homerun.

The Boot Key Harbor Mooring Field, our new home

Next: The assembly and launch

Tight Schedule - Bound for the Keys

After the euphoria of owning a boat again began to subside we realised that we now owned a boat and trailer that both needed a heap of work. To add to this we had come up with a new plan for the sweet little Seawind 24! The Florida Keys were calling!........ actually the Northwest winter also had something to do with it. We decided to get out of Washington area before winter really set in which meant a hectic schedule for getting things done; 10 weeks...... plus 2 for giving notice at our jobs and packing up/selling our junk. We intend living on the boat so we need to get rid of anything that doesn't fit weight or size wise.

One thing that really pleased us was the good quality of the workmanship and materials used in the construction of this Seawind 24. It was built in Australia in 1983 and is still in excellent (although dirty) condition.

Enough gabbing, time is not waiting.......... Here we go!

 Looking pretty rough!

Week one: Pressure wash the outside
                  Replace all fenders, dock lines
                  Measure trampolines and running rigging
                  Clean inside right hull

Got this done and decided to make our own tramps, we did this once before so felt we had the skills.

Week two: Remove engine
                   Replace impeller
                   Change gear oil
                   Order carb kit
                   Order tramp netting
                   Clean left hull

All done, netting (UC Silver 42mm BK 20ply Knotless Netting with Dyneema®) on the way from Net Systems . Teleflex Marine carb kit ordered from Amazon.

Week three: Fit first trampoline
                     Buy new fuel tank and fuel lines
                     Install carb kit and start engine
                     Buy and install new running rigging

We got all our running rigging from Rigging Products of Portland OR. Great people to deal with. The engine fired right up and runs great.

The new tramp gave us a boost.

Week four: Fit next 2 trampolines
                   Fit engine
                   Assess all trailer repairs

The new tramps look really good and feel good to walk on.

The boat is cleaning up good.

Week five: Check safety gear
                   Do our first sail

We took the boat out of the marina for the first time in 14 years. There wasn't much wind but the purpose of our trip was to get an Oregon Police inspection as the boat had no HIN #. This went off without a hitch and we caught some wind on the way back so actually got to sail our new baby.

 The first of many trips

The Oregon Police were really efficient and professional

 



Week six:   The Trailer.......
                   Purchase and fit:
                   New axles
                   New wheels and tires
                   Disc brakes
                   Coupler and hydraulic system

This was hard work but the trailer looks a lot better. It needs to be reliable for our 4000 mile trip to the Keys.

Week seven: Fit fenders
                     Safety cables
                     Weigh the trailer

The trailer weighed in at 1450 lbs which will put the boat and trailer weight at about 3000 lbs.

Week eight: Trailer inspection

The trailer inspection went ok! Even got a "nice trailer" from the officer. There was a tense moment however when he measured the width, and remeasured the width and then measured again and then called the other officer over and discussed it. I was sure that it was in limits, we even had an inch and a half to spare on each side. All was ok though and we are now ready to haul the boat out.

Week nine: The Haul out

We needed to move the boat 8 miles from Steamboat Landing Marina to Camas/Washougal Marina to haul out as this looked like the most suitable ramp for our trailer. A nice westerly wind had been blowing for days but of course on the morning we moved the boat it was dead calm so we had to motor all the way.

My good friend Ben Coleman and I motoring to Camas

I spent the night on the boat at Camas/Washougal planning to haul out at first light so that we would have the whole day to take the boat apart and tow it away. The Harbor Master, Mark Hamrick, at CamasWashougal Marina sure made us feel welcome. A nice marina with good facilities and very friendly and accommodating staff.

Tied up at Camas/Washougal Marina

 

Hauling a seawind 24 out is a little different to other boats as the trailer first has to be expanded to 16 feet wide and once the boat is on some careful driving is needed to move it to some level ground so that the mast and beams can be removed and the trailer collapsed back to 8 feet. This move was done with no problems and we started dismantling the boat at 10 am.

Out the water for the first time in almost 20 years!

Lowering the mast on the Seawind 24 turned out to be a lot easier than we ever imagined. We took our time making sure the mast and boom were properly triangulated and then used the main sheet & blocks to lower it.

The mast is down

The boat came apart real easy, the hardest part was working out where to stow everything and tie it all down. The trailer went back together with some effort but no real hangups.

Week ten: The bottom

We pressure washed and sanded the bottom and were really pleased to find no osmosis. We thought for sure there was going to be a few surprises but other than a couple of scratches she was clean. Seawind Catamarans sure did a good job when they moulded this hull all those years ago. The weather has become too cold and rainy to do an epoxy barrier coat so we plan to do that and the antifouling on the way to Florida when we get into some warmer climates. Winter has arrived in Washington State,.......... time to go!

 Next week the marathon to Marathon begins! We are planning our departure for 30 October 2012 and expect to take 2 weeks to get there.

              

Assessing The Project

Buying an old neglected Seawind 24 like this we were expecting a few surprises when we had a closer look at the project but there were not too many. The rigging would need replacing as it was 30 years old, the trampolines were badly weather damaged, and the running rigging all needed to be changed.

The inside was dry and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the sails, 2 complete sets, were in great shape. One set, a jib, genoa, and main had never been out of the bag. The 8 hp Mercury engine, although 15 years old, had obviously not been run much. Apparently the original engine had been stolen and this one was fitted and run for about 15 minutes and the boat was never moved again.






The purpose built Seawind 24 trailer was a mess due to being left to the elements for many years and needed a major overhaul. It was built in Australia and so also needed to be modified to comply with US regulations. The list included new lights and wiring, 2 new axles with brakes on both, new wheels and tires, fenders, and a new coupler.







Our original budget for the boat was $10 000 and so far it was looking like we could do it for about $8000 so we were feeling pretty good about it. This figure was with us doing all the work and only farming out a small amount of welding work on the trailer. One way we managed to keep the costs down was to "window" shop at the marine stores to find the best quality products and then get quotes from industrial suppliers and commercial fishing suppliers. Some of our quotes were up to 70% cheaper than stores like West Marine for the exact same product.

Next week........ The Work Schedule

There It Is!

My wife and I had been looking for a sailboat for some time and began searching the Internet for suitable boats. We were interested in a +- 28' boat that we could live aboard and possibly do some ocean cruising with. We found and rejected many but then I got a job at a local marina, Steamboat Landing Marina and there I saw it, a 24' Seawind catamaran! It had been there for a long time and was really run down but I just fell in love with this pretty little boat. We had built and sailed a 35' cat before and knew what a great pleasure it was to sail cats. The Seawind 24 is a lot smaller and probably a bit faster than our previous boat.

Now it was time to find out if the owner would part with it. I had some trouble contacting the owner as the phone number for him at the marina didn't work and I resorted to mailing a letter to his last address. A few days later I received an email from him saying he would consider selling it but would only be there in 6 weeks' time. I checked the boat out in the meantime and got a diver to check the bottom for osmosis. Surprisingly the bottom was in good condition, probably because it had been in very cold fresh water for the past nineteen years!

When the owner got back we entered into a week long negotiation on the price and settled in the end on $3000 for the boat and its purpose built trailer which was in equally neglected condition.

The Boat was now ours!!