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
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