Happy Winter all!
I have a new to me P 26 that I bought for "$500" at the end of last summer. Yes... I know there’s no such thing as a $500 boat… so I could use some perspective from you all on the depth of the hole that I have jumped into. For context, I'm moving up from an O'Day Day Sailer... so this is my first 'big' boat and I'm coming at this without much knowledge of boats that aren't dinghies. The decision in front of me is whether to move forward with the maintenance and repair work, or to scrap it, take the loss, and find a different boat (likely with a new/different set of issues).
Here’s the boat in a nutshell:
1973 Pearson 26. Sails seem to be in reasonable shape; main (no reef points) and 130% (ish?) Genoa on a roller furling. The purchase included an outboard - Yamaha 9.9 (T9.9EXHY, circa 2000), which starts easily (electric) but then starts to sputter after 10-15 minutes of running harder (could be as simple as bad gas... or be indicative of a bigger problem).
Some history;
She was sailed on Lake Champlain (VT) for an unknown number of years until abandoned on the hard where the PO acquired it by paying back-storage fees to the yard. It hadn't been abandoned for very long (perhaps a year?) until the PO bought it and sailed it for a few more years with relatively minimal maintenance. I bought it in late August, but due to an untimely back injury, I only sailed it a few times before hauling it out for the winter. It sailed nicely, although I did notice a rudder vibration when going at speed... especially if motoring. I'm assuming the rudder post needs new bushings (which I understand is common for the P26). It certainly needs a new tiller, which was rotten at the bolts and disintegrated when I removed the duct tape holding it together (!).
I did pay someone to help winterize it for me... collectively we did kind of a half-assed job really... but at least the black and freshwater tanks are empty, some antifreeze is in the plumbing, and a tarp is over (most of) the boat aft of the mast. The hired gentleman drained the water tank by removing the thru-hull speedometer, which he claims was barely held in place by the black water tank (yikes!).
So, here's the (growing) list of work to be done before it floats again:
Rudder/tiller work. At a minimum, replace the bushings and tiller. The surface of the rudder has been damaged (deep scrapes on one face, and a gouge in the trailing edge). Apparently, this happened when an outboard mounting bracket (no longer present) failed and the outboard, held by "the bottom 2 bolts" (PO's words) swung down and bashed the rudder. The rudder will need some minor patching and painting.
Replace the thru-hull speedometer. Or perhaps just glass over the hole and skip the speedo? (A question for a different thread is "what electronics do I really need for this boat"? ..no nav equipment is currently working except lights).
Keel bolts. Probably need replacement. Lifting the floor panels on the cabin sole, I've found that the tops of the keel bolts are very corroded. I have no idea about the scope of this job... assuming it involves grinding out the keel bolt heads from below and replacing them one at a time? (first-hand stories and perspectives on this task would be much appreciated)
Replace the head. It is old, nasty, covered in black mold, and seems to slowly backfill into the bowl while underway.
The wastewater seacock (from the 'y' in the head outflow hose) is frozen shut. I'm guessing it is old and bronze (it is very green now). I should probably ensure it opens and closes smoothly before floating it again. Replace it if not.
Deck work. There is a soft spot in the cockpit sole, right in front of the companionway, which will need fixing. I've found videos on how this is done, but haven't done much FG work myself (yet). The balsa core adds an added level of difficulty.
There is also the to-be-expected work to be done too... like cleaning, panting the undersides, replacing running rigging, tuning standing rigging, etc, that I won't list here... I also haven't done a full check of the standing rigging. The boat was hauled out and put in its cradle without stepping the mast so I haven't seen the top of the mast up close yet.
I'll stop there. Any constructive thoughts would be appreciated... others will be tolerated ;-)
Cheers!
Jon
PS I'll try to add some photos... but I might not have sufficient permissions to do so.
Rudder damage
Keel bolts
Seacock (seized)
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Happy Winter all!
I have a new to me P 26 that I bought for "$500" at the end of last summer. Yes... I know there’s no such thing as a $500 boat… so I could use some perspective from you all on the depth of the hole that I have jumped into. For context, I'm moving up from an O'Day Day Sailer... so this is my first 'big' boat and I'm coming at this without much knowledge of boats that aren't dinghies. The decision in front of me is whether to move forward with the maintenance and repair work, or to scrap it, take the loss, and find a different boat (likely with a new/different set of issues).
Here’s the boat in a nutshell:
1973 Pearson 26. Sails seem to be in reasonable shape; main (no reef points) and 130% (ish?) Genoa on a roller furling. The purchase included an outboard - Yamaha 9.9 (T9.9EXHY, circa 2000), which starts easily (electric) but then starts to sputter after 10-15 minutes of running harder (could be as simple as bad gas... or be indicative of a bigger problem).
Some history;
She was sailed on Lake Champlain (VT) for an unknown number of years until abandoned on the hard where the PO acquired it by paying back-storage fees to the yard. It hadn't been abandoned for very long (perhaps a year?) until the PO bought it and sailed it for a few more years with relatively minimal maintenance. I bought it in late August, but due to an untimely back injury, I only sailed it a few times before hauling it out for the winter. It sailed nicely, although I did notice a rudder vibration when going at speed... especially if motoring. I'm assuming the rudder post needs new bushings (which I understand is common for the P26). It certainly needs a new tiller, which was rotten at the bolts and disintegrated when I removed the duct tape holding it together (!).
I did pay someone to help winterize it for me... collectively we did kind of a half-assed job really... but at least the black and freshwater tanks are empty, some antifreeze is in the plumbing, and a tarp is over (most of) the boat aft of the mast. The hired gentleman drained the water tank by removing the thru-hull speedometer, which he claims was barely held in place by the black water tank (yikes!).
So, here's the (growing) list of work to be done before it floats again:
Rudder/tiller work. At a minimum, replace the bushings and tiller. The surface of the rudder has been damaged (deep scrapes on one face, and a gouge in the trailing edge). Apparently, this happened when an outboard mounting bracket (no longer present) failed and the outboard, held by "the bottom 2 bolts" (PO's words) swung down and bashed the rudder. The rudder will need some minor patching and painting.
Replace the thru-hull speedometer. Or perhaps just glass over the hole and skip the speedo? (A question for a different thread is "what electronics do I really need for this boat"? ..no nav equipment is currently working except lights).
Keel bolts. Probably need replacement. Lifting the floor panels on the cabin sole, I've found that the tops of the keel bolts are very corroded. I have no idea about the scope of this job... assuming it involves grinding out the keel bolt heads from below and replacing them one at a time? (first-hand stories and perspectives on this task would be much appreciated)
Replace the head. It is old, nasty, covered in black mold, and seems to slowly backfill into the bowl while underway.
The wastewater seacock (from the 'y' in the head outflow hose) is frozen shut. I'm guessing it is old and bronze (it is very green now). I should probably ensure it opens and closes smoothly before floating it again. Replace it if not..
Deck work. There is a soft spot in the cockpit sole, right in front of the companionway, which will need fixing. I've found videos on how this is done, but haven't done much FG work myself (yet). The balsa core adds an added level of difficulty.
There is also the to-be-expected work to be done too... like cleaning, panting the undersides, replacing running rigging, tuning standing rigging, etc, that I won't list here... I also haven't done a full check of the standing rigging. The boat was hauled out and put in its cradle without stepping the mast so I haven't seen the top of the mast up close yet.
I'll stop there. Any constructive thoughts would be appreciated... others will be tolerated ;-)
Cheers!
Jon
PS I'll try to add some photos... but I might not have sufficient permissions to do so.
Rudder damage
Keel bolts
Seacock (seized)
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Dave, thanks for sharing you to I about your Yamaha experience... Outboard engines are a new thing for me and if it doesn't work I'd just assume that it was something I did wrong. My experience so far is that mine doesn't have trouble starting, so I'm feeling lucky. Currently, my motor is attached directly to the transom (with some metal flashing to protect the FG). The attachment feels pretty iffy to me... wiggles a lot and doesn't feel very secure. I worry that perhaps there is some damage to the transom underneath the metal. Will investigate further in the spring when I take off the motor to have it tuned up.
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Regarding the speedo, I would keep it. Fix the thru-hull mounting as needed. A speedo is particularly valuable as you learn to sail this boat. Did that last trim change help or hurt? The first indicator will be speed through the water. A GPS app or even a dedicated GPS just wont give you the same information on small trim changes. Also, in conjunction with the GPS it can give you information about the effects of current (with good calibration). Having said that, I wouldn't sail without a GPS. I'll also add that I have a very comprehensive instrument setup on my boat (integrated speed, wind, fluxgate compass, GPS,...). Last summer while casually racing I had some intermittent trouble with the speedo impeller getting stuck. Without speed I had no true wind angle or direction info. I found myself looking up more at the windex and sails and I had better than average legs in the race. I do love all that data I get from my instruments (I find true wind direction especially useful) but it can all be a distraction and hinder performance if you are not mindful.
Dan Pfeiffer
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