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New Owner: questions, help, advice

Discussion in 'Vintage & Classic Yachts' started by Stefnopolis, Aug 20, 2011.

  1. Stefnopolis

    Stefnopolis New Member

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    Aug 20, 2011
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    California
    Hello everyone!

    I am 100% New to sportfishers/Yachts. First time owner. Recently puchased an old 1963 40' Grandy Marlineer. I have done research on this model and found almost nothing on her at all. I found out that they were built here on the west coast and some specs but not much at all. Now I understand that wooden boats are not very popular and seem to be sketchy. However this boat stood out to me and I couldnt pass it up. Now since im new and not close to being a surveyor at all, let me start by saying that it looks like its in great shape, to me. Let me also say that it is a project. For starters, its floating. The exterior is in need of cosmetics. Im in the process of a repaint and also re doing the old wooden floors. I was also told that it will need bottom paint. I am quite certain that the previous owner never had this done in the four years in which he owned it because of the amount of wildlife growing on the bottom. The engines run but I am going to have to buy all new batteries for them and have someone come and give them a good tune up. It has two 350 crusaders inside btw. The gauges seem to work fine but all other equipment is old and is just crap. The radio looks like crap and im sure doesnt work so I will pick a new one up from ebay along with a marine gps. I know nothing about radar but im sure that that does not work either. The interior is in amazing shape for its age. I am going to be doing some remodeling just to get it up to date. For example.. the other day I was doing some cleaning up and opened a cabinet where the radio for the boat goes and I found a mint condition Atrac player Im not even sure if I spelled it right. I was born in the 80's hehe. Im gonna leave it in there because it just feels antique and well cool. The pumps are working, lights are working, water runs, water heater works, ... The head plumbing does not work.. Have not gotten to involved with that yet. Im sure I can come up with more. It is VERY solid though, well as far as i know anyway. I plan on sanding the whole exterior, sealing it all up, bondo/epoxy the imperfections, and paint. I dont care if this is all worth it or not, I just know Im gonna have fun working on it. Except maybe the sanding part. Anyway that is all I can think of at the moment. I wanted to get some honest opinions on this boat and hopefully someone out there can tell me a little about these boats. Does any one out there own one? Are there any even left? Was this a good boat back in the 60's? How many were built? Im full of questions. The only one I have ever seen (online) was the one I purchased christened "Sea Lark". Here is some info on it, http://www.ladyben.com/SearchResults...?VesselID=1854 . Some of the things listed are not working or are not there such as the head and bi mini top. But everything else all there. Well anyway, Look forward to meeting and speaking with you all.
  2. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    I sense a rotary contraction of the facts aka A Windup in this.
  3. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Could that be an 8-track (music) player? If so, yeah, that's antique. Sounds like you have somone's live-aboard. Other than saying to check the hull fasteners, it sounds like you have a project that will keep you busy for some time. You'll learn alot. Have fun.
  4. Stefnopolis

    Stefnopolis New Member

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    My projects are intended to be finished. I think your senses might be "winding up".

    Yes "8-track". Haha. Ya I was shocked when I saw it. Looks like It hasnt been touched since the 60's. And yes quite a project. I currently have it at a marina where the original owner is still repairing boats. He is a wood carpenter so im hoping to pick up some good pointers from him. Yes I did pick up someones live-aboard. The previous owner made a lot of modifications to it that I had to remove. For ex: Custom dining table, desk, and bar along with other minor things that I will be touching up.

    Im not sure if the last link I posted is workin ok but this is it. the 40'
    http://home.comcast.net/~btse1/grandy/marlpage/marlpage.htm
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I would be VERY leery of a wooden boat that hasn't had a bottom job in 4 years and has a lot of growth on the bottom. Chances are the bottom is totally eaten out of it by worms. I would suggest that if you're planning on taking on a project of this magnitude, to do it on a boat that will be financially worth it in the end. Such as a Merritt or Rybovich in disrepair.
  6. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Obviously this is not a great financial decision, and hopefully you're not pouring a ton of money into the buy. It will also be a ton of work, which it sounds like you're up for. Understand that you may well be this boats last owner and will one day have to dispose of it (and not on the side of a back canal. Given that, you'll probably be too busy and too poor to get into trouble, and you're about to learn a lot about mechanicals, wood, and boats in general. Good place to get educated. As long as your eyes are wide open, I say go 4 it and have fun.
    BTW, there are still some 8 track tapes floating around. Ask some people over 60. Sme good music. 8-tracks were between reel to reel and casettes (prior to CDs for you youngun's). BTW, it's often considered that the sound quality of 8-tracks was far superior to CDs.
  7. chuckb

    chuckb Senior Member

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    Wow, from those pictures it's easy to see how you fell for her. But the rule of thumb is that wood boats that old either have a "sugar daddy" or terminal structural issues. In houses the first thing to make sure of is that the foundation is solid. In boats that's the hull... 4 years without bottom paint could spell disaster, I suggest getting her hauled, cleaned, and then inspected for rot. Unfortunately, I'll be surprised if you get a clean bill of health for her, but the simple fact is the sooner you know what's up with the "foundation" the better you'll be insofar as spending bucks on what's above the waterline. All that said, I agree with NYCAP123:"As long as your eyes are wide open, I say go 4 it and have fun."!
  8. Stefnopolis

    Stefnopolis New Member

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    I appreciate everyones honest advice!! Ok.. so first things first, I have to get her inspected and bottom painted asap. What can I expect for a woody that hasnt been bottom painted in 4 years? rot? Anything that would give that away internally? Im not deep into this project at all and at this point feel its worth it. Have to find an honest surveyor now. If anyone knows of one in the Los Angeles/ Orange county area please let me know. As far as the Eight track... saw it again yesteday, its a Craig. Im sure it works but even if I wanted to use it (which would be cool) I would have a hard time finding some tapes or whatever theyre called. Another thing... I think a perfect mythbusters episode would be trying to figure out whats sounds the best.. records, eight track, cassettes, or cd's because I always hear someone saying that one sounds better than the other. :confused: Feel free to comment on that :D
  9. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Rotting wood is pretty easy to spot, feel and even smell as well as by sound when tapping. Check fasteners for rust stains or where planks are pulling away. Also look for worm and insect damage. Much will be apparent from inside the bilge, but the best look will be from underneath, especially after the hull dries. Caution, once the wood has dried it will open the seams which may require calking, but at the least it has to be dropped into sawdust or she'll go straight to the bottom.
    About a year ago I read where Sony invited a bunch of kids to preview some new songs. As they were leaving they passed a table filled with CDs and were told to take any they wanted. They took none. Make from that what you will.
  10. SeaEric

    SeaEric YF Historian

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    I found this 44' Grandy Marlineer 1965 listed for sale on YachtWorld for $44,500. She has a pair of Cat diesels. Looks nice.

    Attached Files:

  11. tirekicker11

    tirekicker11 Senior Member

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    My first boat was a 12' sailing dinghy. There was no mast, no rudder, no keel and no outboard but it was for free and I wanted a boat. The hull was cracked at several places and I decided to do her up. Obviously trying to do a good job I did everything according to the books and with West System and E-glass. I even painted the bottom with Interprotect and antifoulled her. (I didn't have a clue and there was no internet at that time)

    In the end all the work and materials costed me double the money of buying a similar dinghy complete and ready to go. In hindsight I spend way to much money because I didn't know what I was doing, but it was a great learning project and it sure helped me with GRP repairs years later.
    The luck I had was that it was just a small dinghy. I've spend way to much but in the end I could afford it. With a large wooden boat like yours it's a entirely different story. If I were you I would have her hauled out, bottom cleaned and have her surveyed by a recognised surveyor with a proven track of wooden boat experience. Depending on the outcome of that survey you can decide whether she is worth keeping and if so, start planning repairs.
    You should make a conservative planning, leaving a lot of room for unexpected additional work and expenses. Have your planning scrutinized by some experienced boat repairers.

    Now you're ready to make the final decision whether to invest money and make her a boat again or not. When you need to save on the expenses of a decent survey you're going to run out of money way before your boat is in shipshape again. 'Penny-wise but Pound-foolish'.
  12. Stefnopolis

    Stefnopolis New Member

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    Thanks for the advice and pictures guys. Well... the superficial work has begun. I plan on doing the easy stuff all on my own. The outside so far has been half way sanded. The wood looks great! It was dark and I was afraid of rot but a thin layer of sanding cleaned it up. I hope the bottom and rest are in just as good of shape. I decided to paint it white and that picture of that sweet 65 confirmed it. I have to epoxy/bondo in between the planks now so that the seems dont show, then primer and paint. As far as the interior, I gutted all the custom work left behind by the previous owner this weekend. I was suprised at how much room there is from the rear all the way into the kitchen once the doors are fully opened. The custom bar that was in there was a pain to get out but took me about an hour to have in the dumpster. Going to be laying this floor down http://www.worldpanel.com/Marineplywoodsspecialty.htm <-thanks to the link from the forum member Cranky. The living area is in awesome shape and will only be adding the wood floor. Noticed that the "cofin" bed in the bow is missing that office style roofing material that was there originally and I can see straight to the ply. Will have to do something about that. Also, Im highly considering cutting out that entire bow bed and adding in a simple queen maybe king and some small cabinets to the left and right of that. Has anyone done this before? Any advice? Wanna do /HUH\ "H" would be the small drawers and "U" the bed. The reason why I want to do this is because there is not a whole lot of head room. Im thinking maybe I can buy a low frame and bed from ikea or something. Also, the current bow bed I believe is missing the mid section (if it even came with one) and its sorta like having to twin beds like this //\\ .... yes i know... I will try to post some pics :) Other than that... Got a good buddy of mine who's coming to help me tune up the 350 engines and then after that hauled out she will be. Im gonna try to post some pics in the next couple days. Im just nervous about the responses.
  13. jright

    jright New Member

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    The 1965 44 Marlineer was the Billfisher out of Newport Beach owned by Bill McGee. It was our family's. Sister ship was the Rooster out of Newport Beach owned by Felix McGinnes. Our was a Marlin Magnet. Those Cta's never had issues. Boy do we miss her. I do like out old paint style better.

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  14. RER

    RER Senior Member

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    Wow that brings back memories. I worked for Felix. I ran the ROOSTER one summer back in the late 1970's... maybe it was 1980. I can't remember the exact year. He was quite a character. All the old-timers are long gone now. Newport Beach has never been the same.
  15. GatliffMarine

    GatliffMarine New Member

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    Advance apologies for bumping this from the dead, I am in the process of acquiring the boat that was previously Rooster, looking for any info anyone has regarding the history of Rooster and Billfisher