09 February 2006

Incremental Costs

I got a great deal on a boat; when I told the surveyor, he whistled in appreciation. Not much better than an appreciation whistle. But the costs will continue for a bit.

First off, I need new sails. So, I'm meeting the sailmaker down at the boat this afternoon for measurements. Through a friend I'm getting a nice discount at North for some racy cruising sails (that's heavy dacron but with full battens and a loose foot). After the discount, it's more than the offshore guys, but less than every other major loft. And he has been giving excellent service, with advice, constant communication, and now this measuring business. Wouldn't have expected that on a boat that had 1000 identical rigs built.

Second off, my beautiful wife needs new cushion covers. There, I'm hitting up an old internet friend who does incredible work. At a great price. Seriously, check out those auctions for some great canvas work.

Other than that, there are just some miscellaneous hardware requirements. Why doesn't the boat have cam or clam cleats for the jib sheets? Who wants to tie off the sheet in between every adjustment? Did these people not trim their sails? The mainsheet gets run off to the starboard side....what happens on a windy day on port tack, do you just park everyone down on the low side and try to go slower?

Those are the important things. Oh, and the head. Seems to me there's nothing more important to replace on a 30 year old boat than the head. That's one thing that just can't be clean enough unless it's new out of the box.

So, with those items I've over doubled the cost of the boat. At least I'll always have that whistle.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep the old sails. You never know when they'll come in handy.

Costs ... this is just chapter 1.
It never ends.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the boat. If you hadn't gotten such a good deal on the boat, you might not be so happy about having to make the changes to it, but these changes are what makes the boat work for the way you want to sail it-would you really want to sail it without cam cleats for the jib sheets?

Litoralis said...

What kind of mainsheet setup will you end up using? Can you just use a big ratchet block with a cam cleat or do you need to have a more complicated system? Is there a traveller?

EVK4 said...

I'm going with a Harken 57mm carbo ratchamatic triple with a cam cleat that will lead up to 3 harken carbos on the boom. The triple will be on the traveller. It's probably a bit overbuilt but it utilizes what's there and the ratchamatic can be a lifesaver out on the SF Bay.

Carol Anne said...

The biggest incremental cost with my new boat will be the trailer. We'll be helping to build it, to keep costs down. Then some of the rigging needs replacement. At least I don't have to worry about sails; it's nice to know somebody who has an endorsement deal and gets new sails free every year and so has nice ones to give away on a regular basis.

Pat said...

Carol Anne's boat:

Friday - Sunday
travel expenses of about $1500 (diesel fuel, motel, airfare, meals, etc.)

Saturday
$510 blocks and line to make a mast-moving system, miscellaneous hardware and supplies, 1 book
$294 yard bill; remove mast, haul boat on Travelift, pressure wash, 1 quart of paint to touch-up hull
$70 Target; straps to secure boat to trailer

Sunday
$140 mostly for a hand-bearing compass
Tuesday (today)
$160 4 quarts bottom paint (Pettit SR-21)
$145 boat compass