1977 C&C 29'

[s/v Legacy]

I recently purchased s/v Legacy and had a few great runs with it in salt and fresh water. Put it up on the hard and winterized the A4. Marina splashed it a week ago on a Monday. No issues. Moved it to another slip by the end of the week. Friends was in slip next to us. Saw no problems etc. I came down to put sails on board etc. the next evening. Boat was low in the water and a pump was placed in the cabin. 3-4ft and rising with freshwater. Had it pumped out quickly. Open seacock. WAS NOT OPEN WHEN I WINTERIZED IT! Will be getting the adjuster quote for repair today. Not sure but it was pickled immediately. I'm hoping she'll start up and I'm ready to put a new starter, solenoid, alternator etc. from MM. She was in freshwater (not brackish) for about 4 hrs. with slow rise to companionway steps and then pumped out completely. Gas engine, some sludge and slickness around. I will do the degreasing. ANY ADVICE you can throw my way will help. Hoping the marina throws a lower quote at me for repair. Owner did say that an employee could have opened up the valve. The valve was the raw water flush that was not used for over 6 years.

[Ken Rockwell]

Drain the oil run it and repeat. Nothing else you can do. It should be fine.

[Ken Rockwell]

You might have to pull the plugs if the engine won't turn over because of the water but you might not.

[alcodiesel]

Legacy, I can hardly imagine what you felt when you saw your boat like this. The picture said it all- I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. No joke.
Do you think someone "helped" thinking a sea cock should be opened?
Best wishes getting it sorted out.

[ndutton]

The buyers of my Westsail could not remain on the West coast for decommissioning and loading on a truck so I served that role for them. I sailed her to a Newport Beach yard that had an excellent reputation but contrary to my better judgement they had a rule against owners doing work on their own boats, used the tired "insurance" excuse.

I was at the yard first thing in the morning in time to witness one of their apes trying to remove the forestay from the deck fitting without slacking it, using a hammer and screwdriver on a clevis pin that went through a custom chrome plated bronze casting (I made the pattern and had it cast).

I exploded.

I told el senor to get the Hell off my boat and stormed into the yard owner's office. The owner was respectful but I confess I was not. Under no circumstances were any of his employees to set foot on my boat from that point on, insurance rules be damned. I would handle decommissioning myself with the singular assistance of his crane and travelift operator. If I can build the boat I can certainly decommission it.

And so it went. My last task in that yard was to supervise the truck loading, making sure the pads were located on bulkheads and the keel blocked to prevent backward slippage on its 3000 mile transit. On paying the yard bill I thanked the owner for tolerating my tirade and appeasing my demands.

Legacy, if it were me I'd insist no one in that yard touches the boat from now on without your direct supervision and oversight. It's the only way to prevent a repeat performance. Lord knows the employees aren't properly supervised as it is.

[s/v Legacy]

could have had a visitor

Legacy, I can hardly imagine what you felt when you saw your boat like this. The picture said it all- I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. No joke.
Do you think someone "helped" thinking a sea cock should be opened?
Best wishes getting it sorted out.

We did consider the possibility that a few party goers nearby may have gone on board to use the head and pump handle didn't work so they may have opened the wrong seacock. We KNOW we didn't open it because its been shut for 6 years and no hose is attached to it.

[s/v Legacy]

noob

The buyers of my Westsail could not remain on the West coast for decommissioning and loading on a truck so I served that role for them. I sailed her to a Newport Beach yard that had an excellent reputation but contrary to my better judgement they had a rule against owners doing work on their own boats, used the tired "insurance" excuse.

I was at the yard first thing in the morning in time to witness one of their apes trying to remove the forestay from the deck fitting without slacking it, using a hammer and screwdriver on a clevis pin that went through a custom chrome plated bronze casting (I made the pattern and had it cast).

I exploded.

I told el senor to get the Hell off my boat and stormed into the yard owner's office. The owner was respectful but I confess I was not. Under no circumstances were any of his employees to set foot on my boat from that point on, insurance rules be damned. I would handle decommissioning myself with the singular assistance of his crane and travelift operator. If I can build the boat I can certainly decommission it.

And so it went. My last task in that yard was to supervise the truck loading, making sure the pads were located on bulkheads and the keel blocked to prevent backward slippage on its 3000 mile transit. On paying the yard bill I thanked the owner for tolerating my tirade and appeasing my demands.

Legacy, if it were me I'd insist no one in that yard touches the boat from now on without your direct supervision and oversight. It's the only way to prevent a repeat performance. Lord knows the employees aren't properly supervised as it is.

I think it was splashed with good intentions but someone got on board and screwed up! Since taking over www.sportaseat.com from family we decided that a friends boat would be a good start to boat (sail) ownership. Kinda goes with the territory if you know what I mean. Just made our 2nd season start suck! We have learned a ton of information through boat owners through YouTube and this forum exclusively. All information is always appreciated and looked upon as experience even though it wasn't OUR experience! Thank you!

[s/v Legacy]

Fresh water tank hoses and wood

Should I have my surveyor check out the boat interior to determine what needs to be replaced or repaired? gasoline and oil in freshwater was floating around the cabin...wood need refinishing? Tank hoses replace?

[sastanley]

Ugh...sorry to hear Legacy..this will be a long process, but not insurmountable. The problem is that most boats of our vintage are not worth the insurance claim...but get whatever you can towards repairs. My boat has been sunk twice (not that bad because it draws 5'3" in a 6' slip), so it only had water up about ankle deep in the cabin. There are 'flood lines' on the bulkheads that diminish with age, sanding, and oil/varnish/poly applications. You have the additional issue of motor drowning and likely tank drownings (water/fuel/holding,etc) which needs to be addressed and certainly I would hope the insurance would help cover.

The degreasing process for the oil/gas floating around on surfaces is probably pretty cheap..wiping everything down with Simple Green, maybe spraying an engine degreaser on stuff, etc. You can easily do that yourself and the materials are cheap..focus on the mechanical stuff that is expensive for the insurance..do the cosmetic stuff yourself.

I would focus on the insurance helping with tank (water, holding, fuel) and hose cleaning/replacement and engine check..those are the pain in the you-know-what-parts that require $$ to remedy due to lack of access, but sea water infiltration is hard to remove by common boat owners.

I will also comment that back when I was a kid in the late 70's and early 80's the C&C 29 was a machine of a boat for her time..especially upwind.

Good Luck on the resurrection!

[s/v Legacy]

the adjuster's preliminary assessment...

Well, I got a call yesterday from the adjuster. She is thinking in the $4100 range for pickling (already completed) startup, swapping out starter, alternator etc., cleanup. If the marina comes up higher in the 5-6K range, I figured a MM swap out for the old engine would be a better alternative. I'm not sure the marina will guarantee the work more than a month of so. If problems keep arising during the season, what recourse would I have unless the claim is kept open?! I can't see paying another $500 deductible each time I fear the worse. Crossing fingers and hoping all will come out in the end. First boat and hear nothing but good things about this ole' girl and her gas A4. Thank you!

PS she put a cash value of 14K on her too! Yeah!

[zesterjester]

no worries

Dude/ette! Chill, man, no worries. 4100 is a lot of cash, just relax, you got back what you are going to sell the boat for, already! With the added bonus that you get to do some deferred maintenance. As someone already said, change your oil, three times seems to be the number, buy 2 grand worth of starters and solenoids, put them on yourself, pocket the rest. If the water was"up to the companionway steps", that isn't too high, buy some simple green brand spray and scrub scrub scrub.

It is a shame the sea cock was opened, and you didn't do it, but it was your fault. Any opening to the sea has to be treated with respect, hoping a handle won't get nudged won't cut it. Believe me, I am not trying to shame you, but awaken you to the realities of owning a boat. Every single one of us has done really dumb things on a boat, this is one of yours, launching without a physical, mechanical backup to a hole in your boat. (Put a hose on it, lead it above the waterline, fasten it good, and plug it up with two hose clamps on both the plug and the sea cock and if the hose. Think about removing and glassing over the hole later) This is a very cheap lesson, you are getting paid 2100 dollars to clean it up, and it wasn't in the dark at anchor somewhere weird and windy.

This is your boat, you are responsible for it.