Off into the deep end...

[Ram41662]

Hello World!

Well, I'm an sure glad I found this place. My wife just purchased me what she calls a "boat", I see it more of a "potential major maritime project". It's a 1974 Newport 27 (C & C hull) with what appears to be an Atomic 4 engine. I'll know more after I bring it back to my shop this coming Friday.

Wish me luck!

[Oldlaxer1]

Hello World!

Well, I'm an sure glad I found this place. My wife just purchased me what she calls a "boat", I see it more of a "potential major maritime project". It's a 1974 Newport 27 (C & C hull) with what appears to be an Atomic 4 engine. I'll know more after I bring it back to my shop this coming Friday.

Wish me luck!

You've come to the right place. Welcome! The part that intrigues me is the "my wife just purchased me". And I saw in the winter projects thread she did it without you seeing it. Seems to me you can't go wrong with this "project".
Have fun.

[sastanley]

Whoa! Not many wives like that around...maybe she is just trying to get you out of the house!

Anyway, welcome!

[Ram41662]

Yeh, I know it sounds weird, but she also buys my cigars too because she knows which brands/types I like.

It's a long story, but I'll keep it pretty short.

My wife came to me a year ago and said she felt I've done so much for her over the years she felt it was time we do something for me. SHE proposed we get a boat and start sailing the Caribbean. I've owned both a cabin cruiser and a sailboat before when I lived in Florida, so I already know I can handle it. Her, however, not so much. She grew in the Midwest, so no blue water experience. I suggested we buy a smaller boat and "practice" on fresh water first to see if she can handle it. Which leads us to what I'm up to now.

I was looking at buying a Santana 525 from a local seller, but he kept jerking me around, I think to get more money. I finally went down to do more than look at the boat and found with a quick survey the asking price was way too much for the condition of the vessel. To add insult, the seller told me an out of state buyer put a down payment on the boat. That was enough. I did a quick search on the web and found an ad for the Newport 27 for a price lower than the salvage was worth, so I was considering going to look at it and see exactly what was the deal. When I showed the wife what found, SHE called the salesman and bought the boat on the spot, over the phone, sight unseen. She was worried we would miss out again.

So, that's how this adventure started. I pick it up tomorrow. Wish me luck, I might just need it.

[TomG]

Is your wife single?

Asking for a friend.

Welcome aboard!

[sastanley]

Is your wife single?

Asking for a friend.

Welcome aboard!

Ha! funny.
Don't mind us, Ram..we are really mostly greying middle-aged normal people.

[Ram41662]

Then I'm in with right crowd, sort of.

Middle age? Check!

Normal? Mostly.

Grey? Nope, bald as an egg, but it would be grey if I had any. Do eyebrows count?

[Ram41662]

Well, this worked before...let's try it again.

Oh, and after looking again all I see is HOURS of sanding in my near future..

[Nahart]

The good news is... that big ass spider kept the other bugs under control.

[ndutton]

When you develop a plan please post. I already see some significant issues beyond clean up that need attention early on.

Location?

Nope, bald as an egg, but it would be grey if I had any

I prefer to think of it as going solar

[Ram41662]

Ndutton, yeh, I see a sole that needs to be replaced, a stress crack on the side of the keel (thank God its lead cored), a complete strip off and recoat below the waterline, water damage everywhere, and from what I can see it needs new wiring. Oh, and that's just "100 foot list", the stuff you can cee 100 feet away. I know there's more, hence why I said the wife bought me a major project she calls a boat.

I'm planning on doing a more formal survey once I get it back to the shop. The plan was to do that today, but about 1-1/2 hours from the boatyard I got caught behind a multi-car pile-up. By the time traffic was moving again it was too late to get into the yard. I'll try again Monday.

[ndutton]

The weeping at the hull-keel joint is an issue. If water can weep out it can leak in too. The keel is 100% lead, bolted on. You'll find a resin-phenolic layer on the outside applied at the factory prior to attaching the keel. The problem apparent in the picture is not the keel but rather its attachment to the hull.

Pay close attention to the deck core at the upper chainplates and the integrity of the main bulkhead in the area of the chainplates. Water incursion is obvious and has likely resulted in rot. The deck core in your vintage boats was garden variety plywood, NOT balsa core.

When available please take some engine pictures. Be sure to draw some fuel out of the tank and check its quality. The original N27 had a steel tank so moisture inside can create considerable problems.

[Ram41662]

Thanks for the heads up. You're right in the wheel house with me. My plan was to drop the keel and most likely replace glass wrap, while also inspecting and more than likely repairing the keelson.

Because this was an "as is" sale, and because the yard didn't want to take the liability of me crawling all over the boat in its cradle, I've only had a VERY basic inspection, so I'm still as much in the dark as to the little yacht's condition as anyone else in this forum. I really wanted to start alleviating that situation this weekend, but the Fates and Elements conspired against me, so that will have to wait.

Just as an FYI, as I mentioned before, if upon close inspection the turns out to be derelict, or at least a monster money pit, what I have in it now is less than the salvage. I really hope that's not the case. Also, I'm set-up a bit different than most when it comes to what assets i have at my disposal. A couple of things that will help are the 10-ton bridge crane in my shop and the heavy duty spreader beam I have for it. I can easily sling this little boat out of its cradle. I also have a 15-ton capacity diesel fork lift. It can more than easily move the boat in cradle. I have a lot of large industrial machines around my shop (diesel air compressors, sand and slurry blasters, 150K indirect fire heaters, etc), so I think i can tackle just about anything that makes sense to do to restore this boat.

From what little I did get to test the hull seems sound and no pox, but I was told water has been getting in for quite a while, so the inside is saturated. Rapping with a nylon mallet gave me a set of nice, sharp reports, so delamination isn't high on my worry list, at least not yet.
There is some oil-canning near the stern due to long standing in a poorly engineered cradle and addition weight of a water logged hull. This is why I'm planning on slurry blasting the hull clean below the waterline so it can dry out before I proceed.

I suspect some separations, or at least seal failures, will be found around the deck/hull joint. The chainplates are a mess, so they are most likely the source of most of the water getting in.

I also suspect deck and bulkhead rot. Although these can be daunting projects, they're not outside my skill set. I'm weighting options for core material if, and most likely when, this problem arrises.

All of this is just speculation at this time. I really want to get this boat back into my shop so I can get my hands on it.

[ndutton]

I wouldn't worry too much about the hull. It's 100% hand laid fiberglass with no core material so the saturation you mentioned should be non existent. The hull and deck joint is comprised of outward flanges on both the hull and deck bonded with fiberglass mat between the flanges and riveted with backing roves every 4" or so. It's one of the best joint systems I've ever seen, pretty much bulletproof.

The N27 is a well built boat, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[rickandlee]

One no cost thing you can do is check the fire extinguisher in the cabin for the recall. You may needed it when you start doing smoke test on the systems.

Yours looks almost as bad as my project on the inside when I picked it up.
Two trips to the dump just to figure out what I had.