New to me boat, Old salts chime in. What do I need to be checking

[68PearsonRenegade]

I've been working on this boat for about a month now, I'm sure you can guess what kind of boat it is . I'm in the process of getting several books to help me go through the boat with a fine toothed comb. My question for the old salts in the meantime is what should I be prioritizing(engine aside, i am doing a repower). What systems/ parts of the boat should I be taking a real long inspection of? the seacocks are an obvious one but I know you wise sages can enlighten me on something I have not thought of.
Thanks for the help

[ndutton]

I suggest this may be a case where a professional survey would be money well spent. You'd have knowledgeable eyes on the boat and a shopping list of recommendations to run with.

[68PearsonRenegade]

I suggest this may be a case where a professional survey would be money well spent. You'd have knowledgeable eyes on the boat and a shopping list of recommendations to run with.

Not a bad idea. Unfortunetly it's not in the budget. I'm also a firm beleiver in being able to inspect and work on your boat yourself. I very much have the diehard DIY new England attitude. It may cause me headaches at first and I may be chasing gremlins for a while but eventually I will be a master of the boat, and in part many other boats. Besides bernard moitessier did not get a survey, he buckled down and did his own survey and work. At sea this gave him the skills to fix anything during passages. I beleive this is the difference between the true sailor and the weekend hobbyist. For now though, I'm in the slow going phase of rooting out and dealing with the various issues. A boats never finished as they say

[Neuse River Sailor]

Standing rigging. Stays and shrouds, chainplates, tangs. Spreaders. Keeping the mast up is one of the three vital tasks.

Keep the mast up, the keel down, and the water out.

[Dave Neptune]

Keel bolts if so equipped, rudder bearings, rudder post, strut and bearing as well as any thru hulls.
Look for dry rot around all bulkheads and deck fittings including the anchor stuff.

RE a survey, the money could be well spent as usually the yard doing the haul out will offer up a bottom painting and not charge for the haul out. And the surveyor will offer up a wealth of information that does not go in the report if you follow him or her around and not arguing about findings, consider it a good learning experience.

Dave Neptune

[joe_db]

Not a bad idea. Unfortunetly it's not in the budget. I'm also a firm beleiver in being able to inspect and work on your boat yourself. I very much have the diehard DIY new England attitude. It may cause me headaches at first and I may be chasing gremlins for a while but eventually I will be a master of the boat, and in part many other boats. Besides bernard moitessier did not get a survey, he buckled down and did his own survey and work. At sea this gave him the skills to fix anything during passages. I beleive this is the difference between the true sailor and the weekend hobbyist. For now though, I'm in the slow going phase of rooting out and dealing with the various issues. A boats never finished as they say

A survey isn't about learning or not learning to work on boats, it is about a professional who has examined a thousand boats telling you what you'll need to be doing by spotting problems that may not be obvious at all. If you have the time and finances to fix anything that goes wrong, you can skip it and just learn as you along fixing whatever you find, but you run the risk of non-obvious problems causing dangerous outcomes.
I personally don't have the finances for things like "Surprise! $26,000 deck recore job for you!"