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Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/22/2014 : 08:44:17

After going a year without a boat we think we finally found the right one. 86 SK with dinette. Left a deposit last week and making the 5 hour drive to pick it up tomorrow.

Boat is white with green stripe. Hull is unscathed except for one scuff the size of a dime or so on the bow, deck looked fantastic (second visit may reveal more), bottom is in great condition, also. 9.9 two stroke with elec start and alternator, Lewmar 16 self tailing winches, 110 & 150 head sails in very good condition, spinnaker and pole, needs new main but ok to learn on I hope. Interior is in exceptionally good condition with original forest green cushions. Poptop with head and new - never used - poptop cover.

I'm a bit concerned about whether or not the brakes work so it may be a slow drive home and I'm putting 4 tires on before I head out with it... but for $3300 I don't think I did too bad.

Kyle
'86 SR/SK/Dinette #5284 "Anodyne"
In the barn where we found her...

Edited by - on

Kennyge
1st Mate

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USA
76 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2014 : 09:11:27

Exceptional deal! Make sure to take some pictures.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2014 : 09:25:27

As soon as I can. Couldn't get very good pics since it was sitting in a barn. I guess that makes it a barn find, eh? I once found a 69 Mustang GT Sportroof with 390/4spd in a barn and even a 70 Boss 302 but this is my first sailboat!

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2014 : 11:06:18

It would be a good idea to repack the wheel bearings while the wheels are off. Also it is a good idea to take a floor jack with you on the trip.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2014 : 12:52:25

I'm taking a floor jack and grease. Not sure I'll be able to do a repack but hoping to get some grease in the bearing buddies.

Edited by - Kper on 05/22/2014 12:53:02

kc5dlo
1st Mate

Members Avatar

USA
71 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2014 : 14:51:18

I took an infrared thermometer with me when I picked up my boat. gave me some peace of mind after a few stops to quickly check things out and stable hub temps all around.
Congrats on the boat!

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2014 : 14:56:00

I didn't even think of that, and I could have gotten one from work - too late now. I'm staring to wonder if I'm over-preparing... I have half of my shop in the back of my truck.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2014 : 16:58:10

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Kper
 I didn't even think of that, and I could have gotten one from work - too late now. I'm staring to wonder if I'm over-preparing... I have half of my shop in the back of my truck.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
You can never over-prepare for hauling a new to you boat on a 500 mile trip.

If things go good you'll be happy you had 1/2 the garage with you. If things go bad you'll wish you had the other 1/2 of the garage with you!

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2014 : 20:51:35

As Gary said. I have a carefully selected tool kit that I always take when I tow that includes an hydraulic jack, small 12 volt compressor that will inflate a trailer tire in 3 minutes, a good lug wrench, breaker bar, electrical repair items and wrenches and sockets to fit everything on the trailer. Choose carefully and it is surprisingly compact. Except for the lug wrench and breaker bar, it all fits in a gym bag. I still want to add a sealed, pre-greased replacement hub/bearing kit so I won't have to mess with replacing a bearing on the roadside.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/23/2014 : 15:54:12

Looks like it's all 2 lane road for us - interstates are out of the question until I get this thing home and balance the trailer. Came close to totaling the whole rig with a bad fishtail. Was very stable for the first 50 miles at 57mph then we hit the interstate and I bumped it to 63 just before a semi came from behind out of nowhere. Took a lane and a half to get it under control. Having had travel trailers I instinctively reached for the trailer brake control and remember it was surge brakes. Wife was praying the entire 45 seconds. Gonna be a late night.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 05/23/2014 : 16:10:17

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave5041
 As Gary said. I have a carefully selected tool kit that I always take when I tow that includes an hydraulic jack, small 12 volt compressor that will inflate a trailer tire in 3 minutes, a good lug wrench, breaker bar, electrical repair items and wrenches and sockets to fit everything on the trailer. Choose carefully and it is surprisingly compact. Except for the lug wrench and breaker bar, it all fits in a gym bag. I still want to add a sealed, pre-greased replacement hub/bearing kit so I won't have to mess with replacing a bearing on the roadside.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I bought one of these recently. It doesn't have the oomph to break the lug nuts free if they are over-tightened but if you use a lug wrench to just get them turning this will finish them off and save a lot of time. Seems to snug the nuts up pretty tight you're re-installing.

[url="http://www.dewalt.com/tools/cordless-impact-driverswrenches-high-torque-wrenches-dw059k-2.aspx#tabs"]Impact[/url]

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5369 Posts

Response Posted - 05/23/2014 : 18:09:31

Sometimes the back roads can be in very bad shape - potholes, rough pavement, lots of starts and stops.
If, however, you drive at 50 MPH on the Interstate at off hours, you may actually be safer.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/23/2014 : 18:40:37

We are choosing our 2-lanes carefully. It wasn't so much the speed that was making it dangerous as it was the semi's.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/23/2014 : 19:15:27

. . . of mice and men . . .

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2014 : 07:39:34

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by OJ
 . . . of mice and men . . .
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Pretty accurate.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

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USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2014 : 07:59:39

And here's my Romancing the Stone photo from Springfield, Illinois....

Edited by - on

Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2014 : 14:01:21

The boat name necessitates that the hull stripe be green!

Congratulations.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2014 : 14:58:49

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stu Jackson C34
 The boat name necessitates that the hull stripe be green!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
That it is!

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/24/2014 : 20:43:04

Kyle, hope you and yours made it home without further incidents. Once you determine the cause of the fish tailing, I think we'd all be interested to know how you corrected it.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2014 : 05:32:56

While our lives were passing before our eyes I remembered some reading about saving a rig in a fishtail and that was to accelerate. In the worst of the fishtail while we were heading across the left lane to the shoulder completely out of control with it only getting worse and wanting to nothing but to slow down, I hammered the throttle. Within 5 to 10 seconds it was under control and within 15 seconds we were slowing down in control of the situation, although pretty scared. Both lanes of traffic had backed off to about 50 yards behind us.

I'm going to start by weighing the trailer tongue. We left the interstate at the next exit and i immediately tried to determine what caused the fishtail and how I could rectify or minimize it for the rest of the trip home.

The first thing I noticed, and I noticed this before we left, was the bow was about 4" from the winch pad on the trailer. I know it shouldn't touch because it moves different from the bow while going down the road - a trailer building friend of mine doesn't even recommend a bow winch for sailboats and says to use the winches on the boat, but that's a story for another time. So, I'm guessing the boat may have been a little further back than normal but at first I didn't think it was enough to matter. Second thing I did was check the tire pressure in the new tires I had installed before we left and found them at 45. The max on the tire was 50 so I broke out the air compressor and maxed them out. I then took the spinnaker, the 2 head sails and the main and threw them in the v-berth along with the shore cable. I contemplated throwing some heavy equipment from the truck in there but waited to see how it performed.

On the side roads I kept it under 60 but near home we had about 30 miles of 4 lane where I kept it at about 59. Being 2:30 in the morning we encountered only 2 semi's and I slowed to about 50 when they started to pass and slowly accelerated as they passed and although there was some wag I didn't experience anything that wasn't controllable or made me uneasy - just heightened my level of alertness! - The admiral, on the other hand, was very sensitive to any lateral movement of the truck and would keep an eye on the boat in the mirror!

It was a close one - I honestly thought it was all over that day.There had to be black marks in the road left by the trailer, the boat was leaning pretty hard and was changing directions about twice every second. Had I not had her strapped at the bow and stern I'm not sure she would have stayed on the trailer.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2014 : 11:32:30

I weighed the tongue at 130 lbs. Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't it be closer to 300? I would put the boat and trailer at about 5500-5700lbs.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2014 : 13:17:52

It should be at least 10% of the rig weight. My SeaRay on the trailer weighs around 4000#'s and my tongue weight is way above 130 #'s.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2014 : 13:46:26

Now I need to figure out how to move the boat forward and adjust the bunks accordingly.

EDIT:
Actually, there's no way I can get 10% onto the hitch with a 2" ball. I think I'll be way ahead of the game even if it's only 300-350 lbs.

Edited by - Kper on 05/25/2014 14:15:00

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2014 : 14:35:56

Probably should be running 2-5/16" ball.

Edited by - on

Kper
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
417 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2014 : 14:42:36

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by GaryB
 Probably should be running 2-5/16" ball.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I need to replace the master cylinder so I will consider replacing the assembly with a 2-5/16.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2014 : 16:03:26

Yep, the two C25 trailers we've owned required a 2 5/16" ball.

Interesting lesson here about purchasing and transporting a boat. Perhaps the PO kept the boat at a local marina and had no highway towing experience? Many moons ago I had U-Haul trailer go into a severe fishtail. If I hadn't had that experience under my belt I may have been a little less careful about towing a C22 or 25 - perhaps with disastrous results.

When the day comes to sell our current boat, I will quiz the new owner's skill and experience with towing. I would feel partially responsible if something happened on the way home with their new baby.

Let's see, according to my calcs, 7-10% of 6,000 pounds = 420-600.

Edited by - OJ on 05/25/2014 16:10:23

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