Blog of S/V Salty Beach

Swing keel, before Original lift bolt and cable, grooved/bent guide bolt above   With plenty of work to do, I opted to start at the bottom, with the swing keel. First order of business was to remove and replace all the fasteners related to the keel. There were five: the pivot bolt, lock bolt, lift bolt, and two guide bolts for the cable.  I started with the lock bolt, 1/2" diameter and 4-5" long. Thankfully, it came out without incident. Next up was the most-critical pivot bolt, 5/8" diameter and also about 4-5" long. After scraping off the mountain of clear sealant encasing it, I was able to remove the nut without too much trouble, but the bolt wouldn't move. I stuck a breaker bar on it and applied quite a bit of force, to the extent the breaker bar was flexing enough I was afraid it might break. Thankfully, the pivot bolt slowly started to turn. I paused to stick a jack under the front of the keel to keep it from dropping too far once the pivot was free. It wa...

Most of my focus prior to purchase had been on the hull, but once I got the boat home it was time to do a thorough evaluation of what it would need. I had already found a few surprises while prepping the boat for transport. First, the headsail was on a furling system. While the furler itself looked serviceable, the headstay was clearly shot with broken strands of steel cable visible at the top. The rest of the standing rigging wasn't much better. This wasn't too disappointing since I planned on replacing the standing rigging anyway. Inspecting the mast closer, I found one of the halyard blocks attached with rusty steel screws. This would clearly need to be addressed as well. The furling jib had no UV cover and had obviously been left out in the sun for some time, so the outer foot of the leech was tattered and beyond repair. I quickly made the decision to find a used hank-on jib to replace it. The main also had a bit of UV damage along the leech, but in this case it was just ...

It took a couple weeks from when I first looked at the boat to find the time to arrange buying and transporting it. I don't own a vehicle capable of towing it, so I rented a U-Haul pickup, local to me, to transport it home. It was cheaper to rent round-trip than one-way, despite the extra mileage and associated fees. I was concerned about the possibility of a flat on the single-axle trailer so I took my 2-ton jack and jack stands with me. I had asked Anthony about the wheel and tire size ahead of time so I could buy a spare. He informed me he had a brand-new pair of wheels with tires for it, but he wanted $100 for the pair and didn't want to sell them separate. I was thrilled to buy both. We first met at the closest AAA office to the boat, in order to have the paperwork notarized, which is a Rhode Island requirement. Once I paid Anthony and the paperwork was done it was time to go pickup the boat! It took some time to load everything up and make sure it was all strapped down fo...

In spring of 2021, as I was looking for a boat better suited to our growing family as well as leaving on our newly-acquired mooring, I saw the Laguna Windrose 24. I was aware of Laguna Yachts, but not familiar with this model. Outwardly, it looked clean and well cared for. On the other hand, it was two hours away and the price seemed a bit high to me, especially without any engine. A little later I came across a 1970 MacGregor Venture 24, which I discovered actually had berths for 6 (granted, in 1970s camp-style accommodations). I missed out on it by hours, but then noticed the Windrose 24 had substantially dropped in price. A little more research into the boat revealed it had a virtually identical interior layout to the Venture 24, with (cozy) berths for six! I messaged the seller and arranged to drive out to see it. Anthony, the seller, was quite friendly and we hit it off chatting about cars. It was near dusk when I got there, driving after work, but in the fading light I walked ov...