sailboat restoration, trailer sailer, small cruiser, trailerable sailboats, pocket boats, budget sailing, boat repair, older boats, classic fiberglass yachts, microcruisers, macgregor, sail boat restoration, small sail boat, boat cruising small sail, boat build small sail, Fix It And Sail, sailboat restoration book
The Photos The Book Sample Chapters About Marine MediaMagazine ArticlesMarine Illustration
There were lots of reasons that I took on this project- the biggest reason was money. Actually, that was the smallest reason, as in I had very little when I bought this sailboat. I had sold my Catalina 27 nearly ten years ago, and had been trying to get another boat ever since. Oh, sure... I'd like to have a big enough boat to go to the Bahamas, but the costs associated with a new (old) house, a then-five-year old son (he's eleven now... hard to believe sometimes) and given that we live in Tennessee, a larger boat just didn't make a lot of sense.
A trailerable boat, on the other hand, can be stored near the house while it gets fixed, and kept there over the winter months, making off-season improvements and upkeep easier. Our sailing time would be short anyway, so a boat that is small is an asset- it's quick to rig and launch, yet still big enough to spend the night on. Parts for it are relatively inexpensive, and overall it's a low-cost way to introduce people to the world of sailboat cruising.
My purpose for publishing this website (and the upcoming book, "Fix It And Sail" from International Marine) is to prove that sailing doesn't have to be the pastime of the idle rich. With time and a little money, nearly any small sailboat can be restored to an enjoyable vessel by anyone with average skills and means. You'll need to do some learning, but the knowledge to restore a boat is readily available. You'll need a genuine desire to go sailing... enough to keep you going when the inevitable problems crop up. But it can be done, and it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. (Well, maybe an arm... throw in a few fingers if you want the fancy stuff.) And there's no sense of satisfaction like taking your first sail in a boat that you rescued.
A photodocumentary collection of the restoration process can be seen here. More photos have been posted on the Magregor website by Bob White. The complete collection of photos is too big to post here... currently 552MB of raw data... and is documented in the book, Fix It And Sail, which will be available soon.
A few other good links: The Pocket Cruising website has some good articles for smaller boat owners. MicroCruising in the Bahamas is lots of fun when the winter chill starts getting you down. Small Craft Advisor has an active forum, and I have some articles that are appearing/have appeared in DIY Boatowner and Good Old Boat magazine. The MacGregor/Venture Webring and the Boatbuilding Webring were kind enough to list my site. And of course, The Trailer Sailor site has tons of info on trailerable sailboats.The Montgomery Sailboats Owners Group maintains a fine site about the Lyle Hess-designed little cruisers, which I currently sail, and there's a separate MSOG photo site here. FurledSails.com features sailing interviews that you can download to an MP2 player for free.
LATEST NEWS:(Jan 18, 2008)
I've added a new section to the website that showcases my marine illustrations... there's a new tab at the top of the page, or you can jump straight to it by clicking here.
My new book will be released soon by International Marine. Called The Complete Trailer Sailor, it'll be a guide to the world of smaller sailboats. In the Bad News Department, I've just learned that International Marine is closing it's offices and has laid off all but two of the staff, who will work from home. This has pushed the release date for my book back to sometime in the spring, but my editors have assured me that the book will be released... I certainly hope so, but I won't relax until I see a box of books on my front porch!. This book focuses on trailerable sailboats with some form of cabin that can be hauled by an average car (We had to stop somewhere... you can theoretically haul almost anything with a GMC Dually diesel pickup and a BIG trailer.)
My latest drawing is Small Craft Advisor will be of the Hobie Adventure Island trimaran. It's been great to watch the growth of this magazine... it's now printed in full color, which was unthinkably expensive at one time. It's an honor to be a (very small) part of their success. If you want to see them around, buy a copy at the newsstand. Or better yet, subscribe!
Should you like your sailing in audio form, check out FurledSails.com, where you can listen to podcast inerviews related to all things sailing. You can hear discussions with Lin and Larry Pardey, Good Old Boat founders Karen Larson and Jerry Powlas, and if you're REALLY starving for entertainment, Brian Gilbert talking about fixing up old boats. Search for podcast #67, Fix It And Sail. And speaking of Good Old Boat, they have been active in the podcasting arena as well. They've produced two complete audio books, with many others available at their new website, AudioSeaStories.com
So what's new on Tiny Dancer? Mybrand-new, used-one-time mainsail from San Francisco turns out to be too long. It appearsd that at some point, the M17 masts increased in length by about six inches, so It's off to the sailmaker for adjustments. Bill Tosh, a sailmaker and M17 owner in Rusk, Texas, is doing some work for me on a jib (replacing the plastic piston hanks and spur grommets.) and once I get the main measured, I'll have him recut it for me. It might be time for a new mast and standing rigging anyway.
I've also learned that if I give up my slip at my marina, I won't be allowed to renew the lease. It seems they want to git rid of all the sailboats there. So it looks like she'll have to stay in the water this winter.
I still manage to get out to Gold Point Marina every once and a while to work on the boat. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by D-dock... I'm the smallest boat in the marina. I'll be there til mid-November, back again in March.
Again, please note my new email address... hammerguy at bellsouth dot net.
Thanks to all of you who have sent emails. If you're restoring a boat, good luck, and keep at it! I know, it seems endless at times, but I remember the advice I got from Lee Lafon when I was beginning audio operator for the six o'clock news at WCBD. Only concentrate on two things... what you're doing now, and what you're doing next. Don't worry about the rest, it'll come in time, but if you try to worry about it all at once, you'll just confuse yourself into inaction. Worry about two things... forget the rest.
I'll be happy to help and advise those of you who have the "Really-want-to-go-sailing-but-don't-have-much-money-wonder-if-I-should-buy-that-old-boat" disease whenever I can. Feel free to contact me with your questions, sailboat-related or otherwise. Suggestions for improving this site are welcome
Click here for a look at past news items and miscellaneous stuff.
Thanks for stopping by!
This website was designed and produced by Marine Media Publishing, 3404 Hartford Dr., Chattanooga, TN. The Email (for now, it may change) is hammerguy at bellsouth dot net (NOTE: Replace the "at" with the @ symbol when typing the address. This is an anti-spam measure designed to prevent automated web crawlers from stealing e-mail addresses from this site... thanks for your understanding.)
Last update was October 24, 2007
This site doesn't use any cookies, and we never divulge your name or any information to any source. In fact, I don't even know how to collect this information, and we're not exactly rotten with HTML programmers around here. So check back for updates and additional information as it becomes available. I'm hoping to add more server space soon, and we'll post additional photos and articles as they are completed. Thanks for stopping in, and close the hatch on your way out!
This page has been accessed at least times for an average of hits per day