Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Find

After scouring the web for six months or so,  I came across many a deal.  Once a week I would get on ebay and craigslist and see what was new.  I was tempted by many of the charity sales on ebay but I realized fairly quickly that the cost of  getting that $185 boat from East Jesus back to Colorado cost more than the boat was worth.  further more I would have no idea what I was getting until I paid for it and it showed up on my doorstep.

I very quickly realized that I would have to sit back and wait for something to pop up on a Colorado craigslist site.  In the first part of September 2011 I found a potential candidate.  Someone had a 1971 Macgreggor V 2-22 for sale down in Colorado Springs for $1,000.  The listing had a poor image of something that looked like it could be a Macgreggor.  It definately was not a Sports Illustrated quality photo and I could not make out any sexy lines or curves but it could be a promising prospect.

Tricia and I made plans to drive down on Sunday afternoon to look at this potential new addition to our family.  We found the address fairly easily but my first thought when I looked at the boat was.......where's the boat?  My second thought was........ where's the boat?  

Tucked in between two homes in this college rental, residential district was what looked like a skeletal remnant of a 22' Macgreggor.  As I cautiously approached the remains of what used to be someone's pride and joy, I thought, "there is no way that I am buying this boat," and " Man I just wasted three and a half hours of my Sunday driving down here."

This is the Macgreggor sitting back at my house in the driveway

I decided that I would still look at the carcass since we drove all this way.  There were no windows (portholes)  or maybe I should say there were windows, its just that they were simply holes.  Absolutely everything that could be strip off of the hull of the boat had been removed.  But I soon realized that it looked like all of the parts were there.  They were just hiding in boxes and the 8" of standing water in the hull of the boat.  The entire inside had been stripped as well.   

As I started poking around this dry-docked debacle, my sense of horror and pity started to shift to a sense of realization that since everything was already pulled off, that would save me half the time!  It sure seems like a lot of time would be spent removing everything from the hull of the boat. This could actually make the renovation easier.  

The Craigslist ad stated that the boat came with body paint and fiberglass repair supplies.  Nate the current owner of this sunken treasure confirmed this was true.  I also noticed that the trailer was in good shape as well with new tires and what appeared to be a new axle.  

A half hour inspection revealed two rotten spots in the fiberglass body on the topside of the hull.  Lots of parts sitting scattered around in the stripped interior, a mast and boom, sails and miscellaneous supplies.  The hull was dented in at one of the trailer supports. The windows themselves were missing in action, bummer they are fairly pricey.  

The numbers started churning in my head.  Overall the hull was in decent shape.  The hull was most likely worth about $200.  the paints and repair supplies were most likely worth about $500.  I offered Nate $700 flat.  He gave me that initial look that sellers are obliged to give, in the day to day negotiations of global sales. You know that look, right?  The one that says,  " Are you seriously offering me a mere pittance for this jewel of the seven seas, this prize yacht of a sailboat?"  I think he very quickly realized that his choices were between accepting my offer or having to borrow a truck so that he could tow the carcass to the nearest cliff and push it off.

The background on the condition of the boat was this.  The owner previous to Nate had decided that it would be a fun project to refurbish the boat.  After tearing the whole thing down to its little parts he apparently lost interest.  Dreamy-eyed Nate bought the boat two years ago with the intention of finishing off what the previous owner had started.  Two years, several visits to West Marine, and a new wife later, Nate apparently realized that the boat project did not have a very high position on his priority list.  

So here I come along (probably just as bright-eyed as the Nate of two years ago) thinking, " I am the one that is going to raise this phoenix from the ashes.  I will bring happiness to this hull.  Or maybe I will just bring this boat from the status of being a 2011 Colorado Springs Craigslist listing to a 2012 Boulder Craigslist listing.

Either way, it was coming home with us.  Nate helped with securing the boat, getting the trailer lights working and we were on our way home with our latest adventure.  Check out some of the pics of our starting point.  These might be the same pics that I use for my Craigslist ad in March 2012.




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