by RumHead on July 13, 2008
Completed a few repairs on the new Boat. First was the fuel fill. There was a PVC elbow (not legal) coming out of the tank to some conglomeration of bronze unio and pvc. It seemed to have pulled out or not been put together properly. This all happens under the sink so it’s not too difficult to work on. I discovered it while cleaning out all the cleaning supplies, rags, bags and whatever else the p.o. had stored under the sink. There was a pile of fuel soaked bags and rags that stunk up the entire boat. It had to have come from above and then Cannonball spotted the suspious fuel connection.
My parents were visiting one weekend and they helped me fix the leaking fill tube to the diesel tank. The repair looks a little ragged – it was difficult to get up in there and trim the hose edge, but it’s solid. While we were at West Marine buying fuel legal hose and fittings, I looked at a head rebuild kit because our head didn’t seem to pump out very well. The kit was $72 and a new complete head was $140. The rebuild kit had at least 10 different parts, valves and gaskets which the sales guy said took a couple hours to install. He also added that it was a disgusting job. That was all I needed to hear and we bought the new head. Took about 10 minutes to install and works great.
The gimbaled stove that came on the boat looked original and it didn’t work. We removed the alcohol tank from behind the port settee and pulled the stove out. When we taking the old alcohol tank off the boat, I barely bumped it on the dock. It caved in a rusty spot and what was left of the alcolhol leaked out. Glad to have that timebomb off the boat.
I had purchased an all stainless steel camp stove at Bill Jackson’s Sporting Goods that I was planning on fastening to the top of the old gimbaled stove but the propane hose connection was on the side, so the setup wouldn’t work. My Dad had a good idea – I gutted the old stove, took the burners out of the new campstove and installed them. It works pretty good. The oven doesn’t work, but that’s where the little propane tanks connect for the cooktop. It seems much safer, works and looks good.
Next on the repair list. Both plexiglass windows are cracked and leaking, the engine needs to be gone through and cleaned and I have a broken shift lever to fix.
by RumHead on June 20, 2008
New Boat, New Boat! It’s completely official- the deal is done on the Morgan 323. All the paperwork, insurance, survey’s, etc. – even going to the DMV twice because they just have a thing about wasting everybody’s time. The boat is resting comfortably in our slip in Gulfport. Now the fun begins. We’ve already had the cushions Stanley Steemer’ed, steemed cleaned and sanitized ($400), which seemed pricey, but they are two sided and were in dire need of a scrubbin’. Cannonball and I have gone through about every storage compartment and sorted the junk from the good stuff. In the process a few things were found that need to be fixed or changed immediately – quite a few others that can wait. The repairs will be posted in the weeks to come. A unique experience, I’d like to thank the cast of supporting characters:
Boat Broker: Rick Hoving, Edwards Yacht Sales: 727-725-1600
Very nice fellow that is laid back, low key and knowledgeable. Also met the owner of Edwards who was a great guy.
Survey: Rich Parrey, Coral Marine Services: 727-527-6653
Reasonalby priced ($6/foot less than others), did a thorough job and provided the survey in a day.
Title Search: Debbie Rich, Creative Yacht Solutions: 813-677-6885
Perfored the title search, checking for past leans, etc. She can also handle the closing, but since it was a small transaction, I went to the DMV (twice) and took care of it. Debbie was a pleasure to work with.
Financing: Chartway Federal Credit Union, Heidi Milanowski: 1-800-678-8765 ext. 41258
Same company that I financed my vehicle through. VERY easy to work with. While searching for different boats and preparing offers, Heidi would get back with me on financing options via email (my favorite method of communication) within an hour.
Underwater Bottom Inspection: Matt Miller, Bottom Scratchers: 727-446-8898
Since neither the financing or insurance company required a haulout, I decided to take a slight risk by paying for a scuba inspection. If they found anything suspious then I would cough up for the haulout. The boat had been hauled and surveyed in 2003 so I wasn’t really worried about blisters forming in the last 5 years. While they were down they gave her a good cleaning too. Friendly guys, good service.
Overall, I really had a good experience with everyone involved (Other than the “removed teak pedestal cup-holder incident after the sea trial” by the owner. There, I said it and will never speak of it again) and though stressful, it was a positive experience. Looking forward to really digging into the boat and learning the systems.
