part II
Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers out there by mentioning hull #7. Not something I could do at the end of the day. Hope she finds a good home and TLC.
Otherwise, #478 has been deemed a "total" loss by our insurer. Whether the boat is structurally sound to repair, re-insure, and sail again is another question, and though I've been through her as best I could and didn't see anything horrific (cracked bulkheads, joints, salt on the motor etc), I'm hoping a local guy Bill Lockwood recommended will come over and give us a look.
I have spent many hours falling asleep to the question of what happened out there that night, and I think I figured it. After flooding off the stands I'm pretty sure we came down on the port side whereupon a larger boat plowed into us mid-cockpit, fouling masts, destroying the port stern pulpit and cranking a hole in the deck at the stanchion base, bending three or four other stanchions--and driving us onto the aft keel. That seam aft of the keel opened up (took many hours to find this
seam thread on the forum) But, I'm hoping, this seam is not disastrous, right ?
Assuming the structural integrity is good, between a new mast (10x more expensive than used), rigging, paint, gel coat, a hole in the deck from a stanchion, a stern pulpit and a myriad of other issues, it will be a stretch financially and a tax on the little free time I have, but I think we're probably going to dive in. Though the 'ballpark' figure my insurer mentioned to buy her back is higher than I was hoping to hear, and we're in one of the most expensive yards on the Coast... It might be time to learn rigging and gel coat.
Any recs are appreciated, and thanks to all who've sent advice thus far. More quotes will be coming in this and next week I think. And I think I have a used stern pulipit lined up (thanks Alan in Chicago), as well as stanchions (thanks Seth in CT).
mto
ps Has anyone actually seen the mast in Florida ? Any idea what shipping might be?
pps working on a photo..
