Yeah, you heard me right! We got a sailboat for free! It was nearly 50 years old -- a 1970 MacGregor Venture 24. It came with 2 sets of sails, a working outboard motor with very low hours, and the original trailer. It has a swing keel so it trailers easily. I couldn't believe it when I came across the ad on our local craigslist. It was exactly the kind of boat I'd dreamed of owning for most of my life and it seemed too good to be true. But I figured it didn't cost anything to respond to the ad and, you know the saying, "nothing ventured, nothing gained". I was pleasantly surprised when I got a fast response from the "seller". He said the response to the ad had "exploded" (imagine that!) and since he couldn't meet with all the interested parties individually he scheduled a Saturday morning for us all to come look it over. The deal was that if there were still more than one interested party after inspecting the boat, whomever emailed him first on Sunday would get the boat. Out of hundreds of inquiries he received about 18-20 people comprising 8 - 10 interested families or groups who actually showed up for the showing. My wife and I made a point of getting there early and it paid off because we got to meet the owner and his wife and chat with them a little bit before the other folks showed up.
OK, so why was he giving away a good sailboat for free? Definitely a good question and one we all very much wanted answered. Turns out HE got the boat for free off craigslist a little over a year before and had just gotten another free sailboat -- this time a 36 footer! The previous owner of the Venture 24 was getting older and had injured his back so he couldn't sail anymore. The boat needed a little work and he hadn't been able to find a buyer and his own kids were not interested in having it. So he advertised it for free on craigslist and the gentleman I got it from was the only one who responded. He re-did all the standing rigging and purchased a good set of used sails to augment the well-used set that came with the boat. Then, when he got a 36' sailboat for free, he and his wife decided to "pay it forward" by giving away the 24' Venture. He got his second free sailboat from an acquaintance at work who was tired of paying registration, insurance and moorage fees on a boat he never used. Since the 36 footer is better suited to the couple's goal of eventually being able to live and travel on a sailboat, they jumped at the chance to upgrade. Having spent a few weekends on our 24 footer I can appreciate his zeal in getting a 36' boat to live on! Not sure it would be as easy to sail though. For weekends our 24 footer is comfortable and fun; living aboard full time would be a real challenge. Our "seller" did warn us he had been told there was problem raising the swing keel but he had never tried it.
After looking over the boat and determining it was structurally solid (but could use some TLC), we decided we wanted to be first in that email line on Sunday morning. With that in mind I began sending emails about 11:30 pm (not knowing how long it would take to reach the owner) and kept re-sending about every 5 minutes until well after midnight. You can imagine how thrilled we were to get a call Sunday morning telling us we had been selected as the recipients of the Venture 24!
As I mentioned above, it definitely needed some TLC -- the once beautiful teak trim was all weathered an ugly concrete gray and the gelcoat on the topside was crazed from nearly 50 years in the elements. With a little research on the Internet I discovered the faded teak could be restored to very near its original color by cleaning it with oxalic acid, then rubbing it down with teak oil and re-varnishing it. I was amazed at how quickly and beautifully it cleaned up! The topside gelcoat was somewhat crazed from sunlight and the bottom needed repainting. We decided to paint the entire boat inside and out, which was kind of a fun winter project, letting us enjoy and get familiar with our boat even though it was too cold outside for sailing. We chose a semi-gloss, exterior acrylic latex paint for the interior and special oil-based marine Topside and Bottom paint for the exterior. As anyone who has ever done any painting knows, preparation is not only the key to success, but at least 80% of the effort. Cleaning, sanding, wiping down, and masking each section took much longer than the actual painting, but when we were done we were very pleased. Not only did it look brand new, it had colors we liked. The original faded non-skid deck paint had been a bland beige. We painted it sky blue. We were very pleased with the results and the nice compliments we got from other boaters. The seller 's ad disclosed that he had been told there was a problem with raising
the swing keel, but we had no problem at all when we trailered the boat
to bring it home. We just cranked it up as we piloted the boat onto the trailer and it worked perfectly.
Although the fiberglass hull and all the other major components (mast, boom, rudder, keel, and rigging) were all solid, the wiring was in sad shape. None of the lights worked, inside or out. I discovered someone had run the lighting using ordinary zip cord. Marine wiring is quite specialized -- in order to withstand the rigors of a constantly moist and often salt-air environment. Marine wiring consists of many more smaller, tinned copper strands than ordinary automotive wiring of the same gauge. Of course that makes it harder to find and more expensive, but seeing what happened to the zip wire quickly convinced me to use only marine rated wire when I re-wired the boat. The little 12-volt power panel was such a convoluted tangle of wires that I completely stripped it down and started over. None of the existing navigation lights were functional so I replaced them with modern LED versions that will use very little power and the bulbs will last for thousands of hours. I replaced all the interior lights with LED fixtures too, then added a 30 Watt solar panel and controller to charge the battery.
The trailer had been sitting for years and both the bunk boards the boat rests on had to be replaced. I upgraded from the original 2x4s to 2x6s. The tires looked like new -- even still had the little "mold mark" pins of rubber sticking out. But a quick check of the dates showed they had timed out years ago so we bought new tires before towing the boat about 120 miles home. I also rebuilt the hubs with new wheel bearings just for added safety and replaced all the lights and wiring.
There is a saying that "A boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money!" and I can see how easily that could happen. I soon learned that in addition to special wiring and special paints that are both more expensive than their more common household equivalents, there are hundreds and hundreds of very appealing options for boaters, ranging from basic deck shoes and clothing to exotic electronics for communication, navigation, depth finding, even fish finding and entertainment. I guess I can be glad I have a sailboat. At least I won't be paying high prices for marine fuel or high cost of maintenance and repairs on complicated engines and drive trains. The simple 2-stroke outboard motor on our sailboat should be fairly easy to work on when it needs service or repair, much like the 2-stroke dirt bikes I've worked on for decades.
I learned several interesting facts about our little Venture 24. They have a reputation for being almost unsinkable--but so was the Titanic! It is said you can heel one over until the top of the mast is in the water and it will right itself, due to the 500 lb swing keel hanging out the bottom. I was surprised to learn it will sleep 5 people! It doesn't have built in sanitation like a larger vessel might have but it does have a nice little stainless steel kitchen sink and a porta-potty. The galley has a shelf designed to hold a camp stove and the dinette makes down into one of the beds. The main sleeping area is the V-berth in the bow. It is as wide as a queen side bed at the head and about 9" wide at the foot. It is fairly comfortable if you don't mind playing footsie with your partner. The walnut grained Formica table was very badly faded and the edging was missing when we got it. I was getting quite discouraged when I searched for remedies online only to learn the Formica would probably have to be replaced or painted. Some folks suggested furniture polish like Lemon Pledge and I was excited when it perked it right up, but it quickly faded again as it dried Then my wife suggested I try the SC-1 detail spray I use religiously on our dirt bikes. I was a bit skeptical, but the SC-1 restored it to a near new color that lasts and lasts. Its been at least 4 years and it is still looking good. I found some walnut grain iron on tape to replace the missing edging. The little 24' boat makes a really nice base for extended weekend outings, proving both fun recreational activities and comfortable weatherproof overnight accommodations.
As much as we love dirt biking, I have to admit there are some summer days that are just too hot and too dry to enjoy safely riding the trails. Here where we now live in Oregon, many forested riding areas get closed due to high fire danger during the late summer. Being able to head out on the water and be able to dive right off the boat to cool off is a fun and welcome alternative on hot days. One of the the things a really like about skippering a sailboat instead of a power boat is the choice of adventure. If you like just relaxing, set a course downwind. You can "ghost" along and since the wind is pushing you, you hardly feel any breeze at all as it carries you along at almost the same speed as the wind. But if you want more excitement, turn around and sail back into the wind. Now a sailboat can't really sail directly into the wind. In fact, if the bow is pointed directly into the wind the boat is said to be "in irons" and it won't go anywhere, unless you count being pushed backwards! Sailing into the wind means tacking back and forth across the wind at an angle of no less than 45 degrees to the wind. When you do this the wind fills the sail and turns it into an airfoil (like an airplane wing) and the "lift " pushes the boat along. When doing this the boat will often heel over 15° or so and you can really feel the speed and the wind and often spray on your face. It isn't unusual to heel over so far water is coming over the rail into the boat! However, I was told years ago, as long as the water coming over the rail is white and not green, you're OK. Wind can generate a surprising amount of power and speed. Remember, wind was essentially the only way to move large vessels on the water for thousands of years. Wind powered the discovery of American and the first circumnavigation of the globe. I've even seen sailboats tow water skiers! When I lived in Marina Del Rey near Los Angeles, California some years ago, there was a guy with a little 10-12' sailing catamaran who would take it out and tow water skiers with it when most of the power boats were seeking shelter during small craft warnings.
Recently saw a Youtube touting 13 ways sailing is better than power boating. Of course the presenter is biased but I did agree with most of his points. If you prefer motor boating, go for it! I particularly like the variety of experiences sailing offers -- it can be very exciting to tack into the wind, sometimes heeling over so far water comes in over the rail, or you can "ghost" downwind and it will be calm and relaxing even n windy days. Sailing avoids the noise and exhaust fumes of motors and you can often sail long distances without burning any fuel.
My interest in sailing began long before we found a free sailboat. I had joined a sailing club associated with a company I worked for in southern California many years ago and learned the basics sailing a 14' cat boat around Marina Del Rey. For a while I owned a little 8' sabot I sailed on Harbor Cove in New Jersey and when I went to scout camp as an assistant scoutmaster with one of my son's Boy Scout troops, I spent most of the week getting their sailboats (6-8 of them) back in the water and giving a few basic sailing lessons. One of their boats was a 19' lightning class that I found was really fun to sail. Until I got the Venture 24 it was the largest boat I'd ever sailed. I had day dreamed about one day owning a daysailer and when the Venture 24 ad popped up and I saw the photo it was EXACTLY what I'd always wanted.
By the way, there are other ways to find free boats. In fact there is an entire web site devoted to Free Boats.
You can also find cheap boats on ebay where at least one charity offers
boats for sale that have been donated to them, allowing them to auction
them off at ridiculously low prices. However, as always, caveat emptor
-- buyer beware! Many free boats will need a lot of work, may have significant structural problems, or may have
some hidden legal encumbrances such as past-due moorage, registration, or storage
fees. You will also be responsible for transporting the boat from its current location to where ever you need to take it. If the boat comes with a trailer you will have to make sure it is servicable before moving the boat. If it doen't have its own trailer you will have to pay to have it loaded onto a trailer and taken where you want it. Salvaged boats may have spent some time underwater and may have hidden damage. Getting a professional marine survey is a good way to find out if a boat is worth buying, but the come at some cost ($18-$25 per foot). Surveys will establish the value of the boat and expose items in need of repair or replacement. Be sure you are prepared to handle what ever work is needed --
either by doing it yourself or having the budget to pay a professional
to do it for you. After all, there is usually a good reason if a boat is free! And consider where it is located and how you will get it home -- or at least to its new home. Sometimes you can hire a crew to pilot your boat from where it is to another marina of your choice, like buying a boat in Bermuda and having it taken to Florida, but that is not always an option. Transporting a large vessel over land can be very expensive so consider that if it doesn't come with a trailer or you don't have a vehicle that will pull it. I saw a guy who bought a wonderful sailboat for just $200 and had to pay around $3000 to get it home! A trailerable boat will mitigate that risk to some extent, but be sure the trailer is up to snuff. Many times it has been sitting a long time and the tires will need to be replaced and the wheel bearings serviced if not replaced before it can be used to haul the boat. Also check the hitch, safety chains, lights, wiring, and brakes. If the trailer has wooden bunk boards, make sure they aren't damaged or weakened by rot. Make sure you can fasten the boat securely to the trailer. I use a pair of 2 1/2"ratchet straps around the hull and fastened to the trailer rails in addition to the eyebolt on the bow that is used to winch the boat onto and secure it on the trailer.
Sail away!
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