Ahoy! Just bought a Sandpiper!
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:21 am
Hello forum! My wife and I recently sold our nacra cat and got a better overnight boat, a 1977 Chrysler 22. It's a beauty, a real looker in that Herreshoff tradition. The boat was in great shape for the price, the trailer not so much, but some new tires and a new 2500 lb winch we got that bad boy up out of the lake that it had been floating around for decades. The original owner was still at the marina we bought it from, even though it had passed through 4 owners before us, and I get the feeling the mast hadn't been unstepped since '77.
We took her out on a shakedown before we trailered her home. Finally got the motor running, shook out the sails, and tested everything but the portapotty. Saved that one for next time, we already had enough to mess with. We had a great night at anchor, slept well thanks to the anchor alarm I downloaded to my phone, and are very happy with our purchase. The Sandpiper seems to hit a sweet spot right in between too small to be comfortable and too big to tow, which is why we chose it. Plus, no offense to all the Catalina owners, but she's about the prettiest 22 design around.
We ran into a few issues that I have some questions about:
1. The rudder pulls up easily with the ropes, but wouldn't go down easily unless we pushed down on the rudder edge with an oar to get it going. Is that typical?
2. The outboard is the original, I believe. There's a red button on it. Is that an electric start, and if so, where's the battery?
3. Our mainsail is pretty ragged. I've sailed with some old sails in my time, but this one is about done. Do you have any luck finding original sails in good condition, or do you commission new sails, and if so, from who and how much?
I guess that's about it actually. The boat is surprisingly free from issues. I had read they were kinda built like a tank, and this one seems to confirm that opinion. Thanks for any suggestions.
We took her out on a shakedown before we trailered her home. Finally got the motor running, shook out the sails, and tested everything but the portapotty. Saved that one for next time, we already had enough to mess with. We had a great night at anchor, slept well thanks to the anchor alarm I downloaded to my phone, and are very happy with our purchase. The Sandpiper seems to hit a sweet spot right in between too small to be comfortable and too big to tow, which is why we chose it. Plus, no offense to all the Catalina owners, but she's about the prettiest 22 design around.
We ran into a few issues that I have some questions about:
1. The rudder pulls up easily with the ropes, but wouldn't go down easily unless we pushed down on the rudder edge with an oar to get it going. Is that typical?
2. The outboard is the original, I believe. There's a red button on it. Is that an electric start, and if so, where's the battery?
3. Our mainsail is pretty ragged. I've sailed with some old sails in my time, but this one is about done. Do you have any luck finding original sails in good condition, or do you commission new sails, and if so, from who and how much?
I guess that's about it actually. The boat is surprisingly free from issues. I had read they were kinda built like a tank, and this one seems to confirm that opinion. Thanks for any suggestions.