Annie, I described it as a project boat only because the engine isn't running, and if I bought her I'd be trying to bring her up the west coast of the US in a series of short coastal hops. From what I've read, that requires a lot of motoring at any time of year. But Duane doesn't know why it's not running, only that he "can't turn it over". I guess that could mean anything from the crank is too stiff for him to there's a rod thrown. He has a new head gasket, so I suppose the first thing to do would be pull the head and see what's up. If I could take about a month off work and just sleep on her where she's anchored, I expect I could get her running and bring her at least part of the way up.

Nicholas, I'd never heard of an ultrasonic thickness gauge before this - they look really handy. From what I've just read about how they work, it would work whether the boat is afloat or not. It also looks like you'd need one that has an echo-echo or multi-echo mode, or else you'd have to scrape or sand through the coating to bare metal. What make/model do you have?
Duane (the seller) said he's had her hauled out several times at Berkeley Marine Center.
http://www.berkeleymarine.com/yard-rates

Jonny, it's Sabb (marine engine manufacturer). Saab is the Swedish car maker, but as far as I know they've never made marine engines.

David

Nicholas wrote:

Annie, I agree, it looks a lot of boat for not much money. Also a good start point for my plan to reach NZ!

Nicholas.  She would get you even closer to NZ!  It might be worth making an offer on her and, unlike some of the other boats for sale, I doubt you'd need to spend any more money than putting on food and fuel, so that although you would spend more in the first place, she probably wouldn't end up costing any more in the end.

I have an aluminum Gazelle built by Greenwich in 1974.  The quality of construction is excellent.  I bought mine about four years ago and had the bottom ultrasounded and it measured good as new everywhere.  

I just heard back from Duane that he sold the boat to a local guy with family for 7k. I'm so glad it's not headed for the state's wrecking dock. Hopefully we see her cruising again soon.

Anonymous wrote:

Amos, the thickness of the hull when you bought her depends on how frequently the previous owner replaced the zincs, right? Duane says he has had this boat hauled and replaced the zincs every 2-4 years. I know that how fast zincs corrode depends on a lot of different factors, like whether your electrical system is properly grounded, how often you're plugged in to shore power, and the presence of other metal boats nearby, especially a steel hull with bad electrical ground.

How often have you changed the zincs on your boat?

My hull did not have any zincs on it except on the MaxProp and I have not added any but I have been keeping it moored in freshwater on the Columbia River ever since I bought it.  The epoxy paint on the bottom was thick and in excellent condition so I just put on a new coat of bottom paint and put it back in the water.  I asked Colvin about it before I bought it and he said that if everything was done right there was no need for anodes.  I am not sure I agree with that and when I am moored in salt water I expect to use a magnesium "fish".  I don't think I need anodes when away from the dock but I am open to any argument otherwise.  The whole issue is confusing to me.  Anyway, it doesn't look like the hull has ever had zincs and the aluminum plating measured 6 to 7 mm everywhere which is twice the steel plate thickness Colvin specified.

I guess I have owned the boat longer than I thought.  I looked up Colvin's year of death and found it was September 1, 2014 and so I bought the boat in March of 2014 - five years ago.  As seems to happen, every time I plan to actually use it for more than day sails something comes along and keeps me tied to the dock.  I really am going this summer...