Housecleaning

Well, a whole pile of shit got cleaned out of the piece of shit....off to the dump today with it.

Things are looking (marginally) better in the cabin.  Check out the original gold shag carpet....should we re-do the interior to match it?  

The pink cushions MUST GO!!

Atomic 4

This boat has the venerable Atomic 4 gas engine with 4 cylinders and old school stuff you can actually work on. It supposedly has been rebuilt but is not fully connected to the raw water cooling system. I'm not sure if it was ever run after the rebuild (?) or if it would even turn over. There is new paint and new gaskets everywhere. Well today I had the need to know if it would spin, so I turned the battery on and twisted the key. YES it turned over. Sounded like my old Pinto. Maybe I'll add fuel tomorrow.

THE BEAST

1975 - Remember When?

1975 - what an exciting year!  

In January, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell & Mardian were convicted of Watergate crimes.

Barry Manilow's single, "Mandy" went gold.

Olivia Newton-John and John Denver won the 2nd American Music Awards.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show opened in NYC.

Muhammad Ali was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world

Microsoft was founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen

The Coast Guard Academy first allowed women to enroll.

The movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher was released

Squeeky Fromme attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in Sacramento.

Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy for President.

Saigon fell, heralding the end of the Vietnam Era.

And our S2 Sailboat was built!  See the original brochure at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_cqpdnU5RBPYjhmNzRhNTMtNjRlNy00MDk1LWJiM2QtMDM5OWM1N2YxNTZj/edit

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Holy Crap!

We have abandoned all remnants of sensibility and purchased a "Project Boat", a 1975 S2 8.0 -- a 26' center cockpit sailing vessel.  

Yes, "Holy Crap" was my reaction to stepping down inside the cabin of This Old Piece of Shit Sailboat (TOPOSS).  Rick found her on Craigslist and was interested because of the uniqueness of her cabin layout.  She is also touted to be a pretty fast-sailing boat for her size.

There she was...sitting at a used auto yard amongst various abandoned, rusty cars and trucks in various states of disrepair, towering over them all due to her high freeboard.  From the outside she looked promising...not too many cracks in the gelcoat and seemingly well-built and sturdy.  Definitely needing a new bottom coat, but hey, Rick's good at that.


Rick had already been on the boat for about a half hour when I climbed up the rickety ladder.  Nice decking....looks like narrow wood planks but not wood and in pretty good shape.  Rick says "This is a real project boat".  Oh.  I don't like project boats.  But it doesn't look that bad on top to me, so I descend into THE CABIN.

Now let me first describe the cabin layout, which is the best feature of this boat as far as I'm concerned.  You go down a companion-way of 5 steps to a massive forward cabin with standing head room, even for Rick.  Nice!  To the port side is your galley - large ice box, sink, and 2 burner stove.  To the starboard toward the stern is the head -- with a real door, vanity and sink, storage cabinet and porta-potty.  Across from the galley is a nice-sized settee.  The v-berth is set up with a dining table that can be removed if you need to convert it to sleeping quarters.  To the port aft is a "pass thru", a hallway that leads to the aft cabin.  So you don't have to go outside to get to your separate "bedroom".  In this hallway is another settee on the outer side and the 30-hp Atomic gasoline engine is across from that, encased in a cabinet that has easy access for addressing the engine.  Keep in mind this is all in a 26-foot boat!

So....THE CABIN....whoa.  Holy Crap.  Every other cuss-word I can possibly think of.  Where is the gangplank???  I should make Rick walk it.  Words cannot fully describe what's down there....so pictures will have to suffice.  It will tax my upholstery skills to the max and I will have to hone any interior decorating capabilities I might have to do something with this.  We'll have to get good at sanding and oiling teak trim.  It needs new....everything just about.   Rick says it needs all need standing and running rigging, sails also unless we discover something "down below".

Restoring TOPOSS will be an adventure in itself!

 Here's what you descend into -- a pile of crap straight ahead in the v-berth.  Are those pink (mauve) cushions?  Green and white chaise-lounge cushions?  What's all those boards and framing????

Head-liner surprising looks real good!

The Atomic "Beast" - hope it works!!

The  "Pepto-Bismal Galley"

Galley countertop....obviously previous owner not into cooking.

Love the porthole mirror on the head door.  How about that yellow-pink abstract paint job?

The Head -- I'm NOT touching that porta-potty!!!

Aft-cabin.  Possibly a homeless person had been living back here.