Thursday, October 08, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Coastal Recreation Balboa 20 For Sale $4000
If you ever dreamed of going cruising either alone or with a friend, here is a chance to get started at reasonable cost. Most people think they can buy a boat and go cruising. The reality is that a boat requires a great deal of preparation before you can live aboard and be prepared for what may come your way.
A sound boat is important. The Balboa was designed by Lyle Hess. The 800 pound 4 foot swing keel means that it is stable, but can handle 16 inches of water and be easily trailered. You can see lots of info about the Balboa 20 including the sales brochure at:
http://cliffunruh.com/balboa20.htm
It was built before it was realized how strong fiberglass epoxy construction is. It is very sturdily built. She has main, jib, genoa, and spinnaker. Light air is much more likely than heavy. Being able to reef the main easily allows handling the heavy winds that might occur. A Bulwagga anchor on a bow roller allows you to sleep easily. An auto tiller pilot lets you make a sandwich without stopping. A swim platform and ladder means you can get back into the boat if you fall overboard. (Try getting back into whatever boat you are contemplating. If you sail solo, a removable ladder stored below is useless.) If it gets rough, a harness and tether along with strong attachment points are important to keep you in the boat.
Honalee has had many modifications and equipment additions to make her a good cruising boat.
Sailing: Running lights placed where they can be seen. Boom vang, adjustable down haul, and mainsheet redesigned for the main. Car track for the genoa. A dousing line on the jib. An adjustable spinnaker pole ring, pole uphaul and downhaul, guy clips, and a spinnaker sock allow single handing a spinnaker. A 6 horse Evinrude, and ventilated locker for 6 gal fuel tank when sailpower won't do.
Safety: Compass, Mapping GPS, VHF radio, depth gauge, flare gun, backing plates on all deck mounted equipment, cockpit mounted manual bilge pump, electric automatic bilge pump in front compartment with indicator light, heavy grab rails on cabin roof, heavy cleats bow and stern, docklines and fenders.
Living:Sleeping space for 3, planned storage for equipment and supplies, anchor rode locker, butane stove, hot water storage, porta potty, 15 gallon water tank and pump, solar heated shower, insect screens. Inflatable dingy, manual and 12v inflators, eating utensils, tools and spares. Foul weather gear. Boom tent. Complete East Coast charts from Canada to Cape May, NJ.
A custom trailer with disk brakes allows you to cruise at 60 MPH.
I'm sure I have missed a few items, but you get the idea. There is a lot required for cruising beyond the boat. It is in the water now. Come try it out.
Contact stormc at iname.com
If you ever dreamed of going cruising either alone or with a friend, here is a chance to get started at reasonable cost. Most people think they can buy a boat and go cruising. The reality is that a boat requires a great deal of preparation before you can live aboard and be prepared for what may come your way.
A sound boat is important. The Balboa was designed by Lyle Hess. The 800 pound 4 foot swing keel means that it is stable, but can handle 16 inches of water and be easily trailered. You can see lots of info about the Balboa 20 including the sales brochure at:
http://cliffunruh.com/balboa20.htm
It was built before it was realized how strong fiberglass epoxy construction is. It is very sturdily built. She has main, jib, genoa, and spinnaker. Light air is much more likely than heavy. Being able to reef the main easily allows handling the heavy winds that might occur. A Bulwagga anchor on a bow roller allows you to sleep easily. An auto tiller pilot lets you make a sandwich without stopping. A swim platform and ladder means you can get back into the boat if you fall overboard. (Try getting back into whatever boat you are contemplating. If you sail solo, a removable ladder stored below is useless.) If it gets rough, a harness and tether along with strong attachment points are important to keep you in the boat.
Honalee has had many modifications and equipment additions to make her a good cruising boat.
Sailing: Running lights placed where they can be seen. Boom vang, adjustable down haul, and mainsheet redesigned for the main. Car track for the genoa. A dousing line on the jib. An adjustable spinnaker pole ring, pole uphaul and downhaul, guy clips, and a spinnaker sock allow single handing a spinnaker. A 6 horse Evinrude, and ventilated locker for 6 gal fuel tank when sailpower won't do.
Safety: Compass, Mapping GPS, VHF radio, depth gauge, flare gun, backing plates on all deck mounted equipment, cockpit mounted manual bilge pump, electric automatic bilge pump in front compartment with indicator light, heavy grab rails on cabin roof, heavy cleats bow and stern, docklines and fenders.
Living:Sleeping space for 3, planned storage for equipment and supplies, anchor rode locker, butane stove, hot water storage, porta potty, 15 gallon water tank and pump, solar heated shower, insect screens. Inflatable dingy, manual and 12v inflators, eating utensils, tools and spares. Foul weather gear. Boom tent. Complete East Coast charts from Canada to Cape May, NJ.
A custom trailer with disk brakes allows you to cruise at 60 MPH.
I'm sure I have missed a few items, but you get the idea. There is a lot required for cruising beyond the boat. It is in the water now. Come try it out.
Contact stormc at iname.com
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
I got a question about how the mainsheet was set up on the Balboa.
As I recall, there is a block with a becket and a cam
cleat near the stern on the stbd side, a block
similarly located to port, and a double block attached
to a tang at the end of the boom. Tie end of line to
becket, go through boom block to port block, back
through boom block through stbd block thence through
cam cleat.
I wasn't too happy with the sheet leading from stbd on
either tack, but if you are going to retain the
roller reefing capability, that is what you end up
with.
A couple goosewing jibes convinced me that I needed a
boom vang. There are some ways to have roller reefing
and a boom vang, but none of them are good.
To eliminate roller reefing, I set up the sail for
jiffy reefing and added sail slugs. To rig the mainsheet, I have 2 single
blocks at the end of the boom and a block with a cam
cleat attached to the bottom of the boom about 4 feet
forward. My main sheet starts at the boom thru port
block, back through one block on the boom, thru stbd
block to other block on boom to block and cam cleat
foreward. I'd be happy to give you more info if you
decide to go this route.
I will take a picture when my camera gets fixed.
I got a Sailrite kit to put reef points in my
mainsail. FWIW, I found sail shape with the roller
reefing to be completely satisfactory. I also stored
the sail rolled around the boom. A 2 inch diameter
disk of sheet metal with a half inch slot cut to the
center of it made this operation easy. It held the
boom so I could just roll it.
Hope this helps.
storm
Post a comment please. I'd like to know if anybody reads this.
As I recall, there is a block with a becket and a cam
cleat near the stern on the stbd side, a block
similarly located to port, and a double block attached
to a tang at the end of the boom. Tie end of line to
becket, go through boom block to port block, back
through boom block through stbd block thence through
cam cleat.
I wasn't too happy with the sheet leading from stbd on
either tack, but if you are going to retain the
roller reefing capability, that is what you end up
with.
A couple goosewing jibes convinced me that I needed a
boom vang. There are some ways to have roller reefing
and a boom vang, but none of them are good.
To eliminate roller reefing, I set up the sail for
jiffy reefing and added sail slugs. To rig the mainsheet, I have 2 single
blocks at the end of the boom and a block with a cam
cleat attached to the bottom of the boom about 4 feet
forward. My main sheet starts at the boom thru port
block, back through one block on the boom, thru stbd
block to other block on boom to block and cam cleat
foreward. I'd be happy to give you more info if you
decide to go this route.
I will take a picture when my camera gets fixed.
I got a Sailrite kit to put reef points in my
mainsail. FWIW, I found sail shape with the roller
reefing to be completely satisfactory. I also stored
the sail rolled around the boom. A 2 inch diameter
disk of sheet metal with a half inch slot cut to the
center of it made this operation easy. It held the
boom so I could just roll it.
Hope this helps.
storm
Post a comment please. I'd like to know if anybody reads this.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Hi Storm, my name is Jay, I just bought a Balboa 20...it’s a bit of a project boat, and I was just seeing if we could start up a little bit of a relationship here?
Just to ask a couple questions, or any tips (quirks) that you have found helpful with this type of boat. Maybe share some pictures of how things should look...that sort of thing.
I have sailed a bunch of boats, but on balance I wouldn't trade any of them even for the Balboa. Bigger boats require more cost and maintenance. Smaller ones don't accommodate cruising as well.
My boat has the molded interior with the useless sink along the stbd side. The other version has a plywood interior with the sink in the middle. Which do you have?
The major change I made was to put "windows" in the forward part of the cabin. It made it less claustrophobic below and allowed vision forward. I also tried the starboard bunk and decided it was not useful for an adult sleeping space. It is now storage.
Let me know what I can help you with.
storm
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
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