Buying a windrush?

[Mr Tinkles]

Guys'

Throw me your thoughts. 14ft windrush in local paper, needs some work.skiff mast & sails? with trailer, $700 neg. wadda ya reckon.

[xmatelot]

hi,

re $700 windrush.

my advice to anybody buying a used boat, of any make is as follows;

if buying from a private person.

see it fully rigged, complete with all gear,and sailing. make sure it is from a current manufacturer,so that parts are readily available,

[berny]

Needs work? Skiff rig?? Not class legal. Na Too expensive! I wouldn't buy it at any price.

[NickS]

Originally posted by Mr Tinkles:

Guys'

Throw me your thoughts. 14ft windrush in local paper, needs some work.skiff mast & sails? with trailer, $700 neg. wadda ya reckon.

It would depend on the age of the Windrush. As a rule the Earlier Windrushes with the colored hulls do not have bulkheads where the beams attach to the hull and tend to break there internally. This is not an easy repair. These Windrushes (colored) are also heavier by approx 10kg per hull.

Notes on the Windrush 14:

-------------------------

The method of construction of Windrush hulls has changed over the years (although

the shape has remained the same). The original hulls were standard fibreglass but

built more heavily than the more recent types and are generally not used for racing.

Later, lighter hulls were made - also using standard fibreglass but that had plywood

bulkheads level with each beam - hence these boats are referred to as 'bulkhead boats' (the minimum weight for competition is 76Kg without mast, sails, and rigging) and from this time onwards most boats were built to be around this weight).

The most recent type of hull (from about 8 years ago) is of fibreglass

'foam-sandwich' construction. This gives a more rigid hull for the same weight and

is what you would get if you ordered one from the factory now (for around $4000 just

for the hulls).

If you want to race you really need to get a bulkhead or foam sandwich boat, but if

you just want to go pleasure sailing then any boat would do (the performance

difference between the newer and older boats is small and wouldn't matter unless you

are racing).

A couple of other things you'll need if you want to race rather than pleasure sail

'Deep rudders': There are two types of rudders. The original rudders were wooden

and a roundish shape. Later ones (fitted to bulkhead boats and foam-sandwich boats)

are fibreglass and are long (about 2 feet) and narrow (approx 6 inches) and get

dropped down into a vertical position after launching. You need deep rudders if you

are going to race (all bulkhead and foam-sandwich boats have deep rudders plus a few

of the later 'heavyweight' boats).

- Mylar sails: Older sails were made of dacron (= common sailcloth - not

see-through, a bit like a tough cotton fabric). These sails are numbered from 1 to

5900. Newer sails are mylar and you will want mylar sails if you are going to race

(again, the performance difference is small but significantif if you are racing).

These are made of 2 layers of a transparent mylar sheet laminated over a criss-cross

pattern of fibres. The result is semi-transparent. Mylar sails are numbered 6000

upwards. To recognise the different boats:

1. Old 'heavyweight' boats:

- are usually coloured (not white)

- inside the rear hull pockets usually have a plastic bin

- have no numbers on the horizontal part of the mounting plate where the rear beam

meets the hulls.

- wooden/round rudders (although a few of the later ones had deep rudders)

- dacron sails (early numbers)

2. Bulkhead boats:

- Are nearly always white

- have numbers stamped on the horizontal part of the mounting plate where the rear

beam meets the hulls. The number to the rear of the beam is the hull number. The

number to the front of the beam is the hull weight (e.g. 26.7 = weight of that hull

in kilograms). Hull numbers less than 1000 or with no weight stamped on them are not

a good bet as they had a lighter construction that turned out to be a bit too

light!) - Usually have nothing inside the hull pockets (i.e. are just openings into

the hull).

- Have plywood bulkheads level with each beam (you can see them through the hull

pockets). The plywood of these bulkheads tends to de-laminate over time so it's best

to check any delamination is only slight, but they can be repaired with fibreglass

if necessary.

- deep rudders

- dacron sails (up to number 5900) or mylar sails (number 6000 upwards)

3. Foam-sandwich boats:

- Are white

- I'm not sure of the hull numbers, but I think they are around 1200 upwards

- Are expensive ($5,000+ for a secondhand boat, $11,000+ for a complete new boat)

- Hull walls are rigid

- deep rudders

- mylar sails (number 6000 upwards)

Price is a major factor here - new mylar sails are about $1100 for a

mainsail and about $400 for a jib. When you buy a second-hand boat you can allow

$1000 or more in the price for a boat with mylar sails. e.g. a second hand boat with

dacron sails for $1600 will cost you a total of $3000 by the time you have bought

new mylar sails for it (but you do then have new sails (good for maybe 10 years)),

as opposed to a similar boat that already has mylar sails in fair condition for say

$2700 (i.e. a large part of the sail price will be in the mylar sails).

Sorry it's a bit long but hope it helps. Text plaigerised from WA Windrush Association.

[This message has been edited by NickS (edited 14 May 2006).]

[xmatelot]

hi,up there in Mareeba,

forget the technical stuff,

READ MY FIRST REPLY,

have fun,

pete

[HooD]

A skiff rig on a windy, nup wouldnt touch it. for that sort of money you should be able to buy one with a standard rig. also consider a maricat 4.3.

[Mr Tinkles]

gotta find a mari for sale up here,a few around but nfs or owners untracable

[HooD]

have you tried ebay? there seems to be quite a supply of maricats on there. pay for the boat when you pick it up, couldnt get safer than that.