Well, we finally did it!
Mary had mentioned, in the spring, that we should begin looking for a sailboat in the fall and it was to be my "pre-retirement" present. Not too long after that we saw a 25-foot sailboat with a For Sale sign on it along side the main road from the Elmira area to Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes. We called the owner and we met at the boat on a rainy day and chatted for a while. He was the third owner of the boat, his father the second, so we feel that we know a little about its history.
A couple of months later, we got a call and he had an offer. Well, to make a long story short, we are the proud owners of a 1975 Helms 25, hull number 428!
We have a lot of work to do on the boat and limited time. Since winter comes early and we have no place to keep the boat, we will be taking it to my sister's farm where it will sit under a tarp until the spring. I have pulled the interior wood that will be refinished over the winter. There are hatch seals that need replacing, bilges that should be painted, some standing rigging needs replacing (and I probably should replace all the running rigging lines), the porta-potty may be toast, the battery for interior lighting is missing and it looks like most of the interior lighting needs replacing. Don't know about the running lights, but they will be dealt with also. There are lots of little topside leaks where stuff needs to be rebedded.
A couple of months later, we got a call and he had an offer. Well, to make a long story short, we are the proud owners of a 1975 Helms 25, hull number 428!
We have a lot of work to do on the boat and limited time. Since winter comes early and we have no place to keep the boat, we will be taking it to my sister's farm where it will sit under a tarp until the spring. I have pulled the interior wood that will be refinished over the winter. There are hatch seals that need replacing, bilges that should be painted, some standing rigging needs replacing (and I probably should replace all the running rigging lines), the porta-potty may be toast, the battery for interior lighting is missing and it looks like most of the interior lighting needs replacing. Don't know about the running lights, but they will be dealt with also. There are lots of little topside leaks where stuff needs to be rebedded.
There are a couple of modifications from the original design - it has a wheel rather than a tiller and the centerboard mechanism is forward in the cockpit rather than in the cabin. Other than that, it looks like the 33-year old fiberglass hull and topsides have held up extremely well.
But, as Mary says, most of that can be done with the boat in the water next spring. Now we just hope that we can get a slip in Watkins Glen.
We have yet to name the boat, but "She Who Must Be Obeyed" is one of my first choices!
If you want to see a blog on another Helms 25, check out Kevin Walters' blog at:
But, as Mary says, most of that can be done with the boat in the water next spring. Now we just hope that we can get a slip in Watkins Glen.
We have yet to name the boat, but "She Who Must Be Obeyed" is one of my first choices!
If you want to see a blog on another Helms 25, check out Kevin Walters' blog at:
This is the first photo I took of the fine craft. 
And here it is from the side:
1 comment:
Only a retired Navy Chief would say, "a fine craft"...you Navy guys and your boats. Will expect to see it on Senaca Lake in September 09. Semper FI in Texas
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