[John]

I have acquired a South Coast 22’ swing-keel sailboat. It was given to me for free, and I will have some issues getting it registered and titled, but I wanted to reach out and see if any other South Coast boat owners are still out there. How are your boats doing?

My boat is gutted, and the standing rigging is all completely removed and in a bucket. The running rigging is completely gone, and I have one main sail from a local reputable sailmaker in the Seattle area. There is no rudder, but I am pretty handy and think I can make one. I do have the hardware for it, just not the rudder itself. Mast and boom are in good shape, electrical has been stripped so no lights, etc.

Anyone out there taken on a project of this size for a boat worth so little? Should I carve it up with the sawsall and put it in a dumpster? It did come with a usable trailer, which also needs wiring, and tires are a bit crusty but holding air, but the trailer itself seems to be functional and sound.

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[David Wesche]

Yes!! I recently bought a SC-22 a few weeks ago too! I’m still at the cleaning and head scratching stage right now. Forward bunk is ok but the rest of the interior needs to be replaced. I believe I have a plan to press on but I’m trying to decide on the best layout possible. I don’t plan to install a toilet or galley so that changes everything. I wish I could find Interior pics of one in good shape. The swing keel is a plus but it sure wrecks any chance of a nice interior layout! Please give me a shout back so we can compare notes.
Dave

[John]

Well, as I got into my boat further, I decided it needed far too much work and passed it on last week to another poor soul. Someone had pulled out bulkheads and such, and while I could reasonably reinstall bulkheads and build out an interior, I just dont want to spend so much money and time on a boat thats only worth what the trailer it’s sitting on is worth.

Instead, I went to an auction and purchased a sailboat that was ready to sail, complete with 4 self-tailing winches on deck, 4 sails in functional to excellent condition, and a complete and functional interior. The running lines and sheets are looking old and needing to be replaced but otherwise mine looks to be very functional and ready to go. I put a merc 9.9 on the back and slipped it into the water last weekend, and put it into its slip. now I’m cleaning and getting ready to rewire the electrical so I am sure it’s safe and functional.

I wish you luck on your southcoast. One word of warning, I dug up on a forum. It turns out you will probably want to drop that keel and inspect it, as in, remove it and inspect it, due to potential rot at the joint where the swing keel attaches to the hull. It could be disasterous to have that keel fall off in a good breeze.

[Kenneth Arceneaux]

Dave it’s nice to find someone else that has one of these project boats. The hardest thing about restoring one of these antiques is finding the pictures to see what we are trying to recreate. My 22 was purchased for $300.00 The hull is sound and as far as I can tell the standing and running gear is about 90% in tact. The trailer needs a little work Lights. The forward berth is in good shape but from there back the rest of the interior needs work. By the looks of the interior it seems the finish panels were attached to the fiberglass with liquid nail. So far I haven’t been able to find any detailed photos or original design drawings. The upper cabin hatch slides are missing as are the outer cabin hand rails. I do have a complete working rudder that I can send pics of and even give you dimensions on next time I get home. Still haven’t figured all the standing rigging out yet.

[PaulK]

These drawings might provide some ideas for the interior:

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/south-coast-22

[Kenneth Arceneaux]

The interrior design is ok for an idea. I can look at the interrior of my boat and see most of it. The part that puzzles me is the dimensions of the galley table top and seats and how they convert the table top into a spare berth. Also the galley side are missing components. I’m considering a self contained camp toilet in place of the original that was removed long ago.

[Kenneth Arceneaux]

Also haven’t found any detailed drawings as to the attachment of the complete standing rigging. The basic rigging is easy to figure out ,for a stay, upperstay, masthead stay. The aft and boom stays are where it starts getting confusing.

[Author]

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