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I purchased a Venture 17 (my first boat) from a guy who piece’s together old boats and resales them. The boat appeared sailable, but I had not done my research on trailers. I spent 2 years restoring and registering the the trailer, relacing nearly everything, but the frame and fighting with the DMV to get a replacement VIN. Only work I did on the boat was to replace a broken cheek block (main halyard) and buy a battery for the electric trolling motor that came with the boat.
Finally got her in the water last summer and to my relief, she floats. Sailed her 6 times to get the feel for her and I’m ready to put in some more work. I’ve had a hard time finding information and I’m hoping someone can help me with some questions.
1. The hull is in good shape, but the running mast, boom, and running rigging has obviously been improvised back together or stripped (maybe for racing). The there is a jib halyard, main halyard, down hall cleat and jib and main sheet. That’s it. The main sail is held out by an eyebolt held in pace in boom groove by a few nuts and washers. Can anyone share pictures, a drawing or description of original rigging?
2. There is a slow leak in the hull that manifests as about 2 inches of water in the cabin after a day of sailing. I plan to repaint the bottom and I’m hoping that will resolve it, but I’m wondering if there are any common issues with leaking in the keel box, or the shaft that houses the keel cable, or any other joint.
3. Can I just use a 2 part primer on the bottom, as the boat stays on the trailer 90% of the time?
4. My ultimate goal is to sail to Catalina Island for an overnight, but I’ve only sailed it on an inland lake so far. How should I expect her to handle the harbor, and costal waters. Is it feasible to sail her to an island 23 miles off the coast?
5. What kind of wind should I look for when I plan the first harbor launch? How much wind is too much for a comfortable sail? How much is too much for a safe sail?
6. Any other info or tips would be greatly appreciated. I learned to sail on a 14 foot Catalina Capri decades ago in collage so I’m still pretty green and my applicable boat repair experience is fiberglass surfboard patching and basic home improvement.
