Showing kindness to strays!

It's nice when you can afford to 'adopt' a stray when happenstance throws one right in your lap.

Thanks Flagold for your YouTube videos. You made me a believer!!

What am I missing here?

Same thing I'm missing.

Dosn't look like stray dogs or women .. He prolly picked up a stray boat. I wonder what that is?

What would make a boat a "stray"? Wandering around from marina to marina w no owner? I'd like to snag a 32 GB or NT that way.

Greetings,
Mr. m. "I wonder what that is?" Um, the first picture may suggest a Prairie 29 perhaps?

No 40 to be precise...... Of course some would say: just a knock off. But just seeing 3' on the beam ( yup, that's my limit). And comfortably rolling across some 5 to 6' speed bumps..... I believe in Hargrave.

Even with the fuel tanks splurging crud ( and four spare Racors abd) it rode pretty well

The smile of the day was when leaving Cleveland today a searay blew past me. I slowed down to 5 kts for the 3 to 5 (occasional 6) footer. Look who was just entering the jetty as I was passing by? Yup. Mr. Smarty pants I hope his party was green with appreciation of his plowing and slamming.

Oh yeah, the prairie has already grown on me. One day and I'm a believer!

Two years looking, seven boat crawl arounds, three rejected offers, finally I got my own.

Look on the internet, print off as many comps as you can find, and negotiate negotiate negotiate. Hopefully you will get lucky like I did.

Although I was picky on the particular brand of boat (the 6'6" headroom is needed) I was also looking at Mainship1s, GB 32s, and Mainship Europa 34s.

The Prairies lack of (leaky) teak decks, solid hull construction (no core) and looks made me partial to them.

On my 936 mile delivery home, the only casualties were 9 fuel filters, and the AC circ pump died. Not too shabby for an old girl.

The amazing thing I discovered (buried in the paperwork) was the engine was not original. It was replaced in 95. So I lucked out, with a new(er) engine than I thought!

More pics as I get organized and tuned up.

first lock westbound in Buffalo
Boy does an empty lock make her look small!

High tide.....
Low tide.

Lock 19 Erie Canal.

This post makes as much sense as any other here:

I ass-u-me you will be making a resto/repair thread?

cappy208 said:

On my 936 mile delivery home, the only casualties were 9 fuel filters, and the AC circ pump died. Not too shabby for an old girl.

.

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9 filters!...

Time to clean the tanks.. In the last 15000 miles I haven't had to replace 9 filters.. Every year I seem to replace almost clean filters.. only once did I HAVE to replace a filter.

Good luck with the new boat!
HOLLYWOOD

This post makes as much sense as any other here:

Click to expand...

That is the largest Prairie I have ever seen! Close, but not the cigar that was referred to! I believe the thread is in the correct forum (Prairie). Is your post in the correct forum?

Good on ya Cappy, enjoy your new boat!

hollywood8118 said:

9 filters!...

Time to clean the tanks.. In the last 15000 miles I haven't had to replace 9 filters.. Every year I seem to replace almost clean filters.. only once did I HAVE to replace a filter.

Good luck with the new boat!
HOLLYWOOD

Click to expand...

That was part of the unknown buying a boat that had only 18 hours usage in the last 3 years. I knew the fuel tanks would be all full of crap. The yards where I picked her up couldn't do anything for weeks (me being a transient and all) so I filled up with filters and took off.

It's getting better as time goes on, down to about 25 hours before the filters clog up now. But the bulk of the crud is cleaned up. Now that she is home I can work on the 'list'.

Sorry guys, if my posts are not to your liking. A little tongue in cheek humor and subtle asides are my norm. Just sharing what happens when someone takes the plunge and buys a new (to them) boat. Cheers.

ben2go said:

I ass-u-me you will be making a resto/repair thread?

Click to expand...

In my 'not so' humble opinion, the old girl really doesn't need much out of the ordinary. Hose replacements, replace engine mount(s), some wiring clean up. An AC circ pump, and she's pretty much ready to run. The old couple who had her took really good care of her.

The bottom was already soda blasted and barrier coated. The engine only has 1700 hours on it. The tanks were replaced 12 years ago. maybe a new carpet would make the Admiral happy. She actually had a good time for 6 of the days enroute home. The other 6 days she was at home and had a really good time with the grandkids.

From what I have gleaned, Matt and Connie Mattson, former owners of a Prairie 29, Mischief, posted video logs of their travels, including their final voyage delivering their beloved Mischief to its new owner after life circumstances forced the sale.

My take is that Matt and Connie's log inspired Cappy208 to seek out and purchase his own Prairie 29. He has posted here on his maiden voyage as a salute to Matt and Connie for their part in his discovery and acquisition of his now beloved Prairie 29.

Am I close?

I, too, have enjoyed the Mischief videos. Congrats on your new Prairie. One question...if you bring a canine aboard, does it become a prairie dog?

Absolutely a direct shot right down the stack.

I will have to ask 'Miss Sophie' if she would like to be a prairie dog! First we have to train her to use the grass mat in the cockpit! Then we can discuss the prairie dog part.

Congratulations Cappy. I own a 29,Sue Marie hull #7, and am the second owner. We have a lot of work, most of it small items. They are sweet little cruisers, very comfy ride, well designed and built. Jack Hargrove,the designer, did an excellent job. When you look at the bow, reminds you of the early Hatteras design.

Enjoy her and keep us posted. By the way, where on Cape Cod are you.? Until 2000 I was in South Dartmouth Ma.

John

Falmouth. Just biding my time until I can get a slip in a Sandwich marina....... Years and years

Good looking 29'. I think the stripes do it well. It's hard to find more boat in under 30 ft..

cappy208 said:

It's nice when you can afford to 'adopt' a stray when happenstance throws one right in your lap.View attachment 30256View attachment 30257

Thanks Flagold for your YouTube videos. You made me a believer!!

Click to expand...

I guess we need to check in more often . . . Congratulations on taking in that stray and giving it a good home!

After logging a 900+ mile delivery trip, and lugging around all my 'new friends' the rest of the summer, the Choice of a Prairie has proven to be quite a good decision.

We have started the task of removing stray wiring, disconnected leads, and cleaning up duplicate wire runs. Each week finds new things to 'work' on.

Now, with haul out time coming, the 'rest' of the surveyors 'reccs' are being addressed. (In addition, some more practical items needing work)

Anyone looking to find a Prairie to buy, keep in mind the engine hours, the tank(s) condition, and the windows.

These three things seem to be (especially at this age) the key to affordability.

Each are about 10 grand a pop. If you can find one that has one (or preferably more) of the items done, the more valuable the boat is.

Well, I've been lurking on these boards for awhile now and I really like these boats. It turns out the Dad of my oldest friend of has a prairie for sale. It's a 36' and sounds like it's in similar shape to yours with very little usage for the last 10 years or so. I'm planning to have a look see and will use some of the things I'm learning in these threads to make a decision. I think I would prefer a 29' as a handier size for The Loop but who knows, I may be picking up a stray too.

Kevin

Cappy: you are pretty much on the mark with observation. Significant money can be saved by installing plastic saddle tanks, and using a local automotive glass installer for the glass work. If anyone is still following the Mischief - I would use caution going with 52 hp - this proved barely adequate in some situations.

Plastic tanks are viable solution as are automotive plastic windows. I was able to replace the original windows with new custom made, sliding and tinted windows for under $3000. There are several marine companies who can do this at varying prices. I highly recommend this company: Wynn Enterprises they are outstanding. www.wynneinc.com.

I have stated before if I were to replace my 4-108 Perkins it would be with a bigger engine like the 4-236 .

John

flagold said:

Cappy: you are pretty much on the mark with observation. Significant money can be saved by installing plastic saddle tanks, and using a local automotive glass installer for the glass work. If anyone is still following the Mischief - I would use caution going with 52 hp - this proved barely adequate in some situations.

Click to expand...

You mention plastic saddle tanks. How big were the tanks you removed? I am contemplating removing the tank(s) next winter preemptively. But cutting them in half insitu is going to be a job and a half.

What size tank did you replace with? I have two 100's, and was contemplating putting in 2 20's and 2 50's. Figuring on all the putting I do around in the summer wouldn't use more that the 2 20's. And long trips I could open up the 50's when needed.

And, Sortie, thanks for the link. That place is awesome. I am so protective of my original windows, they make me cringe when anyone even leans on the panes. Nice to know it isn't a deal breaker to put a new one in.

cappy208 said:

You mention plastic saddle tanks. How big were the tanks you removed? I am contemplating removing the tank(s) next winter preemptively. But cutting them in half insitu is going to be a job and a half.

What size tank did you replace with? I have two 100's, and was contemplating putting in 2 20's and 2 50's. Figuring on all the putting I do around in the summer wouldn't use more that the 2 20's. And long trips I could open up the 50's when needed.

And, Sortie, thanks for the link. That place is awesome. I am so protective of my original windows, they make me cringe when anyone even leans on the panes. Nice to know it isn't a deal breaker to put a new one in.

Click to expand...

Ours had 2 50 aluminums, replaced stbd. with 2 25 plastics from I know not where. We carried an extra 50 in cans for trips. Not the best setup for "serious cruising" but it worked for us just fine.

I picked up a stray, poor girl, uneducated, did not know the proper way to dress, skirt way too short, poor makeup usage..too much. Undersized bra, falling out of. Young girl. I brought her home to help her, a good meal, poor thing needed help. Still do not understand why the wife was so pissed off.

Our boat had two al. 50 gal tanks. Replaced one with 50 gal plastic. Have 100 gals of water. 100 gals of fuel is more then enough for us.

Mule that is funny.

John