50' Navy Utility

I'm pretty seriously considering buying one that's been converted to a cruising boat.

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1977/uniflite-50-ft-custom-motor-yacht-2800532/

I have reread all earlier discussion here. This is a sistership to FF's Lucy.

I have a question on the keel - the owner seemed to think the hull was molded and the keel added. I don't think that's the case, but he says there is no access to the keel from inside, and that the keel could fill with water and the boat wouldn't start sinking. There is a garboard drain for the keel but it only drains the keel itself, and he says there's very little water inside at the end of the season.

I understand from discussions here that this isn't uncommon, but I'm still trying to get my head around that. The bilge pumps are in a shallow sump in the hull.

Can anyone enlighten me on this? I'm trying to understand why it would have been done that way. But I come from a sailing background where having a deep sump is a good thing.

Other comments on the boat are welcome. Talk me out of it!

I’m pretty sure they all had keels. There was is a round bottom 50’ utility built but seems unlikely a keel was added. I think Willard built them for the US Navy and the engines sounded like 6-71 diesel to me.
Nothing like riding one back and forth to the ship moored in Narraganset Bay in the winter with ice spray freezing on your pea coat.

HiDHo said:

Nothing like riding one back and forth to the ship moored in Narraganset Bay in the winter with ice spray freezing on your pea coat.

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Oh man! Some of my most enduring childhood images:
The Doyle (DMS34) nested on the Dixie (AD14) in the stream in San Diego; me and Mom standing in the crowd of dependents at the fleet landing, foot of Broadway, watching the liberty launches for a sight of the khaki hat of FCC W.E. Butler in the press of white hats.

Yes they all had keels , there was no access on mine , which was used as a lobster supply boat so had roll chocks , about 8 inches deep about 30 ft long.

Was in the brown shoe navy, so have no idea if they helped rolling while alongside.


Mine was built by Uniflite. Hetron FR resin no pox.


Reliable as heck, ran the loop with only oil changes as maint.

They were built by more than one manufacturer and some didn't have keels. A commercial diver and friend of mine bought one around 2000 to convert to a commercial dive platform. It sat on the hard for a couple of years after his death (ruptured aneurism). No keel at all.

Ted

I made an offer on the boat earlier this summer. It was a pretty low offer and Covid certainly made any possible transaction more difficult. I think it is an interesting platform from which to build a better boat. There are some obvious draw backs, but if I could buy it right I would have money to make changes. How well the cabin top and cabin were built are critical. The lack of stanchions and deck safety is quite scary for any foredeck work. The cockpit is tiny and the ladder to the bridge from the stern is scary as well. No transom door was a big problem for me. The turbo looks to be a few inches behind the galley cabinet door, and the door has no fireproofing? How loud will it be in the cabin/galley with a diesel just the other side of a 3/8's door? Access to the master requires you to walk through the entire boat. This requires some rethinking on my part.

I like the engine and the front and rear thrusters. I bet the boat is sea worthy, fuel efficient, and easily maneuvered for its length. The bridge needs finishing and canvas in my opinion. The boat is unique, and I like seeing another man's dream creation, and what I might do to carry it onward. For me it comes down to price if you can get beyond its inherent design limitations. A surveyor AND marine architect might be good people to bring for a review. Cool boat. Has potential. Has issues. Sounds like fun to me. Good luck. Bill

Those utility boats are fantastic. I bid on them in San Diego three times, years ago, but never won.

OP, What is your planned cruise speed? Do you need to go 10+ knots? If you’re looking for a 7 or 8 knot speed only, then you could repower quite affordable with a running 3-71N or even a 2-71N.

makobuilders said:

Those utility boats are fantastic. I bid on them in San Diego three times, years ago, but never won.

OP, What is your planned cruise speed? Do you need to go 10+ knots? If you’re looking for a 7 or 8 knot speed only, then you could repower quite affordable with a running 3-71N or even a 2-71N.

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Boat has a JD4045. Great motor for my purpose. I'm happy cruising at 7-8 knots.

FF's Lucy? please translate.

Swfla said:

FF's Lucy? please translate.

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His boat named "Lucy", featured in his avatar picture. It's also a converted 50ft Navy Utility boat.

no user named FF? I see FF has now posted. He didn't come up on my search.

Nice utilitary workmanship. A lot of boat for the money. I don't see any sound insulation in photos of engine room. I'm guessing the galley to be quit loud when underway.

There's a guy doing harbor tours in Tacoma WA in a fine example:

Tacoma Sea Scouts have one of the ubiquitous 26-foot motor whaleboats.

I've bought the boat. Launching this weekend. I'm pretty excited.

Thanks to all for comments here and on other threads. They've really helped me in my trawlering endeavors. Looking forward to tapping your collective brains as I get underway with the new boat.

Way to go my friend!! That is awesome. Where will you be sailing out of? If you keep it in the area I will definitely keep an eye out for you. I am sure you have developed your plan to make the boat your own. Please keep us in the loop on your progress and don't forget to post pictures. There are some great cruising weeks coming up here in the GL enjoy every minute with your new boat. Congratulations. Bill

AlaskaProf said:

There's a guy doing harbor tours in Tacoma WA in a fine example:

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I could be wrong, but that sort of looks like the 40-footer version of which we had three on USS Iowa. When I was XO on USS Preble, we had a 33-footer which was a rompin' stompin' go getter. Fastest U-boat I ever rode. Worked great when I had to sink the remains of an F-14 in the Arabian Sea using hand grenades tossed into the water by three of us as we sped by the wing sticking up above the water by about five feet. Took three passes to burst all the honeycombing in that thing. My emergency plan in case somebody dropped one after pulling the pin was for coxswain to yank to neutral as we all dived overboard. None of us had ever held a live grenade before. Hey, don't blame me, captain's orders, "XO, take the U-boat and sink that thing with grenades," Aye aye, sir, can do.

Congratulations! I've seen that boat chugging around Sarnia a few times over the years. Best of luck with her.

Yahoo! We’ve been on Lucy and saw how they are built. What a score!. What about Marzuka?

Larry M said:

Yahoo! We’ve been on Lucy and saw how they are built. What a score!. What about Marzuka?

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The seller took Mazurka as trade. He likes restoring boats, I like using them! He's already got a shop booked for the winter.

Wow, that worked out well for both of you. Best of luck! Pics,pics,pics

moparharn said:

Way to go my friend!! That is awesome. Where will you be sailing out of? If you keep it in the area I will definitely keep an eye out for you. I am sure you have developed your plan to make the boat your own. Please keep us in the loop on your progress and don't forget to post pictures. There are some great cruising weeks coming up here in the GL enjoy every minute with your new boat. Congratulations. Bill

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I'm heading to Toronto this fall via Lake Erie. Will winter there in the water and head east out the St Lawrence in the spring. Not sure when I'll be back in the GL on this boat.

This is going to be a live-aboard cold water boat for me, so heat is at the top of my list. Have been reading here about diesel h/w systems. Most of the rest I can live with for now. I'm bringing all my electronics and modern generator from my old boat.

Cover is off today. Making progress.

rgano said:

I could be wrong, but that sort of looks like the 40-footer version of which we had three on USS Iowa.

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Yeah, comparing with my old pic from San Diego above, the difference is pretty clear.

Launched today. That's my old Mainship 34 alongside. I'm starting to get excited.

Happy day!
Just love those lines ...

Frosty said:

Happy day!
Just love those lines ...

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I love everything up to the sheer line. The superstructure is an acquired taste. They kept the original deck intact and built up from the original floor, so options were limited. But the interior really works for me. I lived on a big wooden motorsailer for a while when I was young and the forward section reminds me of that boat. It's pretty nicely done. Very nice pilot house. I'm rigging lifelines from the pilothouse to the bow, and won't be afraid to wear a harness outside the cockpit. I do that on my sailboat always.

There are more pictures on my blog for anyone interested,and I'll be documenting my progress there.

http://boatingadventures.ca/2020/08/29/afloat-2/

I have the same hull, maybe a little newer? (1994)
The hull appears to be made from two half molds, then joined down the center, keel filled , not sure with what, but it’s heavy, then glassed over leaving a maddeningly huge flat area to try and keep dry!
I’m contemplating chopping a hole and building a sump hole to corral the bilge water.
Would love to know what’s down there before commencing.
Lucky you got the thrusters, the boat handles very poorly at the dock, must plan your approach to fully utilize prop walk. Changing the boats direction from forward to reverse without thrusters will cost you over 30 degrees depending on wind and current, so don’t plan on threading any needles in reverse!
The only way to steer in reverse is to establish some momentum, then bring to neutral.
The “reverse rudder” thing is a gimmick, I’m removing it on next haulout.
I kept the floor intact too, as it is an integral part of the structure, boxing in the stringers.
I mostly use my boat for fishing, in nasty open ocean conditions, and it handles that with aplomb.
Hope you enjoy your new ride!

kapnd, thanks for responding. I have read your earlier posts.

Your boat was built by Willard quite a while after mine, but I've been under the impression that there was not a lot of differences between them apart from power.

Now I'm wishing I had my borescope with me and had peeked through the garboard drain. Next haul out. Making lists already . I hadn't considered that it could be ballasted.

Molding in two halves makes sense. Not uncommon when there's an integral molded keel.

I've been looking forward to experimenting with the reversing cone. I generally enjoy maneuvering single screw boats and thought this might be a useful addition.

Agree on the value of the thrusters. It's a big boat, and I'm normally solo. I'm going to embrace their use. They weren't high on my must have list, but the PO made backing out of the travel lift well and getting turned around in the narrow fairway look easy today.

"The “reverse rudder” thing is a gimmick, I’m removing it on next haulout."

I understand they are known as backing rudders , if you do remove it keeping the shaft intact makes a great spot to install the rudder position sender for the AP.

The backing rudder makes it quite easy to come along side a dock or vessel, (on one side) what the vessel was built to do.

I have heard mixed reviews on the backing rudder. Some say useless, others say they work well.