New owner of an old boat

[Gonromin_II]

Hello all!
We (Richard and Sarah) have recently bought a 1972 Grand Banks 42 Classic in Anacortes, WA. Yep, she’s an old woodie, but the hull survey was excellent, and she seems in pretty good condition all around. She’s always lived in the same covered slip since the first owner, and we intend to keep her there too. Why mess with a good thing? (Besides, slips in Anacortes are rarer than hen’s teeth - our sailboat is moored halfway down the Hood Canal in Pleasant Harbor!)
The good/bad news from the sea trial was that both engine head gaskets blew at WOT! Bad news for the engines, good news that it happened on the sea trial and we negotiated a significant decrease in price . They are currently being repaired, and as soon as she is sea-worthy again we plan on taking her out for some short local trips to get used to how she handles.
She is missing a couple of the brass Grand Banks plates for the toe-rails, and we need to get/make new name plates, as Gonromin II is her new name. (The sailboat is Gonromin.). Richard will be learning all the systems over the next month, so expect to see us trawling (pun somewhat unintended) through the forums looking for parts and advice

Posts will be signed by either Richard or Sarah. If no signature, assume it’s Richard!

Sarah

 

[Comodave]

Congrats on your new boat. Having it in a covered slip will help keep it in good condition. Have fun.

 

[guy with a boat]

Congrats on the new boat. Have fun making it yours.

 

[jrd22]

Congrats on the boat, those are beautiful. Will keep an eye out for you in the islands.

 

[RedRascal]

Congrats on the new boat...at least you'll have some piece of mind that the top end of the engines will have been looked over and other gaskets replaced in the process.

 

[Gonromin_II]

Congrats on the new boat...at least you'll have some piece of mind that the top end of the engines will have been looked over and other gaskets replaced in the process.

Oh yes, the heads came off and were sent out for refinishing (?), and both engines and the generator are getting completely overhauled. New intercoolers, replaced valves, new injectors, new pumps … they should be good as new - or as close as can be - when we get her back ! Not a cheap project, but as I said, better during the sea trial than after purchase! We got an estimate for the repair work, and knocked that off the purchase offer. Previous owners live out of state and didn’t want the bother.


Now we just have to figure out how to turn the cabin lights on

Sarah

 

[Mambo42]

Always good to have your engines serviced well, they should be able to last for a few thousand other hours again.
Just make sure you check the elbows, if they fail you will flood your engines and they will still be toast.
In any case, i hope you will be able to find the light switch !

 

[Lepke]

Not common for both engines to blow head gaskets at the same time. You should check for service bulletins the could call for new head bolts or retorquing the head bolts after so many hours.

 

[SteveK]

Oh yes, the heads came off and were sent out for refinishing (?), and both engines and the generator are getting completely overhauled. New intercoolers, replaced valves, new injectors, new pumps … they should be good as new - or as close as can be - when we get her back ! Not a cheap project, but as I said, better during the sea trial than after purchase! We got an estimate for the repair work, and knocked that off the purchase offer. Previous owners live out of state and didn’t want the bother.


Now we just have to figure out how to turn the cabin lights on

Sarah

WHAT, you have lights in the cabin, not candles.
Congrats on a great classic boat from former GB36 owner. Happy to hear of covered moorage as that will make it outlast all siblings.

 

[Gonromin_II]

Not common for both engines to blow head gaskets at the same time. You should check for service bulletins the could call for new head bolts or retorquing the head bolts after so many hours.

The engine mechanic said it appeared the bolts had never been retorqued since the engines were refurbished in 2003. He has given us strict instructions to bring it back to him after eight hours, and then again every so many hours (I can’t remember how many, offhand).
The engines (twin Lehman 120s) had less than 1100 hours on them: we got the impression that the last owners only used her for fishing vacations a few weeks a year, as they live in different time zones.

Good point about the service bulletins. I presume there’s somewhere that we register for those - will have to ask the mechanic. I can see having a long relationship with him

Sarah

 

[Blissboat]

Congratulations on your new-to-you GB 42. As noted, a covered slip is the best way to extend the life of any GB. Hope we get to see some photos of Gonromin II.

 

[Comodave]

The engine mechanic said it appeared the bolts had never been retorqued since the engines were refurbished in 2003. He has given us strict instructions to bring it back to him after eight hours, and then again every so many hours (I can’t remember how many, offhand).
The engines (twin Lehman 120s) had less than 1100 hours on them: we got the impression that the last owners only used her for fishing vacations a few weeks a year, as they live in different time zones.

Good point about the service bulletins. I presume there’s somewhere that we register for those - will have to ask the mechanic. I can see having a long relationship with him

Sarah

You should make contact with Brian at American Diesel. He is the guru on Lehman engines.

 

[Gonromin_II]

Congratulations on your new-to-you GB 42. As noted, a covered slip is the best way to extend the life of any GB. Hope we get to see some photos of Gonromin II.

Thank you. We’ll take some pictures on her “maiden” voyage - if only to prove to the insurance co that she runs! - and will put one here as the avatar. Sometime in mid-December, hopefully!

Sarah

 

[Don L]

So how much did that engine work cost?

 

[Gonromin_II]

Haha, more than the boat! But she will be worth than the total cost when it’s done.

 

[Don L]

Haha, more than the boat! But she will be worth than the total cost when it’s done.

Great. I was hoping for a number.

 

[Captain DJ]

I owned GB42C-125, built in 1969 for Robert & Mildred Newton, Founder & CEO of American Marine Ltd., and cruised her 6,000 nm and restored her for 15+ years. Great boats. Let me know if I can help with any advice.
My cabin light switches were on the sides of the round lights.
For an album of the restoration process: Whittler's Dream Restoration Project · Sep 1, 2004âââMay 11, 2009 ð¸

 

[Tator]

Our first boat was a 1972 GB Classic hull #305. Bought her in LA and brought her up the coast to Puget Sound. Worst seas in all our years of cruising. Traded her for our favorite-1976 GB50.

 

[Gonromin_II]

Great. I was hoping for a number.

Final bill, both engines plus some genset work $44K. But boat now worth $75K, so we broke even. Eye-wateringly expensive, but mechanic was recommended by our broker.

S

 

[Gonromin_II]

Always good to have your engines serviced well, they should be able to last for a few thousand other hours again.
Just make sure you check the elbows, if they fail you will flood your engines and they will still be toast.
In any case, i hope you will be able to find the light switch !

Found the light switch. It was exactly where it was supposed to be, but the light we were checking wasn’t turning on.. turned out that light fixture had no bulbs!

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

Congrats on the boat. We came from the PNW and totally understand the shortage of slips. Love Anacortes though. I would highly recommend you take a trip to Poulsbo and visit Longship Marine especially with an older boat. They are like a marine thrift. Have a ton of different parts and pieces. And it's a great town if you haven't been there. You can also search them online. For the Love of Boats... Good luck with the fixing.. hope you'll be cruising her soon.

 

[Gonromin_II]

Oh yes, we found Longship Marine a year ago. I love pottering around places like that! That part of Poulsbo is also a great place for window shopping - and actual shopping too!

S