Question J24 on the hard for a year

J

JLC

New Member
Thinking about buying a j24.

Found one for sale that was obviously well cared for while active. It’s probably a boat from the early 80s. Holes from old hardware are filled. Stanchions seem solid. Keel looks well attached. Raced here and elsewhere for years. Double axle trailer. And a low price. Bulkheads look solid, though it’s hard to tell.

The question: she hasn’t sailed for a year or so, is in a boatyard on a trailer, and water got in: it’s now above the sump.

Run away? Don’t worry about the year of neglect? Happy to scrub her clean (that’ll take a while.) but I don’t want to buy a boat that’s irreparable. I’m basically wondering if this is just a lot of cleaning , or what serious harm could’ve happened from sitting a bit heavily on her trailer, etc.


Thanks,
Sam
 
Lots of things to consider. What else is wet? Deck soft spots from wet core. How did the water get in? How far above the sump?
Did it freeze? Is everything else available, mast, boom, sails, rudder and tiller?
Most importantly, how much work are you willing to do vs spending a few more $$ for a sail away boat?
 
it looks as if water got in through the hole in the deck that the mast goes through (collar? partners?)—the hole in the deck looks imperfectly sealed.

The deck itself looks solid: old hardware holes are well epoxied, stanchions are solid, etc. nothing else looks wet.

There’s standing water about an inch above the sump. The water may have frozen this past winter—although it was a very mild winter. I imagine that could have damaged the sump or the bulkhead, and I’m not sure what to look for. I guess I look for broken bits that are meant to be solid.

I’m not interested in doing a complicated set of repairs. I’m perfectly happy to do hours of clean-up.

All the parts are there. Rudder looks solid. The boat is set up carefully. It’s just the nagging question of what damage the standing water might have done.

Thank you,
Sam
 
I'm no expert on this, but If truly interested, see if you can empty the water out and inspect for any signs of seeping into fiberglass.
Is it old enough to have vermiculite in the bilge? Was it removed?
Cover the mast step hole, duct tape or upside down Tupperware and a brick to keep it there.
Photos help tell a story, look all along where the deck joins the hull, look for rust stains or rusty bolts. Jib tracks, cleats, winches.
Butt end of a screw or plastic hammer and tap around areas with bolts through the deck listed for hollow or solid sounds, tap inside of deck same areas.
 
Lots of great questions. Only way to get a definitive answer is to hire a competent marine surveyor (key word competent) to inspect the boat and present you with a report. Expect to pay $20-30 a running foot depending on where you are, etc. for this service. Whether that is worth it to you or not is more up to you, especially given what is likely the boats low price to begin with. Final thought is have reasonable expectations. You are likely buying boat for around 10% plus or minus of what boat would cost new/today so if the expectation is 1-boat will be in like new condition 2-That whatever surveyor finds and costs for a pro yard to fix will immediately get deducted from price are probably not realistic. I.E if you take the very old used car to your mechanic and he says needs new tires, battery, brakes, etc and you ask the seller to take care of all that at sellers expense prior to you buying, it is probably not going to happen. On a more positive note they are great boats and can be bought for a fraction of what a new one would cost, albiet as with anything older it may cost a few dollars to fix. Good luck in the search.
 
There has been many good J/24 found with water over the floor boards. It is not uncommon with a J/24 that sat for a year.

What is the Hull number? Someone may know the history. Enjoy!
 
Buy or borrow a moisture detector , they cost about 50.00 on Amazon. Run it over the transom ,hull and deck note the readings. If there are other J 24's in your area or at your club you can use these to create a baseline. It not unusual to have some moisture in these areas.The question is what can you live with? My old boat #1768 have moisture in the ends and a dry deck. Making the boat heavier than 1280 min weight. I have since found a better boat 4182 that is very dry..
 
JLC said:
Thinking about buying a j24.

Found one for sale that was obviously well cared for while active. It’s probably a boat from the early 80s. Holes from old hardware are filled. Stanchions seem solid. Keel looks well attached. Raced here and elsewhere for years. Double axle trailer. And a low price. Bulkheads look solid, though it’s hard to tell.

The question: she hasn’t sailed for a year or so, is in a boatyard on a trailer, and water got in: it’s now above the sump.

Run away? Don’t worry about the year of neglect? Happy to scrub her clean (that’ll take a while.) but I don’t want to buy a boat that’s irreparable. I’m basically wondering if this is just a lot of cleaning , or what serious harm could’ve happened from sitting a bit heavily on her trailer, etc.


Thanks,
Sam
Click to expand...
Fiberglsss sailboats are amaizongly recoverable. Especially J/24s.

The big concern on an older boat is the bulkhead around the chain plates. Look for soft wood in those areas. It may have been previously repaired which is OK when done correctly.

Look for large areas of soft spots on the deck

Holding water is good because that means the keel boats do not leak.
 
Thank you all.
I’ve gone ahead with it.
Need to do something to fix forward hatch. One of the latches is missing— inconvenient at best. And the plastic diagonal is cracked.
Also trying to decide about new shrouds. These look fine, but an expensive mistake if they’re not….

Thanks again
 
JLC said:
Thank you all.
I’ve gone ahead with it.
Need to do something to fix forward hatch. One of the latches is missing— inconvenient at best. And the plastic diagonal is cracked.
Also trying to decide about new shrouds. These look fine, but an expensive mistake if they’re not….

Thanks again
Click to expand...
Congrats and welcome to J/24 boat ownership! Am biased as a former owner but think they are a great boat with many positive attributes.
With regard to the hatch I think that may have been a gray marine one and if so, was poorly and cheaply constructed. Depending on if you will do any offshore/near shore work, it might be worth replacing it with some a bit more robust. Lewmar Ocean series hatches are pricy but very well constructed in addition to some mid and low profile Lewmar hatches. I think Bomar too make some that might work and are aluminum framed.
Replacing standing rigging is always a good plan with the caveat that it is done by a competent rigger.
 
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