The Swede 55 update:

[Noah]

Ok, time for an update.

I have now purchased the boat and it made it to Vermont in one piece. The shipping was troublesome as the shippers had a number of problems along the way. First it was the shipper's truck getting hit in a truck stop the night before he was going to pick up my boat. The meant I had to wait another week at Cracker Boy BoatWorks...hey, it's only $53 per day while it's on the hard...OUCH! They also had a tire blowout that delayed the shipping for another 2 days, meaning I lost another weekend of work on the boat.

Anyway, time for the pictures:
Here is the cockpit of the boat while in the water:

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/side_in_water.jpg

And another shot of the cockpit (with the engine cover off) As you can see it's going to take a bunch of work to make it pretty again. I think this year I'm going to do a quick sand and varnish of the teak steering cross beam, and re-do the non-skid. In the coming years I will tackle making the decks look really nice.

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/cockpit.jpg

Here she is getting surveyed. I used Roman Folk (he reads this site) and while he seemed knowledgeable, he never completed the written survey and has disappeared from the face of the earth, essentially taking off with my $900. What a jerk. Roman, if you read this please send me the written survey! I really need it!

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/survey_out_of_water.jpg

[Noah]

A few more shots out of the water:

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/front_out_of_water.jpg



While the hull is in good condition, I still have plenty of work to do to make her look nice. A run-away boat in one of the hurricanes bumped her up pretty good. The topsides need some love, and I don't think I like the red bottom paint (Pettit Trinidad).

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/side_out_of_water.jpg

And finally, here she is coming into the Shelburne Shipyard in Burlington:

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/on_truck.jpg

She really isn't that big, but very long. 7ft draft, but low topsides. The mast is the same length as the boat (53ft) and she has roughly 800sq feet of sail. In all respects the current rig is pretty similar to a J-120. I have a taller main, but more of a fractional rig.

[Noah]

A few more images:

Here is part of the electrical system. It's made up of a complete Ample Power system. Smart Regulator V3, Eliminator Cross Charge Regulator, Energy Monitor, Smart Charge Manager and 55amp AC charger, and some other thing I can't remember right now. The house bank is two 8-D AGM's and the start is a Optima blue. The alternator is the Ample Power 140amp alt.

Yes, I have more than enough power for my simple lake needs, but I guess it's nice to have. The wiring seems pretty good, but I will have to go through and check everything over.

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/electrical.jpg

And part of the board:

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/electrical_2.jpg

[Noah]

One of the projects was to replace the engine as it's the original 1977 Volvo MD11C with a 110saildrive. The engine is running hot, but otherwise operates just fine. We pulled the engine and the local Shelburne Shipyard mechanic thought that I really should give it a go at trying to get the Volvo running. I will spend 3-days working on it, then it's time to replace...I figure a 52ft boat really needs a working engine. Especially since I intend to single-hand it regularly.

I don't have a picture of us pulling the engine, but we used this rig to pull (we are working on the keel of the Megles 24 that I race on in this picture. BTW, the keel isn't all the way down. This beam was just wide enough for my boat and the lift total height is 15ft. We used a 1500lb electric winch to lift the motor out. Access is very easy at it's directly below the cockpit and has a huge hatch. Total it took about 3 hours for me to pull the engine.

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/melges_on_lift.jpg


And here is my total Rube-Goldberg engine testing bed. (yeah, you can all give me crap for using a gas tank and not a diesel tank. Trust me, it's diesel in there...

And yes it is running in this picture. With no muffler that thing is pretty loud. I don't think the neighbors like me anymore...

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/engine_on_trailer.jpg

[Noah]

Down below looking forward. I'm hoping that sanding and varnishing the teak bulkhead and sole will brighten things up.

BTW, sorry for the crappy photo
http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/looking_forward.jpg

The galley (with funky Eno propane stove, double sink and Norcold 120/12 fridge)
http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/galley.jpg


And the nav station complete with parts of the old B&G system and ancient VHF

http://www.morebutter.com/Swede/nav-station.jpg

[S.V. Airlie]

Great pictures and thanks for the update.. Are ya sure that beaty ain't too big for the lake you sail on...:eek::eek:

[David Conard]

Very cool Noah! I'll have to stop by the Shipyard.

[Dave Thibodeau]

Very boring, can't you find a fiberglass sailboat web site ?

[brad9798]

Dave T. boats is boats ... don't be a friggin snob ...

BTW- I see lotsa wood in those pix ... and I don't like catboats! :razz:

Nice going, Noah!!! Looking good.

[Doug Wood]

Pretty darn cool Noah. Congratulations. I hope you have a ton of fun sailing her.

[John B]

Thanks Noah. very nice to see. Our new old boat is full of old B and G too.
PS I really think you need to do the mechanical' fence wire' clean on that manifold and head ,with minimal disassembly. ;) What you save on replacing that motor could go into a couple of new sails eh.

[Kim Whitmyre]

Wow! That looks like a houseboat to this 26' catamaran sailor :) :cool:

[John B]

Lot of nice little features on that boat Noah, I like the hand bearing compass fixed down below.
Refresh me again on when they were built , is it mid /late 70's?

and whats that lazarette about, just storage or is there actually a berth tucked in there ?

[bamamick]

Anything that you do to her will just be gravy. Congratulations on getting her home. I know how nerve-wracking that can be. You are going to be the envy of Lake Champlain.

Mickey Lake

[Ric_Bergstrom]

Very boring, can't you find a fiberglass sailboat web site ?


Yeah....a swede 55 boring...

Can I have a hit of what you are smoking?

[The Bigfella]

Great stuff Noah.

Good luck with the Volvo.

[py]

Excellent. Plenty to be done, but nothing too scary by the looks. No fences? You'll have a heap of happiness on that I bet.

[Rum_Pirate]

A beauty. Hope you get to enjoy her for a long time.

How big is the lake?

[brad9798]

lake is 60 feet! :D

[Noah]

The lake is 100 miles long by 13 wide and very deep. I have plenty of room to play around on this boat.