Beautiful Block Island 40 on eBay

[JonnyBoats]

This definately qualifies as "classic plastic": http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 3883&rd=1

This is a beautiful boat with lots on nice photographs.

[Rachel]

I posted previously that the boat had been removed from e-Bay because that's the message I got when I went to look at it.

Don't know if it was just me, or what, but it's there now. $100,000 starting bid, plus a reserve.

What a beautiful boat!

Funny that it's hull #00 though. I wonder if they meant #001, since they said it was the first one.

Wow.

--- Rachel

[JetStream]

There are many interesting stories about "Seal". One that I heard is that she is built so strong that she took a chunk out of the concrete fuel dock in Bermuda after racing there, with no damage to her bow. I looked at her up at RI Mooring services before the restoration. She was in a mostly collapsed plastic shelter in deplorable conditions. Pendleton Yacht Yard in Islesboro, ME, is the yard that did the interior restoration and I think they did a fine job. Interestingly, she was originally a "Vitesse". They changed the name, (mostly by how people referred to her) after a very successful Block Island Race Week when she was just built. She is moored in Newport Harbor for the summer and one of the folks from Block Island Maritime takes care of her. She is definitely a looker.

[JonnyBoats]

This boat has been re-posted to eBay => http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 5224&rd=1

The photos of this boat are great! If anyone is going to view this boat, any chance we could get some more photos and post them to this site? I feel there are a lot of good ideas here that could be used as inspiration when redoing other boats.

[Tim]

She is a beaut. They've been trying to sell her since last year sometime; I remember coming upon a listing somewhere. The boat was here in Falmouth briefly last summer.

I don't know about that upholstery choice, though...but it does look pretty "period".

[Figment]

I can dig the upholstery. This traveler REALLY bugs me, though.



I understand that the helmsman wants the lines within easy reach, but I just hate seeing travelers on bridge decks. This one, square in the MIDDLE of the bridge deck is just a criminal waste of some great lounging space!!!

Tacked canvas treads on the companionway ladder. Very nice touch.

[JonnyBoats]

The traveler on the bridge deck seems far from ideal to me as well. Is this how the boat was configured when originally built?

[Tim]

Given the cockpit setup, with the mizzen stepped at the aft end of the sole, I bet the original setup had some sort of very basic mainsheet setup run to the mizzenmast itself, which was common enough on older yawls (actually, are there any "new" yawls? I can't think of any new model fitted as a yawl). Travelers were not really in evidence in the late 50s, at least not as we know them today.

Therefore, I'm sure that traveler location was an add-on, either at this latest refit or some previous refit. The one shown in the picture is almost certainly new this refit--it's a modern Harken--but there may have been an older version there previously.

The cockpit design here definitely shows a limitation on where one could actually place a traveler. I suppose you could squeeze one in across the aft end of the benches, just forward of the mizzen, but that would probably be a bit tight with the helm and all. Probably mid-boom sheeting located on the coachroof forward of the dodger would be best, though I'm not a huge fan of mid-boom sheet arrangements unless they cannot be helped.

I couldn't stand having the traveler where it is on a cruising boat. Racing, maybe. But that is most definitely prime lounging area. This picture shows how tight the aft end of the cockpit is--a traveler there would be far from ideal also.


Since we're being picky here, I'm noticing another detail in that cockpit that bothers me: not only do the cockpit locker lids extend out beyond the edges of the cockpit well (sort of an odd detail), but the border surrounding the nonskid is inconsistently sized with the adjacent bridgedeck, which looks really odd and jumps immediately to my eye. These details matter. It almost looks like the locker lids were installed backwards, since there's a wide border at the inner, hinged side.

More pickiness: visible wires over the nav station. Sometimes, that cannot be avoided...but in this case it clearly could have been.

Obviously, one must look hard to truly find fault with this restoration. But it just goes to show how many details there are to deal with anytime you do this stuff. Maybe the owner loves his traveler location and mismatched nonskid borders; who knows.

It's all part of the ever-ongoing education.

I just noticed the centerboard winch smack dab on top of the table in the salon--an interesting location.


I'm wondering why this obviously very expensive refit was conducted in early 2004, only to have the boat donated to this Block Island foundation so quickly. One never knows.

[Tim]

For what it's worth, I saved all the Seal photos to my own server for future reference, since I figure they'll disappear once the boat is sold.

[JetStream]

Actually, Seal was donated to BI Maritime before the restoration. The restoration was funded by Block Island Maritime. I understand that they actually took possession of the boat in Puerto Rico and had a very interesting and expensive time just bringing her north.

I like the companionway half step at the top that allows better access to the electrical panel.

[JonnyBoats]

I'm curious Tim, why don't you like a midship traveler on the coachroof?

[Tim]

I just prefer a nice simple tackle with cam cleat, all self-contained and close to the helm. Mid-boom arrangements tend to require more blocks (more friction), usually have a long run along the boom forward and then aft to the cockpit again, typically require a winch, and are more difficult to operate when the boat is equipped with a dodger.

Plus, I don't care for the extra spaghetti on the coachroof and forward end of the cockpit; there's enough going on there as it is. For the same reason, I prefer to keep halyards and reefing equipment at the mast.