Hello everyone.We finally took possession of hull #359 (Misty Blue) in San Pedro, Ca! This has been a year and a half endeavor to find a boat that was in our price range, and needed just the amount of love that we could give it (read: the proper state of disrepair). Actually we didn't think we would be able to afford a Westsail, but our patience paid off. We had Bud do the survey and it seems the boat has just been negelected and not really sailed much. I believe it was more of a floating condo than a sail boat. I did find the orginal contract from Westsail on the boat. It was a sail away kit plus they bought the interior kit. I know Bud has sold a few things to the boat over the years. We are looking forward to meeting more Westsail owners and going to the rendezvous when possible.  I already have lots of questions so I am sure you will see me on the forum.

Thanks everyone. I am working on getting the transmission to shift into reverse. The previous owner said when he brought it in from sailing it wouldn't shift into reverse and he never took it out again. Today after work I wanted to see if it was the cable that was not allowing it to shift. I unhooked the cable from the transmission and tried the shifter. Well the shifter and cable worked fine along with the motor speed cable. I tried to move the shifting lever on the transmission and no go. It was locked up. By the way its the original Volvo MD11c and MV transmission. So I sprayed some penetrating oil on the lever and tapped it lightly with the hammer. It was stuck in forward but slowly started to move. The shifter was rusted to the housing. I was able to get it to move into reverse and forward with a little effort but not smooth enough for the cable to be able to move it. I sprayed more lube on it and waited. While I was waiting I looked up and saw the engine hour meter. I saw 456 hours....wait that is 45.6 hours. What!!! Can't be. I traced the wires down and they were connected to the sender, SWEET...But do I beleive it? I did notice yesterday the oil was really clear, but the filter was old. So it might be true. Shortly a marina neibor comes buy and says he saw me taking off the wet muffler yesterday, so he assumed I was working on the motor. He says that he never saw the boat move or start the engine for at least several years, at least as long as he had been there. Mmmmm...maybe it does only have 45.6 hours. He said the previous owners just lived aboad and never took it from the dock. Nice! With Bud doing the survey and telling me that it appears to never been sailed hard, I think it really wasn't sailed very much at all. The engine did start easily during the survey. So far Nellie Jo (use to be Misty Blue) is turning out to be a sweet heart. But lets hold the applause until I can get it all back together and see if the transmission does work. All indicators say YES to me!

OK, so where is spell check in the forum? I NEED it! Really someone help me!

Hi James and Deena,

Congratulations and welcome!  Rhapsody also had a low time MD11C, affectionately called "Old Thumper" when I got her and it is still running strong after 16 years. On some information found on this forum, I add 1 oz. of two cycle outboard motor oil for every gallon of diesel and it runs much smoother. I run her at about 1700-1800 RPM out of respect for her age which translates to about 4 to 4.5 knots under power. Not very fast, but she is a sailing vessel after all which is why they used to be called "auxiliary engines." As for spell check, it’s not available on the forum. I don't think anybody really cares about the spelling but you can always use a word processor for long messages and cut and paste into your post.

Werner

Hi James,

I was going through the same thing with the cockpit floor and finally, out of sheer frustration, cut it in half one day. It’s a much better setup but it does leak a little into the engine room. I haven’t yet found the right formula for a seal and try something new occasionally. I made up some “floating” nut plates that attach to the underside of the flange which makes unfastening the floor a quick process. I put a brace across the opening which also serves as a good mounting for the engine room lights. Normally, I only have to remove the aft portion for minor engine work which leaves the forward portion as a place for tools etc. My stainless muffler also rusted through and I got the exhaust riser and muffler from Bud Taplin. To mount the muffler, I cut a couple of braces, epoxied them to the engine room liner and used battery tie down straps to hold the muffler in place. I would not change it if I had to do it over. A picture is worth a thousand of my convoluted words so I will try to get some pictures of this stuff either posted or directly to you. Bottom line, I have never regretted taking the saw to the hatch.

Werner