Transporting a 54-Foot Sailboat - Ep. 2 - Sailing Moxie

Moxie's first adventure: Moving to the boatyard after purchase for the start of the refit. sailingmoxie
www.sailingmoxie.com

[@juliette5871]

I appreciate your videos and eagerly anticipate the ones to come. I will be like a sponge trying to learn. I have the opportunity to get a 40' Sailboat that is gutted with nothing for patterns etc but think it will be a super fun and trying challenge. Safe trip home --John G Shreveport, Louisiana

[@SailingMoxie]

Thank you, John. One of my goals is to provide a little insight for those looking to buy and refit a sailboat. Best of luck to you if you pursue that 40-footer and her conversion/refit. Something like this is a big project, but it has huge potential rewards not only for you but for everyone involved. -Matt

[@cliffjamerson3107]

BOAT UNITS great term here's to MOXIE DILLY DILLY

[@jwrappuhn71]

Hey buddy, your a lucky man because she sure is a fine looking gal, she looks extremely fast, I guess they didn't call her white lighting for nothing!!! please keep us up to date on how the work is progressing, thanks bro.

[@SailingMoxie]

Will do. A comment I get often from people working on the boat is that she's going to be a fast boat to sail. Can't wait to get her on the water! -M

[@MpxFlyer]

Really interesting video blog! How often are you going to upload? I hope to see more of your boat. I always wanted to see someone buying a rather old boat and rebuiling the interior!

[@SailingMoxie]

I'll try to upload new videos every single week. I'm still a few weeks out from returning to FL myself, but I have lots of photos and clips so I can tell the backstory of Moxie until I'm able to get her splashed in a month or two. Once I hit the boat in person, then I can show lots more videos of the work and sailing trips with her. -M

[@rickczainski9734]

Hey Matt, looks like quite a project. Yes she looks like she will be a fast sailor. Looking forward to following your journey. I'm a land locked Canadian sailing on small lakes. Impressed by your goal, best of luck. Are you planning on living aboard or sailing the world?

[@SailingMoxie]

I'm planning to live on her at least part-time when I get back to FL, depending on the condition of the interior and her life support systems. I'm not planning any 'round-the-world trips just yet, but I could easily be cruising around Florida and the Caribbean in a few months. -M

[@ericvialla7270]

👍

[@BruceInFlorida]

Hi Matt ! What boat yard is that? Gulf Cove?

[@SailingMoxie]

Hi Bruce. It's Safe Cove in PC. Great boatyard. The manager there has really helped me a lot with this project. -M

[@goatlifts]

Hello, What shipping company did you use if you don’t mind me asking? Looking to get a 60 Foot sailboat shipped from St Augustine to Palm Beach, Thanks!

[@SailingMoxie]

It was a private guy with a trailer. I went on UShip.com and posted my info, and I received a few bids right away. Post the info with dimensions of the boat, etc. My guy told me I was the maximum length and width he could haul with his low boy trailer. 60 ft is a big boat, and probably much wider than mine. I paid $1,600 or $1,800 I think. Yours would be more than that, as my boat is smaller and it was also a shorter trip. Plus I had to pay on both ends to have the boat lifted on and off. Let me know if you need any more info.

[@kirkbeaumont5295]

Are you back in the states now?

[@SailingMoxie]

I'll be back in the US in less than two months now as I wrap up work overseas. Over the next few weeks until my return, I'll post some additional videos showing some of the work that has been completed on Moxie by the professionals, as well as some future projects I'll carry out once I'm back in Florida myself. I'm certainly itching to get back.

[@ryanmoeller3308]

I'd love to own a sailboat and be out at sea for a while. I'm in Oklahoma though.. Lol

[@SailingMoxie]

Haha! Being landlocked might be an issue, but I'm sure there's some decent lake sailing in OK. Another option instead of buying a boat and making that huge commitment is to become crew on someone else's sailboat for a season or for just a few weeks so you could get a feel for it. You wouldn't make a ton of money, but you'd get some experience on the water and you wouldn't be forking over lots of dough for your own boat. There are many ways to go sailing at someone else's expense or at least not making a huge financial and lifestyle commitment. -M

[@ryanmoeller3308]

Thanks for the reply!! I'm actually getting all my exams done soon to be medically certified with the USCG. I'm Type 1 Diabetic, so I have to send in a bunch of paperwork showing I'm capable of working at sea. I'd like to pursue a Yacht Master's License. :)

[@cometjockeydave4041]

Sailing Moxie I've sailed on a Hunter 54 sloop before, and it's definitely fast even as 54 footers go because of the narrow beam, and the high sa./disp. ratio. It'll be a little squierlly downwind because the rudder is forward of the usual position for most sailboats to make room for the dingy garage. This puts added latteral stress on the rudder. This, added to the characteristic flimsy Hunter construction leads to quite a bit of flexure in the rudder, the stock, and the surrounding rudder support structure so you may want to look into reinforcing the rudder. The other big issue you may want to tackle is that a number of H 54s have lost their keels, so you might want to consider reinforcing that as well, or at least regularly monitoring the condition of the keel bolts, the fiberglass right there, and the surrounding keel support structure. I'm not trying to turn you off your new baby, but if you don't already know all this I imagine you would at least want to be aware. Despite all this I actually love the H 54. I don't think I'd care to risk a big crossing without reinforcing the rudder, and keel, but I would certainly take one from Florida to the Bahamas, and the Caribbean any day, especially since that boat has the speed to dodge storms if you can get the timing right.

[@cometjockeydave4041]

Sailing Moxie I've crewed on a Hunter 54 before. It is fast enough to dodge storms, and it frequently sees 7, knots plus upwind, and 8, or 9 knots off the wind, with just the genoa. I wouldn't care to get into a big ocean crossing with one unless I reinforced the support structures for the keel, and rudder, as loosing both, (yes even the keel), has been an issue in that model's history. That being said I would recommend keeping a close eye on both on a regular basis if you don't reinforce them. However for going from Florida to the Bahamas, and Caribbean, that boat would be perfect. I'd be happy to answer any questions I can about the H 54 I can for you. Fair winds.

[@SailingMoxie]

Thanks for the info, Dave. I knew about the keel issue with these boats and the Hunter construction quality, but I didn't know about the rudder issue. The rudder is being looked at as part of this refit process, so I appreciate the note on that. I'm glad you have experience with H54s and that you would feel comfortable for short-term cruising with a boat like this. Thanks for the detailed info. -M

[@michaelryerson1315]

Okay, I'll bite, how much is a boat unit?

[@SailingMoxie]

A boat unit is $1,000. Basically, everything you try to do with a boat costs about one boat unit (or a thousand bucks). Very rarely can you get away with doing anything on or with a boat that doesn't costs at least a few hundred or a thousand bucks. Very expensive hobby!

[@michaelryerson1315]

Jesus, learn something new every day. I bought my first boat in 1962, a 34' sloop and have owed boats off and on for most of the ensuing 56 years. I've fortunately managed to do the vast majority of the maintenance myself and in all the yards and all the BS conversations I've had with other owners and sailors I've never heard boat unit until today. Go figure.

[@SailingMoxie]

It was a new term I picked up form a few boaters when I bought the Hunter 54. I had never heard it before either, and I don't hear it often. Luckily with this boat I've also been able to do a lot of the work and maintenance myself as well now that I'm not overseas and can deal with the boat myself in person, so the draining of my wallet has decreased considerably!

[@michaelryerson1315]

Well, I wish you luck and good sailing. Is it your intention to single-hand this boat? 54' puts a lot of demands on the helm. Think ahead. I'm glad you're doing your own work now. You'll find being intimately familiar with your boat is an enormous advantage when faced with extreme conditions.

[@tinyb69]

B.O.A.T. = Break Out Another Thousand. Though, with inflation, that figure is greatly underestimated, these days.

[@denisconnaughton2923]

What is a ''BOAT UNIT'' when talking about how much it cost? Can you not say what it cost in $?

[@SailingMoxie]

A boat unit is $1,000. It shows in text that pops up at the bottom of the screen the first time I mention boat units. It was just a joking term I heard from some people when they were talking about how expensive boat projects are.

[@advancedwaterjet3940]

hi great looking boat, can i ask about what you paid for it? thanks i am looking forward to your vids

[@SailingMoxie]

I won't say exactly what I paid for Moxie, but there are several other H54s available right now between YachtWorld and other sites like SailboatListings. One is priced around 75k, there are two at 95k, and one or two at 120-140k. In the past I've seen others with listing prices at 65k and as low as 30k. If you buy a higher priced boat, you're potentially going to spend less on the refit, and if you buy a cheaper boat, you'll easily end up throwing 50-75k into the refit, depending on how much improvement you are looking for. If you're looking for a cheap fixer-upper, the market is flooded with decent boats in the 30-40 ft range, and you can easily find many for sale in the 10-20k price range, as long as you are willing to commit to fixing up and maintaining and older boat. -M

[@itsmePassportBro]

Advanced Waterjet in that condition no more than about $30000 usd