1973 Viking 33' SF Convertible re-build thread...

so I came across this boat that was being given away for free and decided I needed something else to lose money on and agreed to take ownership. It's just been pulled out of the water due to a leaky stuffing box and the owner can no longer handle/maintain/afford to keep it. As a favor to the owner, the marina where he has kept the boat for many, many years told him they would take care of the expense of hauling the boat out of the water and finding a new home for it.

They put the boat on CL and listed it as "free", which to me always means expensive, and I gave them a call and went out to look at it. They stated in the ad that it had not run for a few seasons due to an oil leak on one of the engines..didn't seem like a big deal to me, I buy non-running crap all the time.

So, when I got there this is what I found....

"free"....remember that...so I climbed aboard and found this...

the rest of the interior, all in 70's style Brady Bunch decor, was in surprisingly good shape..."free"...remember...

This quick cursory inspection was all I needed to commit, so I approached the marina owner to ask what happens next..and since I am somewhat skepitical of the "something for nothing" free aspect of life, I ask, what's the catch? Are there any Marina fees owed on the boat? And she promptly replies," nope" we're just trying to help out a very good long time customer. His family doesn't want to have anything to do with the boat or getting rid of it or helping him pay the winter storage to keep it. He is an elderly gent in his eighties.

Ok, I'll take it, says I and she says, "wait, don't you want us to put it back in the water so you can see it floats and exactly what is leaking? No charge of course."

Ah hah.. there's the catch..they are being so nice to me, they tricked me into saying " no that's fine..by the way would you have any room here to store it over the winter for me?"

...cha..ching, suckered into using their facility by kindness.

So, 64 dollars a foot later, I own a "free" boat that I'm keeping in a marina 35 miles from my house for the winter, which gives me 5 months to re-build so I can pilot it back to my house next season...free..well except for the 20+ gallons of fuel per hour it will use...

more to follow

but still free!

Nice Score! That seems like a very nice boat for free.

it's a nice solid hull and the interior could be usable with a mild clean up...the 351 engines on the other hand are another story. The port one cranks over..the starboard not so much..

it has a jack drive setup and they look to be recent rebuilds..

the generator, however, is anchor material...

When you need to pull the engines, hire a big tow truck to yank them out.

Hell, I'd park that on a small plot of ground somewhere and live in it!

I don't think I'll pull the motors just do an in-chassis like we do on trucks.

there's a ton of room in the engine compartment, the generator is coming out though, if I can't rebuild the engine I'll look for a small unit I can adapt to marine use.

I plan on living on it next summer when I get it to it's new slip a block from the house.

Is repainting the bottom on the schedule? might as well while you have it out.

that's part of the winter storage fee, the marina has to do the bottom painting....insurance/DEC liability law issue...

Ah that's right. My roommate owned a 27' sailboat in college, and I remember calling around trying to find a dock that would let us paint.

I'm digging this build. After my FIL got his 38 footer this year, I've taken more of an interest in boats. Even though his is newer, I like the older boats. There is a 50' 1940's era Wood Hull yacht that is docked across from him that is absolutely beautiful. I see a lot of promise in yours.

This thing is ridiculous. Two 8.1L Mercruisers. It gets up and moves.

$2100 bill as soon as you took ownership of the free yacht? You're right on track for the full boat ownership experience!

My Dad has a 26 footer on Lake Michigan and it's a ton of fun to sleep on the boat and go out at O'dark thirty for salmon and lake trout.

Good luck! You'll need it!

used to have a 24' so I kind of know what to expect....empty wallet, tetanus shots, scraped knuckles etc...

I know Halloween is coming up, but that's not scary, it's terrifying.

I know it's been a while but life gets in the way sometimes. Got the engines out this morning and now I can concentrate on rebuilding them and cleaning/painting the bilge area. Check and lube the steering linkage, replace the old dried out hoses, etc...