Hello Friends,
I was on this forum many moons back....I think maybe even before these tris were popular. I've sailed quite a few of the Recreational Hobbies and also have a love affair with tris....owned a Corsair Sprint, a little Windrider, etc.
I spend 5 months in the Sarasota Area and the rest up north in MA - we have ponds and lakes here, but nothing really large.
I noticed some old AI's for sale at great prices - also noted the various cracks talked about here and elsewhere.
My question is this - would it be safe to say that cracks as noted (most due to foot-drive or mast?) can be repaired by someone who is very handy mechanically? I noted one YT video where some folks overseas replaced the entire mast plate...
I know there is a reason old boats cost less...and am not worried about working on them (in fact, I enjoy that)....whether making up new metal parts or doing some of the welding/gluing/ stitching (ss wire), I'm up to the task.
What I don't want is to have something which is not usable no matter what. Oh, I'd never be taking the boat out for longer than two hours so it wouldn't have to be in "Everglade Challenge" condition.
(I'm seeing some AI ads....under 2K)...no cracks, but one never knows.
A "sub-question" is...if I am willing not to have the mirage drive, does that - in theory - make an old boat easier to patch and resurrect? My thinking is that this might take a lot of stress off the boat (to not have it).
Thanks for any insights. For my #3 boat it's gonna be either an AI or a Windrider 16 (not too many WR's around!).
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