The boat was delivered to
San Francisco and put on the market with only 17 hours on the motor.
I bought it in June of 1972 with the shavings still in the bilge,
and no sign that it had ever been used by anyone. I have used it
extensively, spending nine Winters in Mexico, the Sea of Cortez, and
the Puerto Vallarta area, two Summer strips to Hawaii, and a 2 year
trip to New Zealand, plus lots of local sailing. All of it has been
done shorthanded, mostly with just my wife and I, with me doing all
the sailing with some help from her steering and standing watch. My
long cruising was done between 1972 and 2003.
As I became acquainted with the boat, I made improvements as they
became apparent, such as removing the unusable inside steering
station, adding the Alden designed bowsprit for better upwind
performance and easier sail handling, and after learning it
was impossible to prevent
the black stains caused by moisture under the teak overlay, I had
all of the exterior teak above the deck, cockpit coaming, gas box,
exterior and the interior teak on the cabin removed and replaced
with much better craftsmanship than had been done in the original
build.
One of the major improvements I made over the original design was
rebuilding the Main cabin windows. The original glass was cut to fit
the opening in the fiberglass house, relying only on the strength of
the interior wooden window frames to hold against the boarding
waves. That system required the use of plexiglass storm
windows when going to sea.
We made the replacement Pilkington Glass Windows larger all the way
around, so they are supported both by the strength of the fiberglass
and the thicker teak window frames. I did not feel the need of the
storm windows even for the 21 day passage from Samoa to Hawaii,
against the Trade Winds and the Equatorial current. There has been
no leakage around the windows as was the case with the originals.
On the passage from Samoa to the big Island of Hawaii, on the way
home from New Zealand, about 8 boats that had been in NZ the same
time I had, all wanted to to the big Island as it is upwind from the
rest of the Hawaiian chain, but the Orient Star was the only boat in
the group that could make enough progress against the Trade Winds
and the Equatorial current. So all the other boats in the group fell
off and sailed to Honolulu, missing the down wind cruise through the
Hawaiian chain. We were close hauled on the Starboard tack for 21
days and 17 hours. When the wind would veer a bit we would have to
stay close hauled, as we needed to make all the easting we could.
The waves were too large to keep the prop in the water so we were
not able to motor sail, it as all done the hard way. The other boats
were of the typical varieties found in long range cruising groups,
from modern fiberglass boats to older heavier ones. Probably some of
the ones that fell off their planned course was a failure of the
Captain, but again, the comfort of my boat had a lot to do with our
being able to stay the course.
The original chainplates were the only other thing I have found on
the boat that were inadequate, having been made of Stainless tangs
welded to mild steel under the deck, so those were replaced with
water cut stainless steel, as a precaution against the heat from
cutting affecting the temper and strength of the steel.
The teak replacement was done with carefully selected teak, Epifanes
epoxy, and the best joiner work I have seen, by excellent New
Zealand Boatwrights. The boat has never had a budget, so the boat
has never been neglected nor required a major refit.
All of this work, without regard to cost, has created one problem.
There is simply nothing similar in classic boats of this quality for
comparison when setting the price. The superior condition and the
hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been spent on it must
make it worth more than other OS 50s, but I do not know how much
more will be the final fair price. I am 85 years old now, and my
feet and ankles are becoming numb, so it has to be sold. I think a
suggested price of $200,000.00 with the proviso the price is open to
negotiation, or trade for non residential real estate, after the
prospective purchaser has seen the boat.
PARTIAL LIST OF
IMPROVEMENTS AND EQUIPMENT
Improvements:
Interior and exterior cabin and cockpit woodwork replaced in New
Zealand.
Pilkington
glass installed in windows and installation re-designed to
eliminate need for storm window covers.
Teak deck in excellent condition.
Alden designed Bowsprit added for double headsails.
Harken roller furling on all four sails.
Rigid Vang.
Extendable Running Pole, On Mast mounted track.
Rigid but easily removable Custom Bimini cockpit awning.
Shadetree Tropical Awning.
Bottomsider cockpit cushions,
Main Shroud and Stay Chainplates replaced.
Two pallets of spares, sails, covers, and equipment.
Everything possible for extended shorthanded cruising has been
installed, so sail handling can be done from cockpit.
Partial list
of equipment includes:
Famet spars and rigging, mast steps, Rock climbing harness and
gear, and Bosun chair, for climbing without help.
Benmar gear and chain autopilot,
Robertson hydraulic autopilot, if one fails, flip a switch and
use the other one.
Classic Aries Wind vane,
Dual refrigeration, 110v hermetic, vee belt driven compressor
from main engine,
1,000 hours on main Perkins motor, 200 hours on Kubota 4kw
generator.
Spectra Watermaker,
Five anchors, 330 feet of 3/8th chain, 600 feet plus of anchor
line,
Achilles dinghy and 8 hp motor, less than 20 hours of use.
West Marine life raft,
Raritan LectraScan waste treatment,
Single sideband + ham radio, VHF, Walkie Talkie radios, radar,
GPS
Dual depth finders with separate transponders,
Standard Wind and Speed instruments,
Barograph and Barometer,
Chronometer and Clock
Paper charts for Mexico, South Pacific and Chile.
Rigid, but easily removable cockpit canopy, etc
Engraved Irish Crystal Glassware and Liquor Locker Doors.
Folding and Rope swimming ladders.
Rope hung boarding step
Very nice dock steps.
P.S.
It even has a gimbaled flower pot. lol
MUST
BE SEEN TO BE APPRECIATED.
Ernie Copp
Price-
$200,000. AM INTERESTED IN HAVING THE BOAT OUT CRUISING AGAIN.
CONTACT ERNIECOPP2@MSN.COM
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