Progress Report - 733 OTH

MASATS · 06 September 2008, 15:16

I have an interesting project going and wanted to share some information: I purchased the 733 on line without ever seeing the boat from Government Liquidation. So if any of you have thought about doing this sort of thing this series of updates may be useful. After you "win" the boat you have a big challenge paying for the boat and getting it away from the yard. GL requires an end users certificate which is a document where you swear that you will not ever sell the boat to another foreign government. What a challenge that is. I won the boat in mid May and didn't move the boat until mid July. Payment was easy but getting it out of the yard at Portsmouth proved to be a challenge. I used Alligator Marine in Norfolk to get the boat and take it to their yard. Here are a few photos of the boat at the yard and then at Alligator. GL was not very cooperative getting the boat from their yard. They insist that you use their contractor to lift the boat onto the trailer.

Later I will post photos of the tube repairs, hull and engine work.

If you have questions I will try to answer them as quickly as I can, ENJOY!

sunrider · 06 September 2008, 16:39

glad to see you posting the project and look forward to all the details. Are you reconfiguring it in any way in terms of deck layout, seating, radar arch, etc? what power and electronics are in your plans? In what condition were the engine, systems and hull? are the tubes good? How was Alligator to work with...I know they are really experienced with RIBs and know about all there is to know, and have given me good advice on some projects - was their work good and prices reasonable? what work did they do and what parts are you doing? where is the boat and what will you use it for? What stage are you at now in the project?
bryan

MASATS · 06 September 2008, 18:07

All good questions and ones in which I still don't have all the answers:

Right now I am going to leave the deck configuration as is.

The boat came with a Yanmar 6 cylinder diesel and a Bravo drive with a 4 bladed prop. I am a diesel kind of guy and the engine and out-drive checked out good so it will be reinstalled. Diversified Yacht Services of Ft Myers are my diesel mechanics. www.dysinc.com and they will reinstall the machinery when the fiberglass work is finished.

The hull had some significant de-lamination issues which Alligator Marine www.alligatormarine.com discovered. I have a whole story planned for that part of the project but briefly Alligator didn't want to do any fiberglass work. Alligator has some great people and are very knowledgeable about RIBS and I would recommend they highly. Basically they handled the recovery from GL part of the initial project and did a survey of the hull and basic machinery. Island Boat Works www.theboatfixer.com is doing a great job with the fiberglass. The boat is now in Cape Coral FL.

The Coast Guard cut the tubes in order to remove their name. What a shame but I found a great tube shop who patched the tubes expertly. Again that will be another story with pictures but basically 84 Inflatables of Ft Lauderdale are the experts in this area. They did things I didn't think could be done. www.84boatworks.com I did find a spare set of tubes just in case if anyone needs a set.

My goal is to use the boat in my boat business which is crewed and bare-boat charters here in South West Florida. My web site is www.managementmarineservice.com

I have tried to get a history of the boat from the Coast Guard but no one seems to have any information. Does anyone know how to get any data/history? The boats number was CG 23105.

George

sunrider · 07 September 2008, 13:00

look forward to the pictures and details of all....and please provide any further info and pictures on the extra set of tubes if possible (PM me if more convenient).

Also would like to learn more about your business and if there is any way to put other boats to work under your company umbrella - I'm always reluctant to part with the boats I recondition so if there are other alternatives I would be interested in the possibilities.

best of luck with the work...
bryan

cap'nkev · 11 September 2008, 13:19

I also won a 733 at the same GL sale and have been in touch with MASATS on our ventures.
Well GL took 90 days to get the paperwork straight on the end use certificate, the first guy got fired and I guess he took all the paperwork with him because they couldn't find anything with my name on it so I had to resubmit all of it. If you buy anything through GL don't try to plan on an eta.
Picking the boat up was not much of a problem my boat was on a trailer so they let me air up the tires and tow it out to the parking lot to work on the trailer, they would not let me work on it on base. I pulled all the wheels and replaced the bearings. I had researched the trailer manufacturer and brought all the parts I needed with me. I also found a trailer dealer close buy that fixed a tire and picked up a few other parts I needed.
My boat has no engine and the tubes are also cut with about a 4'x1' hole. I plan on removing all the jump seats and mount a center console and tow bit with a pair of 150hp 4 strokes on a bracket.
I have made no progress on the boat yet it will be a winter project. I plan on sending the tubes to be repaired first and then go from there.
Cap'nkev

RyanPratt · 24 December 2009, 16:55

A few q's if you have a moment. I was looking to do the same. What was the biggest issue with getting the boat from GSA and what if you dont mind me asking did you pay for the boat. were you able to use anything on the boat that was not made of glass? Sounds like you just hade the tubes reconditioned? Any pics once you were all done?

Thanks for your help.

MASATS · 29 December 2009, 01:16

I posted some other pictures and details of the project on this web site. Getting the boat out of Norfolk is a real project and costly. The first boat I got out of there was this Zodiac and Alligator Marine hired a crane and loaded the boat on a trailer. Then a trucker brought her to me in Naples. The cost to retrieve and transport the boat to Naples was almost $2K.
The biggest problem with Norfolk is the yard guy has some issues with who picks up the boat. They have a contractor whom they prefer to use. The next boat to come out was an Avon and she was a lot easier because I know the system. The boat is totally refurbished and in operation. The tubes were sliced by the Government so I had a tube guy repair the tubes. They are holding up well with no leaks. I would rather not say what I paid for the boat.

RyanPratt · 29 December 2009, 01:24

Thank you for your help, and for answering most my Q's.

Oregon Searider · 11 January 2010, 03:13

MASATS

Did you ever find any history on your OTH 733?

Those series of boats, 231XX, were assigned to larger Coast Guard ships, specifcally their 378ft cutters. I have found history on most of them, but nothing for 23105.

Was there a number across the stern above the outdrive that said "CG 23105"?

Was there any old lettering on each side of the bow?

If it was on a cutter, and it must have been, it would of been referred to as the ship name and the number 1. Like "Dallas 1" or usually even "DAL 1". This would of been on each side of the bow.

It most likely was attached to the Cutter Dallas or Gallatin out of Charleston, SC. Those are the only 378 ft cutters on the east coast. I have attached a picture of one off the coast of West Africa, early summer 2008. The flag on the port stern is the flag for Cape Verde. It is the Dallas in the back ground and could very well be a picture of your boat. I haven't seen any information on what 733 OTH boats were on those cutters and since your boat came from an East Coast auction...

The Coast Guard has moved on from these boats and now use something similar, but with an aluminum hull.

MASATS · 12 January 2010, 20:19

Hi Thank you for the research. She has no stern or bow lettering however she does have the numbers 23105 on the helmsmans console. The fellow from Alligator Marine said they did the decomissioning on my boat before she was let out to auction and a sister boat came in a few years later with the same 23105 on her console. That sister boat was assigned to the "Forward". So I am assuming that mine came from the Forward as well. But who knows! I don't know if that was my boat in the summer of 2008 because I believe I got my boat in the spring of 2008.