So I bought a boat.. Caper, a Triton 28

analogtraveler

Adventurist
Founding Member
I did it. I found the ultimate hole to pour my money into. My newest adventure vehicle is Caper, a 1961 Triton 28, built in Sausalito by aeromarine plastics. She has a solid fiberglass deck with no balsa to rot out like most others of her class. I've got a lot of work to do, but I like where this is headed. I can stand up in the main saloon, the space is luxurious compared to some I have lived in for months on end, and she has a solid hull with a full keel with about a honda worth of ballast. I'm ready for a summer of boat-wrenching and sailing the SF bay!
"longship
 
IMO the triton is one of the prettiest boats made in this century! although narrow by todays standards the boat has plenty of space for a couple to cruise in relative comfort. If you haven't checked it out yet, look up the Triton "Atom". The owner made some really neat improvements and actually circumnavigated at least once!


I owned a bristol 27,the Triton's twin cousin, and really miss it. The boat is slightly tender at first but hardens right up once it heels a bit. You're gonna love it!
 
I’m not really into sailing but I’ve always thought it would be fun to go on a month long trip sailing through the Caribbean on something like you just bought. Eating what you catch from the water and hopping from island to island to see the sites and stock up on ice and clear bottle Becks.

I think I watched Capt’n Ron too many times.
 
The Bristol is a nice looking little boat as well, another Alberg design IIRC? The lines of the folkboat-inspired glass hulls of 50 years ago sure look good to me! Oh, and a photo... A couple more and a short writeup Here
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Good luck to you!

I love sailboats and wish I could afford to start a project like that, but after my experiences with my boat (1/2 the size of yours) I would be nervous about starting that project. The saying about them being the "whole in the water..." is absolutely true.
 
I did it. I found the ultimate hole to pour my money into. My newest adventure vehicle is Caper, a 1961 Triton 28, built in Sausalito by aeromarine plastics. She has a solid fiberglass deck with no balsa to rot out like most others of her class. I've got a lot of work to do, but I like where this is headed. I can stand up in the main saloon, the space is luxurious compared to some I have lived in for months on end, and she has a solid hull with a full keel with about a honda worth of ballast. I'm ready for a summer of boat-wrenching and sailing the SF bay!
"longship

Congrats, great boat. +1 on Dan Spurr's Upgrading the Cruising Sailboat and This Old Boat by Casey(I think) Both were instrumental when I was restoring our '61 Phil Rhodes designed Ranger 28 Very similar in layout to the Triton. Some of the most fun you'll have lightening your wallet. Enjoy.
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Edit: Just read your blog post, looks great. With what you've allotted for upgrades, sounds as if a diesel repower is in the plans. I yanked the original 8hp Palmer 1 cylinder and replaced w/ a 13.5hp Beta Marine(Kubota based) (I had ordered a 10 but a 13.5 shipped, they gave it to me for the same price:). More than adequate for 8000lbs displacement. Great engines and intelligent maintenance layout. Worth a look.
 
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Hi all,
I've been busy glassing, welding, hammering, wrenching, etc. Beautiful boat TridentGreen! 10K is the budget for hull and systems refit sans auxiliary. With hardware for through-hulls/seacocks running around 1k, plus rebuilding the rudder, electrical, cabin lights, rounding out my kit of sails, and the other 2.718 million things to do during a refit, I'll easily spend that without dropping the cash for a used yammerhammer. After judicial application of engine tools intended for lawn-destined Briggs & Strattons, the old Atomic 4 is close to life. Too bad It's getting pulled this winter to be replaced by an series hybrid electric drive and a box of lithiums! (Speaking of, hey Doc, we need an electricity/lightning smiley, if for nothing but my lightning strike experience this weekend)
Cheers!
 
It's probably somewhere along that inland waterway that comes up out of the Sea of Cortez.

All kidding aside, there's a part of me, a very small part of me now, that wants to work on wooden boats. If I could have figured out the tuition & living expenses I'd have enrolled at the Wooden boat building school in Port Townsend, WA right after college.

Having spent some time on both a Cat 25' and an Islander 41' (2 separate week-long trips on the Islander going around Santa Cruz Island) makes me know just enough to know that I know nothing about sail boats, but the boat in the pics above looks like a nice cruising rig.
 
Sausalito. It's a bit of a ride. I crewed aboard the Triton Ananke yesterday, we took third in Tritons, Plastic Classic 2013. Would have likely made second if we didn't get cut off by Larry Ellison's 288' megayacht. Don't those guys know the rules of the road?
 
Well, here's an update after being away for a bit. I wasn't satisfied with the (nonexistent) backcountry travel options available to me in the SF bay, a cool but not "overlandy" destination. Sure, I can swing by TAD on the way to get coffee, but it's hard to get off the beaten track on wheels. Luckily, this place is top notch for a small boat sailor. We only draw four feet and Caper's full keel and heavy hull are safe to careen on the bay's soft mud, so the entire delta is open for exploration. A 125cc single, six horse sailpro outboard provides propulsion for a vessel that weighs as much as my Unimog when conditions exceed my sailing skill or timeframe with much more efficiency than the original 300lb 25 horse flathead inboard, and I live aboard at anchor. I've gone a different route than with the mog, embracing KISS and eschewing refrigeration, although my PV's could run it and I already have the units. A block of ice rowed from the corner store keeps beer cold on special occasions. No waterlogged coolers here, Caper's permanent icebox has a drain plumbed to the bilge. Water from melted cooler ice gets pumped overboard automatically. A Triton offers enough space for myself and the ladyfriend to live comfortably, while being small enough that I can wrestle the jib down in a gale or haul up the anchor without a windlass while singlehanding. Also, if you're interested in composting toilets for overland use, I can solidly recommend the nature's head or airhead units. I'll post a writeup on some toilet-talk later. Other than that, living free and happy, see you all at desert rendezvous.
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Very cool.. I love boating, but the old addage seems to be true with me.. "The two best days in a boat owners life are the day he buys a boat, and the day he sells the boat."...
 
It was great to see ya again at DRV. No idea you had gotten into boating. Very sweet setup and look forward to hearing of your travels and adventures. Keep posting up.
 
Caper hanging from her 15KG Rocna anchor and 110' of chain the Friday morning of Desert RdV. Home sweet home!
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All of the gear loaded aboard Mimsy the Adventure Dinghy.
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My new skiff, a 15 year old 10' Hypalon inflatable that will be fitted with a bigger engine than my sailboat for utility use on the bay.
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Well this is well past due for an update! Caper got hauled out three years ago, spent a year on the hard undergoing a full refit and repower, and just got hauled again for her biennial bottom paint the other week. Boat work gets much more affordable when you're a crane operator at a boatyard :)

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