An oldie but a goodie. A sound hull, a serviceable engine, and sails that work, all at a bargain price.

Do you have a sailing dream? My dream is to buy a 40-foot cruising boat and cruise the US coasts and the Caribbean. Now the reality: I am still too young to stop making money, but old enough that I can see that time coming. What do I do to keep the dragon at bay until I can buy the boat and have time to fulfill that dream?

I am a member of a small and mostly social sailing club on Lake Lanier in Georgia, near Atlanta. We get together on a monthly basis and sail around together. In most cases we play sailing games that include tackless regattas, poker runs, and handicapped races.

The club bought four 1976 Tidewaters made by Pearson for the Annapolis Sailing School at an auction when the Annapolis Sailing School decided to change their fleet. The school shipped them to Atlanta on Lake Sidney Lanier. These boats had tiller steering, inboard Yanmar diesels and were built of solid glass.

One member who had purchased one of these four boats found that he did not have the time to spend sailing and needed to get rid of the boat and its expenses. The boat then sat in a slip for a couple of years with water up to the seats. Another club member, a friend named Tom, called to ask if I would be interested in being a partner in the boat. After asking how much, I said that it sounded like a deal for all of us and we could go for a test sail to decide. Tom and I had already decided that unless something really “broke” it was a good deal for us since the price was $300 each, plus pro-rated slip fees around $150 each.

We scheduled a sunny day in July (in the Atlanta area the temperature is commonly above 90 degrees with 90% humidity) to test sail the boat. I did some research and found a simple partnership agreement and, after editing all the big boat stuff out, thought it would protect each of us in case a partner wanted out, defaulted, or died. We had the test sail and agreed on the partnership.

There were a couple of simple tasks: the engine worked but we needed to rebuild the starter since it would only start with a screwdriver--not a way I wanted to start my sailing day. The alternator would also have to be rebuilt since it was not charging the batteries. There was also buying and installing an electric bilge pump and switch. The cushions were gone and the headliner had to be taken out since it was really covered with mold.

The experience granted by a good, old boat in sheltered waters can serve as a launch pad to bigger boats, further a field.

So, what do we have? The boat has solid glass hull and decks. The engine started working after about $400 for a starter and alternator. The tiller and post was rebuilt for another $200. A sheltered slip that can still be sailed into and out of. The sails are old, but fine for us since we're not racers. In short, it's a great old boat to sail on weekends and also close to home.

Our investment breaks down as follows:

• $450 invested each initially
• $400 invested for the starter and alternator rebuild
• $200 invested for the tiller/post rebuild
• $120 invested for a bilge pump and switch
• Around 20 hours work on the boat (above tasks plus washing, etc.)
• $325/quarter for slip fees

Overall, I think we got a great deal and enjoy sailing our “old” boat. We are also supplementing this sailing with chartering in exotic places, waiting for the day when we can finally stop making money and buy the cruising boat of our dreams. This boat partnership has worked very nicely for both Tom and myself. I am glad we had an agreement since it would handle situations with a reluctant or dead partner and splitting expenses allows us to own a boat without breaking our individual banks. Who said sailing had to be expensive?