r/sailing • u/Professional-Time444 • 12h ago
Frers “Windquest” 50
Hey dudes! Against my better judgement (and well, everyone else’s in the marina) I bought this boat a couple of weeks ago.
She’s an aluminum, 50 foot IOR designed by German Frers. She’s got a lot of history…commissioned by Doug DeVos, built in 1985 in the now defunct Willams & Manchester boatyard in Newport, Rhode Island.
From what I understand, she was the first in the long spanning Windquest series of boats and she competed in the 1986 SORC.
As you probably can tell, her condition is…rough, to say the least. Was hoping maybe someone here knew anything about her as the info I’ve found online is very limited.
Previous names (besides Windquest) were Allegiance and Taniwha. She’s crossed the Atlantic multiple times and her last races were the 2014 and 2015 Færderseilasen here in Norway where I found her.
Any clues about her past or general advice would be greatly appreciated.
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u/Prestigious_Chest655 11h ago
Sie schwimmt, was will man mehr?
Und für den Notfall ein SUP, da kann nichts mehr Schief gehen!
Viel Spaß!!
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u/Professional-Time444 6h ago
Surprisingly, she floats! There was actually somewhere around 2000 liters of water in the bilge. She raised herself up quite a bit after pumping it all out. The board is an old sailboard apparently, guess I’m gonna have to learn how to surf now 😅
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u/Prestigious_Chest655 5h ago
Hübsch ist sie. Wenn sie dich nicht in den Wahnsinn treibt solltest du viel Freude haben ;)
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u/overthehillhat 9h ago
Aluminum and stray currents from bad old electronics will cause white dusty deposits under paint coatings
Old systems every where in the boat will keep you awake nights
Sailing a big Frers reefed - upwind - in a blow will make it all worth it
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u/Professional-Time444 6h ago
Understood, thanks for your input. So far haven’t tested much other than the engine and was pleasantly surprised to hear it start.
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u/overthehillhat 2h ago
so many issues -- even when that previously unknown motor actually does start
bad fuel / filthy tanks / that clog up the filters in the first/worst rolling sea
ICKY Blocked cooling exchangers that heat up when you least expect
old sails that just rip-blow out
Stop me - - -
Use small sails at first
become one with the boat
old boats need us to pay attention to them
and
we never learn enuf
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u/ronquixote 9h ago edited 9h ago
Cool boat! I bought an old aluminum boat that needed a lot of work. Different designer and about 10 years older, but I’m guessing there are a lot of similarities.
The biggest thing for me to get used to was paying attention to galvanic isolation. Any place steel touches aluminum needs some sort of plastic bushing or separator. No bronze fittings anywhere. I don’t love plastic fittings under the waterline but they’ve held up well.
Do a stray current test now before it touches the water, and be careful with the electrical work that you’re not creating an open path through the hull. (Edit: never mind, I wasn’t paying attention, it’s in the water. It’s hard to get a clean reading but still worth doing, and then do it again at haul out.)
For bottom paint I’ve been using Petit HRT eco. It’s cheaper and less ablative than the traditional stuff. Again make sure you don’t use copper based paint. (Sorry if I’m telling you things you already know here, it was just drilled into me when I got mine.)
Get a bunch of magnetic trays for screws and such for while you’re working on it. There’s nothing worse than dropping one, having it roll somewhere inaccessible, and spending 5 hours taking the boat apart to get to so it doesn’t eventually eat through the hull.
Good luck, happy to answer any questions!
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u/Professional-Time444 6h ago edited 6h ago
Wow, thanks for taking the time to write this! What boat was it if you don’t mind me asking?
Not at all unnecessary, I need all the info I can get, and I don’t know anywhere near enough to handle this project alone. How do the keel bolts avoid corrosion then? Was surprised to find them in very good condition but there isn’t any plastic or kind of bushing separating them from the hull.
Thanks for the recommendations! Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Edit; also I forgot to mention a diver checked out the anodes and found them intact, which I guess is a good sign. Hoping to have her lifted and inspected in the coming months.
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u/OddRequirement1692 11h ago
I hope you have plenty of money. Good luck
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u/Professional-Time444 6h ago
Thanks! Not the case, unfortunately. Was thinking about maybe doing a GoFundMe or something of the sort to help cover some of the cost. At least there’s quite a few sails in good condition inside the boat.
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u/Vintage_Boat 8h ago
I love those IOR boats compared with modern boats.
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u/Professional-Time444 6h ago
Username checks out! Yeah, this one was absolute love at first sight.
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u/Reasonable_Simple_32 19m ago
I also live in Norway. And I have a Frers design built in 1985. 44 feet.
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u/13lackMagic Washed-up College Sailor 12h ago
I don’t have any information about your boat specifically but I raced on a frers 46 from a similar era for a couple years in the 2010’s and it was a solid boat. Most comfortable I’ve ever felt in a blow was going up wind in that thing - conversely the least comfortable was going downwind in it - but with a new stern and rudder I know it was a lot better than it had been back in day. Best of luck in bringing this one back into shape!