Bought a 1972 V-21

[wes1761]

New to sailing and forum. My name is Wes, I am outside of St. Louis MO. The city I work for just opened a 140 acre lake. Bought a V-21 and am now tring to find any info I can on them. Looking specically for a Service or really in depth owners manual. She needs a name and some work, but I need to figure out where a battery would go, wiring diagrams, need to repaint the interior, and I am getting ready to clean, wax and buff out the hull...might need paint eventually..

She has now been pressure washed and cleaned out a bit, but a few minor things to go...


Any advice would be appreciated!!

Respectfully,

Wes

[Chinook]

Congratulations Wes on your new boat. For starters, I'd suggest you get ahold of a copy of the April 2011 issue of Practical Sailor. The Venture 21 is featured in a nice article entitled Bargain Boat: Venture 21 - MacGregor V-21 fits small families and small budgets. It's a nice 5 page article which gives a good rundown on the V-21, with good history on the boat, its design and features. As with all boat reviews, PS lists both pros and cons, and gives an interesting point by point comparison with 2 similar boats, in this case the Catalina 22 and the San Juan 21. The overall assessment by PS is quite positive, and it's refreshing to see comments like that in a publication like Practical Sailor. Best of luck with your new boat. I think you've made an excellent choice. Happy sailing.

[tomchitecture]

Having just painted two boats and having just bought a boat BECAUSE it had zero paint on it... Let me say, if you can help it at all, don't paint! Clean, buff, wax, pray, even sell, before you consider opening a can of paint. Okay, I got that off my chest. So, if you MUST paint, remember, it doesn't cost ANYTHING to wash it. So wash it about 4 times after you think it is clean. Now, unless you have a sealed garage, a downdraft system and are located in a desert, don't buy INTERLUX perfection. I would do my best to get down to gelcoat and make that look good if you can. ALSO, read the ventilation instructions and take them seriously. THere is some NASTIER-THAN-NORMAL stuff in boat paint and you are doing this in a fiberglass tank. Get a good respirator. I would almost rather spend my labor getting it down to a good gelcoat than adding a coat of anything on top. (Clearly)

Paint is temporary, gelcoat is forever. (ish)

[wes1761]

Thanks guys. I appreciate it!

Any idea on where the battery was supposed to be? I see there are wires to the mast, stern and bow lights. There are also some switches in the cabin on the bench seat/bunk area right as you enter.....I cannot seem to find any good diagrams or explanations for these switches or battery location....

[tomchitecture]

So, in other words, "Thank you for your responses, could someone answer my question."

I have seen them under the V berth in front of the centerboard trunk in a battery box.

Sounds about right for the location of your wiring and panel location.

[wes1761]

I apologize if that came off as a snide comment, my mind is running in circles and I keep trying to finish honey-do stuff so I can work on the boat.

I really do appreciate the responses! This is my first boat ever, so I am sure I will ramble and run on quite a bit.