Telstar salvage parts available
Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2020 6:03 am
I found Trinity. Hurricane Sally picked her, and every other boat at the dock, up when the wind shifted and uprooted the already-weakened pilings, and threw them all ashore. Trinity came to rest a couple of hundred yards from her slip in a wooded lot adjacent to the yacht club, inverted. The amas are shattered but the main hull appears intact. Still, she is essentially a total loss.
I began salvage today, and will continue tomorrow, of the things I can reasonably and safely recover, but the real possible prize for other Telstar owners won’t come until she is brought upright, that being the mast-raising and other deck hardware. I expect all four winches can be salvaged, and the stainless is probably intact but bent. I can see the centerboard in the locker, and it looks OK. The rudder is gone but the quadrant is probably fine. The 24# plow anchor with 200’ chain rode, as well as a Rocna and a Danforth, should all be recoverable.
The biggest prize is the trailer. I have not gone to inspect it yet, but it was parked several miles inland and I fully expect it is unscathed. It is two years old, a Venture VBT7900 that is actually rated to move a 5500lb Telstar, having tandem axles with 15” D rated tires including a spare. I took all the Telstar specific hardware off the old trailer, so it is ready for its next Telstar partner.
All the interior is soaked, but anything that can be removed is probably salvageable, including the stove, marine head, small reefer and fresh water pump. Trinity had some custom teak cabinetry that may or may not be salvageable if anyone is interested.
I still have two Mercury 25hp outboards that were not on the boat when it was destroyed. A friend of mine, a mechanic, has been keeping them in his shop for me and says they run fine. The new 6hp kicker I just bought is completely missing, either in the bay or looted. Today I removed my 20hp electric motor. The mount cracked, but I believe the workings of the motor will be fine, but I won’t really know until I can hook it up to 48v of battery. I would love to sell any and all of these three motors if anyone is interested.
Finally, this will be an insurance job. Some of the upgrades I made are mine, but what’s left of the boat I bought belongs to the insurance company once the claim is settled. I bring this up to you all because parts for a Telstar will become increasingly hard to find, and I will put you in touch with the insurance folks if you’d like.
I absolutely loved this boat. The memories and the photos thereof nearly bring me to tears when I see her now. When insurance does its thing I’ll be down about $12,000 on her, but the pleasure I got from her was worth three times that. The biggest loss is knowing that no one else will ever love her, and that there’s one less Telstar out there. So if being an “organ donor” will help one more stay afloat, I see that as a silver lining. Let me know if any of Trinity interests you.
I began salvage today, and will continue tomorrow, of the things I can reasonably and safely recover, but the real possible prize for other Telstar owners won’t come until she is brought upright, that being the mast-raising and other deck hardware. I expect all four winches can be salvaged, and the stainless is probably intact but bent. I can see the centerboard in the locker, and it looks OK. The rudder is gone but the quadrant is probably fine. The 24# plow anchor with 200’ chain rode, as well as a Rocna and a Danforth, should all be recoverable.
The biggest prize is the trailer. I have not gone to inspect it yet, but it was parked several miles inland and I fully expect it is unscathed. It is two years old, a Venture VBT7900 that is actually rated to move a 5500lb Telstar, having tandem axles with 15” D rated tires including a spare. I took all the Telstar specific hardware off the old trailer, so it is ready for its next Telstar partner.
All the interior is soaked, but anything that can be removed is probably salvageable, including the stove, marine head, small reefer and fresh water pump. Trinity had some custom teak cabinetry that may or may not be salvageable if anyone is interested.
I still have two Mercury 25hp outboards that were not on the boat when it was destroyed. A friend of mine, a mechanic, has been keeping them in his shop for me and says they run fine. The new 6hp kicker I just bought is completely missing, either in the bay or looted. Today I removed my 20hp electric motor. The mount cracked, but I believe the workings of the motor will be fine, but I won’t really know until I can hook it up to 48v of battery. I would love to sell any and all of these three motors if anyone is interested.
Finally, this will be an insurance job. Some of the upgrades I made are mine, but what’s left of the boat I bought belongs to the insurance company once the claim is settled. I bring this up to you all because parts for a Telstar will become increasingly hard to find, and I will put you in touch with the insurance folks if you’d like.
I absolutely loved this boat. The memories and the photos thereof nearly bring me to tears when I see her now. When insurance does its thing I’ll be down about $12,000 on her, but the pleasure I got from her was worth three times that. The biggest loss is knowing that no one else will ever love her, and that there’s one less Telstar out there. So if being an “organ donor” will help one more stay afloat, I see that as a silver lining. Let me know if any of Trinity interests you.