A couple of things worry me....

Bilge pumps. Puddleduck has a pretty wet bilge. The previous owner has a bilge pump set on top of the keel, and rigged to pump overboard. This is not the way to set up a bilge pump. I need to get in there on Saturday, even though the weather is going to be unpleasantly cold, and look at her pump and discharge configuration. There's an excellent description of a bilge arrangement on the Yahoo Columbia26 MkII site. I'm planning to do at least the under-sole pump. Fortunately, the only pump that'll fit in the 26K's bilge is a Rule 500 non-automatic, with a float switch. I can probably get the deck plate, pump, switch, wire, and hose for less than 50 bucks.

I might also do a high-volume non-automatic bilge pump, for emergencies, like Don Casey describes in his book, "Good Old Boat." This is a pump that would mount in a lazarette or locker, with an intake hose in the bilge, that will kick on if water rises over the cabin floor. That one would require some fiberglass work, and cost more, too. It might be worth the peace of mind, though.

Second, the through-hulls. The boat is 30 years old, and it still has the orignal gate valves on her. A proper seacock is a handle that turns 90 degrees to the valve body in order to stop the flow of water. A gate valve is basically a garden hose faucet stuck on the inside of the hull. Gate valves can sink your boat in a heartbeat. I'll decide for sure over the weekend while I'm working on her, but I might be hauling the 'Duck out of the water after memorial day (or even sooner) and replacing those through-hulls and gate valves. That's going to be a mildly expensive proposition, but again, keeping the water out of the boat, and the deck above sea level, is a high priority.