Berny- we've actually been members of the Webster Sailing Assoc. (Located in MA) for about 13 years, so I have had no trouble finding help getting it rigged, ect. I actually took it out Sunday, and became theroughly addicted. It certainly is a big step up from riding along in our Mariner or soloing Sunfish.
The boat does have a slight crack where the deck has actually split for a foot or foot and a half, but I did some reading and this sounds like an easy fix. For the maiden voyage, we just caulked it, and we will be fixing it tonight with some Mrine Tex so that it will be ready for the weekend. It should be a simple matter of cleaning the 'wound', then liberally applying marine tex epoxy, clamping, and letting it sit for a day or two. In order to make sure that the epoxy is all the way in, I plan to place a screen (to catch the flotation) and a vacum cleaner nozel over the drain outlet in the stern. Other than that, the boat is in great condition for a '79. At the moment, the boat is really nothing that would draw much attention. It has average lines and rigging, ect. I plan to change that. We found out that the man in charge of parking at our club is also a longtime cat owner, so we have recieved lots of help from him.
I have already begun the inprovement process by removing the old bent and rusted bolt that was loosely holding the tiller extension on. I also added some electricians tape to the tiller to facilitate better gripping. I have yet to begin to play with the rig, although I did notice that the boat was quite difficult to tack, at least initially. This improved with paractice.
Rich- I am sailing out of Webster Sailing Association in Webster, Massachusetts. The lake there is the biggest in the area, and the membership is relatively cheap. The wind is generally pretty good, and the people are quite friendly. The club even has a website!