"What's in a name"
Exterior changes
"What's in a name"
Exterior changes
This page is under construction - 01/04/01
Exterior
The condition as we bought her.
Genrally the exterior of the boat is in good condition considering its age. There is some minor damage and scuffing to the gelcoat but nothing that can't be remedied. We plan to go over the entire hull with Petrenol when the weather gets warmer and then use cutting compound if necessary before finishing it with a couple of coats of marine wax. This should suffice for the first season, we may consider painting the hull and topside next season with a polyurethane paint if it does not come out as we want.
The spars are a mixed bag : The boom is in good condition, a couple of minor scratches, just requires a polish really. The mast has seen better days - at some point it was either cracked or snapped, at the point where the spreaders attach supposedly in an "off the boat" event. This has been filleted and welded, - but looks a little ugly (see pic below). The rivets attaching the spreaders are working loose and will need to be replaced and generally the mast is pretty beaten up. We will do our best to clean it up, but meantime keeping our eyes open for a new or used one. I'm not sure that given what we paid for the boat that $425 for a new one is a good investment at this time.
One oddity I find when comparing our boat with others on the web is that unlike those I see on other web sites and in the brochures, is that ours has, what I can only describe as a "front cockpit". The pictures below show the exterior view and also the impact this has on the V bunk - where you can see the indentation encroaching on sleeping space. There is also a drain tube that comes from that directly between the V berth cushions - inconvenient or what !
The feedback that I have had to date is that no-one else has seen this either. The DPO tells me that it is great for filling up with ice and then beer as it becomes a cooler complete with drain.
My wife Kathy has spent the last few days cleaning up the hull, while I have been working on the trailer. We gave her a good scrub last October, but there was still a lot of scuzz to clean off and we have decided to hold off on painting her until next year (if she needs it). The cleaning comprised three steps :
- : Wash off the outside with 'Dirtex'
- : 'Scrub' the outside with Rubbing compound
- : Recondition the gelcoat with Penetrol (CAUTION with this stuff it can be volatile)
So far (and remember she is still inside the garage), she is looking a lot, lot better.
Also, we have removed the wood from the exterior so that I can refinish it. This is not Teak as I had thought, but varnished Oak. It will have to do for now -I will sand it down and clean it all up, apply WestMarine Woodpro and refit it - maybe change it out for Teak in future years .....
Also, we have removed the motor mount off the stern - what a mess! I managed to get 7 of the 10 bolts off, but had to resort to grinding off the remaining three. Now I need to strip down the components, prep and paint them, then reassemble it (if I can remember how) with new bolts.
The Nylon twist hanks on the working jib are also shot, three of them are broken, the rest are pretty worn. So after consultation with the guys on the trailersailor forum I have decided to replace these with #0 jib-hanks. My Genoa already has these - it's the working jib that needs work. Ho hum.
Plans for the next few weeks include :
Update - April 26th, 2001
Well the cockpit trim (around the companionway hatch and sliding hatch) are well and truly shot. I had throught that I could bring these back to life but on closer inspection they are firewood. A couple of pieces of nice clear oak will do the trick for now. Long term I would like to replace them with teak ($$$) and add handles on top the sliding hatch rails, but for now the oak will suffice. If I can get the dado's cut and the edges radiused tonight then I can begin to apply muliple coats of WM Woodpro as I am doing other items of wood.
I am considering doing away with the through bolt technique and fixing these with 3M's 5200 (a polysulfide caulk I believe) and then screwing from the inside with SS screws. This may require some careful measuring as I also want to secure the new main instrument panel on the port side as you enter the companionway and would like to hide the screw heads beneath this panel.
The companionway hatch is the original fibreglass and whilst not the most aestheticaly pleasing, it is functional and intact. I am debating creating washboards for a more classic 'woody' look, but will probably paint the exisitng hatch for this season. What I would like to do is construct a second hatch with mosquito screen for those hot summer evenings. Again, this is a tier 2, 'nice to have' project.
The OB mount that was removed and stripped down last weekend has been sanded with the belt sander clamped in an inverted position in the workmate. A couple of coats of 'Extend' and several coats of Rustmort white paint should have it back together within the week. Not sure if I can wait for delivery of new SS nuts and bolts so she may go back together with Galvanized bolts for now....
The old life vests (pic above) are now in the trash (removes any temptation to rely on them. We will probably order a pack of type 2's for backup and insist that regular crew wear a device that they are comfortable with. I am a great proponent of everyone having their own safety equipment, you become more familiar with it and hence tend to use it. The old sheets and ropes are not relegated to utility work in the basement and garage.
Regarding the Nylon jib hanks, I eventually found these online and considered ordering a set for this season ($5 for 5 !), but then I remembered I wanted to put a lazy jib downhaul on and I couldn't do this without jib hanks. This downhaul system was described on the trailersailor BBS and has a 1/4" line that runs from the cockpit to a small block or ring at the tack, then through a SS ring attached to one of the jib hanks ½ way up the luff, then to a second SS ring at the clew, on to a third SS ring in the jib hank immediately above the previous one and finally to the head where the bitter end is secured. When you wnat to lower the jib (from the cockpit of course) you release the main jib halyard and pull on the downhaul line. As the line draws the jib down it also tidily pulls in the clew of the sail. I will initially configure this for our working jib abd then add it to the Genoa if it works well.
Email me if this is not clear or if you need further explanation.
Links to pages containing current projects, changes and modifications :