Covering old GRP dinghy decks with ply, mostly for appearance's sake

[Lakesailor]

I took a rotten, shabby Heron dinghy and spent a year making it near perfect. Far too much restoration. It meant I was so careful launching, sailing, beaching and recovering that it was a pain.

I should have bought a slightly better dinghy, polished it a bit and gone sailing, like I did with the Solo.

Heron Before

After

Solo before

After

 

[Kelpie]

+1
My first boat was a composite Wayfarer, which I spent an inordinate amount of time sanding and varnishing. The novelty of that wore off very quickly. I was quite jealous of my friends with GRP boats who kept them out on moorings for months on end, who could tramp up and down the foredeck in boots, quickly tie up to a rough quayside without trying to rig fenders, and generally use and abuse them without having to whinge about varnish and scratches. And of course, once you are out sailing, the view from every boat is basically the same.

I sold that W and got an all-GRP version (Wayfarer World), threw away my fenders, and rediscovered 'free time'.

(OK, I admit, a big bit of me misses the first boat... if I was retired, had a heated workshop, etc etc, I would probably want her back. But life can't be perfect).

 

[Greenheart]

Thanks Rob, thanks Lakey, all very good sense.

How you deal with refurbishing a tired boat depends on the condition, what has been done to it beforehand, how much time and energy you want to put into it and the end result you want. There is a vast array of materials and methods available for you to use plus books and information from manufacturers to help you choose. Lakey says it best - get a reasonable boat, clean it up, go sailing and fix/improve it as you go.

All wise and clear, I thank you. In truth, I believe I'm substantially commited to a particular boat, and she's pretty rough, but also fairly solid...so in the total absence of weather that's remotely attractive for actually doing any sailing, I was hoping to put in some useful weeks of repair & rejuvenation.

What I dread, is scraping away at an ancient injury, filling it less than perfectly, and ending up with a wreck that I must pay to have towed & scrapped.

I now recall something said about houses, bought abroad. They're frequently "full of potential", and new ex-pat owners embark immediately, enthusiastically on radical changes, performed at great expense...until they find out why the previous owner had the place in that particular layout, etc...

...so I know I ought to live with the boat a while, before changing anything. I may even delay fitting a 22mm dia mainsheet...

Very duff, as you've clearly capsized

Thanks for that Pete... I've expunged my error with the edit button.

I wonder if bright white topsides (leaving the creamy-grungy old bottom as it is) will look the part, with white decks too?

I'm suddenly reminded of a mate at work in Harrods, decades ago, who Tipp-Exed his teeth while he was on his lunch. Certainly caught the customers' eyes.

 

[lw395]

Good Luck with it.
I would suggest having a go with the sewing machine if the sails are quite well used.
If they have years of life left in them, a pro repair is often good value.
But if it's a racing class, you can usually get secondhand sails that are in one piece, just not in winning condition, very cheaply.
I've won races with jibs bought for £20, main bought for £80, spinny bought for £30.
And the ones I'd finished with still worked, but were having a slight but noticeable effect on boat speed.
Have a look on the class association websites, maybe post a wanted on their forum.

 

[Kelpie]

In truth, I believe I'm substantially commited to a particular boat, and she's pretty rough, but also fairly solid...

Great to hear! Go on then, what is she?
Oh, and if the boat essentially works as-is, get out sailing a few times before you plan any changes. You'll probably find your ideas, or at least priorities, will change considerably.

 

[Greenheart]

Well, she's a very untidy old mk2 Osprey, with nearly-fluorescent lime-green decks. Yes, really.

She gives every appearance of having been sailed hard and enjoyed/abused for all of her forty years...

...in fact from the look of parts of her, I won't be amazed if she fills & sinks as I launch her for the first time...

...so I'm hoping the saggy sails, numerous knocks/scuffs/evidence of past repairs, can be fixed and won't stop her performing again.

Fortunately I'm not a hell-for-leather sailor, I'll probably be too nervous to sail her in winds that would test her destructively.

Still, look on the bright side...now I'll actually be sailing, there'll probably be a sea-change in my personality on this forum...

...less the impulsive, pedantic, grossly misinformed, overly opinionated and inexperienced dreamer...

...more the chap who spends each summer weekend getting wretchedly cold & wet! What a result!

Anybody heard from Seajet lately? He's almost as keen on Ospreys as he is on his Anderson 22...

 

[prv]

Well, she's a very untidy old mk2 Osprey, with nearly-fluorescent lime-green decks. Yes, really.

Excellent! Let's have some pictures once she's in your possession.

Should you see a dark-blue Maxi with a Forum burgee out in the harbour or the Solent, do come and say hello.

(If you see the same boat without the forum burgee be a little more circumspect, it'll probably be my parents. One forumite has already been taken unaware by our boat-sharing arrangements when he welcomed KS into Yarmouth with whooping and hallooing and found a somewhat bemused middle-aged couple on board instead of his Scuttlebutt drinking buddy )

Maybe it's time we got a dinghy-sized version of the burgee made?

Pete

 

[Lakesailor]

Osprey. I'd get some sailing in before spending a lot of time on fettling. You'll either love it or find it a bit lively.
You'll probably find lots of other stuff like cleats, blocks and lines that need attention before the decorative items.

Definitely sail it a bit and sort out your to-do list. It may be different from what you expect.

 

[Greenheart]

Maybe it's time we got a dinghy-sized version of the burgee made?

That's a very welcoming consideration, thank you...although true to my traditional form, I went looking through the Force Four catalogue last year, to see what a two-yard ensign costs...it never crossed my mind to size my flags to match the likely size of my boat...

What is the design of the forum's burgee?

You'll probably find lots of other stuff like cleats, blocks and lines that need attention before the decorative items.

Spot on. I've noticed several duff cam cleats already, and I haven't seen the mast up, so who knows what trouble awaits me there...

...and to be perfectly honest, there are loads of blocks and fairleads and miles of tangled lines whose use I don't even know, yet...

...and the condition of the trailer spells a long dry weekend with my old friends 3M and Hammerite...

...so, lots of basics to check, before I plan the underfloor heating and barquentine rig.

On that down-to-earth basis, I might as well start by asking if that sail-repair tape is a good solution for a ripped boat-cover? The Osprey's cover is a good one generally, but it needs one serious slash fixed in a hurry, and several spots want reinforcing. I dread to think what a replacement would cost...

...and the launching trolley is quite a distance from perfection. As you say, various vital basics need attending to, more than fancy stuff.

Maybe I could start a donate-to-Dan fund, here? Send a quid, and I'll buy a head-camera, to record (and post) my first terrifying sail on a breezy day...

 

[Rossynant]

For Christ sake - get on the water!
Ye know, bit of plastic with some plastic canvas on. Just practical stuff. Meant for using. Not a precious polished wood jewel.
I may be getting off this here forum style but the snow and frost outside gets on my nerves...
Btw 10 sqm is nothing for a seamstress (SWMBO's mother, or so I hear...) as long as her machine can handle heavier fabric. A laughing matter really. Try those sails and then adjustments can be done, no worries.
Good luck.

 

[prv]

What is the design of the forum's burgee?

This:

The design comes from well before my time, so someone else can probably explain / justify it better than me, but I think the mouse is meant to be connected to a computer mouse, because the forum lives on computers, and the martini glass denotes its use for organising impromptu pissups. Daft idea really, but now sanctioned by long use so that the origin and meaning is irrelevant, it just IS the forum burgee, with a proud and honourable history all over the world.

Pete

 

[Greenheart]

I think the mouse is meant to be connected to a computer mouse, and the martini glass denotes its use for organising impromptu pissups...

Enough said! Where do I get mine? Many's the thread where I've mentioned mixing martinis and spilling olives in the cockpit of my Topper, decades ago...

...so I call that a good omen. But doesn't the burgee hint at getting rat-ar5ed?

 

[prv]

Enough said! Where do I get mine?

Well, that's a bit of a tricky issue. hlb over in the mobo forum used to buy batches of them (the maker won't turn them out one at a time) and sell them on. But he's been going through some tough times lately, and I doubt flaggery is at the forefront of his mind. Dunno what the future prognosis is for more of them. Maybe he'll continue to supply, or maybe someone else needs to take over the job?

Pete

 

[Greenheart]

...maybe someone else needs to take over the job?

SWMBO's seamstress-mother might run up a prototype for my purposes...

...after she's got used to the idea of her daughter trapezing & capsizing, far out at sea...

I'm surprised if burgee-sales are a problem...if IPC can seriously demand £8 for archived articles, selling forum-flags to the faithful must look like money in the bank.

 

[prv]

I'm surprised if burgee-sales are a problem...if IPC can seriously demand £8 for archived articles, selling forum-flags to the faithful must look like money in the bank.

It's nowt to do with IPC.

Pete