pontsimo
Member
She is built like a brick outhouse. She's been slewing around in a muddy creek at all angles for a decade ( including 90degrees to the vertical which has damaged a mast spreader !) , has sat on a scaffold pole which has holed a rear quarter locker, and with that hole mended and sitting in a metre of water in the recent high tides only a pint or so came in.....and it seems that was from the bad sink drain union. If that aint a hull test I don't know what is! The mouldings are very thick and sturdy . And she dries out fine and I think people are over worried about the boat weight sitting on the keel bulb. View attachment 31367 .....she has been doing that for a decade in the ultimate strength test ! I'm an industrial designer so have a good understanding of materials and physical forces. On the recommendation of Robert Tuckers son we took the keel out just like they were put in at the factory ......by rolling the boat on its side! The keel weight is a three man job ......but the boat will tilt with enough bodies and no signs or sounds of protest from the hull. as for the cost thing it's fixable MUCH cheaper than most of you think. Bought a suit of oversized sails with a Rotostay furler
fom eBay for £180 . My daughter has an industrial upholstery sewing machine .....it's only a bit of sewing after all! A 5kg anchor cost me £20 odd.....new hatches made from various bits if scavenged / salvaged stuff from the local dump . As for the dirt.....well Tis just dirt! Fixable with elbow grease......and being retired I have the time to apply that grease!
this is a comparison of the foredeck after application of that grease! Best method was a very stiff tyre scrubbing brush and a paste mix of Cif/bleach/Meyer Anolon hard anodised pan cleaning paste/Ajax powder.... and just keep on scrubbing! View attachment 31369 before and after of the insides View attachment 31370. All new ply stowage covers made from recycled stuff from the dump. Bought a nice little lightweight 1998 Belgian made Johnson 4hp twin cylinder off eBay.....mis described as a "beauty" , but actually had a couple of pins on the stator pick up connections broken which meant ignition contact was poor . Worse was the stator pick up moulding which was cracked allowing the pick up to oscillate as the magnets whizzed past. But that was fixable . Carb was filthy. .......main jet blocked and the emulsion tube innards looked like the flue from a wood burner. This engine has an adjustable slow running jet so you can lean it out for economy when trolling. It's very light and powerful too.....plenty of oomph now it's set up properly.......an early career move was as a mechanic! So yeah you are all right ......if you went the conventional route it would cost a silly arm and a leg to fix ......but if you can find ways of being resourceful .....I still reckon I'm right .....the low to mid hundreds. But in doing it that way......you know her inside out and upside down. It's immensely satisfying. Cap'n Hulk!!!!!
fom eBay for £180 . My daughter has an industrial upholstery sewing machine .....it's only a bit of sewing after all! A 5kg anchor cost me £20 odd.....new hatches made from various bits if scavenged / salvaged stuff from the local dump . As for the dirt.....well Tis just dirt! Fixable with elbow grease......and being retired I have the time to apply that grease!
this is a comparison of the foredeck after application of that grease! Best method was a very stiff tyre scrubbing brush and a paste mix of Cif/bleach/Meyer Anolon hard anodised pan cleaning paste/Ajax powder.... and just keep on scrubbing! View attachment 31369 before and after of the insides View attachment 31370. All new ply stowage covers made from recycled stuff from the dump. Bought a nice little lightweight 1998 Belgian made Johnson 4hp twin cylinder off eBay.....mis described as a "beauty" , but actually had a couple of pins on the stator pick up connections broken which meant ignition contact was poor . Worse was the stator pick up moulding which was cracked allowing the pick up to oscillate as the magnets whizzed past. But that was fixable . Carb was filthy. .......main jet blocked and the emulsion tube innards looked like the flue from a wood burner. This engine has an adjustable slow running jet so you can lean it out for economy when trolling. It's very light and powerful too.....plenty of oomph now it's set up properly.......an early career move was as a mechanic! So yeah you are all right ......if you went the conventional route it would cost a silly arm and a leg to fix ......but if you can find ways of being resourceful .....I still reckon I'm right .....the low to mid hundreds. But in doing it that way......you know her inside out and upside down. It's immensely satisfying. Cap'n Hulk!!!!!
