new old boat owner

[mrmovie]

go a boat which has been standing in the elements for about 3 years. need to do some maintenance. wondered if i can get some advice
Hurley22.
+ the wood topside (rubbing strip, grab hands, hatch) appears to have been painted with garden fence paint.
i have bought some varnish, and some wood sealer.
was planning on just rubbing down then applying sealer then varnish? is this all i need to do?
+ i will polish all the metal work
+ wondered what best to do with deck, is there a top coat i should be applying? i have heard of wax etc, is there a good cleaner for this?
+ loooks like there are a number of old layers of anti foul below water line, it is fairly smooth, is it best to just leave well alone and just paint over the top? or should i defo do some minot sanding to the top layer then paint?
+ some of the grab handles are slightly loose, its not much movement but doesnt fill me with confidence. is this normal? how would i go about making them better?
+ if i want to attach some fittings to the deck how would one do this? i dont want to be just screwing stuff on etc
+ where does my bilge go? i have a self draining cockpit which has 2 exit holes below the water line, is this where the bilge will come out again? are they likely to have sea cocks on them? or am i barking up the wrong tree?

sorry for all the common sense questions but is this my first boat and i want to get things ship shape over the next few months so can at long last go sailing!!!!

regards.
richard

 

[Vara]

Hi

welcome,nice boat the Hurley,all of the problems you mention are hardy perennials on the forum,so the stock answer is do a forum search,but the search facility is rubbish,better to do a search on site from google tool bar.If that fails post each problem separately and await for tons of expertise to rain upon you.(photos help).

 

[Evadne]

Hi Richard,
as Colin says there are a lot of detailed answers to each of your questions in earlier posts, but in brief:
Wood can be varnished or oiled. For varnish rub or scrape back to bare wood, apply a coat thinned 50%, rub with fine paper, 2nd coat less thinned, rub back then apply more coats until you get bored. I use Danish oil on the bits you describe, much simpler.
Polishing brass is a daily job, life is too short for that /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif . If stainless steel shows rust marks, inspect for corrosion then clean with a proprietary rust stain remover or oxaic acid.
You will have to scrape all the antifoul off one day, but if it's smooth then you can overcoat it and worry about it another year.
Grab handles are there to take your full weight, if necessary. If there's movement then something's probably broken, look for screws or bolts on the inside of the coachroof.
Attaching stuff to the deck: use a sealant to bed it in - Sikaflex is the best, just don't look at the price when you buy it. Anything load bearing should have a backing plate on the underside and be bolted rather than screwed down.
You should have a manual bilge pump that empties the bilges. Look for a big pump handle in the cockpit or cabin and move it back and forth.
Hope this helps, have fun.
Dave

 

[Lakesailor]

There is a oven and cookware cleaning paste called Astonish which comes in a small blue plastic tub. It's available at Wilko's and many supermarkets.
PBO did a test and found it to be best at shifting rusty marks on gel coat.
Apparently it doesn't do any chemical damage and isn't overly abrasive.
I've used it and brought up the deck and coach roof very well. Then you need to put a polish on.

 

[Slow_boat]

Wise words thus far.

I'm doing a similar sort of thing with a Vivacity 20. So far I've scraped and sanded the hardwood rubbing strip/gunwale and hand rails on the cabin roof. I've decided not to varnish them as varnish quickly looks tatty if you don't keep on top of it.

I've polished the hull with a very expensive fibre glass polish but intend to scrub the decks, cockpit etc with 'Flash' and hot water with a bit of scotchbright (unless that's a bad idea?) then polish with 'Mer' polish.

My boats been out of the water for a few years so the excepted wisdom appears to be to get the bottom scraped right back and epoxy while it's dry; But that's a lot of effort and money, the boat's never going to be worth more than a couple of grand and osmosis never sank a boat, so I'll wire brush, antifoul and chuck it in the water in spring!

Oh, and make sure you service your sea cocks!

 

[Lakesailor]

Scotchbrite for kitchens can be too abrasive. The minute scratches they leave in the gel coat will attract dirt and you'll be building up trouble for the future. You can get softer grades of Scotchbrite at Automotive Paint suppliers which are used for keying paint before spraying. That may be a better bet.
Try the Astonish paste.

 

[graham]

Welcome to the forums.

Hurley 22's are good boats so it will be worth all the effort .

Re the antifoul on the bottom. If its not cracked and peeling then you need to rub it down with wet and dry sandpaper.Use plenty of water definitely dont use dry sand paper as the dust from old antifoul is toxic.

You only need to rub it back a bit wash down well then apply a coat of new antifoul.

Best of luck with the project.

 

[David_Jersey]

Great little boats! Worth the effort.

As already said anything load bearing (most things to some degree) need a backing pad to screw into or preferably BOLT through, otherwise you just have a thin bit of fibreglass which under load will probably turn into a hole /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Antifouling, I would just power wash off the loose paint and use a scraper to move the stuff which you can do easily / with a bit of encouragement. No need to go mad on it. if the surface still looks rough get into the sanding it down, on this type of boat no need for it to be perfect all over (the difference it makes to your speed will not be noticable!), just that where you remove paint down to the Gelcoat, I suggest you first use a primer (mainly as a "key" for the antifouling).

A couple of coats of antifouling WILL make her look 100% better and any imperfections left will be underwater anyway!

 

[jerryat]

Hi mrmovie!!

Welcome! Your getting a superb little boat so it's going to be well worth your taking your time to get her up to scratch. Lots of super advice above to which I can add little.

I built and sailed mine for over five years on the south coast, Channel Islands and Brittany and always felt safe in her.

You'll love your 22 as well I'm sure!!

Happy Christmas and a great New Years sailing!

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day mrmovie,

<<A Hurley22 which has been standing in the elements for about 3 years>>
Should be dry enough to epoxy seal below the water line.

<< the wood topside (rubbing strip, grab hands, hatch) appears to have been painted, i have bought some varnish, and some wood sealer. was planning on just rubbing down then applying sealer then varnish? is this all i need to do?>>
Varnish if you like, but you will be at it all the time it looking nice, fibreglass boats are less work than timber boats, adding timber is not a good idea IMHO, look for an alternative material or paint with a 2 pack polyurethane.

<<i will polish all the metal work>>
Stainless steel cleaners will save you hours of rubbing.

<<wondered what best to do with deck, is there a top coat i should be applying? i have heard of wax etc, is there a good cleaner for this?>>
I assume it's not painted, avoid anything abrasive when cleaning gelcoat, the scratches, even fine ones will collect crap, chemicals or a pressure cleaner, just don't hold the nozzle too close.


<<looks like there are a number of old layers of anti foul below water line, it is fairly smooth, is it best to just leave well alone and just paint over the top? or should i defo do some minor sanding to the top layer then paint?>>
If you decide not to epoxy coat, then a light sanding and paint will be fine. Make sure you have a good quality mask, anti fouling paint is very toxic.


<<some of the grab handles are slightly loose, its not much movement. is this normal? how would i go about making them better?>>
No it's not normal, I suspect the timber has dried out and shrunk or the fixing bolts have sunk into oversize holes. Look for an alternative material (S/Steel or some form of plastic). Remove the bolts from inside and check they have sealed, retention bolts.

<<if i want to attach some fittings to the deck how would one do this? i don't want to be just screwing stuff on etc>>
Mark you holes, drill out 3 to 5 mm oversize and fill with epoxy and Micro-fibres, when cured re drill to the required size. this will stop any moisture getting into the exposed ends of the glass.
If the deck is a sandwich (foam filled) then after drilling remove at least 15mm of the foam between the glass layers and fill as above.


<<where does my bilge go? i have a self draining cockpit which has 2 exit holes below the water line, is this where the bilge will come out again? are they likely to have sea cocks on them? or am i barking up the wrong tree?>>
If you have a bilge pump fitted follow the line, if not, you have no drain.

<<sorry for all the questions but is this my first boat and i want to get things ship shape over the next few months so can at long last go sailing!!!! >>
Ask as many questions as you like, there are lots of very good sailing people on this and other forums that will be happy to help you avoid the mistakes they made LOL....
If you need more detailed instructions just ask.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[machurley22]

Hurley 22s had a long production run in the hands of several builders so arrangements vary but the majority probably started out with the bilge pump inside the starboard cockpit locker and the outflow above the waterline on the outside of this locker. I imagine your arrangement is different!

Have you found the Hurley Group on Yahoo (where Martin will probably be able to tell the age of your boat if you have a sail and/or hull number) and Oscar Vermeulen's site?

 

[William_H]

Just a little general advice. Yes fix the grab rails first. Then do the cosmetic stuff as you get the urge. The trick is to do jobs that give you pleasure and don't commit to too much heavy maintenance because summer will be upon you soon enough and you can really enjoy a boat that is not perfect in the cosmetics dept. I am guessing that this has an outboard engine and as such with a bit of luck will not havee sea cocks so with a fully sealed bilge you should not need a bilge pump.
Try very hard to just clean the deck. You can repaint but this will smooth out the antiskid and so will need more gripping grit in the paint and regular redo. So if it is original keep it that way.
Antifoul paint will have to come off some time but that is a job you can defer for years if you want. It is a terrible job.
Good luck with your new boat and remember top priority is to enjoy it.
Merry Christmas olewill

 

[Katouf]

<<where does my bilge go? i have a self draining cockpit which has 2 exit holes below the water line, is this where the bilge will come out again? are they likely to have sea cocks on them? or am i barking up the wrong tree?>>
<If you have a bilge pump fitted follow the line, if not, you have no drain.>

My Westerly Centaur has a fairly standard system whereby seacocks (unfortunately gate valves !!) are fitted at the end of the cockpit drains. The bottom of the cockpit is only about 1" above water level and the pipes are therefore full of water all the time when under way and on the mooring - I have to leave them open otherwise the cockpit fills up with rain water. No designer would have a self-draining cockpit straight to the bilge so I would guess that there are some form of through-hull fittings at the end of the drains.
As well as checking to see if you do have a manual bilge pump, please check those drain pipes out - make sure they are not perished but are double clipped for security - especially if the boat has been high and dry for a few years and it may prove impossible to turn the valves. Open valves and perished pipes = sinking.
Best of luck with a fin keel on the Essex mud - you'll have fun before your navigation improves. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[David_Jersey]

As already said, just come back with questions as and when you need some help / ideas - or even just to update folk on how things are going......or moan about how they are not!

I would also suggest not starting too many jobs at once, it is always easier to take things apart with the best of intentions and then get dispirited at how slowly things go back together again - even when you haven't forgotten what goes where and why /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

You may well find that with the more cosmetic jobs, that in time you get more or less used to things being as they are and are happier just to "put the job off for another year" - when you get to that point you are (IMHO!) a "real" PBO! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif