Opinions on this 'classic '38', please. :)

After looking at the Swan I mentioned up the thread, I would be tempted, subject to survey & a lower offer;... It was similar age, as they were last built in '78. Engine was iffy and had to be replaced. Rig was not a prob, as it had been dismasted and all replaced. Inside was a bit 'used', but would repay elbow grease, systems a bit old and lots of redundent wiring and odd systems. Decks were teak too, but OK. The owner found it in a sad state, but had looked for the model for a while, so went for it (long way away, too. Much further than this one from UK)
Since then, they have had some good times and are gently bringing her up to scratch.

Def a good 'row away' factor.
 
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john_morris_uk said:
I think you may have over egged that bit of your logic.
The rest I support.
Working full time, I bet a couple of us could have that deck off in two or three weeks but it would depend on access to interior for removal of the deck fittings.
Replacing it would take longer....
Click to expand...

Indeed John. But in reality and without any core damage or degradation to attend to, I did indeed take 1000 hours from start to finish . Difficult to believe eh until one gets stuck in..
And that is without a teak clad coachroof

I would however cautiously agree with you ? in that an earlier boats deck may have been bedded in soft mastic . And soft seam caulk..??
And more or less be torn off by a couple of enthusiastic chaps ..
Mine fought me all the way , epoxy bonded and thoroughly stuck down ..and I was determined not to ‘ wreck it all up’ with crowbars and grinders... and I spent a lot of time fairing , filling , sanding, hi build epoxy , repeat , repeat, lots of long board hand sanding before laying down the final 2pack with non skid additive.
I was absolutely determined that upon completion I would have fair curves across all the deck that resembled the wet look of a freshly rinsed motor car bodywork ..
Worth it too . But I haven’t quite forgotten all the satisfying but hard graft!
 
Blueboatman said:
Indeed John. But in reality and without any core damage or degradation to attend to, I did indeed take 1000 hours from start to finish . Difficult to believe eh until one gets stuck in..
And that is without a teak clad coachroof

I would however cautiously agree with you ? in that an earlier boats deck may have been bedded in soft mastic . And soft seam caulk..??
And more or less be torn off by a couple of enthusiastic chaps ..
Mine fought me all the way , epoxy bonded and thoroughly stuck down ..and I was determined not to ‘ wreck it all up’ with crowbars and grinders... and I spent a lot of time fairing , filling , sanding, hi build epoxy , repeat , repeat, lots of long board hand sanding before laying down the final 2pack with non skid additive.
I was absolutely determined that upon completion I would have fair curves across all the deck that resembled the wet look of a freshly rinsed motor car bodywork ..
Worth it too . But I haven’t quite forgotten all the satisfying but hard graft!
Click to expand...
Fair enough. In a similar vein we've been working though the problem of our decks that are covered with worn out Treadmaster. Brilliant stuff when it's new and very durable and grippy in the wet or dry but it eventually degrades and wears out. Ours lasted thirty years or so but we've been working through the replacement process. It was stuck on in the late 80's with epoxy thickened with what I am told is slate dust. This blunts most tools in an instant so it's power plane, then belt sander then detail sander for the edges and corners until you're down to bare gel coat again.. I was quoted over £10k from a boat yard for the work and decided to do it myself. 2/3rd the way through and I realised a long time ago why the yard quoting was so high.
 
john_morris_uk said:
Fair enough. In a similar vein we've been working though the problem of our decks that are covered with worn out Treadmaster. Brilliant stuff when it's new and very durable and grippy in the wet or dry but it eventually degrades and wears out. Ours lasted thirty years or so but we've been working through the replacement process. It was stuck on in the late 80's with epoxy thickened with what I am told is slate dust. This blunts most tools in an instant so it's power plane, then belt sander then detail sander for the edges and corners until you're down to bare gel coat again.. I was quoted over £10k from a boat yard for the work and decided to do it myself. 2/3rd the way through and I realised a long time ago why the yard quoting was so high.
Click to expand...
John, did you try a heat gun? Epoxy softens at a fairly low temp compared to polyester. I clean hard glue this way off my ply build. Doesn't harm the ply if careful.
 
DownWest said:
John, did you try a heat gun? Epoxy softens at a fairly low temp compared to polyester. I clean hard glue this way off my ply build. Doesn't harm the ply if careful.
Click to expand...
The problem is that the Treadmaster is a very good insulator and by the time you've planed the cork based(?) Treadmaster off, you might as well plane some of the epoxy off and then you're just finishing things off with the belt sander etc. Otherwise, the answers no, I haven't tried it for the reasons above.
 
john_morris_uk said:
Fair enough. In a similar vein we've been working though the problem of our decks that are covered with worn out Treadmaster. Brilliant stuff when it's new and very durable and grippy in the wet or dry but it eventually degrades and wears out. Ours lasted thirty years or so but we've been working through the replacement process. It was stuck on in the late 80's with epoxy thickened with what I am told is slate dust. This blunts most tools in an instant so it's power plane, then belt sander then detail sander for the edges and corners until you're down to bare gel coat again.. I was quoted over £10k from a boat yard for the work and decided to do it myself. 2/3rd the way through and I realised a long time ago why the yard quoting was so high.
Click to expand...
I love treadmaster . 30years I don’t think I would dare to hope that from kiwi grip (but who knows, yet..)
Aye to the dilemma : 60grit belts will remove most things when changed v frequently but as you’ve probably all too readily found, quickly then bite through the epoxy/slate and score the underlying gelcoat: and then one is into the whole “fill n fair n sand ... and repeat” thing
As I have never removed a whole treadmaster deck I can only suggest ( more) experimenting: The aforementioned heat gun but with an improvised low cowl over the heated work area to really concentrate the attack.
Fein tool under the treadmaster and use a 4 inch grinder to rapidly maintain a sharp ‘ enough’ fein blade edge against the slate element..
Grinder with 24grit grizzly discs and a light touch , just to power off the treadmaster part...
And then there’s the humble 11/2 inch chisel and mallet in the tight spots where one can’t get a power tool in there..
Sounds like you have found the way through that works for you though?

Next time ( ha ha) for me it would be a mast off , chainplates out and lifelines off, stanchions out, set up, to give work space for the tools.
In a heated , through vented and all round illuminated shed ?
 
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