The sailboat restoration plunge

Someone asked that I review where I came from vs. where I am at:

(cracking knuckles)  Here goes.....

After many hours of checking multiple web sites in search of the perfect buy, I decided to get off the fence and just buy what worked versus what I thought I needed. I am now the proud owner of a 1974 26' Clipper Marine sailboat. I got it for a very good price, so good, I could not resist.

I also got a number of problems. All the primary parts are there with the exception of the aft stay which is unraveling, a missing crank, some hardware for tee Stays and some misc pins and clips. The big problem is the interior. It is in need of a complete rebuild. The intent of this Blog was to document this project from start to finish, or at least start to when I throw my hands up in disgust.

I don't know all that much about rebuilding a sailboat. I do know woodworking and have some experience doing fiberglass work on my other two boats, a 1985 Hobie 16 and a 1960? sailfish. The sailfish I got as a bonus when I picked up the Hobie. It has proven to be almost too old to keep repaired, but that is another story. The sailfish HAS given me ample opportunity to hone my fiberglass skills, so that is something.

My intent is to start by first documenting just how hosed I really am.... Based on my initial assessment, that rabbit hole will go VERY deep. I hope someone in the know picks up this blog and provides me some insight. If not, I suspect this will be a well documented, slow train wreck for everyone to enjoy.

The beginning:

I found the Clipper on an auction. It did not sell the first time around so I contacted the seller to see what he would take. Mike, a nice guy that he is, sold me the boat he bought earlier this year for the same price he picked it up for. He had it in his possession for only a few months. In that time, he started to clean up some of the woodwork, but only got a few handles done before handing it over to me.

Since I live in south central Louisiana, the trip to Diane, TX took five hours to get there, and six 1/2 hours to get back. The borrowed 1991 Ford F150 did a valiant job of muscling this brute home, even with the trailer brakes completely fried.

Mike and I exchanged money via PayPal after I looked it over. (yes, it was a sailboat, I confirmed) I was surprised when PayPal called me within minutes of making the transfer asking if something was up. Kudos to PayPal. Someone is doing their job over there.

After picking up the sails, wires, and other misc parts, I hooked up and proceeded with furrowed brow down the twisty back roads of Texas. I waited for at least one of the dry-rotted tired to blow and dump the whole mess in the ditch. After I made it Lowes in Longview, I bought two new trailer tires for $210 and slapped them on. Now I had peace of mind for at least the next 300 miles. I was not disappointed. The Pic above is in the Lowes parking lot after the two front trailer tires had been swapped.

It was not until the next day that I had time to climb through the interior to see what I was in for. Even with all the work I could see from my initial assessment, I could not help but get fired up about all the STUFF I would get to do over the next few weeks/months. Someone remind me to come back to this post next May. I am SO setting myself up for a self-recrimination.

So now this 110" tall boat and trailer is sitting under my 14' carport. My wife is already got one eyebrow up as her Honda Civic is now sharing space with something that looks like it may fall over any minute and squish her little car. Oh, and did I mention that I drive a Chrysler Pacifica? It pulls a Hobie Cat just fine, but this thing......if I try to hook it to the trailer, I'm sure to drive the shocks right through the back wheel wells. I always wondered what a low-rider would be like to own, though I kind of envisioned it being a 60-ish Chevy, not an '05 family truckster.

So I get the mast off and drop it next to the trailers where it will sit, killing grass for the foreseeable future. Oh, and that reminds me of the guy who lives around the corner. He's got a 28' Benetau that he picked up in Wisconsin for $8K. He worked like crazy five years ago to get it fixed up. 4 1/2 years ago he got as far as painting the bottom and moving the mast from the boat to the next handy spot: the roof of his house. Its still sitting there. How many hurricanes have we seen since then? Still the mast lies on top of his house. I even stopped by several times to offer to help him get it ready. ...Nice enough guy, but I don't understand his motivations. What is that saying, "some people like the idea of sailing better than actually sailing."

Inside - so begins the horror.

I don't know what the technology was like back in 1974, but it seem that instead of just building boat out of fiberglass, Clipper Marine decided to build the shell as you would expect and them build all structural components out of plywood. Said plywood was then liberally covered in an speckled epoxy. I image this was great for clean-up, but now, 2009, the epoxy is breaking free is so many places that I've begun to doubt I can put humpty-dumpty back together again. I figure it may be easier to cut out every offending part, and rebuild it from scratch. Yikes!

Here is a pic of where the epoxy is flaking off. Behind it is some rotten wood.

The forward berth is B-A-D. The previous-previous owner realized something was amiss and cut the platform free. I can see where his saw-job left a lip around the inner hull. Under that is a lot of rotten wood and deteriorated fiberglass. Oddly enough, this seems to be an easy job. Cut it all out and start over.

The Sink, cooler and cabinetry all need to be refinished. I think I can do most of that where it is. Under the sink is more cracked epoxy. I may choose to 'overlook' that flaw for now. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Uh no.....It has to go, too.  I now see that I'll be ripping out all but the forward berth wall.

Under the cockpit is two matching platforms which I used for storage and sleeping compartments. One side still has the original (and only) cushion left on the boat. Its ripped and smells bad. I'm saving it for the purposes of copying it, then it goes in the trash. The most worriesome thing about this ship is these platforms. Both of them are split around the top edge their entire lengths. Inside I can see the original orange foam that the Clipper will rely on in the event of a water landing....in the event I screw the pooch so badly that I fill the cabin with water.

So, there is my SET. It is from here I proceed. Wish me luck, send epoxy, and all advice give is promised to be read...not understood and followed, of course.

Bk