Jere Lull wrote:
33 years after being laid, our hull's original gelcoat glowed this
spring when I polished it.

Well, sure.


Topsides is a little rough as we have some non-structural delamination
that I haven't finished fixing and the previous owner's paint died. I'd
rather sail than work.


For us, seems to come & go in cycles... right now we're in a work cycle,
an apparently endless loop of projects which lead to the boat getting
better & better, eventually one of us gets fed up and says 'Let's go for
a boat ride today.'



The big problem was that I allowed the main bulkhead to rot. Cost me
about US$300 in materials and a couple of weekends' work. Should last
another thirty or so years.


You mean the bulkhead(s) under the chainplates? Not uncommon... try
replacing the aft station bulkhead. Maybe your boat is laid out such
that you don't have to tear out too much of the cabin, which is good.

I've helped replace partial bulkheads under mast steps & chainplates,
usually that's not too big a job.

One of the boats that I know of, on which the owner is replacing the
bulkhead(s), the boat had to be placed in a specially built cradle and
about 90% of the interior removed. I'm not sure he's finished yet, in fact.


I see no reason to believe that she won't outlast me, and a sistership
that was better-maintained most of her life looks even better.


Looks ain't everything

One of the good things about fiberglass is that it has a very high
load-cycle life... in other words, it doesn't weaken with fatigue the
same way that metal does. If stressed to the point of flexing, even a
little bit, it does fatigue, but can go many many times more than metal.
One of the reason why it's said 'fiberglass is forever.'

Fresh Breezes- Doug King