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#1
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
Please help, I'm in need of some advice. My brother bought a cheapo used
sailboat at a garage sail over ten years ago. He has since then abandoned it and said that I can have it if I want it. A recent visit to a friend's beach house in Florida has rekindled my interest in sailing and I'm thinking of trying to fix it up. The problem is that it looks cheaper than I remember; Styrofoam incased in plastic. Then 10+ years of sitting in the hot Texas sun has made the plastic shell brittle in spots. Structurally it seems sound, but areas were the plastic has broken away has created a couple sharp and jagged spots that could be dangerous. I am thinking of just glassing the whole thing, but I wanted to ask a few questions first. First and foremost do you think it is worth the trouble? Given my current financial position, it is either this or nothing. So I guess I should be asking IF it would work? If I try it should I use polyester, or epoxy? Will it melt the Styrofoam were it contacts? What weight cloth? Do you think one layer would do the trick? Sorry about all the questions. I've done glasswork before, but I'm far from being a pro. Unfortunately I don't know the make either. Thank you very much for your responses. |
#2
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
** I believe they were called 'Snark"
see http://www.castlecraft.net/super_snark.htm I wouldn't spend any money on it. There must be some old fibreglass sailboats around. wrote in message m... Please help, I'm in need of some advice. My brother bought a cheapo used sailboat at a garage sail over ten years ago. He has since then abandoned it and said that I can have it if I want it. A recent visit to a friend's beach house in Florida has rekindled my interest in sailing and I'm thinking of trying to fix it up. The problem is that it looks cheaper than I remember; Styrofoam incased in plastic. Then 10+ years of sitting in the hot Texas sun has made the plastic shell brittle in spots. Structurally it seems sound, but areas were the plastic has broken away has created a couple sharp and jagged spots that could be dangerous. I am thinking of just glassing the whole thing, but I wanted to ask a few questions first. First and foremost do you think it is worth the trouble? Given my current financial position, it is either this or nothing. So I guess I should be asking IF it would work? If I try it should I use polyester, or epoxy? Will it melt the Styrofoam were it contacts? What weight cloth? Do you think one layer would do the trick? Sorry about all the questions. I've done glasswork before, but I'm far from being a pro. Unfortunately I don't know the make either. Thank you very much for your responses. |
#3
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
Used sailboats in pretty good condition can be found frequently for
probably as much as you would spend fixing this one up, especially if you don't have any "extra" supplies around to do it. But it all depends on if you would enjoy fixing it up. I built a little sailboat for a lot more than I could have bought one that size for, but it was part of the process of learning about boats, becoming part of a community of amateur boat builders, etc. So for me it was definately worth it. If the rigging and sail is in good condition, and the only thing you need to do is get some epoxy and patch the hull, it might be worth it. See if you can find epoxy sold in quarts ... but it is often pricey. Epoxy won't melt the styrofoam, as far as I know (although I would test a small patch first!) You might find someone near you who is into building boats, and has some spare materials they will sell you inexpensively. On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 21:41:15 GMT, wrote: Please help, I'm in need of some advice. My brother bought a cheapo used sailboat at a garage sail over ten years ago. He has since then abandoned it and said that I can have it if I want it. A recent visit to a friend's beach house in Florida has rekindled my interest in sailing and I'm thinking of trying to fix it up. The problem is that it looks cheaper than I remember; Styrofoam incased in plastic. Then 10+ years of sitting in the hot Texas sun has made the plastic shell brittle in spots. Structurally it seems sound, but areas were the plastic has broken away has created a couple sharp and jagged spots that could be dangerous. I am thinking of just glassing the whole thing, but I wanted to ask a few questions first. First and foremost do you think it is worth the trouble? Given my current financial position, it is either this or nothing. So I guess I should be asking IF it would work? If I try it should I use polyester, or epoxy? Will it melt the Styrofoam were it contacts? What weight cloth? Do you think one layer would do the trick? Sorry about all the questions. I've done glasswork before, but I'm far from being a pro. Unfortunately I don't know the make either. Thank you very much for your responses. - - - http://www.messing-about.com Resources for the Boat Builder, Renovator and Small Boat Skipper |
#4
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
I think for the money you would spend on it, that you could find a nice
previously owned Laser, Sunfish, Force 5 or another fun type dinghy. Leanne wrote in message m... Please help, I'm in need of some advice. My brother bought a cheapo used sailboat at a garage sail over ten years ago. He has since then abandoned it and said that I can have it if I want it. A recent visit to a friend's beach house in Florida has rekindled my interest in sailing and I'm thinking of trying to fix it up. The problem is that it looks cheaper than I remember; Styrofoam incased in plastic. Then 10+ years of sitting in the hot Texas sun has made the plastic shell brittle in spots. Structurally it seems sound, but areas were the plastic has broken away has created a couple sharp and jagged spots that could be dangerous. I am thinking of just glassing the whole thing, but I wanted to ask a few questions first. First and foremost do you think it is worth the trouble? Given my current financial position, it is either this or nothing. So I guess I should be asking IF it would work? If I try it should I use polyester, or epoxy? Will it melt the Styrofoam were it contacts? What weight cloth? Do you think one layer would do the trick? Sorry about all the questions. I've done glasswork before, but I'm far from being a pro. Unfortunately I don't know the make either. Thank you very much for your responses. |
#5
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
) writes:
Please help, I'm in need of some advice. My brother bought a cheapo used sailboat at a garage sail over ten years ago. He has since then abandoned it and said that I can have it if I want it. A recent visit to a friend's beach house in Florida has rekindled my interest in sailing and I'm thinking of trying to fix it up. The problem is that it looks cheaper than I remember; Styrofoam incased in plastic. Then 10+ years of sitting in the hot Texas sun I see two opportunities. First, sand off the jagged edges and repair with fibreglass reinforced resin. Polyester would be cheaper if it will adhere to the exsisting hull material. The polyester catalyst will disolve styrofoam so you will have to paitn or tape over the foam before putting on a polyester patch. That repair should cost less than $25. (Here in Ottawa, in Canadian dolars, a quart of polyester and catalyst is $14 plus 15% federal and provincial sales tax. A quart sould be plenty for patchin the holes.) I would not do nay more to the hull than cover the holes until you try out the boat. You can always do more to the hull later if you want. Second, if the patching doesn't work you can build a cheap plywood hull and put the sail, daggerboard, and rudder on that. You can make a cheap plywood hull which will last 5-10 years for about $50 if you have tools and employ scrap lumber for the framing, old paint in cans you find in the basement, etc., as I do. Essentially all you need ot buy are two sheets fo ligth exterior grade plywood, some screws (they don't have to be rustproof for a boat that you will only use for a few seasons), and a tube of constructuction adhesive (Bulldog brand PL Premium is popular among cheap backyard boatbuilders.) Allow a couple of weeks part time to build the hull. There are plenty of online construction photos of home built boats of this type. I'd take a look at www.simplicityboats.com, www.boat-links.com, the archives of www.duckworksmagazine.com, and my website www.ncf.ca/~ag384/Boats.htm among others (a Google search of PRISM will also bring up some construction photos). A narrow skiff like my Dogskiff or a short pram would not be too heavy for your sail. Weigh the hull you have and compare to the weight of any hull you plan to build. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm warning: non-freenet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned |
#6
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
William R. Watt ) writes:
Second, if the patching doesn't work you can build a cheap plywood hull and put the sail, daggerboard, and rudder on that. You can make a cheap PS. Stay away from the "taped seam" construction method (also called "stitch-and-tape" and "stitch-and-glue") because a quart of epoxy glue will make the cost prohibitive. For a really low cost small boat you must use the chine log construction method (screws and glue) with the construction glue in the caulking tube. The construction glue isn't strong enough to hold the boat together by itself but works fine with screws and chine logs (long thin strips of wood along the joins). Make sure all plywood edges are well sealed with resin so water won't soak into the interior of the plywood and start delamination. Just seal well and paint, no need to "tape" the seams. Finally, you can fill any voids in plywood with PL Premuim by drilling little holes and pumping the stuff in. There's a recent photo on my website (underside of backrest on the Loonie) showing a void that's been filled this way. Leftover polyester resin will keep indefinitely in the 'fridge and PL Premium glue in the freezer, so there's no waste. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm warning: non-freenet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned |
#8
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
Two recommendations:
Duct tape! Use no more than one roll to bandage the wounds. Use the boat only in water which is shallow enough that you can walk to shore. wrote: Please help, I'm in need of some advice. My brother bought a cheapo used sailboat at a garage sail over ten years ago. He has since then abandoned it and said that I can have it if I want it. A recent visit to a friend's beach house in Florida has rekindled my interest in sailing and I'm thinking of trying to fix it up. The problem is that it looks cheaper than I remember; Styrofoam incased in plastic. Then 10+ years of sitting in the hot Texas sun has made the plastic shell brittle in spots. Structurally it seems sound, but areas were the plastic has broken away has created a couple sharp and jagged spots that could be dangerous. I am thinking of just glassing the whole thing, but I wanted to ask a few questions first. First and foremost do you think it is worth the trouble? Given my current financial position, it is either this or nothing. So I guess I should be asking IF it would work? If I try it should I use polyester, or epoxy? Will it melt the Styrofoam were it contacts? What weight cloth? Do you think one layer would do the trick? Sorry about all the questions. I've done glasswork before, but I'm far from being a pro. Unfortunately I don't know the make either. Thank you very much for your responses. |
#9
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
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#10
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Sailboat Restoration - Is it worth it?
My word! This has been a most entertaining thread. I had no idea there
was so much quick & dirty, cheap ****, ruthless and practical expertise in this high toned crowd. G Even saved some links. Cheers, Rufus |
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