Boat Restoration Story (with pix in photo gallery)

Dave R · 10-17-2005, 10:22 AM

Those Daysailers are fun and forgiving to sail. I have been sailing one of those on and off since 1989 or so. Get sorta hiked out with the lee gunwale in the water and the keel visible below and you will be having some fun. You'll need a tiller extension handle and a good grip on the main sheet.

If you need to reduce sail area, don't take down the jib. It won't turn at all.

ApS · 10-18-2005, 07:32 AM

Another way to keep the lee rail dry is to instruct a kid in sailing!

(After you get your sea legs, that is

).

Misty Blue · 10-21-2005, 09:54 AM

Maxim:

Thanks a bunch. I have a similar project going on at my place and you have shamed me into doing it right instead of just good enough. 'Like my life is not full enough!

One thing though. My rub rail is shot to all HECK. I have been on the day sailor website but have not been able to find a replacement for it. Any ideas?

Misty Blue

MAXUM · 10-24-2005, 02:41 PM

You know I was quite astonished at the results. I had no idea it was going to come out looking as nice as it did. Anyways, what the heck go for it, I'm convinced that the price I paid for the paint was worth every penny. Remember that the prep work is what will make or break the final paint job.

As for your rub rail, I'm not to surprised. The rubrail on this boat has taken a little bit of a beating too, but not so much that it needs replacement just yet. The best place I have found that has every part your boat needs (assuming it's an O'Day/Pearson) is D&R Marine. They are located down in MA. Quick check of thier web site shows that they do stock the rubrail. It looks like the price is $1.45 per foot.

http://www.drmarine.com

Good luck with your project and do post some pictures when you're done!

ApS · 11-06-2005, 09:21 AM

I've had some boating repair "fun" too.

(Wish I'd spent the money for the proper paint you used, though).

Here's a very different restoration: One of my sailing-catamaran hulls got split open in a dock-lift error.

To properly repair the split hull, it would need to be repaired from the inside. A proper repair also requires aggressive sanding of the surfaces, including each layer of repair.

The hull in this 20-foot boat — made of West® epoxy — is only 1/8-inch thick, and the topside access plates are too small — and are located too far — from the damaged area.

For access, I cut two 4-inch circles out on either side of the damaged area — saving the 4-inch "plug" removed. The sander, too large to pass through the hole, was disassembled — then re-assembled — inside the hull. Several layers of epoxy cloth and resin — sanding between each layer — were built up over the split and bonded to the centerboard trunk (the vertical structure seen in the middle of the photo).

In the photograph of the right-side-up hull, the old damaged splits can be seen in the lower right and left quadrants of the picture — prior to the repair.

Both of the circular holes that were cut can be seen mid-way up the hull's sides. Using arched wooden jigs, the 4-inch holes were bonded from the inside — using the plugs previously removed by the hole saw — and then faired-in from the outside . (This photograph of the hull's interior was taken through the ¾-inch drain-plug hole!)

The paint I used was described as

Quote:

"...for the topside, unless the boat was removed from the water daily".

(Which mine always was). Needless to say, the paint @ $20/quart, began to blister where it contacted the water within a few weeks.

Another lesson learned.

Each of these 20-foot epoxy hulls only weighs about 110 pounds. Except for "comfort", I don't know why lightweight epoxy hulls aren't seen in powerboats.

Losing weight is like adding horsepower!

fatlazyless · 11-06-2005, 10:47 AM

Losing weight is lke gaining horsepower. Makes sense to me. Anyway, I'm in the middle of repainting a twenty year old 12' C&L Echo sailboat. First coat of bottom paint went on yesterday. It was a $7.70 quart of X-O Rust light grey primer. What a day for painting, it was, yesterday. And today, hopefully, it will get a 1st coat of XO Rust light blue. Methinks the 2nd coat of light blue will be next April. Would post a photo except I don't have a computer and haven't figured out how to post photos w/ my msn-tv+

The Ash Hardware store in Ashland NH is absoluely the best hardware store around due to it's incredible organization and neatness, depth of inventory, reasonable prices, plus it's a family business. It is about one mile off exit 26, in between the original Common Man restaurant and Bob's Shurfine super market in beatifull downtown Ashland and worth the short trip. From hot tub chemicals to paint to Amsoil four-stroke outboard oil to fishing to lawn & garden to plumbing to hardware & stainless steel fasteners to a lot of other stuff like glass window and screen repair. And, the prices are very decent and it's on the way to the Plymouth Super Wal-Mart from Moultonboro-Centre Harbor-Meredith.

MAXUM · 04-17-2006, 04:12 PM

Final update, after laying up the hull over the winter time I got started on refinishing all the wood work, repairing and re-rigging the mast, going through the sails and weather cover.

Couple weeks ago I pulled the boat back to my house and finally got started on the re-assembly. Now the final product turned out far better than I had even hoped it would. She looks essentially brand new and I never figured that considering this was my first crack at restoring something like this. All the repair work came out great (can't even notice where I had to fix things) and the full FG coated cockpit turned out beautiful. Now all I have to do is wait for the registration to come in and my new sails to show up and that's pretty much it. Whew, lots of work, but it's great to see the final product.

MAXUM · 04-17-2006, 04:17 PM

Couple more pix.....

trfour · 04-17-2006, 04:29 PM

MAXUM,

Great work, she does look like new!! I've always enjoyed restoring and rebuilding. It is a lot of work but well worth the outcome.
Thanks for the pics.

Skip · 04-17-2006, 04:53 PM

Thanks for sharing your story (and pictures), hopefully it will serve as a great inspiration to many of us weekend sailors getting ready to tackle small (and large) restoration/repair projects.

You should be mighty proud of your craftsmanship!

Skip

Silver Duck · 04-17-2006, 07:31 PM

Maxum

She's beautiful! You should, indeed, be very proud of what you've accomplished!

Silver Duck

Sunbeam lodge · 04-17-2006, 08:02 PM

Great job!
How about a before and after picture?

RI Swamp Yankee · 04-17-2006, 10:00 PM

Now That is a boat. She is beautiful. Fantastic job MAXUM

Dave R · 04-18-2006, 08:46 AM

She came out spectacular! Ought to give another 36+ years of good fun. Looking forward to seeing her on the lake.

MAXUM · 04-18-2006, 11:25 AM

I wish I had more "before" shots, unfortuantly I lost a bunch of them due to a computer crash at home and it's shameful that me a computer geek by trade did not bother to have any backups running. Anyways, to give you an idea, the hull was faded to chalky pale blue, the interior was missing most of the sprayed in speckle coating which over time and use chipped off. The wood was pretty much missing all of it's finish and sun faded to grey. A bunch of the floor boards were coming apart, the side trim boards were split and faded. The molded seats on one side were split and the fiberglass was de-laminateing. Most of the rigging on the mast was trashed, all but two cables need to be replaced and many of the mounting brackets were missing rivets. The trailer was all rusted, the only thing that was worth keeping was the frame axle and leaf springs, everything had to be replaced and the stuff I kept was all sandblasted primed and painted. She's by no means perfect more work could have been done had I chosen to be really fussy but after all it's going to be used not put on display in a museum. Other thing to was I set a budget for this project and believe it or not the total cost spent including new sails ended up just shy of $1500.00.

I'll probably take her out on Winni a little bit, but truth be told her home port is over on Lake Wentworth.

10-21-2005, 09:54 AM	#3
Misty Blue Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 658 Thanks: 121 Thanked 283 Times in 98 Posts	Wicked Awsome! Maxim: Thanks a bunch. I have a similar project going on at my place and you have shamed me into doing it right instead of just good enough. 'Like my life is not full enough! One thing though. My rub rail is shot to all HECK. I have been on the day sailor website but have not been able to find a replacement for it. Any ideas? Misty Blue

04-17-2006, 04:12 PM	#7
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	Final update, after laying up the hull over the winter time I got started on refinishing all the wood work, repairing and re-rigging the mast, going through the sails and weather cover. Couple weeks ago I pulled the boat back to my house and finally got started on the re-assembly. Now the final product turned out far better than I had even hoped it would. She looks essentially brand new and I never figured that considering this was my first crack at restoring something like this. All the repair work came out great (can't even notice where I had to fix things) and the full FG coated cockpit turned out beautiful. Now all I have to do is wait for the registration to come in and my new sails to show up and that's pretty much it. Whew, lots of work, but it's great to see the final product. Attached Images

04-17-2006, 04:17 PM	#8
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	Couple more pix..... Attached Images

04-17-2006, 04:29 PM	#9
trfour Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lakes, Central NH. and Dallas/Fort Worth TX. Posts: 3,694 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 3,069 Thanked 472 Times in 236 Posts	MAXUM, Great work, she does look like new!! I've always enjoyed restoring and rebuilding. It is a lot of work but well worth the outcome. Thanks for the pics. __________________ *trfour* Always Remember, The Best Safety Device In The Boat, or on a PWC Snowmobile etc., Is YOU! Safe sledding tips and much more; http://www.snowmobile.org/snowmobiling-safety.html

04-17-2006, 04:53 PM	#10
Skip Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Dover, NH Posts: 1,615 Thanks: 256 Thanked 514 Times in 182 Posts	Outstanding workmanship! Thanks for sharing your story (and pictures), hopefully it will serve as a great inspiration to many of us weekend sailors getting ready to tackle small (and large) restoration/repair projects. You should be mighty proud of your craftsmanship! Skip

10-17-2005, 10:22 AM	#1
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,985 Thanks: 246 Thanked 744 Times in 444 Posts	Those Daysailers are fun and forgiving to sail. I have been sailing one of those on and off since 1989 or so. Get sorta hiked out with the lee gunwale in the water and the keel visible below and you will be having some fun. You'll need a tiller extension handle and a good grip on the main sheet. If you need to reduce sail area, don't take down the jib. It won't turn at all.

10-18-2005, 07:32 AM	#2
ApS Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Florida (Sebring & Keys), Wolfeboro Posts: 5,998 Thanks: 2,265 Thanked 784 Times in 560 Posts	Another way to keep the lee rail dry is to instruct a kid in sailing! (After you get your sea legs, that is ).

10-24-2005, 02:41 PM	#4
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	You know I was quite astonished at the results. I had no idea it was going to come out looking as nice as it did. Anyways, what the heck go for it, I'm convinced that the price I paid for the paint was worth every penny. Remember that the prep work is what will make or break the final paint job. As for your rub rail, I'm not to surprised. The rubrail on this boat has taken a little bit of a beating too, but not so much that it needs replacement just yet. The best place I have found that has every part your boat needs (assuming it's an O'Day/Pearson) is D&R Marine. They are located down in MA. Quick check of thier web site shows that they do stock the rubrail. It looks like the price is $1.45 per foot. http://www.drmarine.com Good luck with your project and do post some pictures when you're done!

11-06-2005, 10:47 AM	#6
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,856 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 303 Thanked 1,039 Times in 758 Posts	Losing weight is lke gaining horsepower. Makes sense to me. Anyway, I'm in the middle of repainting a twenty year old 12' C&L Echo sailboat. First coat of bottom paint went on yesterday. It was a $7.70 quart of X-O Rust light grey primer. What a day for painting, it was, yesterday. And today, hopefully, it will get a 1st coat of XO Rust light blue. Methinks the 2nd coat of light blue will be next April. Would post a photo except I don't have a computer and haven't figured out how to post photos w/ my msn-tv+ The Ash Hardware store in Ashland NH is absoluely the best hardware store around due to it's incredible organization and neatness, depth of inventory, reasonable prices, plus it's a family business. It is about one mile off exit 26, in between the original Common Man restaurant and Bob's Shurfine super market in beatifull downtown Ashland and worth the short trip. From hot tub chemicals to paint to Amsoil four-stroke outboard oil to fishing to lawn & garden to plumbing to hardware & stainless steel fasteners to a lot of other stuff like glass window and screen repair. And, the prices are very decent and it's on the way to the Plymouth Super Wal-Mart from Moultonboro-Centre Harbor-Meredith.

04-17-2006, 07:31 PM	#11
Silver Duck Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Billerica, MA Posts: 364 Thanks: 40 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Maxum She's beautiful! You should, indeed, be very proud of what you've accomplished! Silver Duck

04-17-2006, 08:02 PM	#12
Sunbeam lodge Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Meredith/Naples Florida Posts: 367 Thanks: 135 Thanked 50 Times in 26 Posts	Great job! How about a before and after picture?

04-17-2006, 10:00 PM	#13
RI Swamp Yankee Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: North Kingstown RI Posts: 688 Thanks: 143 Thanked 83 Times in 55 Posts	Now That is a boat. She is beautiful. Fantastic job MAXUM __________________ Gene ~ aka "another RI Swamp Yankee"

04-18-2006, 08:46 AM	#14
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,985 Thanks: 246 Thanked 744 Times in 444 Posts	She came out spectacular! Ought to give another 36+ years of good fun. Looking forward to seeing her on the lake.

04-18-2006, 11:25 AM	#15
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	I wish I had more "before" shots, unfortuantly I lost a bunch of them due to a computer crash at home and it's shameful that me a computer geek by trade did not bother to have any backups running. Anyways, to give you an idea, the hull was faded to chalky pale blue, the interior was missing most of the sprayed in speckle coating which over time and use chipped off. The wood was pretty much missing all of it's finish and sun faded to grey. A bunch of the floor boards were coming apart, the side trim boards were split and faded. The molded seats on one side were split and the fiberglass was de-laminateing. Most of the rigging on the mast was trashed, all but two cables need to be replaced and many of the mounting brackets were missing rivets. The trailer was all rusted, the only thing that was worth keeping was the frame axle and leaf springs, everything had to be replaced and the stuff I kept was all sandblasted primed and painted. She's by no means perfect more work could have been done had I chosen to be really fussy but after all it's going to be used not put on display in a museum. Other thing to was I set a budget for this project and believe it or not the total cost spent including new sails ended up just shy of $1500.00. I'll probably take her out on Winni a little bit, but truth be told her home port is over on Lake Wentworth.