Category: Boat Fixes

I let someone talk me into racing a Force-5 sailboat.  For those that are not familiar with this particular ride, its a lot like a laser.  Its 14 feet long.  One sail.  Mahogany centerboard and rudder.  It was originally built by AMF and is not sometimes built by Weeks Yachtyard in New York state.

So someone talked me into racing this boat in a Hospice regatta to help raise funds for the local hospice care facility.  If you have ever seen the care needed at the end of someones life, you know this is a good cause.  With a total time on the boat of 45 minutes I would have been wiser to stay away, but I am not that smart.  So I raced.  I didn’t come close to winning one, but at least I finished them all.  Oh, and I went swimming more than I should have; one time turtling the boat.  It was a blast.

Of course, I bought a used boat (see the previous post).  But used boats need fixing, or at least need the bad short cuts reversed.  For instance, this boat did not have the out-haul track or rod used to tighten the foot of the sail.  It did have a stainless bolt bent around the boom and protruding from holes on either side.  Not much of a sail control but cheaper than the $15 needed to fix it right.  That’s the thing.  Many times the “rig” isn’t that much cheaper than doing it right.   Now there may be some debate on what constitutes “doing it right” but I think we can agree that drilling a hole straight through the boom and creating a fixed out-haul doesn’t qualify.

I did not get to do all the fixes that I want to.  For instance, the wood in the cockpit in the original boats was mahogany.  When I got the boat, the original mahogany was with it, just completely rotted.  The prior owner had taken the time to cut out new wood from some unknown half inch plywood.  I have no idea if its marine grade so I epoxied it, varnished it and put it back on.  The downside is it doesn’t look as nice or as substantial as the original, the upside is its on the boat.  After I race it in the mid winter nationals I will get to work crafting mahogany boards and reinforcing the centerboard trunk.  For now here’s a quick list of what I have done:

• sealed the cockpit drain with epoxy, then redrilled it and installed a new bailer
• epoxied and varnished exposed wood
• Some of the wood/foam or whatever backing in the boat had turned to mush.  Where I could and the force is not too great I used “riv-nuts”.  Where I couldn’t I cut inspection ports and used backing plates.
• All holes through deck sealed with butyl tape.
• 3 inspection ports
• New synthetic outhaul (instead of wire)
• new mainsheet and control lines
• 6 new Nautos mini cam cleats (never used them before, so this is a test)
• New aluminum collars and plastic mast section plugs.
• Lots of new rivets.  Drilled out the old ones, many just failed as soon as the drill bit grabbed them.
• New hiking strap and aluminum backing plate with threads tapped into it.

Certain compromises were made.  I wanted I new harken swivel control for my mainsheet, but its not in the budget.  It would not have matter, since the thwart where I would mount it doesn’t have a place to mount it (its cut too small).  When I create my new mahogany thwart it will have space…

The boat is ready to be sailed.  It is not quite to the condition I want it.  But after I sail it some I can make some decisions on what it needs and get to work on a full restoration.