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getmwaqar.
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May 22, 2015 at 3:20 pm #6223
getmwaqar
KeymasterGood afternoon everyone.
I am in the process of buying a GP14 and will hopefully be sailing her out of Derwent Reservoir SC in the not too distant future. I’ll also sign up for membership of this club as well as I suspect I may need a few pointers re maintenance etc.
I’m in my 40’s and have a young family (8 and 5) and a (non nautical) wife. we live in Hexham having recently moved here from Edinburgh. I used to be a very keen dinghy sailor until the early 1990s when I finished university and entered the real world. My background is in a combination of Wayfarers, Enterprises, large gaff rigged open whalers and, most often, Bosuns. Practically all either on the Forth or in the Kyles of Bute and with an emphasis on seamanship rather than racing. I’m very much the sort of sailor that likes boats you sit in rather than on and anything that involves a wetsuit is missing the point IMHO ;-).
Anyway, why a GP14? Well, it essentially comes down to ruggedness, general purpose role, size and cost (doesn’t it always?) I’m no stranger to DIY and am highly mechanical and able to work with wood. I also understand marine coatings and epoxies pretty well from my years in the oil and gas sector. As both my wife and I are 6 foot and our kids are already tall, this ruled out a Mirror or a Pacer. You don’t see Wanderers coming up and Enterprises are a bit unforgiving in a wind. Wayfarers are too large because we also wanted a boat that could be rigged quickly and towed behind the car on day trips or holidays (we head to loch Tay for a week most years). With the rowing, sailing and possibility of shoving a Seagull on the back the GP14 id pretty much ideal. It’s mostly to be used to teach the Mrs and kids how to sail (however I still recall the screams of terror when I took SWMBO out on a Yngling Keel Boat in a blow on Loch Tay a few years ago! I might do a bit of fun racing and I also like cruising and am planning some trips (Great Glen/Loch Lomond/Loch Linnie Etc) next year.
So the budget was quite tight, divorce proceedings could be imminent so I had to ensure that I could easily fund the boat, club, insurance and kit etc as cheaply as possible. If it started to remotely approach the cost of 10 days on the Med in late July then I would be for the chop.
Anyway, looking through the various sites I came across a local boat that had been sat up in a garage for 6 seasons but had previously been used at Derwent. I went to view yesterday.
She’s clearly an early Mk1 although it’s difficult to say because the sail number bears no relation to the boat and the plaque is missing. However, the owner says that he has come across a number on one of the inside timbers identifying her as 8xxx something. Wooden hulled the hull is scruffy but solid and water tight, it could probably do a slipway season as is but would benefit from a bit of work and a dollop of paint. The decks were last done 7 years ago and the shrinkage of the wood whislt in storage has caused the along-grain-lip fractures you get on painted plywood. My damp meter however indicated the wood underneath was pretty solid. Seats thwart and floor planking all looks OK the centreboard and rudder are substantial and again, look pretty decent. The woodwork is pretty good but could probably use at least a coat of linseed. The shroud points are solid, cleat points as well. mast step and centreboard housing. The boat has 4 flotation bags rather than a boxed in bow and stern and in the bows the inner paintwork needs doing. rigging is surprisingly solid an Aluminium mast and boom, I will change the chord on the halyards as this has deterioated but the steel shrouds and pulleys are all in good condition. The Kicker isn’t too bad but again, I might change the chord. Sails – there are two sets – no racing sails though. One set is older and a bit baggy but would be ok for cruising or pootling around. The other set is nice and crispy. Sheets look OK ish but are better on the older sails (surprisingly) I might build a new main sheet as I understand the GP14 uses a rope transom ‘bridge’ rather than a steel job. Both foresails are Jibs and the batons are Al.
The only thing missing are the screw in bungs for the Transom drain although I’m pretty sure I can find some replacements and can always use rubber bungs. It has elasticated transom flaps – I’ll probably replace the elastic on the rudder drop and flaps etc as it won’t be that recent. There doesn’t appear to be a self bailer – or at least I didn’t spot one.
So first inspection was to put on the cynic’s hat and ask realistically, could this boat get back on the pond with a weekend’s work and for a low cost in materials? I was looking beyond the dirt for the integrity of the wood and fittings and to check over as much as possible for any catastrophic rot. a good jab with a bradawl in the dodgey looking areas confirmed that there don’t appear to be any really bad areas. One area that raises a slight concern is towards the st’brd stern quarter where there is a row of rust dots on the outside of the hull suggesting a repair involving steel pins, however, again this area appears solid.
There’s no spinnaker although the mast is rigged for one. there are no oars, just a paddle and no engine or transom mount.
The trailer is a Snipe combi in reasonable nick – could use a dollop of VACTAN on a few of the rusty bits (Vactan, is a very powerful rust killer/convertor that is diluted 30/1, coloured and put in fancy bottles and sold as Krust in Halfords. We use Vactan professionally for protecting steel in marine environments. its water soluble and highly effective.
So my plan with this boat is to make some space in my garage and tow it home. I’ll do a full audit of the rigging and check all eye splicing, fittings etc and work out what will do and what needs replaced urgently.
Hull and deck are next on the list – I’ll heat gun the deck back to ply, have a good inspectoin and epoxy seal any dodgey areas for the time being. Il’ then apply paint to get it through this season.
Hull – again, I’ll have a good look at it. The priority will be remedial work to ensure it gets through the season. I might …might…mount a self bailer.
In September the boat will go back to the garage for the winter for some major renovation. I’ll strip all the paint off her and see what we have in the way of woodwork issues, any dodgey panels will be replaced and I’ll check over all the weak areas. I’ll refurbish the planes and replace any tired metalwork. I might look at upgrading the mast nock. Woodwork – sanded back and varnished. Brasses and coppors all polished up and protected. I’ll check all the ‘critical’ components carefully.
A new set of racing sails with Genoa and spinnaker. I’ll fabricate a removable transom block for mounting a Seagull. (although the existing transom is very thick, being an early boat) I’m not hugely comfortable with cutting an engine hole in the deck. I want to mount the engine to the side of the rudder as it will be used when cruising. I’m also going to fit the boat out for cruising so will be constructing some watertight removable storage boxes and a boom tent as well as removable compass, radar reflector, nav lights and a few other bits and bobs you’d want before taking it anywhere near the shipping lines on the Firth of Forth!
Anyway – a few questions if I may be so bold –
– paints – most coatings I have used are designed for ferrous metals in an underwater environment. what would you suggest as a cost effective stopgap. Given we don;t know what is on the boat at the moment (I suspect its an International product) I’ll be using one pot for the moment.
– fillers – again what would you suggest, I have some ideas but you guys are the experts!
– anything I really need to go over very carefully during my initial inspection and remedial work for this season?
– a good source of spares and sails etc would be very helpful
– any ideas how I could identify the origins of the boat. I suspect it has spent all of its life in the North East of England. We know it’s pretty early and I should be able to get the rest of that number
– aluminum masts and boom – any good products for cleaning these which won’t dissolve them?
Other then that I think that’s it for now – if you are at Derwent then look out for me – I’m Richard and will likely be signing up for the club early June.
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