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Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 75 total)
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  • in reply to: FRP cracking – a problem ? #18718
    steve13003
    Participant

    Hi,

    I would back up the warnings from Chris – be very warry when buying a FRP boat that shows any signs of cracking.  I had a very bad experience with a Speed FRP boat No 13954 – the plywood reinforcements rotted and left me with some big bills to sort the boat out.  Areas where you need to check – under the thwarts front and back, under the decks for the plywood supports to the genoa cleats (if through deck sheeting), inside the transom the rudder pintle reinforcement rots, under the mast there is a block which supports the mast, on the sides of the boat are two pads each side one for the shroud plates and one for the genoa sheet turning block.  All the plywood in my boat was either rotten or well on the way to failing.

    Superficial gelcoat dings are par for the course and are easily repaired – also open up the forward hatch and look around the front buoyancy tank, if possible have a friend shine a light around the outside of the hull – you may see some thin areas in the lay up particularly along the keel, another stay away sign.

    Over a period of 12 months I had all these parts renewed by Steve Parker at a cost of about £2,000 before I decided to call it a day and bought a new boat from SP Boats.  I wrote an article about these problems which was published in the Spring 2018 Mainsail – some FRP boats seem to be OK but there are a number of boats with all or some of these problems.  Check carefully before buying.

     

    in reply to: Spinnaker pole bungee #18558
    steve13003
    Participant

    David

    The arrangement described with the elastic take up under the deck is much older than you suggest I had a system under the foredeck on GP 10444 which I rigged with a boom stored spinnaker pole.  Other boats I have owned since then have all had an under deck take up system some with the pole stored in the boat clipped on by the crew to a hook on the uphsul/ downhaul and some with the pole stored on the boom mainly newer boats.  On my current boat we have added a shock cord loop on the mast under which we tuck the pole to stop it flapping about when it is stored on the boom.

    Steve

    steve13003
    Participant

    Robine

    you mention that you need floorboards, these are essential in the Mk1 grp boats as the hull is not particularly thick being just a single layup of grp, to finish the floor boards you can use varnish with a sprinkle of fine sand while the varnish is still wet to give a non slip finish or you can use a nonslip deck paint from the International range to give some colour to the finish.

    Ig is a long time since I sailed a Mk1 grp boat numbers 7039 and 7044 were boats I campaigned when they were in their prime, both had problems with leaks into the side  tanks where the tubular ribs pass through the tanks.  Also check that all of the screws holding the keel band are in place as these pass through the hull and will allow a significant amount of water into the boat if missing

    Steve Corbet

    steve13003
    Participant

    Robin

    Hi, I have owned a number of wooden and grp GPs and have followed advice the you should buy the best quality cover you can afford.  For a wooden or grp boat with wooden decks a breathable polycotten canvas cover is advised so that the wood can breathe if you use. A PVC cover the boat will sweat and the varnish will fail as any moisture in the wood will be drawn to the surface cracking the varnish.  I did think that when I moved to a grp boat that a pvc cover would be ok but after speaking to Steve Parker at SP Boats even grp boats need to breathe and he recommends a poly cotton cover.  I have bought my last two covers from Sun and Rain, not cheap but very good quality, will last for a good number of years and if you go for their deep sided cover the sides of the boat are also protected from the weather.  I also would always use a boom up cover for normal storage and I only use a flat cover when towing the boat.

    Remember your boat spends more time under its cover in the club Dinghy park than on the water being sailed so a good cover is an investment

    Steve Corbet

    in reply to: Levelling the boat prior to raking the mast rake #18264
    steve13003
    Participant

    Peter,

     

    While I would agree with most of Oliver’s advice to get a good starting point rather than trial and error even with an older boat it is worth following the tuning advice given on he various sailmakers tuning sheets.  If you have a series 1 square footed mast, the mast must be set hard against frame 2 and chocked centrally in the mast step, attached the shrouds with the mast about 1/3 out of the deck slot, hoist your foresail and tension as normal.  Now hoist a long tape up the mast using the main halyard until you read 18’0″ at the top of the lower black band, lock off the halyard, now swing the tape to the top of the transom (not the horse if fitted – old boats) ideally the reading should be about 21’10” plus or minus 1″.  Adjust the position of the shrouds until you get in this range.  Your should then find the boat is well balanced when sailing with a neutral of tiny weather helm up wind.  When finished note the shroud positions for future reference.

    Steve Corbet

     

    in reply to: Old GP14 #18106
    steve13003
    Participant

    Hi As Oliver says the office should be able to supply a set of drawings showing the construction details for a Series 1 boat – I still have a set of the plans I purchased a long time ago which could be copied if the official source can not supply

    in reply to: Jib Halyard Sheave #18105
    steve13003
    Participant

    I would agree with comments made by others and would reinforce the warning made by Oliver that corrosion around the jib halyard sheave box is a strong likely risk with an old IYE mast.  While I haven’t had an IYE mast for many years ( at least 25 years ago) the IYE masts I did have in GP 10444 both broke due to corrosion at this point.  Also if I remember correctly the jib halyard in the IYE masts was lead through a tube to come down the sail track at the back of the mast rather than running down the middle of the mast as in modern alloy masts so fitting a new style sheave will as Oliver says involve some difficult metal work and care not to weaken the mast at this critical point.

    If possible replacing the IYE mast with a newer mast would be a good move.

    in reply to: Mast tension MKII GRP and Rodents #17539
    steve13003
    Participant

    If you look on eBay there are some blocks Holt Allen which would make good turning blocks at the base of your mast for a cascade system using some 5mm Spectra rope.  There is also a ball race halyard sheave and box which would be a good replacement for what ever you have in your mast – probably a composite plain bearing sheave.  All you would then need is a block and hook for the top of the cascade.

    Here is a file with some simple set up sketches.

    Steve

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    in reply to: Mast tension MKII GRP and Rodents #17538
    steve13003
    Participant

    First a question does your genoa halyard run don the middle of the mast? or does it run in the sail track  with the bolt rope for the mainsail.  Some of the IYE (Gold) masts had the halyard in the mast and some had it in the groove.  Which ever position your halyard runs in I would suggest that you set up your tension system to pull down not up.  To do this if your halyard is in the middle of the mast you will need to cut an exit hole about 25mm below your gooseneck in the web of the mast, do this by drilling a top hole with a 10 or 12mm dia drill and second hole about 50mm below the first, then join up the holes with a small metal saw and file all the rough edges smooth.  Using a small hook, a bent coat hanger, fish out the genoa halyard from the centre of the mast.  The fix your tensioning HI field below the opening but with the lever above the mast gate. you can then hoist your genoa and work out how long it needs to be.  Normal is to have a hard eye and shackle to attach to the sail and as Oliver says a soft eye to attach to the HI field or other tensioning system.

    I have a large number of pictures and sketches showing how to go about setting this and other controls up, they are mainly on various series 1 wooden boats i have owned but the basics can still be applied to you Mk11 glass boat. If you would like me to send you copies email me at scorbet@btinternet.com as they are too big for the Forum.

    Just looked in my box of old bits and have found an old but serviceable muscle box, yours for the postage, just needs new forged hook – available from most chandlers.

    One final word of warning – have a very good look at the condition of your mast around the genoa halyard top sheave box – the IYE masts were very prone to corroding and cracking and then failing at this point – I had two IYE masts fail in this way – now more than 20 years ago but on masts much newer than yours may be!!

    Steve

     

    in reply to: Mast tension MKII GRP and Rodents #17531
    steve13003
    Participant

    Just looked on eBay there is one mainsail on offer for £78, I would aim to pay about £50 for a used mainsail.  A repair should cost you between £10 and £20 for a simple patch

    Steve

    in reply to: Mast tension MKII GRP and Rodents #17530
    steve13003
    Participant

    Hi,

    When changing to a new tensioning system you will also need to change to a wire halyard for the genoa.

    Although Oliver expressed concerns about the use of a cascade system or a muscle box for tensioning the genoa they do avoid the risks of serious damage to fingers and are easier to use than a hifield lever especially when single handed.  To avoid overloading the rig just don’t pull on to the maximum.  Borrow a rig tension gauge and apply a load of about 250lbs rather than the 400lbs used on modern rigs, once set up mark the position of the hook to which the halyard is attached so that you can repeat the setting.

    To repair you sail a trip to any local sailmaker for a patch won’t cost you much, have a look on eBay there are often old sails offered for a reasonable prices.  I have sold several sails that way.  Any other GPs at your club? Most racers have old sails in the garage or shed that they want to clear out as they are past their racing best but which have loads of life for cruising.

    Steve

    in reply to: THICKNESS OF RIGGING #17498
    steve13003
    Participant

    Hi,  can I add some thoughts, if going for under deck chain plates the bushes need to be the stainless lined type as described by Oliver, to support the bushes the deck plywood needs to be reinforced with a piece of hardwood the full width of the side deck and about 100 to 150mm wide.  This prevents the tearing through described by Oliver and the need for the pin support he described.  Also the shroud plate should be either bolted through the hull or bolted to the front seat knee as an alternative.

    if you want to try through deck sheeting for the genoa I can provide pictures of how I did a conversion, it is not easy and involves some expensive blocks.

    Steve

    in reply to: centreboard repair advice #17469
    steve13003
    Participant

    All good advice – use white cellulose fibres to thicken the epoxy (SP106) not the brown colloidal silica.  Make sure the wood is perfectly dry before you start applying the epoxy and wipe off any residue with acetone before varnishing or painting.  Another way forward would be to keep an eye out for a second hand centre board from a boat that has been scrapped – Ebay or the Assn Classifieds – you could put a wanted on the Assn Classifieds – there will be a number of old bits in members sheds!!

    in reply to: Fixing a Leak on Wooden Mk1 – 12934 #17140
    steve13003
    Participant

    Dunc

    The pictures clear up one point your boat already has the mast step modification. So that is one point in its favour.

    The holes seem to be the limber holes in the frames which allow water to drain through the boat, there should also be a hole under the mast step support to allow water to move from side to side.

    Looking at the pictures your boat has built in spinnaker storage boxes – is it a Duffin hull? these were an optional extra he offered which further help to stiffen boats around the mast and shroud area.

    Your water problem is a mystery without actually seeing the boat, have you checked inside the front buoyancy tank after sailing? could water which slops into the boat while sailing get into the tank? does the bung rally seal the tank.  You could do a simple pressure test on the front tank, insert a length of garden hose into the bung hole, seal it with BluTack, plasticine or similar, blow gently into the tank and listen for and escaping air or brush soapy water around your holes and look for bubbles.

    It is of course still possible that the hog to keel joint has sprung even though the mast step conversion has been carried out, only way to check that is to rig the genoa, apply your normal rig tension (400lbs is normal for a good strong boat) fill the area around the mast step with water and look for leaks on the outside of the boat.  If you do have leaks in this area they can be difficult to fix, first you need to strip off the paint on the outside and the varnish on the inside and the get the wood as dry as is possible.  Then you will need to open up the cracks by applying the rigging load and the inject the cracks with SP106 epoxy resin.  I have also found a single shot marine crack filler Captain Tollys Crack Cure Sealant – not yet tried it in real anger but it is supposed to fill very narrow cracks in all materials.

    Good Luck Steve

    in reply to: Fixing a Leak on Wooden Mk1 – 12934 #16983
    steve13003
    Participant

    As Oliver says there should not be any holes either side of the mast, your boat should have a built in front tank for buoyancy and there will be one or two holes with bungs in the bulkhead in front of the mast.  Have you checked inside the buoyancy tank for water?  If you have leaks around the mast step area have you check for leaks with tension in the rigging? Presuming you have the original mast step with a square fitting at the bottom of your mast. Series 1 boats are prone to splitting the hog / keel joint under the mast step if high rigging loads are used – the preventive measure is to fit a load spreading mast step conversion which distributes the mast load into the centreboard case and forward towards frame 1, but first the leak needs to be fixed before fitting the new mast support (drawings from the GP Office).

     

    Steve Corbet

    • This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by Oliver Shaw. Reason: Removing formatting commands
Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 75 total)