Refitting and maintaining an old sailboat, particularly one that was made before I was born is a process that’s always fascinated me. Growing up, I used to watch “This Old House” on my local PBS station with Bob Vila, and my younger brothers and I remodeled our parent’s home when we were kids and teens. Of course there is a huge difference between maintaining an old house versus an old boat. Doing that gave me the crop of skills that I’ve applied to boat maintenance.
This Old House, while interesting, isn’t the show that really influenced me towards building, fixing, and maintaining boats. No, it’s shows like Firefly, or that Star Trek DS9 episode where Commander Cisco builds a Bajoran solar sail ship, or the myriad of science fiction shows I watched that featured the protagonists realizing something was wrong with their ship, and digging out the elbow grease and derring do to bring their old rust bucket to life. Shows like that had me imagining what it would be like to find some old space ship, and with nothing more than a welding torch, a sonic screwdriver, and a good head for how the ship works to turn that old slag heap into an after burner warp speeding space corvette.
And now I’ve got my own ship to turn into a wind jamming, wave hopping, island screeching water displacement speed machine.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve worked on a boat that’s older than me. Previously I worked on a hull that was one of the world’s first production fiberglass hull sailboats, an Atkins designed 40 foot ketch. But it’s one thing to refit a boat that belongs to someone else, versus refitting your own boat. I had a mix of excitement, apprehension, and a case of “God I hope I know what I’m doing.”
In 2022, before the current round of maintenance and improvement work, we figured out the proper sail plan setup for the Blockley Privateer, thanks again to the forum’s information sources, and set it up.
After the successful float test, rowing test, and twice sailing her in the bay, the next step was to get an understanding of her sail plan and rigging.The gaff rig is a complex setup versus a Bermudan rig, IMO. Thankfully, the previous owner must’ve had an OCD complex, because every single line and sheet had it’s own labeled plastic jar. There was color coding in the blocks for the mast. Everything was labeled and placed in it’s correct spot in the storage containers. It was as if a librarian set up the boat.
The first time we rigged the boat, we were confused about the role of the large blue sail, as it didn’t seem to match up with anything. It wasn’t until the third sail that we realized it was the Yankee Jib, basically a sort of spinnaker for the gaff rigged sail design.
Afterwards, I took the rudder home to sand and refinish it.
Since it was late fall last year when I did it, the second coat of epoxy ended up not curing properly, since the temperatures were dropping. I used MAS Systems Epoxy from CLC Boats. But the rudder was sufficiently coated in both epoxy below the waterline, and marine varnish above it, so I guess that was adequately protected. We did note spots of rot that we hit with a blow torch, and other spots where the previous owner appeared to have filled in with some kind of putty. Making a new rudder for next year’s winter project was put on the list.
On the last sailing trip of the year of 2022, I borrowed a LEHR propane motor to try out from a seller who wanted brand new pricing on a used motor. I also did a lot of research and discovered that the motors were problematic, and worse, the company had gone defunct. But it managed to function enough to get us out of Dogwood harbor to do some sailing.
After returning the motor, we went to the Annapolis Sailboat Convention and Show and I purchased a floor model of the Tohatsu Sailrite Propane motor from Fawcett Marine Supplies in Annapolis on a discount. That at least was new, came with a five year warranty, and the price was right at $1500. In fact, the motor was about three times the cost of the boat and the trailer!
I’m sold on the propane motor. I’ve worked with small gas engines, everything from lawnmowers to motorcycles, to cars, and gasoline engines give me a headache, both physically and mentally. The biggest problem I have with gas engines, especially small ones, is that most gas comes with ethanol, which is an alcohol made from corn. This presents a whole host of problems, starting with degradation of the gas/ethanol during long periods of time that can clog the passages in an engine. Now fuel injection resolved that issue in larger vehicles like cars and motorcycles, but for anything smaller, you have to add other products like stabilizers when winterizing the engine.
I haven’t even gotten into the whole other host of issues that aren’t related to the chemistry when it comes to gas engines. And the fumes give me a headache whenever I’m on board a boat.
So what about electric? In a word, for this size boat, no. Currently for the price tag and the return on investment to power ratio, electric isn’t a good fit for my budget or for the size of the boat. A new Torqueedo is about 3K, and an extra battery is another 1K. That’s another 4K just to outfit my boat!
My boat is a 20 foot hull, which means I need something that’s at least about 5HP. Ideally, in an emergency situation, I’d want to be able to do 5 knots for over an hour, which is about what the hull can do on 1/3rd power on the propane motor. The current electric motors on the market can’t do that for my boat. The other problem is energy density and cost. An electric motor is about double the cost of either a gasoline or propane motor, and that’s not including another battery. And I don’t have the patience to sit somewhere to charge up the batteries, or the room on board for a sufficiently sized solar panel. So no to electric.
Which brings us to the third option, propane. Pound for pound, propane is on par with gas, with a higher fuel efficiency. It’s much lower cost versus electric, and just a bit more expensive than gasoline. I can get propane tanks anywhere, and find refilling stations for 20 lb propane tanks in most small towns, harbors, and cities. It’s also everywhere in Latin America, from small town to large from my experience bicycling through there. I even saw propane powered cars in Brazil running off 20 pound tanks stored in the trunk!
Uhaul has refill facilities, and most of rural America runs on propane, so there are propane gas refill stations everywhere. A refill is about $25. It’s a natural gas that the USA has massive quantities of, so availability is excellent, and it’s very low cost. It doesn’t have an odor, there’s no winterization necessary, the energy density is excellent, being far more dense than electric, and about the same amount of return on energy as gasoline. It’s also IMO much more safe than gas, and honestly I think it’s safer than electric, given some lithium ion batteries propensity to explode. Just look up exploding Tesla’s if you want to get an idea…
Propane technology is similar to gas, so parts are easily available, and maintenance wise it outclasses gasoline hands down, while familiarity with gas engines translates for the most part to propane. And the best part, it burns super clean with practically no pollution, and no, I do not consider Carbon Dioxide a pollutant when it’s fundamental to all life on the planet. I am a deep fan of Photosynthesis and Carbon Fixation Cycles.
To top it off, the Tohatsu Sailrite motor that I got even comes with an alternator for a marine battery!
So propane it is.
Once winter arrived, it was time to setup a tarp and winterize her. Given that there wasn’t much to winterize, since it’s a propane motor, and nothing else, she just needed a tarp cover. I put the propane motor in my shed.
2023 – Bringing out Ghe Ho Dep from the Cold, the Refit Process Begins!
The following spring of this year, we returned to mount the motor, break it in, and do a deep clean and re-organization. After removing the tarp, we rebuilt the transom with some new wood and 5200 caulk, and then mounted the motor.
We unloaded her in the neighborhood boat ramp, fired up the motor, and spent the next three hours running her at 1/3 throttle down Harris Creek to Dogwood Harbor. That’s what the manual recommends to start the break in period. She averaged about 5 Knots at 1/3rd throttle. Not bad.
At the harbor, we docked at a local restaurant, and took a walk to the local marine store to get some parts. One of our projects was reinforcing the broken aft hatch, and re-lubing some of the trailer wheels, as the parking brake was rusted against the axle. Dean recommended that next time I put her up for the winter, I have to set some cinder blocks to lift the trailer up so there’s no weight put on the wheels. This helps extend the life of the trailer.
We motored back and on recommendation of the manual for the motor break in, brought the motor to 1/2 throttle for a few minutes before bringing it back to 1/3rd, where her hull speed seemed to go 5.8 knots per hour, and pulled into the local boat ramp.
It took us a few tries to get her properly back on the trailer that time around, so one of our projects was coming up with a hardware solution to properly balance the boat on the trailer before we hauled out. We figured some PVC pipe screwed onto the wheel wells should do the trick.
Back at the house, I made a list. This is the current re-fit list to get the boat back into viable sailing condition. OK, maybe that’s the wrong terminology, because as is, she already sails. But to get her into shape where I and others can sleep in her, navigate and sail well, cook, have fun, and enjoy her aesthetics will take some serious elbow grease and thought. This is what I think needs to be done.
Saiboat Refit and Maintenance Todo List
Deep clean the boat, vinegar mix for the wood against the mold and
mildew, and Chlorox/dish wash soap for the restGet rid of any ratty ropes and components that can’t be accounted
for as non criticalRemove and replace the rubber gasket seals around the hatchReinforce and rebuild the aft hatch- Find and mark any crazing (is that really the term?!) in the gel coat, and inventory for later patching
- Sand and paint missing areas of bottom coat
Sand and re-varnish the companion way wooden partsFill in the holes with wood glue and dust on the handle bars and
reset the hatch hinges- Build a chart table lid into the head, also to reinforce it since the
plastic one cracked when Dean sat on it. Replace the ancient plastic bins with modern crates and consolidate the
inventory to 2 or 3 binsWire brush the interior and repaintSand and refinish the wooden rowing blocks- Sand and refinish/oil the rug rails
Clean up and soak the leather wraps of the oars in Vaseline, and
re-varnish any worn areas- Add necessary camping and sailing gear –
running lights, mast lights,cabin lantern/lights, reading lights,flexible water containers, spray bottles,rags, latex gloves, bags, first aid kit, and stow away into lockers to clear out the cabin space. re-pack everything into clear vinyl bags and shove em in the
lockersCut hole into aft locker cockpit facing side to fit a flange and
the propane gas hoseMake a padded bed for the bow anchor- Sand and oil/varnish the bow anchor cleat
- Fix and linseed oil the entry ladder to prevent further cracking
and splitting - Install sailboat compass (found it in the inventory!)
- Make a mariner survival kit and stow away
Install fishing pole holders onto the railsGet a Yeti equivalent cooler for longer trips to keep ice going
for at least a week- Pick up ballast bags to have on hand
- Add nonslip grips to the deck above the cabin
Re-doing the rug rails and the sliding hatch conversion are much longer term projects that I would do in the winter when the off season is going on. Longer term projects would be the following, which can be done also in the off season
- Install solar panel, charge controller, inverter, and Lithium Iron Phosphate battery system
Make a cheap Linux installed chrome book (ACER?) with OpenCPN and a full complement of nautical e-books, attached to a USB GPS unit. This will be for ship’s logs, library, nav computer, and for weather/sensors.- Setup another waterproof KOBO E reader for ship’s library for captain and crew.
Update charts for the Chesapeake Bay area, Virginia and North Carolina Coast, and the ICW- Install waterproof LED light strips for inside the cabin, once the solar panel and battery system are installed
- Convert ancient mast light into LED, Lithium Ion power, and use a
Bluetooth ESP32 Development Board to be able to interact with it
via phone. - Look into the Raspberry Pi auto tiller projects/used autotillers
- Reinforce the top deck with structural foam and fiberglass, since
we noted the deck was kind of flexy. According to some of the old salts in the forum, this is normal. - Build a new rear rudder, preferably with a better design
- Convert the flip top hatch to a sliding hatch
- Install Marinco passive vents to replace current vents and for the aft locker/propane tank hold after the sliding hatch conversion
- Investigate making a mold of the old hatch to lay up a new fiberglass hatch.
- Check the mast, boom, and gaff spars for spots that need to be re-finished and varnished.
- Get a custom dodger made after the sliding hatch is installed
So the first step was an overall empty out and deep clean of the boat, with Dawn soap, Chlorox, and vinegar, not mixed all together. I mixed in a bucket 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar for the mildewed wood. I then scrubbed the wooden parts from boards to spars and the results were amazing. The wood went from black or gray to almost a golden colored hue.
Next I sorted out the current inventory, and threw out the trash
After that I re-packed the gear into the vinyl zippered bags and stowed them away in the lockers, as well as any strange and assorted hardware bits and pieces. We removed wooden pieces for sanding and re-varnishing, and the hardened and cracked rubber hatch gaskets. I used Vaseline to soak and restore the oar leathers. It’s amazing how useful Vaseline is!
We drilled a hole in the aft locker for the propane motor, found a flange fitting to seal it with from the hardware store’s plumbing section, tested the galley alcohol stove, and went through the lines to throw out any ratty ones. We also got rid of the old 1980’s era plastic bins.
Part of maintaining a sailboat includes onboard tools to do repairs while sailing, so I also created a general boat toolkit to keep on board for general repairs. After the clean up and re-organization, the cabin actually felt live-able. And it smelled better too. I needed to take a momentary break to enjoy dinner before heading back.
Dean gave me a hand cutting out a new piece to reinforce the aft hatch crack, as well as the pieces for the new chart table and top for the head. He then resin-ed them with West Systems Epoxy and set them out to cure till we got back.
Two weeks later I came back and got to work wire brushing the cabin. Afterwards, I cleaned up with a shop vac and a sponge with half water and half vinegar. That made her ready for painting. Next trip I would have to get some acetone to wipe down the entire cabin before repainting.
In the meantime I removed, sanded the rowing blocks, and re-finished them with new varnish. A few weeks later, I headed back with a friend to do the painting.
We wiped acetone on the sides, and put tape on the borders, before painting the walls and ceiling. Afterwards, I wrapped up after we re-packed up the boat by varnishing the companion way wood pieces.
I took back the head pieces that were resined, and unfortunately, even though we used the proper ratio’s with West Systems Epoxy, the boards did not cure. At all. They were so sticky that the surfaces we left them on weeks ago bonded to the boards, and when I lifted them off, it tore chunks of wood out of it.
I took the head pieces home and managed to salvage the chart table section by leaving it to cure in the shed, where it was drier, and then scraping the epoxy off with a chisel. I then sanded it, and coated it with some marine varnish. The rear section unfortunately wasn’t salvageable, so we’ll have to cut a new one.
The boat is ready for sailing. I know the work maintaining a sailboat is never done, but as much as I do like working on boats, I want to sail. And in a few weeks, I’m taking her out sail camping.