Rotten, Forgotten or Rubish

What do you look for in buying a boat for a restoration project? Well it all depends on how extensive you want the restore project to be...


 Is it just to get on the water on a budget

• look for a boat where you do not have to glass or replace entire panels

Is it for the pure joy of rebuilding a boat

• The sky is the limit, get any boat

Do you have a deadline for when the boat should be in the water, eg Mirror World

• Look for a boat with mainly cosmetic damage

Depending on these questions, here is what I do:

1.  Inspect the wood on the boat to see if there is any rotten areas

• Generally poking you car key into the wood (when the current owner ain't looking) will give you an idea if the wood is hard and firm or soft and squishy.
• If there are rot present, will you be able to replace the panel or if it is so small enough patch, do an invisible patch.
• if the bulkheads or Hog is rotten, I would not go there, since you will have to rebuild almost the entire boat.
• Be sure to look inside the watertight chambers, the inside can sometimes give you great insight into the wood condition (Take a torch along)

There was a 30cm x 20cm hole in the boat,
Patched it using marine ply, step joint and
epoxy.  The seems were later taped with
firbre glass tape for additional strength

Holes in hull plus some rot in the stringers.
 Luckily it ends just before the bulkhead,
so only a small panel needs replacement

2.  Are most of the fittings present and in working condition

• One of the most expensive items, except the sails, are the various pieces of hardware.  Even if it is old, but still in working conditions, it will save you a lot of money.
• eg a small block can cost on avg R200 ($20)

3.  Sails

• Another expensive part to sailing is the actual Sails.  Like the engine of a car, they are your main propulsion.
• Look for crisp clean sails that still have some stiffness to them...if they look like an old handkerchief, walk past
• eg.  New sails for a 12ft boat would come in, depending on material, between R2500 and R5000 ($250 - $500)

Even thou the hull was in a state of neglect,
all the fittings were present and in good working conditions,
so well worth restoring on a budget

4 .  Hull Number/Measurement Certificate

• First prize would be if the boat comes with a measurement certificate, but in the older boats, this seldom happens, since somewhere during the last decade or two the owner lost it.
• Second prize would be a hull number. With this you can determine when it was built and have some insurance that it was built from the class plans.  This is however not an indication that the boat is class legal and will measure.

This boat had so much potential.  Only cosmetic damage to the hull that could be
 fixed over a weekend or two. BUT, no hull number, fittings and very old sails.

Next step - Where do I find a boat???

The more the merrier

Which type/class of boat do I buy?

Well, this seems to be an easy question, but it has more variables than you think. So you will need to give some thought on how and where you are going to sail before you can decide on one or two designs.

Just a few variables/questions to consider:

1.  Do you want to sail single handed or two up

• Getting crew can sometimes be tough, but if your wife or kid is into sailing...that is the cherry on the cake

2. Are you going to race or cruise

• If you are going to race, it would e best to find a boat, depending on your questions that is well represented at you local club

3. What are the local conditions you will sail in

• Choose a boat that suits your local sailing conditions:
• Protected waters - eg Enterprice, Mirror, Sprog, Extra, Dabchick, Laser, etc
• Sea - eg Hobie Cat, Dart, Mosquito, etc

4. Which boats are sailed on your local water

• Sailing with similar boats is more fun and you will have more comradery, people to help you tune/rig the boat and be on the water more often.

5. How many sails do you want?

• This might depend on your skill level and whether you will sail solo or two up.
• Main, Jib, Spinnaker?

6. How big is your garage/work space...this is an important one

• one needs at least 0.5 - 1 meter space around the boat to work with ease and a certain degree of comfort.  Moving a boat around can take up a lot of time and man power.

Once you have answered the questions above you should have a better idea of the boat that will suit your needs best.  And then it is hunting time to find the boat in the classifieds or club notice boards.

New Projects

I have done quite a few refurb projects over the years, learnt a lot, messed up even more , but in general I grew my skill set.

The last two was in 2013/14, a Fireball and a Mirror

1973 Fireball 7747 - Sold

1972 Mirror 40819 - Sold

Recently I acquired a Flamenca 25 (South African Design) and an Extra Dinghy (South Africa Single Handed Class) for refurb projects for the rest of 2014 and 2015.

Rather than go back and recap on all my previous refurbs, I will try and keep an detailed on to date blog-log of the refurbing/restoration process.

Will keep you posted...


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