Mod2 - New Owner - Bottom Paint and Crack Repair Questions

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New Member
My family is the proud new owner of a Mod2, sail number 3381.

I purchased her yesterday from a kind gentleman in Nevada City, CA. 3381 is in solid shape, though will certainly require elbow grease, money, and patience to get her ready for Tahoe this summer.

Big ticket need is sails. I am debating a new set from SLO Sails and Canvas, but am also considering used. This is a recreational boat; primary role will be for my daughter to learn how to sail. I have a budget to work within and sails are not the only needed expense. Several lines are well worn and must be replaced. Most of the hardware seems to be in working order.

The original, I think, Shoreliner trailer is in need of some TLC, but bearings and tires should be the extent of anything costly.

Labor intensive priority is the do some minor gelcoat repair to the bottom of the hull, fair it out, and paint. I also have a solid assortment of gelcoat cracks in the cockpit, but will likely put off this work, which may involve fiberglass, until Fall, after the short Tahoe season.

- Any input on what bottom paint to use?
- Should I put off the cracks in the cockpit, or are they a pressing issue?

Happy to be here. The information I have found within these forums is invaluable. I will share my progress and sail reports.

Thank you,
Eric - Reno, NV

Sail_3381.jpg
 
Welcome aboard Eric! .... and congratulations on the acquisition! I love my Mod 2 :)

As far as paint goes; I have never had to paint mine but my guess is, a marine grade paint from a boat shop would be first choice. However, I have read posts on other forums of folks using a good Exterior grade House paint with excellent and lasting results. No fancy spray painting needed either, just apply paint with a roller and tip with a brush to get it nice and level and you're as good as new.

As for the cracks in the cockpit area; there was a recent thread on this forum, just last week or the week before by someone that seemed quite familiar with the Capri, so you may want to do a bit of back tracking and have a read. I believe it was mentioned that the cracks in the cockpit area are usually just Gelcoat deep but should be repaired or sealed to prevent water from getting past the crack and soaking into the porous Fiberglass.

I just looked it up, here is the link to that thread:
http://sailingforums.com/threads/faq-what-should-i-consider-when-buying-a-c14-2.26220/
 
If you are not keeping the boat in the water all the time, or if you are, and don't mind pulling it out every so often and wash it off, I won't worry about painting it. My dad had a cruiser, and it was a real hassle to have to scrape off the old paint, and then re-paint it. At least with the Capri, you can turn it over on a set of saw horses and not be working on your back on a creeper.

That is probably the one reason, I don't get a larger, boat, having to paint the hull.

Kent
 
All makes sense.

I've learned quite a bit since starting this thread yesterday morning. I've decided to tackle the bottom of the boat first. It has a bottom coat of anti-fouling paint on it, that is in pretty poor shape. I will attempt to strip it using a soy based material I get from a local outfit. If that doesn't work I will probably order up some Franmar product and try that.

After that I will evaluate the hull and patch and apply new gelcoat, as needed, then sand and buff it out. That work, plus sails and replacing a couple of random lines, gets me out on the water; and it means not painting the entire hull. If I do have to paint it, I plan on engaging a neighbor and his spray rig to get it done. Goal is simple, get rid of old paint, preserve gelcoat.

While this is all happening, I am going to pay someone to redo the bearings/hubs/wheels on the trailer, so I don't have to think transport.

Once the bottom and trailer are ready, I flip it back over and start staring at the topside. Somewhere within this forum I read about someone using Glidden deck paint from Home Depot to seal the cracks in their cockpit. I may just give that a try.

Eric

Welcome aboard Eric! .... and congratulations on the acquisition! I love my Mod 2 :)

As far as paint goes; I have never had to paint mine but my guess is, a marine grade paint from a boat shop would be first choice. However, I have read posts on other forums of folks using a good Exterior grade House paint with excellent and lasting results. No fancy spray painting needed either, just apply paint with a roller and tip with a brush to get it nice and level and you're as good as new.

As for the cracks in the cockpit area; there was a recent thread on this forum, just last week or the week before by someone that seemed quite familiar with the Capri, so you may want to do a bit of back tracking and have a read. I believe it was mentioned that the cracks in the cockpit area are usually just Gelcoat deep but should be repaired or sealed to prevent water from getting past the crack and soaking into the porous Fiberglass.

I just looked it up, here is the link to that thread:
http://sailingforums.com/threads/faq-what-should-i-consider-when-buying-a-c14-2.26220/
 
If you are not keeping the boat in the water all the time, or if you are, and don't mind pulling it out every so often and wash it off, I won't worry about painting it. My dad had a cruiser, and it was a real hassle to have to scrape off the old paint, and then re-paint it. At least with the Capri, you can turn it over on a set of saw horses and not be working on your back on a creeper.

That is probably the one reason, I don't get a larger, boat, having to paint the hull.

Kent

Kent,

It will be a trailer only boat. I did quite a bit of homework yesterday and now have a better understanding of what I face. Please see my reply, above, with details.

I hope to avoid the really nasty scraping by attempting to remove the existing bottom coat with a soy based product that comes from an outfit in my town here. I'll update this post once the repairs get underway; let ya'll know how things progress.

Eric
 
Eric, this may be of interest as well; ... last Fall I went over all the deck cracks with a thin Cyanoacrylate glue (Ca for short) This stuff penetrates right into the crack and is very strong.

I just googled "what is ca glue" and found something new and interesting; For the bigger gaps, after allpying the Ca glue, sprinkle a bit of Baking Soda on to the repair as a filler! ..... Just be aware, there will be a chemical action and it will get quite hot!
I will definitely be trying this idea! ;)
 
Looks like Cyanacrylate is a general name for the family adhesives that include super glue, locktite, and others. Sounds like a great idea for hairline cracks, but anything larger, maybe 1mm plus, I am inclined to chip out, patch and gel coat over.

Any input on best white gelcoat to match a 1990 Hull?

Eric
 
Tonight I got a look at the belly of the beast. I had a three friends come by at lunch time this afternoon. We slid/muscled the boat off of the trailer and onto the front lawn. It was easy. We then flipped it onto it's topdeck, picked it up and placed it on sawhorses I had set up in the garage. Each sawhorse has an eight foot 2x4 attached to the top of it. Pictures will explain it better than I can. I wedged some styrofoam in between the sawhorses and the boat, to spread out the weight being supported by the deck of the boat.

screen-shot-2013-03-14-at-10-05-27-pm.png
 
My family is the proud new owner of a Mod2, sail number 3381.

I purchased her yesterday from a kind gentleman in Nevada City, CA. 3381 is in solid shape, though will certainly require elbow grease, money, and patience to get her ready for Tahoe this summer.

Big ticket need is sails. I am debating a new set from SLO Sails and Canvas, but am also considering used. This is a recreational boat; primary role will be for my daughter to learn how to sail. I have a budget to work within and sails are not the only needed expense. Several lines are well worn and must be replaced. Most of the hardware seems to be in working order.

The original, I think, Shoreliner trailer is in need of some TLC, but bearings and tires should be the extent of anything costly.

Labor intensive priority is the do some minor gelcoat repair to the bottom of the hull, fair it out, and paint. I also have a solid assortment of gelcoat cracks in the cockpit, but will likely put off this work, which may involve fiberglass, until Fall, after the short Tahoe season.

- Any input on what bottom paint to use?
- Should I put off the cracks in the cockpit, or are they a pressing issue?

Happy to be here. The information I have found within these forums is invaluable. I will share my progress and sail reports.

Thank you,
Eric - Reno, NV

View attachment 10963
Eric, glad to hear about another capri being brought back to life. I brought mine home February last year and have been working through my list. Last October after the water got too cold, i began working on the famous gelcoat cracks. I used my dremel tool with a tiny bit to open up the cracks to more easily fill them. Worked great for me. I used a product called G-flex epoxy. A two part product that dries easily on the glass. I bought three small bottles of craft paint from a store called Jo Anns and mixed the colors to match the glass good. Then i added the epoxy, mixed them well and applied to the cracks i hag opened up. The excess on the surface is easily sanded off to get a flat surface with 250 grit. I then go back with 2000 grit wet or dry and get the polished surface back. My color match turned out a little dark on the first ones, but i will correct that on the rest. I will be back on my project next week if the weather turns warm. Needs to be 60 degrees for best results. I will get some project photos and send to the site. Charley Sheets
 
Eric, glad to hear about another capri being brought back to life. I brought mine home February last year and have been working through my list. Last October after the water got too cold, i began working on the famous gelcoat cracks. I used my dremel tool with a tiny bit to open up the cracks to more easily fill them. Worked great for me. I used a product called G-flex epoxy. A two part product that dries easily on the glass. I bought three small bottles of craft paint from a store called Jo Anns and mixed the colors to match the glass good. Then i added the epoxy, mixed them well and applied to the cracks i hag opened up. The excess on the surface is easily sanded off to get a flat surface with 250 grit. I then go back with 2000 grit wet or dry and get the polished surface back. My color match turned out a little dark on the first ones, but i will correct that on the rest. I will be back on my project next week if the weather turns warm. Needs to be 60 degrees for best results. I will get some project photos and send to the site. Charley Sheets
14.2

Looks like I am in the same boat! I just acquired a 1985 Capri 14.2. seems like it will work out to be a great addition to my Toy list. this boat has not been in the water for at least 4 years. I have removed all the rigging and am going through the hull correcting the various defects. I found the information in your posts and the various responses to be of great benefit to my own challenges ahead. I appreciate the challenge you took on, and continue to work the challenge I have as well.
 

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