emilikins
Maniac
This afternoon we finally did it: opened up our old 1960 Sunfish and pre-72 AMFlite 14. Prior to the cutting, we figured Old Blue (Sunfish) was damp and heavier, though she sailed fine (as far as we could tell). The AMF was significantly lighter, but had noticeable flex in the hull and some chips in the hull. We didn't know how much of the weight difference was water and how much was a difference in manufacturing. After the fact, we think it was a bit of both.
Blue is very damp, though we couldn't see any standing water. Her foam is damp all the way through, we can see waterlines in the foam, and it looks like the wood of her cleat backing is starting to rot. I think one source of water is near the daggerboard trunk. I had noticed some chipping there near the bottom (on the outside) and it looks to be damper there than elsewhere.
We've put a fan on the aft hole and can feel air coming up through the foreward port, so we're hoping she'll dry out nicely. Since she's old and one of our first boats, we figure that drying her out and puttying the daggerboard chip should suffice for awhile. We'll open the ports after every sail to keep her dry, though if we notice other major leaks or problems, we'll fix, but we don't want to pour a ton of money into an old boat that'll we'll probably bang up anyway. We think there might be some joint separation toward the bow, but it's a little difficult to tell with shadows and newbie eyes.
Flickr gallery here
The AMFLite was interesting after the Sunfish. Woody is significantly lighter, but she has some chips and crackles a bit when you push on her hull. The hull felt thicker by feel, but when the Hubby cut into her, we discovered that the fiberglass cut easier and the inside was "cleaner" in the sense that there seemed to be less manufacturing going on. Woody was dry as a bone, but we noticed some foam curling and separating from the hull. There might be a hint of an old waterline on a foam block or it could be a sign of age? I'm also trying to figure out what's up with the tape I see around some of the foam. There is no sign of prior opening, so I'm wondering why there appears to be tape around some of the foam.
Since all the hardware is firm and she's dry inside, we decided to stick with one port for now, putty the chips, and call it good. We are in the air about the foam. Any thoughts here? Should we cut off the separated stuff and try to install some new stuff? Or just let it be, since we are newbie rec sailors and will likely be the last owners unless someone wants a project boat?
We haven't screwed in the ports yet, because we are still a bit uncertain about the screws. Neither plates (Seachoice on Woody (right color of cream) and SeaDog on Blue) had info on what screws to use, and I looked on the websites and must be missing something. Might just take them to a hardware store and ask what will work for our purposes (including anti-rust). All are 4-inch plates (5 just looked huge and we have small hands).
Blue is very damp, though we couldn't see any standing water. Her foam is damp all the way through, we can see waterlines in the foam, and it looks like the wood of her cleat backing is starting to rot. I think one source of water is near the daggerboard trunk. I had noticed some chipping there near the bottom (on the outside) and it looks to be damper there than elsewhere.
We've put a fan on the aft hole and can feel air coming up through the foreward port, so we're hoping she'll dry out nicely. Since she's old and one of our first boats, we figure that drying her out and puttying the daggerboard chip should suffice for awhile. We'll open the ports after every sail to keep her dry, though if we notice other major leaks or problems, we'll fix, but we don't want to pour a ton of money into an old boat that'll we'll probably bang up anyway. We think there might be some joint separation toward the bow, but it's a little difficult to tell with shadows and newbie eyes.
Flickr gallery here
The AMFLite was interesting after the Sunfish. Woody is significantly lighter, but she has some chips and crackles a bit when you push on her hull. The hull felt thicker by feel, but when the Hubby cut into her, we discovered that the fiberglass cut easier and the inside was "cleaner" in the sense that there seemed to be less manufacturing going on. Woody was dry as a bone, but we noticed some foam curling and separating from the hull. There might be a hint of an old waterline on a foam block or it could be a sign of age? I'm also trying to figure out what's up with the tape I see around some of the foam. There is no sign of prior opening, so I'm wondering why there appears to be tape around some of the foam.
Since all the hardware is firm and she's dry inside, we decided to stick with one port for now, putty the chips, and call it good. We are in the air about the foam. Any thoughts here? Should we cut off the separated stuff and try to install some new stuff? Or just let it be, since we are newbie rec sailors and will likely be the last owners unless someone wants a project boat?
We haven't screwed in the ports yet, because we are still a bit uncertain about the screws. Neither plates (Seachoice on Woody (right color of cream) and SeaDog on Blue) had info on what screws to use, and I looked on the websites and must be missing something. Might just take them to a hardware store and ask what will work for our purposes (including anti-rust). All are 4-inch plates (5 just looked huge and we have small hands).