Just bought a 14.2

julio

New Member
Hey, how yall doing?
I am new to the forum, I just picked up a mod 1 with decent sails and a factory built trailer for 400 bucks. I got it from a nice older couple who couldnt use it any more. boat is very clean with good rigging. I have a laser that I have been sailing for a year now, and any advice about the 14.2 would be appreciated.
thank you,
J
 
Congratulations! nothing like being in the right place at the right time and welcome to the forum, one of my favorite places to hang out! .... I have a mod 2 and am a brand new sailor as well. In fact, I taught myself to sail on this boat so as a laser sailor, you will probably be offering tips on sailing the Capri 14.2 very soon.

One very important maintenance tip I picked from this forum is about checking all the rigging screws for tightness and there are several of them. There are a few horror stories and pics. of masts flopping over from lack of this simple maint. So there you have it ....my 2 cents worth.

Happy sailing ! .......and please do share your experiences.
 
thanks, man. Ill check those. I picked up a bunch of things I will do on this forum also. Cant wait for spring, hopefully I will have some iceboating photos to post soon. they were out on round lake by petoskey already, but one of the guys hit a weak spot and sunk his boat. they got it out, but it was a nightmare. we are waiting for good ice with no snow on it! Im a wind junkie.
 
Hey Julio, welcome to the family! :)

Ice boating, huh? That is so cool! I've always wanted to try it but our winters aren't usually that cold. Anyway, sounds like fun! Bring us lots of pictures.

Jim
 
Change the shrouds

Trust me. If you don't know when the shrouds were last replaced, do it now. You are inspecting the mounting hardware anyway so change the shrouds while you are at it.

If you don't, at lease take a hack saw to mast step bracket above each bolt hole. this will permit the mast bole to deform the bracket WHEN the shrouds break and you dismast. Not not if, WHEN. this will prevent tearing the bracket out of the deck. It may not prevent a bump on the head or a pinched arm.

thread and phots of the bracket mod are on the forum here somewhere.
 
Shrouds

The shrouds are cheap from Catalina, cheaper if you have the tools and knowledge to DIY. I agree, replace them.
 
tree fell on mast. As a result, mast and standing rigging were all replaced 10 yrs ago. boat is a 1986. what should Ilook for when inspecting shrouds and headstay?
 
Run a soft cloth along the cable, it will snag if there are any breaks. Also inspect for corrosion. Check for tightness at the swagings. The issue is what you can't see, failures or corrosion inside the windings.
 
I may be ok, since they have been replaced before, right? is there some kinda history of these things being defective?
 
No history, but stuff does wear out and need to be replaced. Chances are nothing will go wrong as long as you do not find anything in your inspections. The point made by the poster above, and a view a readily agree with, is that for a small investment (under $100), you know it won't be an issue.
 
Replacing shrouds

Hi Julio --

Congrats on your new boat and welcome to this forum. :D

Search up some of the damage pictures from shroud failures that have posted here, and you'll see that it can be pretty drastic. If you paid yourself minimum wage for the time it took, you probably couldn't fix it for much less than the new shrouds will cost. Figure in the danger of injury, materials expense, and general scut nature of working on fiberglass, not to mention the time lost that you could be doing something more fun -- like sailing -- and it might seem like a good choice.

In the Midwest, it probably hasn't suffered the kind of accelerated corrosion saltwater causes, but any organic material -- including the kind of algal growth your lakes have and that like to grow in covered places like shroud crimps -- will leech weak acids as they grow and decomp in wet environments.

Just my opinion, but I'm glad I replaced mine.

Jim / Toshita 1857 / south fla.
 
How are you getting along with your "new" 14.2?

Hi, Julio!

Your post caught my attention because my husband and I upgraded a month or so ago to a 14.2 after owning a Laser for two years. Growing up I always dreamed of having a Laser. And 20 years ago it would have been a fantastic boat for me. Unfortunately, two decades later it didn't fit our needs, but I loved her just the same. Our Catalina is a 1989 in exceptionally good condition and we're more than anxious to get her into the water this spring. I've known this boat for a couple of years and out of the blue the owner (who is an acquaintence) came to where I work and asked if we might like to buy it. It seems his wife has accepted a teaching position abroad for two years and they didn't want the boat to just sit around. In retrospect, I feel badly because they were due to leave for Japan this week. In light of the horrific situation there, I'm not sure if they've actually flown to Japan at this point. In any case - they're not getting the boat back although they do have full visitation rights. They had planned on purchasing a larger boat upon their return anyway, so I'm really not concerned. But I do hope their plans to go to Japan work out as they had hoped. So, since acquiring your 14.2, what kinds of things have you been doing to it?
 
In regards to what they said about injury being a real concern when the shrouds break. When mine went down my mind went into one of those slow-mo combat modes and I was able to dodge the mast step bracket as it would have ripped me up. The thing was held down by screws in the deck that came at me like something horribly dangerous and unstoppable on the end of the mast. In retrospect I am thankful that I had the reflex to avoid being speared by the four screws on the end of the mast that headed my way, and replaced them with through-bolts into my new deck. I had never had a more potentially dangerous sailing accident then this and will never forget the sight of those screws on the end of the mast coming at me.
 
Over the winter I have done nothing to my capri. to busy iceboating. I am going to start fabricating an almost waterproof hatch this evening, and shrouds and stays are on the way. fairing and painting my rudder and centerboard is next. and you are never too old for a laser!:D
 
Trust me. If you don't know when the shrouds were last replaced, do it now. You are inspecting the mounting hardware anyway so change the shrouds while you are at it.

If you don't, at lease take a hack saw to mast step bracket above each bolt hole. this will permit the mast bole to deform the bracket WHEN the shrouds break and you dismast. Not not if, WHEN. this will prevent tearing the bracket out of the deck. It may not prevent a bump on the head or a pinched arm.

thread and phots of the bracket mod are on the forum here somewhere.

Here ya go...
http://www.capri14.org/forum/showpost.php?p=6793&postcount=23
 

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