[Rhodes22-list] Time to let it go?

[Graham Stewart]

Jason:

That is quite a list of problems - some serious and all are expensive as
everything related to boats is expensive. I doubt that the centreboard is
bent. I expect that the inside walls of the housing are bulging. That is a
particularly nasty repair to undertake. You should check the deck very
carefully to determine the extent of delimitation and, in particular,
whether there is water in the core. Replacing the core is another very nasty
job. These two jobs alone, if necessary, should make you give very serious
reservations about the reconstruction of the boat. 

Fixing deck cracks usually involves grinding out the area and filling with
layers of glass before adding the filler for fairing. Fairing takes a long
time for a novice as inevitably you end up doing it repeatedly until to
finally figure out what you are doing.

If the compression post is failing I suspect that the structure under the
base is also failing and along with that the stringers under the floor
boards. That, along with the bulkhead issues probably means that you will
need to completely replace the interior of the boat. I did that last summer.

On the other hand, redoing the hull-deck join is not all that difficult or
time consuming and is much lass daunting than some of the other repairs that
you listed.

I have completely rebuilt my 76 Rhodes - tackling most of the problems you
mention and many more. That wasn't the plan when I started but once I got
into the project the list of what was needed kept growing until it involved
a complete restoration and rebuild. I expect to launch this summer provided
I don't have major distractions. I started in 2009 so it took a lot of time.
I am not particularly fast (actually very slow) and can't work on the boat
for 6 months of the year. I was also highly inexperienced and had to figure
out everything as a novice. I spent as much time "researching" on the
internet as I did actually doing the work.

Some of what I did included:
- completely rebuilt the interior including the floor stringers up,
- replaced all of the ports with a one-piece acrylic cover installed without
hardware.
- fixed extensive deck delimitation by replacing core material throughout
the foredeck and injected epoxy throughout the rest of the side decks where
there was delimitation but no water intrusion. That also involved apply a
new layer of fibreglass over  the entire deck,
- opened up the ports and inserted epoxy coated plywood throughout the cabin
sides between the outer sidewalls and the liner - that was probably
completely unnecessary and it took up a lot of the time,
- removed the inner chain plates the hard way and installed a different
arrangement for them,
- repaired the keel - including a major crack the want around the entire
Keel on the bottom, and filled voids that I found inside the keel with 3
gallons of resin. I am not sure how many voids remain. I fibreglassed the
entire keel, faired etc.
stripped the entire bottom and repaired extensive osmosis, recoated with
epoxy and repainted the bottom - an awful job,
- repaired the rudder and centreboard by filling voids, repairing osmosis,
etc.,
- replaced all thru-hulls and in the cockpit installed plush mounted
thru-hulls which required some fibreglass work, 
- spray painted the entire deck and cockpit, applied non-skid throughout the
deck and cockpit.
- rebuilt the hull-deck join by glassing the join throughout the cabin on
the inside, resealed the join and replaced all rivets before adding a new
rub rail.
- to do all this I had to build a boat lift that would securely hold the
boat aloft while I worked on the bottom of the keel. That was another effort
that took far longer than I imagined when I thought I could build it in a
weekend.
- I am now in the process of replacing the holding tank, head and all
plumbing, replacing all wiring and lights (moved the navigation lights to
the pulpit) and reinstalling the rigging. I expect that I will need a new
furler.

That isn't everything - just the highlights.

I have two points in telling you this sad tale of folly: yes, some people do
rebuild old boats and a person with no experience can apparently do just
about anything that is required.

However, remember that regardless how long your list is, when you start to
get engaged in the process that list will grow exponentially as you discover
new issues or realize that since you have gone so far there are other things
that should be addressed at the same time. I started out thinking I was just
going to fix the deck delimitation and ended up with virtually a bare hull
to wok from - and that needed extensive work. I should have realized this as
it was the secong boat the I undertook major renovations on. The first took
10 years.

Finally, the cash outlay certainly exceeded the value of the boat then and
even now that the work has been done. I could have purchased a newer boat
for what it cost although "newer" does not mean "New" and there may well be
repairs needed there as well unless you spend big bucks for a new or rebuilt
Rhodes. Not everyone has that option available to them.

The work is difficult to justify on a cost basis and takes more time than
you can imagine. So if you just want a boat to sail I think you should
replace it.

However, if you really love working on boats - at least as much as you enjoy
sailing as that is what you give up to do the repairs - and don't really
mind spending hours and even weeks crawling around in hot sweaty clothes
through mounds of fibreglass dust, you want to learn how it works and enjoy
the challenge of a big project then you can end up with a very nice boat.

Graham

Graham Stewart
Agile. R22, 1976
Kingston Ontario Canada


 


-----Original Message-----
From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of
kg4ezq
Sent: May 2, 2017 4:58 PM
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Time to let it go?

My already rather tired '74 recently ran into some bad luck and I'm looking
for some input on whether or not it's worth repairing her. Obviously we're
all fans of the Rhodes 22 and would hate to see one die, but I'd really
appreciate input from people who have some idea of the work involved in
getting my boat back on the water.

I've had the boat for nearly a year and have sailed almost daily, and easily
more than anyone else in the marina. I feel like I've gotten a lot from the
boat despite the fact that it already had a number of issues when I got it.
The possibly fatal blow came a couple of weekends ago though. I was sailing
in a strong breeze when my forestay failed due to some corrosion that was
hidden by the furler. The extra wires did their job and kept the mast up,
but because the full 175 was unfurled they transferred an immense load to
the cabin top, resulting in hull-deck separation on both sides. There's
about a 6ft area on starboard and 1ft area on port where the deck has come
up visibly.

Additionally the genoa suffered at least $200 worth of damage and the furler
is probably a loss as well. I already have another furler that I was lucky
enough to pick up used, but I'll have to have the sail modified to use it.
The sails are both blown out originals, so it's questionable if it's worth
repairing them instead of replacing them.

I should also add that this is (or possibly was) my first boat and many
other problems existed when I bought it but were invisible to my then
inexperienced eye. I am not a master naval architect by any stretch and most
of these projects will require me to learn new skills.

These additional pre-existing problems also need to be taken into
consideration:

1) The cabin was extensively modified by a previous owner and the bulkhead
for the head was removed, as well as most other woodwork in the cabin. The
bulkhead at the back of the v-berth is also gone, so to my eye the boat
needs some bulkheads restored to add stiffness at a minimum, and perhaps a
complete restoration of the cabin.

2) The previous owner that modified the cabin added a compression post, but
failed to use stainless hardware and the post appears to be in danger of
collapsing. The way it's constructed currently prevents restoration of the
original bulkhead design, so it'll have to be completely re-done.

3) The deck shows signs of stress in various places, including the usual
spider cracks along the benches. The benches were reinforced by the owner I
bought the boat from, and I don't think the cracks are spreading. However,
the pushpit had no backing plates and has pushed through the fiberglass at
two of the mounting points and there are other small areas that need help
around the boat. There's also about a fist sized area in the bulkhead beside
the companionway that appears to have been badly patched and will have to be
reconstructed. This was hidden by an accessory plate until recently. Also, a
previous owner cut holes for speakers in the front of the lazarrette beneath
the benches which in my mind need to be removed and re-sealed before I take
the boat anywhere there's a chance of getting swamped.

4) All of the portlights are in poor condition but thanks to a lot of effort
do not leak.

5) There was recently some hull-deck joint failure at the transom where the
port chainplate was attached, there are now new, longer chainplates which
attach the deck to the hull and the deck-joint has been repaired. However
this combined with the new damage suggests that the entire hull-deck joint
may need to be re-done. I'm not sure this is within my ability.

6) Some of the other rigging is in questionable condition, and after the
trauma of the forestay failure and now that I know some of the wire is not
of the correct type I'm inclined to replace the entire rig.

7) My centerboard often gets stuck up. The prevailing theory is that it may
be bent.

8) The electrical panel was moved to an area that should be covered by the
centerboard trunk step, and so most of the boat will have to be re-wired if
I restore the original design. 

9) The water tank and the plumbing for it is gone or was never installed
despite the fact that a sink with faucet and functioning drain are present.

10) The cockpit floor is unsupported; it looks like someone (factory?) has
added supports to stiffen the floor but these don't actually reach the floor
with the exception of one 4x4 post in the center, which has caused a raised
spot.

11)  Nearly all of the running rigging is chafed and tired and needs to be
replaced.

12) I have some concerns about the state of the coring under the mast step,
and there has been water intrusion along the mast electrical wires at some
point. There are signs of possible deformation from the inside, but this
could also just be variations in the liner. There are no soft spots or
apparent deformation topside.

Of course there are other smaller issues as well, but these are the ones I
think will suck up the most time or money to address. So with all this in
mind, what do you guys think about the viability of restoring this 42 year
old boat?

Thanks in advance for the thoughtful input.

Jason



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