Aquarius 23 New Owner

H

Harmons

.
Oct 25, 2016
1
Aquarius 23 Kennebunkport
Hello, I am new to this forum and am a new owner to an 1976 Aquarius 23, the boat is in pretty good shape for the year, it was closed up and not used for 6 years. I am currently removing all interior fabric to get rid of mold / rotten fabric I will be painting the interior for now and moving forward at a later date with replacing the fabric. My questions first would be the winch for the keel it seems small for the keel, in some photo's that I've seen the winch is larger not sure if the larger winch is after market? The boat does not have, that I can tell a bilge but a self bailer? This is a crazy question, how do you lock the pop top, so it will stay up? And lastly what does the back stay anchor to? I do not have any paperwork with the boat. Thank you for being understanding with a new sailor. Harmons
 
Bill Murray

Bill Murray

.
Jun 2, 2004
241
Hunter 410 Charlevoix, MI
I had a 1973 A23 for 16 years. Here is my advice...
join this group.... https://beta.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Aquarius-owners/info?referrer=chinatownfresno
These guys know everything there is to know about Aquarius boats.
Also join this group...
https://beta.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Coastal-Recreation-Inc/info
They know everything the first group knows and more...

answers to questions -- the winch is a small brass one way winch with a removable handle. That is all you need. The "keel" is not a keel but rather a steel centerboard. The keel consists of lead encapsulated in the hull mold and runs the length of the hull. Some folks replaced the winch but I never had a failure experience. Info on frozen centerboards, restoration of rusted centerboards, etc and replacement of hinge pins can be found at the group site.

There is not a bilge. originally the carpeting was laid directly on the hull interior. I fooled with a bilge pump but found a sponge and vigilance about water getting in worked best. I replaced teh carpet with teak grates in all the walkways.
The backstay is a split backstay with the split occuring about 6 ft.above the coamings. Each end attached to a chainplate at the outboard corners of the transom. Some A23s were built without a backstay but I believe they were all earlier models than yours.

Have fun - these are fun little boats.
 
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