Sailing and restoring #9874

[AaronD]

It's still (officially) winter, at least for another day or two, and it'll be awhile before I make it back on the water. So I'm going to entertain myself (and perhaps one or two other bored souls) with pictures from some C-22 projects. Nothing comparing to @CloudDiver, but maybe a couple things others might find useful. Most or all of these projects have at least one summer of sailing behind them, so I might be able to include a few 'I wish I'd have thought of...' recommendations. On the downside, that means most of my pictures are of earlier projects that have accumulated a season or two of crud in them. Ah well, you can't be sparkling clean all the time.

"Breezy" is a 1981 C-22, skippered by a slightly paranoid engineer (me). We sail with a crew of 4 - two adults and 2 kids (currently 7 and 11). I'm just a run of the mill do-it-yourselfer. I'm reasonably comfortable with standard tools, and I have a shop big enough to park the boat in. But I don't do fine aluminum fabrication like @Meriachee, and you won't find me starting projects with "...I pulled out my plasma cutter..." (https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/restoration-of-1981-c-22-swing-keel-10580.16613/).

One other bit of importance: The rest of my family all swim better than I do, so I'm especially motivated to stay afloat. This brings out my 'slightly paranoid engineer'... So, I've rarely met a boat project that I couldn't quickly extend well beyond overkill. But I like to think I'm taking my family out in the safest vessel I can, and one with many of the creature comforts we can fit into 22 feet.

First, I'll give short shrift to a few of the 'normal' issues everyone has dealt with, and then move on to a few that might be more interesting. Very much not chronologically - ordered as I can find or take pictures of each.


Replaced chainplates with new ones from CD; she already had 1/2" chainplates (of unknown vintage), but the older design with smaller unachored bases that turn too easily. A couple had clearly leaked at some point. The bases of the new design screw into the deck so they won't swivel, and the butyl tape can do its job. Properly epoxied, countersunk, etc. per @Main Sail's process.

For the anchor screws, I overdrilled, filled the holes with thickened epoxy, waxed the screws and screwed them into the epoxy while it kicked. That makes nice threaded holes that can't leak into the core even if the butyl tape ever leaked. For a few other projects, I've overdrilled, filled with thickened epoxy, and tapped machine threads into the epoxy. I think either system works for relatively low-load applications (and everything with higher loads is through-bolted anyway).

Replaced all standing rigging
Again, with the CD kit - I considered going synthetic (probably with New England WR2), which would save a few pounds up high. It seemed like an interesting project, but a big time commitment. And we needed new turnbuckles, which are included in the ~$480 CD kit, but would be expensive to purchase separately. Between turnbuckles and terminators for synthetic line, the DIY project priced out quite a bit higher than the stainless kit. Maybe I'll go synthetic next time.

Note: I initially failed to pin the turnbuckles. The old ones had never slipped a bit, so I didn't think about it. But the new ones are nicely lubricated and work out on their own while sailing (duh!). My son caught one about to let go - he may well have saved the mast. They're all pinned now with split rings. Maybe I'll buy cotter pin wraps / scar pins sometime to make tuning a little easier.

Time: 7.25 hours (rigging and chainplates)
Cost: ~$650

Replaced bow eye backing pad with Starboard version from CD (no picture; it's covered with anchor rode, but you all know what it looks like anyway)

Midship cleats

Replaced keel winch and cable, turning ball, etc.
Not much to say here that hasn't been said in many other posts. I found a little rot in the step / winch support, but nothing too terrible. It ground out pretty easily, and I epoxied and bolted a plate of 1/4" G10 in place. It should be pretty solid now.

Time: 15.5 hours (about half building a stern cradle and modifying my trailer)
Cost: ~$250

Before:

 

[AaronD]

Replaced the rudder with a new RudderCraft kick-up system.
The stock kick-up rudder system is a big aluminum casting with stainless pintles screwed through it. On ours, we found that bimetallic corrosion was eating into the casting around the pintles - both had already lost significant chunks of aluminum. And if we were to lose one completely, the failure mode wouldn't be pretty - at a minimum it would mean trying to navigate back without a rudder; worst case, the leverage on the one remaining pintle might tear through the transom. We talked to a local welder, but he said he wouldn't touch it - that the nearby aluminum is probably degraded and it's likely to 'explode' if touched with a welding rod. There might be a cheaper option, but we bit the bullet and went for the RudderCraft rudder which everyone recommends.

We second (or 3rd or 1000th) that recommendation - the helm is smoother, the kick-up function is simple, the integrated mast crutch fits in the car (the original was always a pain to store after we launched).

I also replaced the 3/8" gudgeons with the new 1/2" model from CD, to go with the new rudder. I haven't gotten to painting over the holes I filled in the process. Maybe this spring...

PM me if you need a crutch for 3/8" pintles.

Time: 3.75 hours
Cost: ~$1200

Before

After

 

[AaronD]

Reinforced the transom / outboard mount
G10 board and CD's stainless rails. Stingy Sailor used aluminum, which would be cheaper. But, naturally, the paranoid engineer in me wanted to avoid bimetallic corrosion.

Repaired the outboard mount.
One of the two side rails had cracked a couple years ago. I had replaced that side then with the double-thick CD model, but finally got to a full tear-down and reconstruction of the other side (made more difficult by the areas where bimetallic corrosion had locked various parts together permanently). In retrospect, it would have been much easier (and not a lot more expensive) to buy a new mount. But I didn't know that at any point in the process, so each new "just another $15" purchase seemed justified. It's solid now.

 

[AaronD]

Here's one for the hall of shame. Some PO had added a deck-mounted VHF antenna. Nothing altogether wrong with that - it won't have the range of a masthead mount, but the coax run is shorter and simpler, and it keeps the weight lower. But, in place of a proper through-deck cable clam, they used...

Yes, you got that right...a one-hole rubber stopper. That brought back painful memories of high school chemistry!

That atrocity is since removed, dremeled, and filled with epoxy. I haven't done anything to make it look good, but it's usually hidden under the Lifesling anyway. Out of sight and out of mind.

 

[AaronD]

Bow Rebuild
My wife and I were standing on ladders, starting on the installation of a bow roller to hold our nice new anchor (I'll describe that project sometime later). I leaned on the bow pulpit, and my wife astutely observed, "That's not supposed to move, is it?". Hmm... She was (of course) entirely correct.

I never expected the bow roller project to be a small one, but it instantly became much larger than I had planned. There's a lot of hardware crowded there on the bow of a C-22, and some (or all) of it had leaked over the past 35 years, and rotted out the plywood core. I don't know the first thing about gelcoat (or about matching the non-skid), so I elected to work from the underside in the bow compartment / makeshift chain locker, where a big scar in the fiberblass wouldn't show. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures during the process, so you'll have to imagine me with my head stuffed in the bow on a 95-degree day, wearing a mask and respirator...

I cut out the fiberglass with a Dremel (I could have used an angle grinder, but there's no room in there to wield one, and I'm sure I'd end up cutting through more than I had planned). With the fiberglass skin out, I pulled out the plywood with my fingernails - yep, pretty rotten.

I think I got out all the rot, and then started puzzling over what to do about it.

I decided to:
--Epoxy in a couple layers of 1/8" marine plywood
--Layer fiberglass tape and thin cloth over that (because that's what I had - perhaps roving mat might be better?)
--Level out the concave curve of the bow (concave when viewed from the interior, that is), through the full triangle of the bow compartment.
--Add a full plate of 1/4" G10 fiberglass board. My 'level' wasn't quite, so it still took quite a bit of thickened epoxy on the top of this board, to be sure it filled the void until it squeezed out the side. I didn't have a push clamp or toggle clamp, or anything else that would push upward (nor did I fancy hanging out in the bow holding up the board while the epoxy cured). So I improvised with a piece of PVC pipe, a couple boards, and a long bolt, such that screwing the bolt outward forced the one end board upward to hold the G10 firmly in place. It seemed to work fine.

That's much quicker to describe than it was to do. I spent too many hot afternoons laying on the V-berth, cutting, sanding, and fiberglassing.

Finally, I:
--Backed that further with additional layers of G10 for bow cleats and other high-load hardware
--Added Catalina Direct's bow reinforcement kit, tying the stem fitting down to the bow eye.
--Mounted and bedded deck hardware (using Maine Sail's butyl tape). I went up from 6" cleats to 8". They fit fine, are a bit stronger, and handle multiple dock lines nicely.

I don't have a way to stress-test it (and don't really want to try), but I think you might be able to pick up the entire boat by that bow - and shake her around - without doing any damage. Come to think of it, I guess that's pretty much what we plan to do, lifting the bow by a sail or shaking it around by the anchor rode.

Protip:
--Bed your hardware right the first time, so you don't have to spend endless hours with your head stuck in the bow, wielding epoxy or a sander.

 

[AaronD]

Here's a cheap and easy one (for a change). To sleep 4 of us, we have to lower the table every night. And to keep us all fed, we normally carry a sizable cooler under it during the day.

As I'm sure some other C-22 owners have noticed, it seems natural to rest a hand on the table when stepping down into the cabin. And if the table isn't securely attached, it tips easily; more than once, I've nearly gone sprawling.

We added quick release pins in the wall mounts and replaced the hinge pin with a 'regular' quick pin. So we can quickly lock the table solidly to the wall. And when necessary, I can remove the table leg to pull out the cooler. We may improve on this system someday (with some quick-release hinges, perhaps). But it was an easy fix, and I think it's saved me a few bruises.

 

[Gene Neill]

Beautiful work. The world needs more paranoid engineers who actually do things CORRECTLY.

 

[rpludwig]

well done, and nice write-up...especially that bow work, whew!!!

 

[AaronD]

Beautiful work. The world needs more paranoid engineers who actually do things CORRECTLY.

Thanks, Gene. I can't guarantee 'Correctly', but I can usually manage 1) Heavy and 2) Expensive. Sometimes that has to be close enough

 

[Hardhead]

That's some quality work-

 

[AaronD]

Towing a Dinghy

Here's one that might be of interest to someone other than me.

If I were choosing a name, "Breezy" probably wouldn't have been it, but the kids quickly fell in love with her; they would sometimes sit for hours talking to her, and would often take their lunches out to the driveway and eat in her shade. We soon had innumerable drawings of her, with "Breezy" carefully penciled on the stern. It seemed clear that renaming her might be considered child abuse. Our 14 foot daysailer came without a name, and a year or two later, we still hadn't settled on one. So, with "Breezy" firmly established, the kids voted her smaller sister become "Puff".

No self-respecting cruising boat would be without a dink. Naturally, we had to invest in that as well. So we picked up a Walker Bay 8 that fits on a roof rack or in a pickup bed. With a sail rig of course; thus, the flotilla gained 'Wisp'. That brought us to 3 sailboats and a kayak (a total we've long since surpassed). The WB is a bit tight, but the kids have learned to row in her, and our son sailed her solo at 6. That's a winner of a dink as far as I'm concerned.

We normally tow Wisp fairly close - about 10-15' from the transom (sometimes even a little closer when maneuvering into a marina). Per all the reading I've done, that's about right in normal conditions.* Ideally, we want her riding down our stern wave, so we're not constantly pulling her upward. We picked up some double-braid polypropylene line - poly line floats and doesn't absorb water, so it works nicely for a tow line.

The first time or two we towed her, we noticed that she oscillated and jerked the line regularly. That got annoying pretty fast (and probably inefficient too, although I haven't tracked SOG precisely enough to quantify that).

I tried adding a length of 1/4" shock cord to the tow line, slightly shorter than the tow line (so the real line takes all the force at full extension; like a dockline snubber).

The shock cord smoothed out the jerks nicely, but my first try was a little messy, and the two lines in parallel tangled around things regularly. My next try took a bit of whipping twine and an evening watching a movie with the kids. It works great, doesn't tangle nearly as much, and was a fun bit of ropework. In the 'action' picture, you can see the shock cord fully stretched, I don't have a good picture at low speed, but you can imagine the 'loops' partially extended before the shock cord stretches fully.

Recommended.

UPDATE: After a couple seasons, the whippings on this system started to come off. For my next revision, I took a piece of polypropylene double-braid and replaced the core with 1/4" shock cord, splicing / whipping eyes on each end (and bunching up the cover so the shock cord is shorter than the cover). That seems to achieve the same effect, with fewer whippings to come off and no loops to tangle (And even with shock-cord core, the line still floats, which is important with an outboard).

* In really rough conditions, we'd probably want her further back, so we carry a longer tow line as well, but (thankfully) haven't had to try that one.

 

[cb32863]

So correct me if I miss-read, there were no rings or cotter-pins in your turnbuckle pins for you shroud connection to the chain plate? Not until you swapped the standing rigging and your son saw one working itself out??

 

[AaronD]

So correct me if I miss-read, there were no rings or cotter-pins in your turnbuckle pins for you shroud connection to the chain plate? Not until you swapped the standing rigging and your son saw one working itself out??

The clevis pins were pinned, but the turnbuckle posts and bodies weren't. So the turnbuckle bodies could rotate and loosen themselves. The old ones were just cruddy enough that they never rotated on their own, so I (being an idiot newby) didn't think of it. My son found a shroud loose enough to freak us all out.

 

[71Irwin32]

A lot of good work. I've enjoyed the using lots of G10, where ever I've wanted to repair or add new hardware.

I used a 16x24" piece under my crazy mid-cleat that I wanted. I can't believe my boat never had them.

 

[AaronD]

I used a 16x24" piece under my crazy mid-cleat that I wanted. I can't believe my boat never had them.

I'm curious (and puzzled). Want to explain what that is and how you did it?

 

[Hardhead]

A cleat amid-ships can be good for a spring line, when keeping in a slip.

 

[AaronD]

A cleat amid-ships can be good for a spring line, when keeping in a slip.

Ah, now I see it. I didn't see the side 'arms' (or whatever they're called) earlier, and couldn't comprehend what looked to me like a stainless post. Is that the cleat design that's sometimes called a 'bitt'? I'm not sure I have my terminology correct.

Re: midship cleats - yes, I added a set a couple seasons ago. My black horn cleats aren't as pretty as that stainless, but we've really appreciated them. Occasionally for spring lines, and my wife loves them for docking.

 

[rpludwig]

Aaron...regarding your transom reinforcement....I need to do the same and had planned to use SS vertical angle stock only (like CD offers), do you (or others) feel this would be adequate, or is that G10 necessary in your opinion, overkill maybe?

 

[AaronD]

Aaron...regarding your transom reinforcement....I need to do the same and had planned to use SS vertical angle stock only (like CD offers), do you (or others) feel this would be adequate, or is that G10 necessary in your opinion, overkill maybe?

It's probably overkill, especially if you don't have any reason to suspect rot in the core. I did it for 3 reasons:

1) It was clear the bolts had leaked at some point, and the fender washers were digging into the interior skin somewhat (which seemed to indicate the core might be collapsing a bit around the mounting holes).
2) I wanted to feel OK about trailering with the outboard attached. At the time I had a 7.5hp Honda which weighed almost 90 lbs. I've since replaced it with the Tohatsu 6hp SailPro (< 60 lbs).
3) I'm congenitally prone to overkill.

 

[71Irwin32]

You can also build "L" shaped beams or a flat with "Ls" on each side, with G10 if you think there's lateral force bracing required....or gussets. Using G10 can be made into what is required. I'm not saying you need to, but lots can be done depending on what you determine is needed. As Arron states, if there is rot, that needs to be dealt with. Personally, I like overkill, and weight can be considered depending on what you want the boat for and where you're sailing it. G10 is certainly lighter than SS.