Seidelmann 25 New Owner

Mar 10, 2016
8
Seidelmann 25 Lake Travis
Howdy from Lake Travis Texas!

I just got my 5th boat recently and so far have really enjoyed sailing her. She's a 79 S25 with a custom big roach fully battened main a working jib and a kevlar 160 genoa. Looks like I bought some nice sails and got a free boat!

So far I have:
Replaced all running rigging
Added a tiller tamer
Fixed tiller slop
Installed the BBQ grill
Installed Hawk Eye depth sounder
Running Water (no more foot pump)
Installed an electric flush toilet (Thetford Curve) Awsome toilet!

Next up is to get the compression post back to where it should be.
Tune the standing rigging.
Rebed deck hardware.
Run the halyards to the cockpit.

FYI if you need to go up the mast have several guys around to keep her steady! That was terrifying!

Doesn't look like there are too many S25 owners on the site but I am looking forward to sharing and learning with you guys.
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Blitz

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Jul 10, 2007
672
Seidelmann 34 Atlantic Highlands, NJ
She will tend to sail with her rails in the water as you approach 15 knots of wind, but loads of fun. Good luck with her, she's a long way from home.
 
Mar 10, 2016
8
Seidelmann 25 Lake Travis
Thanks Blitz

Yes the rail is often in the water but rail meat is quite effective. What amazes me is how little weather helm there is, she hasn't rounded up on me yet. Once I correct pointing issues she will be formidable.
 
Apr 3, 2007
21
Seidelmann S25 Greenville SC
I have a 79 S25 as well. Take a good hard look at the rudder post. The original was made of aircraft aluminum. Mine was and "rusted" were it exited the hull underneath. Big surprise when it snapped in a good wind. The little outboard saved the day.
Later models used a stainless steel post.. and luckily I found one.
Good luck with that boat... yours truly certainly enjoys his.
 
Mar 10, 2016
8
Seidelmann 25 Lake Travis
After almost 2 years with my S25 I am very happy with this little boat and plan to keep it for a long time. It is a blast to sail and pretty easy to repair/fix some of the issue due to manufacturing shortcomings. Due to the simplicity of the design and build, I am finding very easy to repair and improve the boat.

So far I have done the following:
All running rigging has been run to the cockpit.
New bimini top.
New Peak Sails coastal cruising jib.
Running water to the sink and a washdown pump.
Depth finder
Bulkhead replacement and core repair at the chain plates. Much improved over the original!
 

Attachments

Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
@Thedillo you have completed some nice work on your boat.

I noticed the chainplate repair. It appears that some water managed to slip under the surface and get into the wood core where the plate goes through the deck. Is that correct?
If so you were right to repair it. Your image looks as you fiberglassed the chainplate into the deck to seal it. If so this will give you a problem. Chainplates are meant to go through the deck. Their attachment point is to a strong point attached to the hull. Your very nice new wood bulkhead. The bulkhead should be secured to the hull with fiberglass tabbing.

The point where the chainplate goes through the hull can be sealed with a watertight caulk or butyl caulk. Often a chainplate cap is used to dress up this sealed space. The purpose is for the chainplate to pull against the bulkhead not the deck. If the chainplate pulls against the fiberglass deck it will flex and crack the deck where you made your repairs.

A second issue is that the chainplates need to be inspected for pitting corrosion occasionally. If not careful the chainplate will corrode from the inside and suddenly fail. As in such cases will likely happen at an inappropriate time when your enjoying a rail buried sail.

Here is an image of a chainplate cover
9E0468C1-4824-4644-801E-40816FA049CA.jpeg
Here is a link to MsineSail’s great info on how to caulk the chainplate with butyl.
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/rebedding_hardware

Here are a couple images of a chainplate cap and beveled space under the cap that gets the butyl or caulking to seal the chainplate. D50DA316-073A-4605-924F-D7905FE522DB.jpeg

B96C82B3-411D-4A85-A107-5DADF24F59C0.jpeg
 
Mar 10, 2016
8
Seidelmann 25 Lake Travis
John,

The bulkhead was not installed properly from the factory causing it to fail by pulling away from the hull and started to push up on the deck causing cracks and water to leak in.

During construction the the bulkhead was installed in the wrong place resulting in a very large hole with no core where the chain plate went through the deck. PO tried to fix this problem by injection 5200 into the void. A pain to remove! Both the inner and outer layers of fiberglass were horribly damaged and the inside layer was paper thin. I had to install the chain plate during re-coring the deck to insure proper placement.

I coated the chainplate with PVA allowing me to remove it to finish the repair. The hole will be routed out and beveled to allow byutal to be installed to prevent water intrusion. Due to current temps/weather that project is on hold for now. What remains is making a mold of the non-skid for gelcoating the area to match and reinstalling the chain plate and cap. I do plan to replace the aluminum chain plate with stainless due to pitting.

The bulkhead was coated with epoxy, filleted and tabbed to the hull with layers of chop mat and 6 oz biaxial cloth. It appears to be a very solid repair and should last a very long time. I will be redoing the other bulkhead after the current project is complete. This one should go much better as there is no major damage to deal with.

That's life with an old boat!
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
My Cal35Cruiser is from 1974. I feel your pain/pleasure in restoration and recovery. I did the chainplate thing in 2016, when I removed the mast and refit the standing rigging. Became way too familiar with the chainplates and their securing to the boat. Fortunately the CAL Jensen folk did a good job of tabbing the internal bulkheads.
Sounds like you have had your hands full. Any issues getting the bulkheads back in the same place, balanced on both sides? It helps to keep the length of the shrouds and the angle of the shrouds to the chainplates correct.