I would like to introduce myself

[Sandcut]

Todd

Thanks for the comment on Naturally. I had hoped to be finished with her soon but I have hit a snag. One of the 6/4 cypress boards I set aside to make the mast has developed a twisted. Good straight/clear wood is hard to find in Florida. I was lucky and a local feed store let me go through a pallet of rough green cypress fence boards. I selected 4 with good vertical grain and have had them drying for 4 years. I used 1 for the deck beams and stringers on Naturally and have 3 left for the spars. I think I will be able to build the yard and boom but I am back to square one on the mast. I think I am down to SPF or WRC from the big orange store.

It was my plan to finish Naturally and start sailing her then start on the Macgregor. Right now the Mac. is parked in the driveway where she was dropped off. The trailer bunks are so bad I don’t think she should be moved much, I will move her about 50 ft. to a nice shady spot and work on her there. I have read the posts of your rebuild it looks like you did a great job, I can only hope mine turns out as well. A quick question for you: in your post you ask about the book “Fix it and Sail “did you ever get a copy? I have found it on Amazon and am thinking about buying a copy. But would like your opinion of it.

Thanks.

Later

Sandcut

 

[Todd Atchison]

Sandcut,

Thanks for the compliment on "Sea Gypsy". She was a labor of love and I never expected her to take as long as she did. But, now with spring upon us, I need only tune the outboard and do a little trailer tweaking and we are ready for the season. It's a great feeling.

As to my opinion of "Fix it and Sail," I found it informative but a lot of it is pretty basic stuff that you have probably already picked up. Fiberglass, resin, paint... a few ways to save cash. For example, use a good primer/sealer paint for the interior and just add the anti-mildew additive. Much cheaper than deck paint and works really well. The deck is another story, but three quarts of Easy Poxy by Pettit will get 'er done nicely with some left over for touch up. I did question the authors choice to move or change his ports or windows. Seemed like a lot of trouble with little return. Remember (and this is not a criticism of McGregor or Rodger) but these will never be highly sought after or worth more than say three grand or so. That's actually one of there strengths. Rodger McGregor built sailboats for the masses and help introduce a generation to the possibilities of a true trailer sailor.

That being said "Fix it and Sail" is a pretty good moto. The beauty of a three thousand dollar McGregor is that from the shore people are as envious of you as they are of a $250,000 Swan. And the truth is, the experiences are largely the same. The big difference is, if your McGregor takes a few "knocks" while your learning the ropes (or for the length of your sailing career) your not out a ton on repairs or yard time, fees, etc.. For what it's worth they are solid, easy to handle and dare I say it at the risk of catching some heat, moderately fast. I had no problem getting 6 knots out of "Sea Gypsy" right after we splashed last year with little tuning or tweaking of the rig. The truth is it was downright sloppy. I only got it tuned properly on the last trip of the season. Despite that, she performed admirably. Some adjustments to the mast rake after talking to a former V222 owner while in FLA last fall, improved her "pointing characteristics" (she did not like to point into the wind until I added some rack via the backstay).

So the point to all this is/was 1) keep your investment modest it's not a boat that's going to "appreciate" with age. But, if you're like us even if you move up to a bigger boat someday, we'll probably keep her (says the crew with 7 sailboats). 2) Don't get too caught up on getting things perfect. She will never be a racer and I've seen people (many on this forum) debate for days on things like "foiling properties" of the keel, "sail shape," "Outboard weight" etc, etc. I can assure you while all that does indeed make a difference, it won't affect our hull speed by a quarter knot. I may catch some grief over that statement but it's largely true. You can see from the pictures of our keel project that we hardly made our keel perfect. I basically re-assembled as many of the pieces as I could from the original, cleaned the rust off the iron, painted it with Rustoleum many times, re-attached the pieces and filled it all with more resin and fiberglass than you can imagine! Filled, sanded, and formed as best I could. Once I got the shape as close to the original as I could, I slapped about six coats of Rustoleum on it and put it back in. Is this the correct way to restore the keel? Certainly not! Did it work? Yes. Will it last? Who knows it's holding up pretty well. BTW our Hull Speed is 6.4 knots and I got 6 with a far from the perfect keel. Solid, but far from perfect. Rember also that our boats will spend the better part of their lives on a trailer, so there is that. Would I have used this technique on a boat I was planning to keep in the water... never? We sail a weekend or a few days, pull 'em out and dry 'em out. Big difference. But, I digress.

All in all, she will fill your evenings and weekends with pleasure as you bring her back to life. I hope you read the part in my post about old boats seeming somewhat grateful for your effort. Somehow they know (I know that sounds wacky, but I believe it). It's an endeavor like no other and when you finally finish you will know what's under you and will have gained a head full of wisdom.

Fair Winds,

Todd

 

[Freedom77]

So right you are Todd. I knew Roger personally, He was the "Henry Ford" of sailboat and without him many of us would never have owned a "Yatch". I've had marina locked admirals look down there noses at Macs. I simply ask them, When is the last time you sailed in Ensenada Mexico or British Columbia or Lakes Powell and Mead and points in between. Carpe Diem. Enjoy the time you have. Anytime two sailboats are on the same tack it is automatically a race. You may not win, but you will improve your skills and learn something. Knew a guy who worked for the Tupperware company and he said whenever he put down the PopTop he would burp the corner.

 

[Todd Atchison]

I would have loved to have met Rodger. He needs to have a documentary made about him... I'm not a fan of the X series but, everything in between seem to be well-designed boats. I love the idea of trailering ours and using as a camper as we travel. That is sort of the way I've set her up from the beginning. I know the guys you're talking about... I have a saying for them. "Shut up and sail!" I'd sail a styrofoam cooler if it's all I had!

 

[Sandcut]

Todd

Thanks for the book review. I had found the website and looked at the sample chapters. I was thinking it wouldn’t be worth it to me. So thanks for confirming my impression and saving me a few bucks. As far as you philosophy on boats I could not agree more. I have not done much with her yet, I am still trying to get Naturally in the water. From what I have seen I am happy. She was not free, but I feel that if I have to walk away from her I could. One of the things I like about her is that she has no classic value. I plan to make some changes in her interior lay out. Because she has no value I feel that I can’t mess her up badly. I plan to get her back on the water as cheaply as possible. It is my plan to get her off the trailer and check the keel. If it is not too bad I will proceed. I have also recently found that the core in the motor well is rotten. Since I want to make some changes in that area I am hoping that will not be a deal breaker. Once those issues are explored I will have to make a decision, fold or continue. If I continue I will rebuild the keel and transom. Then scrap/ sand the bottom, barrier coat and bottom paint. I then plan to put a motor on her and motor sail her as is several times. It will then be major decision time. If the wife and I feel she will do for what we have in mind and I don’t see why she wouldn’t, I will go all in. If not again I feel that I can walk away with lessons learned and scrap value. Needless to say I hope to spend next winter rebuilding the decks, painting, rigging and getting her sailing. I will rebuild the inside later as we are day sailing her.

I also agree with you on old boats. I can’t wait to hear the sigh of relief and “thank you” when I get her off of the trailer. Setting on those rotten bunks has got to be uncomfortable.

Next question. I would like to extensively document this rebuild here. Which is the preferred format? One long post, or start a new post for each new topic. I lean toward single project post. I would think it makes for efficient searching and suits my one step at a time mind set. Although it does come at a cost of lack of continuity in reading.

Later

Sandcut

 

[Todd Atchison]

Sandcut - You're definitely on the right track. Yes, their lack of a traditional value does open up some possibilities for making it your own, especially the interior. I'll share some of my customization of the interior. We use ours as a "Sailor / Camper" so comfort is king. We use ours as sort of a base camp on the lake (though we sail a lot) I find we like to anchor our "lake cabin," relaxing and grilling as much as we like to sail. We have a Hobie Cat, a Sunfish, and a Snark. So we take one in tow, sail to our "camping spot," drop anchor and usually use one of the smaller boats in whatever bay we are anchored. The 22 becomes the spot we sleep, eat and play cards on for the weekend. Then we get crazy on one of the smaller boats. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our V222 and would sail it anywhere. I would use a single post, at least for me it was convenient and kept a nice timeline. Keep the comments coming and I expect pictures soon.

Fair Winds,

Todd