1984 Refurbishing Project

Mar 1, 2016
279
Oday 28 Tracy's Landing
Late last April (2016) I bought a 1984 Oday 28. I have lots of projects on going. A fellow forum user suggest I start a new thread/topic to track the boat project. This is it.

She is a Marina shop where they are repairing the cockpit by the pedestal where there was excessive moisture. I started removing the teak rub rail today and will be replacing it with a rubber rub rail.
The mast is off and has been inspected by a reputable rigger. I have a big list of recommendations I'm sorting thru and would appreciate advise from you all- most of the rest of this post regards the rigging.

1. stays/shrouds, turnbuckles and swages... no cracks or apparent fatigue (except some twisting on the fore-stay). the shop says the manufacturer rates this standing rigging to have a safe life span of 14 years and mine has 33 years on it. For that reason they say replacement is appropriate and maybe the most important recommendation safety-wise. It is an expensive task/parts. Mine last boat was a 1975 Oday 25 with (I think original) standing rigging and it worked fine for me for 10 years. Do I get into this repair now or not? The mast is down and I've already paid for crane time to remove and ultimately step the mast so that cost I have already accepted.

2. My furler is original and the vertical pieces that riveted together are loose and worn. The spool is not smooth and apparently not easy to lube. The metal tangs under the spool are severely twisted. Shop suggests a harken furler.

3. Traveler - it is mid ships configuration right over the cabin. It has been jury rigged and has been welded and has cheesy wooden shims in multiple places. The starboard and port sides of the traveler do not match rig-wise. It is set with reduction blocks to help windward sheeting. The shop showed me a recent boom snapped in two (and torn up main sail) from a sailor whose upwind tack went bad when his traveler failed and the main rig slid from windward to lee ward side of the boat before violently reaching the end of traveler track. Harken traveler is about $1000 for the parts to assemble a working unit. Rigger tells me a cheap way out would be to give up the up-wind block reduction added trimming and get a pin-stop rig for the traveler at a used boat supply place if I can find compatible stuff.

4. Suggests I need to lube all winches. Gotta learn how to do that.

5. The boat has 4 opening windows/portals. I'm told they are originals, the brand starts with a B I believe but cannot the product name. They are a bit foggy plexiglass, missing bug screens and leak some unless tightening to just right - not too tight or too loose. I understand there are repair kits so i could new gaskets, screens and plexiglass and fix em. I'm inclined to go that route. Does it just make sense to replace them instead? What are cost and level of effort differentials. I've seen in the forums where other says that factory installed brand is low-end and to upgrade to another brand. All options other than the original seem to be a different size causing more work and stress and costs to deal with. If the first ones lasted this long how bad can they really be?

Lots more to come but I'd appreciate feedback on these items
 

NYSail

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Jan 6, 2006
3,178
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
Windows are beckson..... call them directly and buy new gaskets and screens. They also have new lenses you can buy.
 

HMT2

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Mar 20, 2014
900
Hunter 31 828 Shoreacres, TX
Randall,

It's all about the Benjamins! How much to you want to spend and how and how much are you willing to learn and do yourself. I bought an '83 Hunter 31 and we have done much of what you are talking about but we did it over five years. Some of what you need to consider is how will you use the boat. Will you be mostly daysailing or will you try and do some coastal cruising? We sailed for three years on our original rigging and it wasn't until I was doing some regular off shore racing in the Gulf that I broke down and put in new standing rigging. We have nursed the ports along, although we did replace two large fixed ports. You can bring the port lenses back to life a couple of different ways including a headlight restoration kit from an auto parts place. You not only need to lube the winches but clean them first. YouTube is your friend! Also, Garhauer makes some very good gear that is reasonably priced. You may want to check them out for your traveler. Also, a great book to keep around is "This Old Boat" by Don Casey, it has saved my bacon more than once! Good luck!
 
Jan 11, 2014
14,000
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Randall,

As HMT2 said it is all about the benjamins. Restoring old boats is not cheap. If you are not careful you can easily end up spending a small fortune on an old boat when that same money could have purchased a newer boat with fewer issues. But now that you are in to it, a few suggestions.

Develop a priority list. Repairs that are necessary for safety go to the top. Repairs that are mostly for aesthetics go to the bottom. (Except every boat loves a little bling.)

Learn to do the jobs yourself. At $80- $100 an hour shop fees are a killer. There are plenty of good resources out there. A few bucks spent on a Nigel Calder or Don Casey book will pay off in the long run.

Learn to shop online. There are good deals to be had from Defender, Fisheries Supply, SailboatOwners.com and other vendors. Avoid the glitzy big box marine stores that have lots of blue on their website.

Learn to make trade offs. Roller furling is great, but for a lot less money you can get a sail loft to put on hanks and ditch the furler. The genoa on a 28' boat is not all that big.

Keep asking questions!
 
Sep 23, 2009
1,477
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
I echo the recommendations on Calders book and especially you tube. I believe that you can learn neurosurgery on YouTube.
It sounds like the only major issue with your boat is the standing rigging. Since the mast is down now is a good time to replace it.
How are the thru hulls? Another area of concern is the steel plate holding the idler wheels under the Edson pedistal.
Hopefully you already have a survey. Let that be your guide.
Lots of good information here. Worth the time to read all of the oday past posts.
Good luck.
 
Apr 28, 2005
274
Oday 302 Lake Perry, KS
I second Garhauer for the traveler replacement. Talk to Guido - he's terrific. They have quality stuff at a reasonable price and they absolutely stand behind their product.
 
Mar 1, 2016
279
Oday 28 Tracy's Landing
thanks for your thoughts
we plan to do overnight and maybe week long trip on the Chesapeake Bay for a year or so then head down the intracoastal to Alabama Mobile bay including cutting across a portion of the open Gulf along the way. As for the winches, my last boat was a 1975 Oday 25. We sailed it on one week long journey to deliver it then did day sailing for 10 years. Never lubed the winches once and they work fine. On my 28 the seller claimed to have lubed them last year and they might be accurate since on the sea trial one winch came apart - it was not properly reassembled.
I'm leaning to doing the furler and the traveler and skipping the standing rig replacement as well as the lube for this year. If you think I should have new standing rigging before embarking on an overnight trip from Florida to Alabama in two years maybe I should reconsider since I do not plan (if I can help it) to have the rig down again in the next 10 years.
 
Mar 1, 2016
279
Oday 28 Tracy's Landing
yes i had a survey. Surveyor did not raise standing rigging as an issue. While the stays are indeed 33 years old, is that reason enough to do the deed and replace them?
 
Mar 1, 2016
279
Oday 28 Tracy's Landing
I need to replace the anchor light bulb. Thinking I'd go LED. Rigger cautions me that LED interferes with VHF signal. Anyone experience that? He wants to install a sealed unit branded "Signal Lite" that is sealed and avoids interference. I think this may be for a mast mounted running light vs an anchor. If it is for anchoring then I should not need to worry about VHF interference as I won't be using the VHF then - very much. Or will I?
 
Oct 10, 2011
619
Tartan 34C Toms River, New Jersey
It is true LED will interfere with VHF, but more important it interferes with my FM stereo. The bulbs I a referring to are the automotive type that can be purchased on amazon.
 
Sep 23, 2009
1,477
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
yes i had a survey. Surveyor did not raise standing rigging as an issue. While the stays are indeed 33 years old, is that reason enough to do the deed and replace them?
I would say so if you are planning to sail in the open ocean with 33 year old rigging. Just my two cents.

Edit. ...I am wondering why your surveyor gave the rigging a pass. My surveyor held that even if it looked ok on the outside, there was no way to determine what the inside looked like and he would not commit on rigging that old. I'm am hoping to replace mine this season. Before venturing off shore I would want total confidence in all systems.
 
Last edited:
Mar 1, 2016
279
Oday 28 Tracy's Landing
After taking off the toe rails,hand rails, eye brows, bow pulpit and forward stanchions I recall reading an article that advised apply a coat of wax around the items before removing them so that any sealant that squeezes out when we tighten down the parts on reinstallation would not stick to boat deck surfaces where it is not desired. Now that I blew it by forgetting to do that step, what advice might you have for me? Options it seems are: (a) trudge ahead and clean up inevitable mess; (2) apply paint tape as a pattern around the area so overspill do not engage the deck; (c) temporarily put tape over the area I exposed, wax around it, then remove the tape, clean that area and proceed with epoxy or sealant. Am I missing an option? Which way is best now.

Once that is done and I'm ready to proceed with the toe rail, shall I epoxy the old holes and drill new ones? The toe rail is held in with screws into the cabin - there are no thru-cabin holes and buts on the inside. What is a good sealant to use when re-applying. I recall reading that I need to apply sealant, drill holes, start screws but let it dry a day or 2 before tightening them down. Do I have this right?
 

HMT2

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Mar 20, 2014
900
Hunter 31 828 Shoreacres, TX
It is true LED will interfere with VHF, but more important it interferes with my FM stereo. The bulbs I a referring to are the automotive type that can be purchased on amazon.
I think it is true than an LED bulb may cause interference. I have an LED anchor light right next to my vhf antennae its been there three years and never at a problem.
 
Jan 11, 2014
14,000
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
After taking off the toe rails,hand rails, eye brows, bow pulpit and forward stanchions I recall reading an article that advised apply a coat of wax around the items before removing them so that any sealant that squeezes out when we tighten down the parts on reinstallation would not stick to boat deck surfaces where it is not desired. Now that I blew it by forgetting to do that step, what advice might you have for me? Options it seems are: (a) trudge ahead and clean up inevitable mess; (2) apply paint tape as a pattern around the area so overspill do not engage the deck; (c) temporarily put tape over the area I exposed, wax around it, then remove the tape, clean that area and proceed with epoxy or sealant. Am I missing an option? Which way is best now.

Once that is done and I'm ready to proceed with the toe rail, shall I epoxy the old holes and drill new ones? The toe rail is held in with screws into the cabin - there are no thru-cabin holes and buts on the inside. What is a good sealant to use when re-applying. I recall reading that I need to apply sealant, drill holes, start screws but let it dry a day or 2 before tightening them down. Do I have this right?
If you use butyl tape to bed the toe rails, etc you won't need to worry about errant sealant sticking to the deck.

The best procedure for old screw holes in cored decks is to drill an oversized hole, clear out the coring and then fill with epoxy and drill new holes. see this website http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/rebedding_hardware and visit the Musings with Maine Sail forum on this site.
 

AaronD

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Aug 10, 2014
763
Classic Yachts 26 Newberg, OR / Shelton, WA
You meant to say interference is untrue, right?
Probably not untrue, but some LED bulbs produce a lot more electrical noise than others. I don't know of a comparative review on this issue (Practical Sailor article, anyone?)

I've been very happy with MarineBeam, and have heard others say the same (search the forum for others' comments). They make both replacement bulbs for older fixtures and new fixtures of their own - the replacement fixtures cost more up front, but they're completely sealed, so there are no bulb contacts to corrode and flake out when you need them. YMMV.
 

HMT2

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Mar 20, 2014
900
Hunter 31 828 Shoreacres, TX
You meant to say interference is untrue, right?
What I was trying to say is that LED's may cause some interference. In my experience it is not true that all LED's cause interference because my entire boat has LED bulbs everywhere and I have had no experience with LED bulbs causing interference of any kind, but I certainly will allow that others have had the experience of LED interference.
 
Nov 6, 2006
10,210
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
The older and some inexpensive newer LEDs have an oscillator in them that doesn't have enough buffering or shielding and they can make a racket on the VHF.. and cause other things to act strangely .. The more recent ones are lots better about having a quiet internal power supply.
I have been using LEDs in everything in the cabin for about 8 years now and haven't had an issue with electronic noise.
 

JerryA

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Oct 17, 2004
550
Hunter Hunter 170 Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie
If you are replacing the roller furler, you might want to replace the forestay too. At least you would have that part of the rigging replaced. The rest will be easier to do later if that's what you decide to do.

JerryA