ADVICE FOR REFURB ON HUNTER 30

[cdells]

Hello All,

I purchased a 1979 Hunter 30 a few months ago with plans of learning how to sail. I have always had power boats but finally realized the gas bill for cruising was just too much. My new, to me, sailboat has plenty of cosmetic work that needs to be done but so far I haven't found any real issues of concern. I sailed the boat down the Potomac for about 15 miles to a Marina that is letting me do my own work. Sails worked and didn't notice any obvious issues with standing rigging or mast. Running rigging will need to be replaced and I will probably have someone inspect the mast step as it does look like there is a depression around the base of the mast (not sure if that is normal or if that is a symptom of a soggy core). Amazingly I was able to get the old Yanmar running with an oil change and a fresh set of fuel filters after not running for at least 7 years. With the boat out of the water and several hours of pressure washing (this thing was covered in mold) I have yet to find more than a few small blister..and none below the waterline. I have pulled out the old head and will be putting in new proper seacocks. I am going to; sand the bottom and re-apply bottom paint, prime and paint the deck and hull, rewire basic safety systems (bilge, nav lights, vhf radio).

I plan to use this boat to learn how to sail and will not be making any long trips outside of the Potomac or Chesapeake this summer. I am not really worried about resale value, I want it to look good but am more interested in getting out on the water with the small amount of time that I have. Just want to make it safe for the family and I right now.

Now for my questions:
Seacocks- Does anyone know why the 1.5 inch forspar seacock that I bought doesn't thread on to the 1.5 in marelong thruhull I bought ? The thruhull threads just fine onto the 1.5 ball valve I bought from Home Depot (I know not to use this on the boat). I have asked the distributor I bought it from for more info but haven't heard anything yet. Also it is not a NPT vs. parallel issue, both are parallel and the weird thing is that thru hull does fit on the input side of the seacock....just not on the discharge side.

Painting- I have read that painting is all about the prep work. My plan is to get all the sanding, filling and fairing I can get done this winter so I am ready to paint as soon as the weather gets back above the 50's reliably. I am planning on using Totalboat Total protect as the primer for the hull and deck and the Totalboat topside paint for the hull and deck. The bottom does some small areas where most of the paint is gone but for the most part it looks good to me. I am just going to sand it and repaint. Does anyone see a problem with doing the prep work over the winter? I realize I will need to clean and maybe do a light sanding in the spring but the goal is to save time to get out on the water.

Mechanical- I have changed the impeller on the water pump and done the normal fluids maintenance on the engine. I will likely repack the shaft seal before spring and maybe clean out the fuel tank just to make sure I am getting good fuel. The previous stuff has been in there for many years.

Looking forward to doing this. I have always wanted to try something like this and really I consider it a cheap education and training for when I retire for good and sail around the world... or at least to the Carribean
SF
Chris

 

[kito]

I have been restoring a 79 H30 myself. I am kind of confused. Are you calling a Home Depot brass ball valve a "seacock" ?. For one thing, don't use those brass ball valves. Get yourself some true bronze flanged seacocks. They have straight threads and not the tapered threads on the ball valve that HD sells. They will mate up correctly with the straight thread on the thru hull. It will have NPT threads for the outlet side. I used all Groco or Buck Algonquin bronze thru hulls and flanged seacocks on mine. And used bronze nippled hose adapters on the seacock outlet.

 

[cdells]

No, I just had one of the HD valves around the house. The seacock I bought was a Forspar flanged seacock. I just used the HD valve to figure out if the thruhull that was sent was the right size. I know bronze if probably better that Marelon, but for my puposes (local sailing on the Potomac) the Marelon will be fine...assuming I can find out why it doesn't fit onto the thruhull..it honestly looks like they just sent me the wrong size..but then why would it thread on to the inlet side?

 

[kito]

I understand now. I am not sure why a 1.5 thru hull will not mate with a 1.5 seacock. Does it even start to thread in or is one obviously larger than the other?. Maybe the Forespar seacock is a reducing type, meaning the outlet size is different than the inlet.

 

[cdells]

So I just got a call back from the distributor (great customer service at Jamestown Distributors by the way). He actually went down to the floor and picked up one of the Forspar seacocks and measured it...sure enough, the 1.5 inch seacock has a 1.5 inch inlet and a 1.25 inch discharge. Crazy....They are sending me a return postage so I can buy one that works with a 1.5 in thru hull. Forspar doesn't address this anywhere on their website that I can find and it doesn't seem intuitive to me. I think I am going to buy the Buck Algonquin seacock and thru hull. Great job Jamestown for taking care of your customer, poor job Forspar for not making it clear that your products don't link together.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Welcome aboard.

You are in my stomping grounds. I keep my boat in Colonial Beach and I have a lot of cruising time in the area. If you have any area questions feel free to ask.

What part of the Potomac are you on?

With an older boat take a really good look at your deck around your chain plates and any other hardware that go into or through the deck. Make sure that you don't have any wet core. Also inspect the chain plates on the inside of the boat and make sure that they are solid.

If it was me, I would attack the big things first. Make sure that your engine is totally serviced, your seacocks work good, anything structural, and then go after the cosmetic stuff. Also, if you intend to cruise fix the cabin up first before you worry about exterior paint.

Also, think about ground tackle before you start anchoring out. A lot of people have too small of an anchor and an insufficient rode for cruising. I had a Catalina 30, cruised the same area, and used a 33lb Lewmar Claw with 30 feet of 5/8" chain connected to a 1/2" three strand nylon rode. If you want to spend more money you can do an Manson Supreme or Ronca.

Good luck on your project. Once you get done with her you will have a good cruising boat.

 

[Roland5048]

Running rigging will need to be replaced and I will probably have someone inspect the mast step as it does look like there is a depression around the base of the mast (not sure if that is normal or if that is a symptom of a soggy core).

Congratulations, you picked a fine good ol' boat. I have had Fraulein II, ( I bought her from an elderly German fellow, hence the name), my '77 h30 for almost 19 years now. No, the depression is not normal. This is an inherent problem in these boats. Water most likely intruded the mast base and the weight is depressing it. You will have to remove the mast to fix it. Also, remove the woodwork around the compression post and inspect that for wood rot. Look in the bilge under the compression post and examine the I-Beam. They rust after time and need to be replaced. I am hauling in Jan. and plan to have the original I-Beam replaced. Keep posting as you go. Pictures also. We all learn from one another.

 

[cdells]

Bad Obsession and Roland,

Thanks! I think she will clean up nicely when I'm all done with her.

I am in Quantico but have the boat in Aquia Harbor right now. I have looked at the chain plates and the standing rigging and everything seems to be ok to me..the compression is going to be an issue I believe. Otherwise the boat looks good, and I got a really good deal on it.

The Marina where I am keeping her (no name yet!! but my boys want me to name her the Black Pearl) doesn't have a lot of room or equipment to help with taking the mast down..I guess I could ask but I really am trying not to spend too much. I was hoping to sail on it for a season and then take it to a Marina that has more sailboats for more work next winter. I really wish I had noticed the depression when I bought the boat but there is no way I could have paid less...he basically gave it to me for the price of two new Kirkland Marine Batteries that he bought.

Pictures will come soon, I have been carrying my camera to the boat evertime...just always forget to take pictures once I get working.

SF
CD

 

[Roland5048]

With the rig tensioned, keep an eye on the shrouds. If they continually keep getting looser, you will have to address that soon. Otherwise you are probably good to go for a season. The chainplates will have to be looked at also. Stainless seems to corrode from the inside. I had an upper chainplate snap where the turnbuckle is attached. A couple years later the stemhead snapped under full sail. I was lucky not to lose the rig. There was just a little bit of staining on the outside but inside was completely corroded. Have replaced all. Definitely check the I-Beam. Also check the keel bolts. Replace the washers and nuts if they are suspect. The bolts are a different story. As Capt. Ron said, "If anything is going to happen, it's going to happen out there" Go sailing.

 

[cdells]

Roland, in

I just took a few pics before the sun set on me. I would share but I am having trouble figuring out how to post the video. Based on what you have said I am wondering if someone already "fixed" the problem because it doesn't look like I have an I beam under the compression post. It looks like something that is still very sturdy and heavily glassed in. There is no play when I shake or hit the post. Could be that the PO or PPO just fixed from compressing anymore and didn't fix the depression around mast boot.

 

[Roland5048]

Can't tell from your pics, Take a pic of the I-Beam under the compression post. Also, take pic of the mast step from an angle parallel to the deck. That might help alot.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Roland, there may not be an I-beam. Oops! I was thinking Catalina ... not Hunter. It appears that Catalina 30 had a block of wood glassed in and people sometimes used an I-beam to make a repair after the block rotted.

 

[Roland5048]

Could be that the PO or PPO just fixed from compressing anymore and didn't fix the depression around mast boot.

That's definitely a possibility. I'm having my I-beam replaced in Jan. and have started a thread looking for advice. I'd like to see a pic of what's under your compression post when you get a chance. Thanks.

 

[ggrizzard]

Look forward under the bilge access cover. There's something there holding up the plywood sub floor.

 

[cdells]

Roland et al,

This is all I could manage from the video I took. Based on other I beams I have seen here it def looks as though this has either been modified or completely changed. Some of the weak plywood between what the I beam and compression post is broken up but the two structural pieces seem strong still. Please let me know if this doesn't show up... I took a screen shot from the video, turned it into a ppt file then saved as a pdf. Hopefully you can see it anyway.

 

[Curious Sailor]

Looking forward to doing this. I have always wanted to try something like this and really I consider it a cheap education and training for when I retire for good and sail around the world... or at least to the Carribean
SF
Chris

It's an education, and really good training... But it ain't cheap! Lol

I'm kind of working on the same plan Chris... Cheers!

 

[HMT2]

Chris, I don't know anything about the Total Boat products. But I painted my topsides with Interlux Brightside single part paint about three yea s ago. It was simple (lots of prep work). If you are interested I'd be happy to tell you how it went and what I did. You can pm me if you want

 

[cdells]

So this is what I found today. I am not sure how pressing this problem is...hahaha. I do believe the PO at least glassed in the old beam it looks like there are some random pieces inserted in between the compression post, the sole and the ibeam...no idea why they would do something like this.

I also did some drilling around the mast. I don't know what the area of wood surrounding the mast is called, I think tabernacle??, but it is definitely wet. Its not complete mush but it is certainly soft. Since I don't want to take the mast off right now I just tried a few different things with injecting epoxy. I have heard some say this will fix a wet core and others who say that it wont. Will post some pictures of the core injections in a minute.

 

[cdells]

Hopefully this will show what I am dealing with. What is that raised part usually built up with? The triangle shape piece on the lower right of the picture was de-laminated I think but it was dry. The square portion, closest to the mast was still very wet...but the wood was not mush. Between what I see below with the "I beam" and above around the mast I think that the PO fixed the compression issue but never did anything about the deck.

This is the first time I have every cut into one of my boats... I was always too worried about messing something up. With this boat, I'm just doing it...damn the torpedoes!

 

[Roland5048]

CD, don't worry about cutting into your boat except if you are in the water and cutting below the waterline. LOL. Anyway, reading your description and seeing the pics I would suggest, based on my own experience, to completely inspect and/or restore everything from the deck down to, including, the I-beam. If you intend on keeping boat for a while, it will be money well spent. Let us know how it goes.