Basic sailboat maintenance and repair questions.

[anchorclanker]

While my particular boat is an O'Day 222, I feel there is enough commonality among the many makes and models to cover a broad range, that not only will this be of help to me, but to others as well.

My first question pertains to small cracks I see here and there, generally in sharper corners, and are what I would consider normal stress cracks on an almost 30 year old fiberglass boat. However, I have been reading that many of these sailboats boats have balsa cores and suffer some de-lamination issues with age. I was hoping some of you who been around a while could advise. None of the cracks are large or deep, and I have not found any soft spots anywhere. From what I have read, one of the worst areas to have a problem is at the mast, and here I see nothing alarming. Ive pounded around with my hands and looked carefully and see no signs of cracks or damage in that area. Im thinking to just seal the cracks and polish it up and call it good?

Secondly, I wish to inspect all the chain plates for the stays, and would like to know what others have found or performed to these to make them strong. I would much prefer to make these fittings rock solid now than have trouble later. One issue I found was with the aft stay. There is a cable connection utilizing a "T" fitting, that rests in a saddle fitting. The "T" is bent, how or why is unknown. The perfectionist in me is saying to replace that fitting?

Third, the stays and safety lines have some type of white plastic covering, and its disintegrating, splitting, falling off in bits and chunks. I am sure this has been seen on many other boats and am curious of the most economical fix that could be accomplished.

Fourth, I am debating to lower the mast to check it over, check wiring for lights and antennas, stay attachments, etc.. The problem is I dont have any "strong" help. I may be able to employ our daughters boyfriend, but I dont want anyone to get hurt, and I dont want anything to get broken. Here again, any advise would be helpful.

Like I say, I believe these are general questions that would pertain to any sailboat, so hopefully can help many.

 

[centerline]

as for the small hairline cracks, they are not always stress cracks..... old gelcoat can do that just because it gets old and sets in the heat of the sun always. it just needs buffed and waxed. there is not much else you can do with it without major cosmetic surgery.... at the corners there is usually not any core materials in the fiberglass. the core material is used on the flatter areas to strengthen it for walking on... the corners are strong by the natural radius of the moulding and they can make it stronger by adding another layer of cloth to it during lay up....
depending how the boat is fitted, whether it has an upper liner, or insulation, you can usually see where the core material is layed into the deck from the inside, it looks kinda like plywood was cut into the shapes needed and then glassed over.

the stemhead fitting, chainplates, and aft stay attachment points should be solid..... they will be bolted on. the bolts should be tightened up snug. super tight does nothing except stress the fiberglass its bolted thru.
they may be a bit sloppy where they come thru the deck and if so, it will be a leak when it rains. what I did with mine was, I removed the bezel piece from them and used epoxy putty and forced it down between the deck and the chainplate with a putty knife to fill the gap....once it set up I used a good quality sealer around it, reattached the bezel, and then carefully sealed around it...... no movement and no leaks
the bent t-rod... its unlikely it will ever fail, as they are tough. replace it if you feel like it, but sail it until then....

im not sure what the white covering is on the stays and safety lines is..... if it is the protector tubes or covers for the hardware, then they just need replaced, or done away with. your choice. once they get baked in the sun, they're toast.....

if you have not done it, it would be a good thing to check the top of the mast and see what is going on up there.... it not hard to lower the mast if you have the proper stuff in place... the most important is a crutch to set the mast in when you get it down. two people can easily do it without any extra devices or raising systems. good luck with the project

 

[Marty A]

Without seeing a picture (or knowing the boat) I will venture an opinion that the 'bent' T fitting may be as intended - this MAY BE a standard mast fitting - they are created as sort of a flattened question mark with a knob/T at the end. If it looks like it was forged in the current shape I'm sure you're ok. If it looks like it used to be straight and got bent... Well, I'd consider it a risk on a larger boat for sure. Stress cracks LOVE to start/grow on those kind of bends. But the previous poster is right that it'll probably be fine.

And for the chipping vinyl coating - yes, very common due to sun damage. This sounds like a fresh water boat (which reduces corrosion), but if you want to be safe I'd do the following:
1. Chip all the vinyl off the stays. Most times this is split down one side and is 'snapped' into place. In any case, if you see any rust on the stainless, particularly around the fittings, then I'd consider them risky. Again, probably fine, but you asked... Finally, if the fitting on either end is cracked or split, replace immediately.
2. For the age, I'd replace the lifelines. If your budget is limited then do it one piece at a time. There are kits now to 'do it yourself' that may help also. Some racers replace with line but you risk even faster sun damage with those.

And I agree about dropping the mast. It's clumsy as it comes down but it's not terribly difficult.

 

[bffatcat]

life line covers

the vinyl covering on the life lines can be removed and replaced with new covering Should be available at most marine supply stores

 

[CalebD]

I am not a big fan of the white vinyl covering for wire rope. They gather dirt and moisture on the wire leading to potential early corrosion of the strands.
They are intended to protect you and your sails from any broken strands of wire ("meat hooks") but if the wire strands are breaking it is probably time to replace them anyway. You can replace the life lines with high tech low stretch line like Amsteel instead of wire rope.
You are being very diligent with your O'Day 222: http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3137
While you are at it you might check the line or cable that controls the center board.

 

[GorillaToast]

If you decide to remove the vinyl coating on your lifelines, and leave them "au natural", as I did, it's very easy. Just take a heat gun and warm up the vinyl (10 seconds or so for a 1ft section) then use a utility knife to strip the softened vinyl off. Very easy job. I did all my lifelines in less than an hour, and the boat looks so much better for it.

 

[kenn]

as for the small hairline cracks, they are not always stress cracks..... old gelcoat can do that just because it gets old and sets in the heat of the sun always. it just needs buffed and waxed. there is not much else you can do with it without major cosmetic surgery

I just did a bunch of gelcoat fixes this year, so I'm here to say it's cosmetic, but not major surgery. Google "gelcoat repair" for some pointers.

 

[anchorclanker]

Hey! Thanks for all the posts and opinions. I did some further research before the net went down on me, and yes, I believe the bent "T" line end was made that way. Hey, im new at all this, lol.

Vinyl covering is literally in self destruct mode, touch it and it crumbles, no heat gun needed. I see Davis instruments has some stuff thats split, various sizes to fit various line sizes, good to know, and its cheap, also good to know. The lines appear to be stainless, as well as all the rigging, I see nothing even thinking of rusting.

So based on the suggestions thus far, heres what I think I will do.

check chain plate bolts, pokey some sealer under, and back up with larger washers if possible.

remove all the old line chafing and replace with the split stuff when I get around to it.

seal all the stress cracks best as I can and call it good.

drop the mast for inspection, replace all lights, repair or replace wiring as needed, replace all ropes in the mast as needed, pokey it back up and call it good.

I ran the motor about 4 hours today. 24:1 mix the first couple hours while I set timing and tuned the carb, then thinned it out with more gas to about 50:1. Changed plugs. She was purrin like a kitten. Then I dropped the lower to replace the pump. Were getting close.....

Not sure about center board line, other than I let it down and pulled it up to know it works. Guess I'll have to swim under and have a peek at the rope.