How do I resurect a derelict?

woodster · Apr 4, 2015

njlarry said:
Happy Easter Greetings All.
Our club is starting a sailing program for special needs children, adults and wounded warriors. We are very lucky to have had three Rainbows donated to us. But as you can see from the pictures they need a lot of work and I am not sure how to proceed.
They were in the water all winter. The bottoms are covered in barnacle residue (plus enough muscles, assorted bivales and other custacians for a nice appetizer selection).
The top sides were repainted with unknown paint that is gouged and the decks were repainted with a brush and has runs all over.
PLEASE-no talk of dumpsters! We have plenty of volunteers and the kids need these boats in the warter.
Not sure the best way to procede to restore these great boats.
Thanks to all.

clean them out first off.....then turn them upside down and fix everything on the bottom and sides ...when done turn them back over and do the decks and hardware thing it will go a lot better and faster on a boat that size.....and solicit lots of donations for lines and hardware ....i know of a place to get the line cheap and it will be the name brands that you usually pay through the nose for.....good luck.....

Apex · Apr 4, 2015

I wouldn't worry too much about cosmetics: kids will end up with more gouges etc, I'm sure. Perhaps a marine or paint store will donate small samples in various colors. Let the kids go crazy creating a mural!.

Get the boat safe for use, and enjoy! We had a rainbow at our marina for a couple of weeks, really cool little boats.

31seahorse · Apr 4, 2015

Rainbows on the Bay out of Rock Hall! Wonderful!

"On And Off" should do wonders on the barnacles and growth that remains after a careful scraping with a putty knife or a painters' tool. Heavy rubber gloves and a ground cover tarp are necessary when using the chemicals.

The whole project sounds wonderful and will be a good subject for a work weekend or three for your club members and perhaps some of the intended sailors. We all can relate to the pride a person gets from sailing a boat they helped to repair/restore. If you think it is appropriate (and I sure do) ask for specific donations of parts or $. I would be willing to donate! Phil

MrBill_FLL · Apr 5, 2015

Personally, I would look at the rigging, and chainplates before the work starts. evaluate how much work is needed on each.

it may make sense to use one for parts. also check the sails.

Then the hull, I would pressure clean, scrape, pressure clean, then sand, sand sand. then barrier coat and bottom paint. bottom doesn't need to be prefect on a teaching boat.

West marine or other local stores may donate unused paint... if you ask. kickstarter might also be worth a shot.

what does the interior look like? any rot?

CloudDiver · Apr 6, 2015

First off let me say thank you for having a sailing program for special needs, but especially (as a Veteran) for Wounded Warriors!

There are arguments all over every forum about why its not cost effective to rehab a derelict boat. Dollars and cents wise you never come out ahead... But when you are doing it for the purpose of a non-profit program you have little other choice, so lets throw those arguments out the window (unless there are SERIOUIS safety issues with hardware, rigging, or hull that just aren't feasible to repair). The good news is, you mentioned you have a large volunteer force for a labor pool, lol!

I've been working on the rehab of a 33 year old C22, so I have in fact spent way too much money and done all the labor myself (I am exhausted). Regardless of dollars and cents, I can at least share my experience with the heavy lifting as it compares to your 3 Rainbows. You can look at my thread in the C-22 forum, "Winter Restoration of Hull 10580".

- I concur with the above mentioned suggestion to flip the hulls, I did this on my C-22. It makes work on the bottom SO much easier. Flipping is easily accomplished using two 'Cherry Pickers' (engine hoists) which can be sourced easily from Craigslist for between $60 to $100, or borrowed from program volunteers which is even better. The bow eye and rudder gudgeons may need to be upgraded to handle the stress.

- I have boat stands but I also made a boat cradle out of lumber that supports the hull when inverted and has caster wheels to allow easy movement on a hard surface. If you will remain outdoors on grass like in the pic, forget the casters. The lumber cost was around $100, but that could easily be reduced by using reclaimed lumber. If you have 4 stands for each hull, you don't have a problem.

- If you plan to invert the hulls you will need to remove the rudder and keel. the rudder is probably no big deal, but the keel could be problematic. I'm not familiar with these boats so I have no idea how heavy they are, but plan accordingly. Hopefully a program volunteer has a small tractor with a back-hoe attachment that can be used for lifting them and move them around. Grab some pallets (hopefully free ones) and used some scrap or reclaimed lumber to make cradles for them. They will likely need to be sand-blasted and repainted.

My biggest advice is to solicit as much in the way of cash donations as possible to pay for supplies. We all know how expensive Marine Paint, Bottom Paint, and Marine Hardware can be. Don't forget the costs of consumables like tape, paint brushes, sand paper, etc. All that adds up quick, ask me how I know this ;-)

Best of luck with your program. I hope you have a big group of dedicated volunteers for the fast and effective application of labor, along with a few folks who own some of the heavy tools they can lend to the project. It can be done!

dscribner · Apr 6, 2015

Promise him a beer

CloudDiver · Apr 6, 2015

I've just been doing some reading on Rainbow 24's (having a sudden interest), and it seems that Rainbows just don't blister, even having been stored in the water for years. Read this article;
http://jwkane.com/rainbow24.html

That's great news! Blister repair jobs SUCK! Once you've scraped away the growth, power-wash and sand. 80 grit on an orbital will do fine, 60 grit would be faster but just take care. No need to take off the old gel-coat, just rough it up good. Apply an new barrier coat to each hull (I like Interlux Interprotect 2000) and bottom paint. I used Micron CF (copper free), a good paint for hulls that may be trailered, and I can tell you after 3 coats I still have 2/3 of the gallon remaining. You can probably get away with one gallon on all 3 hulls, rudders and keels included. 3 coats with a 1/4 inch knap roller, a high density foam roller will give a smoother finish but the application is thin, I do 5 coats in that case.

CloudDiver · Apr 6, 2015

My standing rigging looked very haggard when I removed it from my C-22... running rust in the strands and catching a few meat hooks here and there. I have taken almost all of the stays off my mast and soaked them for a few days in a welding cleaner solution I use to clean stainless steel before TIG welding. Its basically a mild phosphoric acid wash that effectively removes rust, scale, grease etc. The results are fantastic, everything looks new and I can't find any serious corrosion of the steel or copper/nickel crimps. I have only two baby stays left on the mast and those must be the ones that have the meat hooks because I can't find any broken strands on the 6 other stays I have already cleaned, so maybe those last two are the only ones I need to replace.
Anyway, any welding supply store will have the same solution (like Airgas). Goes by different brand names but it's active ingredient is always Phosphoric acid. About $12 a gallon and you can cut it with 2 gallons of water to soak all the coils of standing rigging in a plastic tub for a few days. At the very least you can clean it up proper to get a good look at the condition.

Apex · Apr 7, 2015

My Opinion re: clouddiver haggard rigging:
Rust within strands and broken strands are signs of physically deteriorated wire rope. While your cleaning solution does provide a good cosmetic solution, the compromised strength of the rigging solved. I would replace.

Thanks for the heads up on the phosphoric acid source!

Crazy Dave Condon · Apr 9, 2015

Years ago, I was approached by a 60 year old physician paralyzed on the left side due to a stroke who wanted to sail his own boat by himself. There was and not sure if they are still around, an organization called Shake A Leg for the Special Needs who helped me tremendously. Things to consider for the special needs getting folks into boats, sitting comfortable, hand holds, sailing considerations for example less heeling, etc... If they are no longer around, I do believe there is such a program in the Annapolis area that you may want to consider on any advice or suggestions. Just a thought.

DAVA390 · Apr 9, 2015

dscribner said:
Promise him a beer

You are just plain rotten!:naughty:

MrBill_FLL · Apr 9, 2015

Crazy Dave Condon said:
Years ago, I was approached by a 60 year old physician paralyzed on the left side due to a stroke who wanted to sail his own boat by himself. There was and not sure if they are still around, an organization called Shake A Leg for the Special Needs who helped me tremendously. Things to consider for the special needs getting folks into boats, sitting comfortable, hand holds, sailing considerations for example less heeling, etc... If they are no longer around, I do believe there is such a program in the Annapolis area that you may want to consider on any advice or suggestions. Just a thought.

Shake a leg is doing wonderfully. at least in miami (coconut grove).

I did some volunteer work there. they use a sonar, with extra balast, and some really cool seats (2) that had seatbelt straps low and chest high. that rotated for tacking. -even quads were able to sail the boats.

its worth a look at their boats, if you want to help physically disabled.

http://www.shakealegmiami.org/

CloudDiver · Apr 9, 2015

Haggard may have been a bit of an over-statement. Most of the rust staining was on the turnbuckles, no on the wire or in the crevices. I have not found any broken strands at all on the 6 of 8 shrouds/stays that I have cleaned. The meat-hooks that stuck my hands when I de-rigged the boat either came from the 2 I have not inspected yet or the wire halyards which I am replacing anyway. I'll post some pics when I get a chance.

Regarless, the phosphoric acid cleaning solution I mentioned is great for any grease, dirt, scale, or rust on any stainless steel parts that need a good cleaning.

Apex said:
My Opinion re: clouddiver haggard rigging:
Rust within strands and broken strands are signs of physically deteriorated wire rope. While your cleaning solution does provide a good cosmetic solution, the compromised strength of the rigging solved. I would replace.

Thanks for the heads up on the phosphoric acid source!

Ron20324 · Apr 9, 2015

Crazy Dave Condon said:
... for the special needs getting folks into boats, sitting comfortable, hand holds, sailing considerations for example less heeling, etc... ...a program in the Annapolis area ....

"Chesapeake Region Accessable Boating" is the name. "CRAB" for short. CRABsailing.org. They sell donated boats to fund their program.

CarlN · Apr 10, 2015

It's great your club is doing this. A round of applause.

Since you are going to be using these boats in moderate conditions and protected waters, I'd focus on getting them on the water. Also start a repair list for next winter's volunteer. Remember the adage: "The perfect is the enemy of the good" (or good enough)

Blue topsides: Clean with soap and water, then acetone for any black marks (wear gloves and glasses) Next rubbing compound or fine sandpaper followed by 3M finesse. Power buffers are best but you can do a great job with volunteer elbow grease. Then wax to bring back the shine. Gelcoat was thick in these old boats so you won't sand through. They will look beautiful and the volunteers will gain courage to finish.

Bottom: Try On-an-off but the stuff may be too hard. Sharp metal scrapers and strong arms. Goggles, sanding masks, throw away tyvek suits from HD. Just get most of it off. You aren't racing these boats. Ask the local West Marine to donate some of last year's unsold bottom paint -- then thank them on the yacht club bulletin board and here

Deck: Sand and scrape like a house painting job. Wash with TSP or similar. Feather rough edges with a sander. Fill gouges with epoxy filler. Tape and paint with any good deck paint. Consider adding no-skid grit to the paint.

Keel and steering: If there are no large gaps and things don't wiggle the wrong way, it's probably fine for the season. Make sure the rudder turns smoothly. Take off the tillers and have a volunteer strip and refinish them bright.

Mast and rigging: Even stuff that looks terrible probably has a few more years in the light usage these boats will have. Replace any loose or missing screws. Have the strongest volunteer tug on stuff and fix anything that falls off. New tape on every stay and line. Make sure all blocks turn especially at the mastheads. Spray McLube SailKote on every block and track.

Sails and lines: Soak everything (except nylon spinnakers) in tubs with a diluted bleach mixture. Then soak again in a soap mixture overnight. Find a local sailmaker who will fix any small tears or seams for free - and recognition at the yacht club (it will be a quick job with his equipment).

Spend you money on new life jackets that are worn (inflatables would be best for adults). Since things break all the time on old sailboats, have a volunteer or a yacht club kid always available with a motor boat and a handheld radio when the boats are out. Check your club liability insurance.

How do I resurect a derelict?

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