my 8.0a
- Thread starter jlillie
- Start date
Ok, no problem uploading pics. Here are some more from the first day I went to see her.
First the positives>
1. She was on a trailer. What I consider a "real" sailboat on a trailer. This mean I can work on her in my yard whenever I want and take my time doing it.
2. The hull is original gelcoat and though faded and oxidized, perfect. I mean the only blemish I could find was a 2" scratch on her strbd quarter. I don't like paint on boats. I'm a gelcoat guy and I can make this finish look like knew.
3. ummmm..... did I mention the trailer?
Negatives....well....just about evertything else.
First the positives>
1. She was on a trailer. What I consider a "real" sailboat on a trailer. This mean I can work on her in my yard whenever I want and take my time doing it.
2. The hull is original gelcoat and though faded and oxidized, perfect. I mean the only blemish I could find was a 2" scratch on her strbd quarter. I don't like paint on boats. I'm a gelcoat guy and I can make this finish look like knew.
3. ummmm..... did I mention the trailer?
Negatives....well....just about evertything else.
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gettin her home
So after I paid the man and got my title he helped me get the trailer up on blocks and I got the wheels off and took those home with me. During the week I got new tires mounted and the following weekend I went back to get her. I wasn't sure how my f150 would do pulling her home but I was surprised. I made the 45mi trip without incident although a little slow. I also brought a set of trailer lights and mounted those temporarily for the trip.
The next weekend after I got her home I started the interior demolition. I knew the cabin decking especially around the mast step was soft so I set out to remove the bottom layer of laminate with the goal of getting that decking fixed up. In the process I took out any furnishings that had any rot. In essence the only thing I didn't take out was the forward birth which is solid and the galley cabinets, which do have rot around the bottom. I really don't want to replace the cabinets but I'll deal with that issue later.
Here's what the cabin looks like as I write. The first pic is the boat at her new home.
So after I paid the man and got my title he helped me get the trailer up on blocks and I got the wheels off and took those home with me. During the week I got new tires mounted and the following weekend I went back to get her. I wasn't sure how my f150 would do pulling her home but I was surprised. I made the 45mi trip without incident although a little slow. I also brought a set of trailer lights and mounted those temporarily for the trip.
The next weekend after I got her home I started the interior demolition. I knew the cabin decking especially around the mast step was soft so I set out to remove the bottom layer of laminate with the goal of getting that decking fixed up. In the process I took out any furnishings that had any rot. In essence the only thing I didn't take out was the forward birth which is solid and the galley cabinets, which do have rot around the bottom. I really don't want to replace the cabinets but I'll deal with that issue later.
Here's what the cabin looks like as I write. The first pic is the boat at her new home.
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Just a couple more pics
The first pic is the mast step base. I was able to pry the steel and very rusted base plate out as well as the block of wood they had under it. Tonight I'm going to trim the bottom layer of laminate right up to the header both fore and aft and trim the sides back as well. This in prep for re-laminating this weekend. I haven't exactly decided on how to shore up the header to the cabin deck but thinking about an epoxy with a fiber filler, I new piece of stainless and block of hard wood for the mast base.
The other pics are of trailer and keel. When I got her, the boat was sitting cockeyed on the trailer so I had to get some floor jacks and lift her up and after some sweat and tears I got her moved to the center. The tailer has these nifty adjustable keel rollers but the back 2 were set to low so I took the rear one out, fixed it up with new threaded rod and got it adjusted up to where it should be.
That's all for now. I'll post more when more work gets done. Cheers.
The first pic is the mast step base. I was able to pry the steel and very rusted base plate out as well as the block of wood they had under it. Tonight I'm going to trim the bottom layer of laminate right up to the header both fore and aft and trim the sides back as well. This in prep for re-laminating this weekend. I haven't exactly decided on how to shore up the header to the cabin deck but thinking about an epoxy with a fiber filler, I new piece of stainless and block of hard wood for the mast base.
The other pics are of trailer and keel. When I got her, the boat was sitting cockeyed on the trailer so I had to get some floor jacks and lift her up and after some sweat and tears I got her moved to the center. The tailer has these nifty adjustable keel rollers but the back 2 were set to low so I took the rear one out, fixed it up with new threaded rod and got it adjusted up to where it should be.
That's all for now. I'll post more when more work gets done. Cheers.
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Hi Woodster, I'm guessing your talking about a trailer manufacturer. Never heard of them. The trailer looks kinda bad but its solid. The brakes are shot for sure. And the fact that its not galvanized means it'll never go in the salt water, at least while I own it.
S2 8.0A Bilge access?
Hi,
It's good to see other S2 8.0A's out there. (And it looks like you have your hands full with this project.) I have one in pretty nice shape that I just installed a new motor bracket on. Found it at Catalina Direct, and it's great.
I'm really interested in getting access to the bilge -- but can't find any ports.
I'd like to examine the bilge pump inlet and general condition below the cabin sole, but it appears to be all sealed up... Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks!
Hi,
It's good to see other S2 8.0A's out there. (And it looks like you have your hands full with this project.) I have one in pretty nice shape that I just installed a new motor bracket on. Found it at Catalina Direct, and it's great.
I'm really interested in getting access to the bilge -- but can't find any ports.
I'd like to examine the bilge pump inlet and general condition below the cabin sole, but it appears to be all sealed up... Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks!
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in the strbd qtr birth there is a panel you should be able to remove. If you look at my pics above you can see where mine was and is no longer. I noticed that it had been removed and is gone. I can see screw holes that held it in though.
Glad to hear from another 8.0a owner. I do like the b's squared off cabin but I think the sloped dog house cabin looks sleek and its one of the reasons I bought it. It just looks cool. THe previous owner gave me a really nice motor bracket to go with it which I most likely will use. I'll be needing to talk to you more about that when I get to that point.
Let me know if you need some pics of my bilge or closer pics of the missing panel.
Nice looking boat btw, You have more pics online?
Glad to hear from another 8.0a owner. I do like the b's squared off cabin but I think the sloped dog house cabin looks sleek and its one of the reasons I bought it. It just looks cool. THe previous owner gave me a really nice motor bracket to go with it which I most likely will use. I'll be needing to talk to you more about that when I get to that point.
Let me know if you need some pics of my bilge or closer pics of the missing panel.
Nice looking boat btw, You have more pics online?
Hey, thanks StanFM. She's gonna be beautiful when I'm through. My goal is to get her back close to original as possible. Btw, she's hull #22 of 40. The previous owner who claims he won her in a poker game never did anything with her except replace the plexiglass windows. He's got 2 other sail boats and I guess didn't have the time. I wish he would have left the windows alone though because he drilled through the teak trim on the inside and used stainless pan head bolts and lock nuts on the inside which looked hideous so I removed them for a proper install later. The only problem is I now have to fill all the holes in the teak. Btw, all the teak was in perfect condition so I carefully removed all of it marking where they go for reinstall.
Funny story; when I got her home my wife came out, looked at her, shook her head and said whats the inside look like. I said great, just needs some curtains.
Regards,
John
Funny story; when I got her home my wife came out, looked at her, shook her head and said whats the inside look like. I said great, just needs some curtains.
Regards,
John
Thanks for the feedback.
I'm going to put more pics online, and check your's more closely for the bilge access.
I will see if I can find it on mine this weekend. I'd be glad to share my motor mount info and experience. It went pretty well, and looks nice.
If you could share a few close-ups of the bilge/access it would be great. I notice your keel is much shallower than mine. I draw 4'.
Thanks again,
Mark
I'm going to put more pics online, and check your's more closely for the bilge access.
I will see if I can find it on mine this weekend. I'd be glad to share my motor mount info and experience. It went pretty well, and looks nice.
If you could share a few close-ups of the bilge/access it would be great. I notice your keel is much shallower than mine. I draw 4'.
Thanks again,
Mark
Nice looking boat Jlillie. And nice boat name: Jackie Blue was a song back in the day wasn't it? You're impressively jumping in head first already, best wishes with your restoration. JQ
That's too funny John! My wife wanted a shiny much newer Catalina 250, not the older S2.
Stan
Thanks JQ. Ya, i usually get quite obsessed with my projects like a man on a mission. The only thing that'll hold me back is $$$.
Ozark Mountain Daredevils and you just dated yourself. The wife and i used to listen to them when we were kids and her name is Jacki. Thought of the name when trailering the boat back home.
i forgot to get you your pics. I'll get them over next few days and post. One thing though, why cant you just climb down through the port side cockpit settee? I just did that today to inspect the manual bilge pump. I actually pumped out a few gallons of water. Couldn't believe it still worked. Then i was moving the hosing around for inspection and they just about disinegrated.
JLILLIE,
Thanks for the update. I'd love some photos of what you see regarding the bilge. I've talked at length with the former owner, who docks right next to me, about this. I sure can't see any access, and he assures me I won't. I've been obsessing over exactly what you mentioned - that the hose may be at it's life expectancy. So I'm wondering what it would be like to have to replace it. (or maybe drop a small electric pump in there, too)
Thanks for the update. I'd love some photos of what you see regarding the bilge. I've talked at length with the former owner, who docks right next to me, about this. I sure can't see any access, and he assures me I won't. I've been obsessing over exactly what you mentioned - that the hose may be at it's life expectancy. So I'm wondering what it would be like to have to replace it. (or maybe drop a small electric pump in there, too)
Re: gettin her home
Be sure to check floor in the area of the aft corner of head. This is a "compression post" and the floor under it is unsupported as it spans the bilge-keel. When this sags from force of the mast everything sags! Cracks in the gell coat happen and often wet core in the deck and failure of the mast step or area on the deck. This is prob a good time to cut the floor out and build structure under it.
When replacing the core be sure to Pull or Push over its entiresurface with force to get proper bonding. The only way to do that I know of is to vac. bag it, use lots of bonding material, and be sure to pre fill any voids or scoring in the core just before installing. Carefully check the rest of the deck. If bad Id go after it from the top rather than the bottom but still would use vac. bag on at least the core. Last but not least be sure to test the bond of the repair resin you use. Many of the builders used an additive in their resins to speed the curring of parts. This made some of the boats difficult to make anything stick to them without using special primers. Its not often you'll get unlucky but don't depend on luck. It dosnt take much time to test. I most often will test vinyl ester, poly ester and expoy before using on a repair and have found that failure usually happens in layers of the part, not the bond. Expoy has it place but is overused and lot of time, money, and qualty is lost to all but those in sales. Whatever you think of resins be sure to start each repair job by testing. A good source of materals is Express Composits 612 789-8621. I can also help w/ core from let over projects. good luck
Be sure to check floor in the area of the aft corner of head. This is a "compression post" and the floor under it is unsupported as it spans the bilge-keel. When this sags from force of the mast everything sags! Cracks in the gell coat happen and often wet core in the deck and failure of the mast step or area on the deck. This is prob a good time to cut the floor out and build structure under it.
When replacing the core be sure to Pull or Push over its entiresurface with force to get proper bonding. The only way to do that I know of is to vac. bag it, use lots of bonding material, and be sure to pre fill any voids or scoring in the core just before installing. Carefully check the rest of the deck. If bad Id go after it from the top rather than the bottom but still would use vac. bag on at least the core. Last but not least be sure to test the bond of the repair resin you use. Many of the builders used an additive in their resins to speed the curring of parts. This made some of the boats difficult to make anything stick to them without using special primers. Its not often you'll get unlucky but don't depend on luck. It dosnt take much time to test. I most often will test vinyl ester, poly ester and expoy before using on a repair and have found that failure usually happens in layers of the part, not the bond. Expoy has it place but is overused and lot of time, money, and qualty is lost to all but those in sales. Whatever you think of resins be sure to start each repair job by testing. A good source of materals is Express Composits 612 789-8621. I can also help w/ core from let over projects. good luck
Re: gettin her home
Thanks for the feedback MM. I appreciate your knowledge. My main concern with structural repairs is absolutely the mast support. Before i gutted the cabin and cabin roof I noted that the support under the beam to the floor had not sagged at all. I think the rot came during the prolonged time on the hard with the mast down. The cabin floor is hard as a rock and feels like walking on concrete and therefore will not cut the flooring out(thank you good lord).
Originally they used a 3/4" bulk head on both sides to support the beam below the mast.
I'm considering changing to use hard wood posts on both sides of the opening to forward berth, hard wood bonded to hull sides for chain stays all the way down to decking and then put up 1/2 ply for the bulk head. Still in the thought process.
Any input is welcome.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the feedback MM. I appreciate your knowledge. My main concern with structural repairs is absolutely the mast support. Before i gutted the cabin and cabin roof I noted that the support under the beam to the floor had not sagged at all. I think the rot came during the prolonged time on the hard with the mast down. The cabin floor is hard as a rock and feels like walking on concrete and therefore will not cut the flooring out(thank you good lord).
Originally they used a 3/4" bulk head on both sides to support the beam below the mast.
I'm considering changing to use hard wood posts on both sides of the opening to forward berth, hard wood bonded to hull sides for chain stays all the way down to decking and then put up 1/2 ply for the bulk head. Still in the thought process.
Any input is welcome.
Thanks again.
My progress.
Weekend before last I bonded divinycell foam board to the cabin roof. This wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. I used West marine epoxy, with the 406 thickening agent. Held the foam sheets up with 1x2 wedged up against some strips of hurricane plastic board i had laying around. They bonded very nicely.
Weekend before last I bonded divinycell foam board to the cabin roof. This wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. I used West marine epoxy, with the 406 thickening agent. Held the foam sheets up with 1x2 wedged up against some strips of hurricane plastic board i had laying around. They bonded very nicely.
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During the following week i thought long and hard about the glass layup. I've done a lot of glass layups in my life but never overhead. I was bit worried. Mistakes = $$. Once I had my process layed out in my mind I went to work. I first wetted out the smaller forward section with resin and with one hand/forarm pressed my first layer of 3/4 matt up to try and stick. With a roller, began to wet out. i got most of it to stick but had a sag in the middle. Well to make a long story short it came down. Tried again with another piece of glass but that failed too. First try was a miserable failure.
Ok, only wasted to pieces of glass. after a couple of days I was pretty sure i knew what my mistake was. The Divinycell soaks up resin quickly I believed that as i tried to lay the glass the foam was soaking all the resin in and left nothin for the stick.
Here is what i found to work; wet out the devinycell. let that setup to tacky. You can even let it harden but if you do, you'll need to sand it if you use resin with wax in it. So when its either tacky or sanded, wet out the devinycell again. I found it easier to cut each section into about 10" strips and over lap. I would wet out that 10" , stick the glass, roll it out, and move on to the next strip. This worked very well and i was very happy with the results.
Next, i move onto the bulk head, mast and chain stay supports.
Ok, only wasted to pieces of glass. after a couple of days I was pretty sure i knew what my mistake was. The Divinycell soaks up resin quickly I believed that as i tried to lay the glass the foam was soaking all the resin in and left nothin for the stick.
Here is what i found to work; wet out the devinycell. let that setup to tacky. You can even let it harden but if you do, you'll need to sand it if you use resin with wax in it. So when its either tacky or sanded, wet out the devinycell again. I found it easier to cut each section into about 10" strips and over lap. I would wet out that 10" , stick the glass, roll it out, and move on to the next strip. This worked very well and i was very happy with the results.
Next, i move onto the bulk head, mast and chain stay supports.
