Yep, I have a Newport 17 but can't say I am restoring it.
I started to. I went overboard worrying about how to fix stuff, cracks in gel coat, motor and bracket, bunch of stuff. Almost spent $1k on having fiberglass shop fix stuff.
Joe and others got me back on track and helped to set my priorities straight.
The boat is in sailing condition so I concentrated on getting into the water and sailing it.
I replaced halyards and lines, couple of blocks and went over stuff closely but concentrated getting it on the water.
Here are some of the issues I had and how I solved them.
Loose bow eye. Found I could tighten it from the outside. No biggie.
Gel coat cracks around the tabernacle. Picked off the loose stuff, used a syringe to pump in epoxy, layed on some fiber glass cloth and that was it.
Gel coat cracks around motor mount. Hung 230 lbs on the bracket. The cracks did not open up so decided not to worry about them.
Couldn't raise motor bracket, motor to heavy. So I left the motor in the down position when sailing.
I kept worrying about stuff and asking questions and Joe kept giving me the same advice. Quit worrying about stuff and have fun sailing.
I did just that last week. Sailed every day for a week at Long Beach Island. Boat may not look pretty but it sailed well and we had a blast.
My advice, which you did not ask for, would be that unless restoring it is important to you and you know you will not get your mony out of it, make it safe and have fun sailing.
I now look at my N17 as my training boat. Learning how it is built, how to fiberglass, when to make do with stuff, what to replace to make it safe and mostly learn to sail.
You can reach me at copper at golddawg dot com if you want to share ideas.
