No, I did not make a mistake buying this boat!

[Ward H]

In another thread I asked if I had made a mistake buying my Newport 17. You guys set me straight and now I am on the right track. I am going to use this boat to relearn to sail, learn how daysailers are built and how to repair them. I will make mistakes but buying this boat was not one of them.
I took a closer look at those things that I thought were big issues. I put them in the proper perspective and priority.
Loose bow eye. I tightened it from the outside. If it comes loose again, I will go inside and tighten it.
Mast foot fiberglass. I took a closer look, especially inside. No damage inside. So when I feel like learning about fiberglass repairs on curves, I will patch it up.
Motor Mount – I put 230 lbs on it and there was just slight flex in the transom. The gel coat cracks never opened up. I will fix them when I feel like learning gel coat repairs.
This is going to be a learning boat. To sail and to make repairs.
I took a close look at the motor mount plate. The plywood was delaminating and the bolts were rusted so I decided to build a new one. Glad I did, take a look at the first photo. Laminated some plywood together, epoxy coated it and installed it with new SS bolts.
Then I decided to take it for a ride. No sails, wind was too gusty for first time solo sailing. I just motored around, getting use to the boat, docking with motor power and pushing winds, and getting it back on the trailer. I had a blast being on the water. Photo 2 shows how nice it was. Photo 3 shows how low the long shaft motor sits. Is this an issue?
Some suggested I drop the keel and check the pivit bolt. I am going to do that this weekend. Thanks to Randy L for making drawings showing the original keel hoist system and his modified system. When I drop the keel I will consider replacing the wire rope with Amsteel line.
Basically I wanted to say Thanks Again to all those who help me get my mind back on the proper priorities.
I do have some rigging questions but will put them in a seperate thread.

Thanks

Ward

 

[31seahorse]

Hello Ward,
Congratulations on starting the projects. From the look of the motor mount bolts they were way beyond due for some attention. The distance from the motor power head to the water might be fine. You'll discover how it rides as you get into some wave action. You probably can tilt the motor when you are sailing so the prop will at least nearly clear the water. My concern would be whether the power head gets dunked as the stern rises and falls in waves. At least you should not need to worry about cavitation under normal motoring conditions.
Phil

 

[Stu Jackson]

Motor depth off bracket

Ward,

Nice looking boat from the middle picture. Glad you're happy and glad we could all help.

An idea for your motor: It looks very low to me, and even if you sail in protected waters, with that short of a hull you're gonna be pitching at some time or another. I had the same issue on our dinghy. What I did was to get a square section of wood (like a dowel only square) that was the same dimension as the thickness of the transom, in your case the depth of the new plywood you made for your bracket. Glue it onto the top of the bracket, which will raise your motor enough to get it into the right depth.

This works if you can't or don't have adequate intermediate "stops" on your bracket as you lower it.

You just need to get the motor a "tad" higher out of the water (for normal running as well as for following seas.

Is that clear enough? Any ?s, let me know, please.

Good luck, great start, look forward to seeing your progress. We had pretty much the same issues with our first boat, a C22 in 1983 - it's aFUN learning curve, and it never stops!

 

[sailormanbigd]

Good Work

glad to see your past your previous buyers remorse. Now to some further suggestions:
1. I hope you used ss fender washers on your outboard backing plate to help distribute the load? Also, I use "nylok" locking nuts to help the nuts stay tight from vibrations of motor, and I hope you used a good caulking to bed everthing and seal the thru hull holes. not silicone, not silicone, not silicone, I use 3m 5200 down here in FL but most don't like it due to its superior hold but I have repaired too many rotten transomes from using inferior adhesives to chance using anything else.
2. Check into a fiberglass supply store near you and get some gelcoat, sanding aid, and mek (hardener) and some micro spheres or other thickenning media. WIpe the cracks with acetone, scuff up with some 120 grit sandpaper, wipe with acetone again, then mix and apply gelcoat with bondo spreader or anything to spread with. Fill the cracks in stern and around mast plate. Now that you know the damage is not structural you need to fill the voids to prevent it from becoming structural from migrating water. Easy fix.
2. engine height is a tad low, is the motor an extra long shaft,

 

[sailormanbigd]

Is the motor an extra long shaft (25 inches), long shaft (20 inches), or short shaft (15 inches) from mounting surface to bottom cavitation plate? If you don't have an extra long shaft the motor might need to be that low in the water to prevent cavitation- prop comming out of the water when you go forward or hit a boat wake. The trade off is that when you get following waves or a big wave on the bow you can dunk your motor, realy need an extra long shaft for that reason. There might be height adjustments on motor or mount for slight adjustment or like another said block it up where it mount on bracket.

 

[Winkfish]

Stu's idea is a good one. An alternative, if you have enough of that plywood left, is to cut a piece with a greater height. A single piece might be a little stronger than a glued on piece. Though with today's kinds of glue, shouldn't be a problem either way.

 

[Ward H]

The motor is a long shaft and the bracket is either up or down, no middle settings. I like the idea of making a new plate that will put the motor a couple inches higher.

To seal the wooden bracket I used a forstner bit to drill over sized recess holes for the nuts, bolts and washer. I used one regular washer and one oversized washer. I did use the nylock SS nuts. I even counter sunk the holes on the other side and will use Miane Sail's butyl tap to as a sealant on both sides.
I should explain that I had done a lousy job on the first coat of epoxy so Iused it for that one day of motoring, than took it off and refinished it. Now it is ready to be put it back on but I think I will start on one that will put the motor higher.