noob boat owner

Aug 21, 2014
10
Hello everyone,
Not sure if there are any Irwin 37 owners out there, but I just wanted to reach out because I am now responsible for a 1977 Irwin 37. I aquired it for a song and dance here in Louisiana. The boat is in seriously distressed condition, and I took on the task of ownership and rebuilding it. The boat sat for so long after the unfortunate passing away of the prior owner that it sank at the lake marina slip it was tied to. everything within took a dunk! And so nearly everything within has been removed. So the boat has been literally "gutted" before I got it. I Never owned a boat of this size before and I'm probably crazy for taking this boat in the first place, but golly, she is so beautiful in my eyes and I just couldn't let her go to the wayside without at least trying my hand and mind at bringing her back to life. As you can see in some of these photos attached, there's some teak that is still salvageable. The perkins 4108 is still there and just might be rebuildable too. the sinks/toilets and tanks and a few other electrical/mechanical apparatuses remain as well. The mainsail is gone but the genoa? is there, furled up. All of the wiring is still there and hooked up to the CBP. I really don't know where to start with this rehab but I began by deciding to wipe down the interior with cleaning solvent and I caulked up anywhere a leak may occur from rains.there is a couple of areas on the teak "toerails?" that need repair/replacing and I noticed where someone placed a 4x4 post to support the ceiling just under the mainsail mast after the bulkhead there was removed; has slightly punched through there at the ceiling and the same has happened in the shower pan at the foot of where the post sits. this could either be because the mainsail mast is too heavy or the 4x4 was too long and the person who isntalled it must haved wedged it in there forcefully. I'll post a photo of that too. There are a few areas on deck where the gelcoat has cracks and a few of the portholes could use replacing. well, I suppose I should log off for now. I will be posting more photos as I go along . I hope to hear from anyone with information, or support. Thanks..:dance:
 

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Aug 21, 2014
10
well, it rained heavy for a couple days out here and I found tons of leaks! LOL! very tiny ones. I pumped the water out in about 15 minutes. I will need to pull a few stanchions and reset them. hopefully well enough to cure the leaks. I don't know the name of the holes at the bow where the boat is tied off. but there I found what appears to be a filling of some sort of material, maybe acrylic that is cracked and loose where water is getting in.(picture shown) I was thinking of using bondo or maybe some epoxy and sawdust mixture to fix that. I wonder where I can get metal rings to insert there? Also; Here's is a picture or two of that 4x4post I mentioned last that poked through the ceiling and also the shower pan. that's going to be real fun brainstorming a fix for that! anyway, gotta get to sleep. later ya'll!
 

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Aug 21, 2014
10
more to come..

Sorry for the delay. I have been very busy with my actual day job, but here's a little news;
After pumping out the few inches of water from my boat I found a lot of gunk. mostly sand and wood chips and just, oily gunk at the bottom! all this I imagine is from when the boat "squatted down" and took on all that water at the marina, where it lay unattended several years ago before I got the boat. I'll provide pictures of this soon. It's a mess! I am going to bring out a pail and a garden spade to scoop all this crud out. then its a matter of scrubbing the bilge area thoroughly. I want it clean and dry while I work on other things. The floor beams or lumbers that support the floor seem solid ok and I only found a couple of areas where the wood appears and feels like it needs to be replaced. I installed a new bilge pump to "sit-in place of " while I clean and inspect the originals I removed. I'm Also brainstorming a plan on jacking the ceiling below the mast up an eighth of an inch and moving that post where it should be. Also, creating templates for the walls that were there before but were removed before I got the boat. so much to do!

OK goodnight and see you soon.:)
 
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Aug 21, 2014
10
learning things..

Wow,
I am learning quite a bit about boats! ok...So what I learned is that this Irwin is a "Sloop-rigged-Deck stepped" version. this type of mast rig is used to allow for more space below deck. And of course, other "tuning" perks . But this sort of arrangement needs that additional support below in the form of bulkheads. I am actually going ahead and fitting the largest timber I can at that point where the bulkhead end will meet it. A door jamb is designed there in the layout of these models that will give privacy from the dining and living areas. I will still need to jack the ceiling up about that eighth or so I mentioned earlier, or maybe only a sixteenth. I will do this with maybe a simple ladder and a bottle jack and a 4x4 to spread out the pressure the bottle jack will exert at a small area. I will need to loosen the turnbuckles of the shrouds to allow this uplift. no worries! I'm not going to remove any! I don't want that mast taking out the boat before I had a chance to fix her!:) I'll post pictures on that soon.
Oh yeah! that gunk and junk in the bilge. Man what a task! I only got the forward section cleaned and it was four pails of dirt and wood debris! I've got a long way to go yet with that. I will post pictures of that mess too. bye for now...P.S. wait until I get to the CB board!! oi!
 
Aug 21, 2014
10
here we go!...

Ok...I think I'm finally getting some sense of direction with this boat. while cleaning out the bilge I took along a light so I can get a good "looksee" of every and anything that may need fixing. I have found the timber directly below the mast, that is going "abeamways" along with a couple of 2x4's right on centerline resting atop this timber; Is rotted to hell. they looked fine but I decided to smack them with a hammer. GENTLY!, and still punched a hole right through them! the same can be said about the largest one just aft of that timber. it is positioned port to starboard like the other that I said was positioned "abeamways." Gosh I could have sworn they were ok the last time I looked at them when they were wet!"Anyways...bear with me because I'm just a noob! I decided I must remove the tanks to be better able to replace all these timbers. I was thinking of replacing them with some acrylic or plastic beams of some sort. save ever rotting again. Or I could mix up some stuff to soak the new timbers in. Using a concoction of borax/borate and antifreeze. set them to dry thoroughly and then placing them where they should go. But before I go doing all that replacing I need to take that mast off! I'm not sure how I should stow it. Maybe on top of some saw horses? Anyways, so I get the mast off, remove the tanks and pray I can get them through that companionway! if not...I may cut them in half to get them out. (I need to look inside and clean them anyways) I could always have my buddy from the shipyard-where we work-who is a first class aluminum welder close them back up for me when they are done. gosh I ramble! anyways...Where was I? the timbers! So, With them tanks out I will do a much better job getting them replaced and glassing them. So that's my starter plan. mast off-replace them timbers, after the tanks are removed. And then I will consider what to do next!...Here we go!..
 
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Jul 17, 2014
112
Hunter 23.5 Chesapeake Bay
maaseial, just to give you some feedback, I am definitely following your post because I have some restoring to do on my boat and appreciate you taking the time to document your restoration in order to help others. Thank you!
 
Aug 21, 2014
10
Thanks mister...

Much appreciate the feedback. I suspect most folk wont bother because they think I'm going to give up soon. well, when it comes to giving up, I'm kind of retarded in that area! HAHA!
Anyways...My buddies out at the shipyard tell me that I might get away with dousing the infected wood with glycol and that would stop any rot and kill any varmints-micro-or otherwise, DEAD IN THEIR TRACKS. well I might. For now I'm set on replacing them timbers unless I'm convinced through some "show and tell" that there is far greater amount of good wood than there is bad wood. well, back to work at my day job for me. "The whip is-a-crackin!"

Thanks again mister KrustyKrab
 
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Aug 21, 2014
10
I can maneuver the tanks "aft" after I remove them. It seems I may not need to take them out of the boat completely. I filled the water tank, added bleach before the water; (a gallon.) I left it sitting a few days and emptied it. WOW...no smell or discoloration. the water was clear! But, the fuel tank is nearly full I imagine, with fuel, but I have to let a little out. And, If what I find is fuel, I will need to put the nearly eighty gallons of it into a container/s and store it at home somewhere.
The first photo shows the rot of the main timber supporting the center beam and center line lumber. The hole I poked through with a hammer is on the top right of the photo. It goes clear through! And you can see how muddy it was down there in the bilge. You can also see from the following photos, the extent of the rot.
As for the tanks, there is a fiber cloth that appears to be holding them in place. (the tanks also seem to be sitting on a cross member of sorts.) I will try an pry these "straps" from the tanks and see if I can somehow "shimmy" them loose, and drag them to the aft cabin area. I have also been looking around for a machinery rental business where I may be able to rent a "boom lift" and get the mast off. I will make a few sawhorse-type stands to place on the deck of the boat where I will then lay the mast atop the stands.
Gosh its a mess! There is also a photo of two "through hull" type valves. the handles are gross! I can still turn the valves open and closed however. I'll get some new handles later on.
But for now; Its all a matter of figuring out how to neatly remove these tanks from that area so I can get to work on replacing the rotted timbers!:eek:
 

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Aug 21, 2014
10
touching bases..

It's been a few days since my last post. I've been pretty busy with my actual "day" job. But I am draining the fuel tank and that is going in increments. when I am done with the draining of the tanks...then comes removing them. I will take photos of and post them when I finish.

see ya soon!
 
Aug 21, 2014
10
I can Assure you all I will be back with updates soon. I have been VERY busy this week at home with my common chores that sometimes get brushed aside. I will be back soon!:)
 
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Aug 21, 2014
10
yay! im back!!

Gosh, being sent out of state for work really gets on me nerves! I had to log in here to see where I left off on my boat!!! haha!
ok...the tanks must be removed...GOT IT!
I will get to it in the morning and get back to posting here..

:O)
 
Apr 28, 2015
1
irwin 37cc chesapeake
Re: learning things..

i have a question about removing/replacing the rotted starboard bulkheads on a 37cc...im near baltimore.
could you give me a call at 443 370 4811? im trying to figure out if this means removing dressers and vanities. and i need to know fast. thanks
 
Mar 10, 2014
1
irwin 37 cc sloop mandeville
I owned that boat for a few months and could never figure a way to get the ownership straighten out so I practically gave it away. If you still own it I will live through you on the restoration, that boat needs a ton of work and I couldn't spend the money without ownership. Those seacock valves need replacing asap with some gate values. I didn't put in the 4x4, however the 4x4 should be strong enough to hold that mast but the mast step under the 4x4 must be torn up and reconstructed also the forward bulkhead once replaced will add an additional need structural support. A new packing is need the propeller shaft, that leak must be fixed. Also top of the list for me would be the replacement of the bowsprit, If that thing breaks its going to cause a bad day. Basically, I would pull that mast and lay it down on the boat. If I can help you, let me know.