Hello all,
I have been sailing my vega (398) about the Chesapeake this summer
after having purchased her in May. I must say that every time I take
her I out I am more impressed and am having a blast sailing her! The
boat sat for a long time (years) before I bought her and although
everything is "working" she needs some serious TLC. So this Fall I'm
going to pull her and undertake some cosmetic and structural
updates.
The first project is paint. The boat is a mess with cracked and
peeling paint all over the deck. I'm going to get a deal from a
friend who is a master at fiberglass and painting, I just have to do
the prep work. Everything is going to come off the boat (at least
thats the plan). While I'm at it I want to replace the windows, or
reseal. I've seen replacement kits available from the U.K. has
anyone used these? Are there other (less expensive) options? Has
anyone replaced the smaller windows with opening ports?
Since I'll have the stick down I want to reinforce the mast base.
There are some signs of compression and I would like to tackle this
now before it gets worse. I am trying to figure out the best and
also least expensive way to do this. One idea I had was to epoxy in
a carbon reinforcement under the mast base around the area of the
bulkhead flange that is there now. I have also thought about
reinforcing the wooden beam with carbon, or just replacing it with a
stouter piece. Any comments?
If anyone has attempted these tasks I would love to hear your
experiences-what doesn't work is just as good to know as what did!
Oh, and the dumb question- what is the fitting on the port side just
forward of the tiller for? I think it was some sort of bilge pump
but I can't figure out how it works (its not hooked up to anything).
Thanks for the help,
Tom
V-398 (Anntony - to be renamed)
I have been sailing my vega (398) about the Chesapeake this summer
after having purchased her in May. I must say that every time I take
her I out I am more impressed and am having a blast sailing her! The
boat sat for a long time (years) before I bought her and although
everything is "working" she needs some serious TLC. So this Fall I'm
going to pull her and undertake some cosmetic and structural
updates.
The first project is paint. The boat is a mess with cracked and
peeling paint all over the deck. I'm going to get a deal from a
friend who is a master at fiberglass and painting, I just have to do
the prep work. Everything is going to come off the boat (at least
thats the plan). While I'm at it I want to replace the windows, or
reseal. I've seen replacement kits available from the U.K. has
anyone used these? Are there other (less expensive) options? Has
anyone replaced the smaller windows with opening ports?
Since I'll have the stick down I want to reinforce the mast base.
There are some signs of compression and I would like to tackle this
now before it gets worse. I am trying to figure out the best and
also least expensive way to do this. One idea I had was to epoxy in
a carbon reinforcement under the mast base around the area of the
bulkhead flange that is there now. I have also thought about
reinforcing the wooden beam with carbon, or just replacing it with a
stouter piece. Any comments?
If anyone has attempted these tasks I would love to hear your
experiences-what doesn't work is just as good to know as what did!
Oh, and the dumb question- what is the fitting on the port side just
forward of the tiller for? I think it was some sort of bilge pump
but I can't figure out how it works (its not hooked up to anything).
Thanks for the help,
Tom
V-398 (Anntony - to be renamed)