Separation Anxiety!!

[solodare]

So I'm sure others have been here. You get your first boat, you have a couple of great days on the water, or at least you made it back with out a knock down.
Now your ready to completely gut your boat split the hull and deck joint and get that puppy cleaned up and painted.
The question is should you go through with it? Has any one done it? has any one made it through a hull/deck separation and live to talk about it?

I have a 1970 Venture 22 hull ID 316.... no is it 319........ 3something
It has leaky windows, leaky deck/hull joint, needs bottom paint, hull paint, interior sanding and paint, deck hardware needs to be re-bedded. I'm sure there's more but you get the idea.
I'm hoping to take it to a local yard and get some expert advise this week.
Some direction in what I'm going to do with this boat.

Admittedly, and I guess obviously I can continue to patch it up as I go but I don't really want that. I want everything to be clean and smooth I want to be starting from square one not from behind the 8 ball!
I really did give it try!!! I tried to just sail the boat and not worry about how see looks I tried to not look at the stripped down interior the horrible cover up of old failing paint. The bilges that have never seen a drop of paint.
I tried to leave it all alone but you cant really do that with a sailboat can you? As a sailboat owner you have to fix things constantly. new lines or halyards leak here or leak there. lights not working, sail needs stitching.
So why just go half in?
Its just not who I am!
So Unless someone has some reason why I should not do it..... It looks like this could be my total refit thread. At least I think thats what you call it.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Can you explain why you intend to remove the deck? I've seen and done too many refits to count and never even considered doing that.

Putting aside the difficulty in properly reattaching to avoid leaks, how do you ensure the hull doesn't deform during the separation?

 

[solodare]

NO I can not explain any of that.
let me start by saying that I HAVE NO IDEA what I'm doing as far as boats go... Though I AM a PRO when it comes to taking stuff apart. Not so good at getting that back together, but I'm getting better!
All Jokes aside. I have a huge gap in the hull/deck joint near the bow (possibly other spots).
I dont enjoy the idea of scraping blind in order to get the old bonding out and hoping that i get it all clean. If this spot has failed how long before other spots fail? how many times during my owner ship of this boat will I need to repeat this process? So it seems that just spot fixing is just more of a band aid then a fix. I am more of a belt and suspenders kind of guy.
So... If Im going to have to re seal the whole Deck/Hull joint and all the rub rail has to be removed any way to get to the old bonding. the only other step I would be doing is lifting the deck off the hull.
Keeping in mind that I have no experience with deck/hull joint repair!!! PLEASE feel free to correct me where ever I'm wrong or fill in any gaps.

Removing the deck does sound like a big job but it seems to make a lot of the other jobs I want to do a lot easier.
Better access to the places that need to be address being the big appeal of this crazy approach!

With the Deck off I can see and get to all of the old bonding that needs to be removed. I can get to the interior of the hull easier making sanding cleaning and painting the interior hull a much easier task.

Thanks for asking!! If you have done other re-fits then I will be much appreciative to get some of you experience and guidance here!!! please don't hold back!!

The thought of trying to line the deck and hull back up is a VERY scary thought!!!! that would seem to bring all kinds of problems with that.

 

[Johnb]

Back in the day when I had much longer to live and much less money I re furbished a CM 23 and then sailed it for a long time, more than a decade. I just wonder though whether you are going to put too much into a boat that won't be worth much when you are done. Sweat equity and elbow grease is may be free, but parts and materials still cost a bomb. You may be able to put that money into a boat that is fundamentally more structurally sound and come out ahead.

This goes double if you want it ready to take on un protected waters.

You gonna fall on your back when you hear what yard labor costs.

 

[Chief RA]

I would say, sell it! Find you a nice one and begin again! It will be cheaper and much faster. I went the fix up route and it was brutal! Bought the last one in top shape and it is great! Good luck, Chief

 

[Apex]

hull deck gaps are more likely causational failure, ie. HIT something. Pack it with adhesive sealant or pack it in. Taking a deck off is for the pros, and for boats substantially worth the effort for historical or personal reasons.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Removing the deck is likely to result in further damage making a bad situation worse. As Apex suggested, deck removal is a cure worse than the disease. If you intend to keep this boat, my suggestion is do as little as possible to make it safe, seal whatever gaps in the joint are apparent, test with a hose to verify you found all and sail the crap out of it rather than try making it look pretty. It sounds like a boat which has seen little if any maintenance making it a bad investment of time unless you are a person who enjoys the work more than sailing. Hope myopinion doesn't offend but you asked...

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

I too would sail the snot out of it! Keep it always sailable and unstoppable. Consider it an inexpensive ongoing sailing class while you get to know all boats and find a special one that has been well loved but is now unneeded by its current owner. Overall, both your skills and bank account will increase faster. But best of luck either way.

 

[solodare]

I just spent the evening upside down...no what right side up but.....backwards ...no no no
ANYWAY I was in the aft bilge all night with a water hose a can of comet a scrub brush and a wet-vac! I may be running out of elbow grease. on second thought maybe I will just take the above advice.

 

[higgs]

This boat is not worth the effort or expense. Hopefully you got it really cheap. This boat cannot be worth more than 1k if it comes with a trailer and a working outboard.

 

[solodare]

well no, i paid 1k but it only had a troller motor.
well if its that bad then there no reason to worry about making it worse. I'm free to make all the getto modz I want without the worry of ruinning a good boat. Just keep the water out, the rigging in good shape make sure its safe.
Actually that takes a lot of pressure off.


If theres one thing I'm good at its terd polishing on the cheap!:dance:

 

[bshock]

I did a deck removal on a 1970-vintage Cal 21 many, many years ago that I got for a song. I didn't know anything about anything, but if I had I would have not purchased the boat. The interior was trashed, and the connection of the hull to the deck was rotted teak, which is where I got the idea of removing the deck to properly replace the rotted teak that the deck was attached to. It WAS a big job, and the hull did deflect once the deck was removed. And I didn't "remove" the deck from the boat. I raised it up off the hull, and rested it on 2x4s that I laid across the gunnel of the hull. I think if I had tried to remove the deck completely I would have flexed the deck so much it would have ended up being garbage. Long story short, it can be done, and I sailed the heck out of it for two more years before I went to a Catalina 25, but it was a mistake to buy that boat, even if it had been given to me. but I know some people restore things as a hobby, I'm not one of those people.

 

[Tom G P-21]

It would be helpful to see some photos of the deck joint etc.. to see how bad it is and what can be done.

 

[Paul Mermelstein]

I have not seen this boat, but one more thing to consider: With a real hull/deck separation this boat may not be safe to sail. Will it get worse? It may not be a question of money or time, but of safety.

 

[solodare]

the second pic is a typical shot of the deck/hull joint failures. it looks As though the through bolts have backed off over time. So the consensus is that I should just re seal and tighten the through bolts. the other picture is of the forward bilge. The chipping is about the same and some worse in the other bilges.
All have said in this forum and others that the boat is not worth the time and money to justify a total re-fit. I think instead I will probably be doing some down and dirty cheap alternatives. I.E some light sanding and fresh coat of paint here and there. Sealing up the leaks will be my main focus of course.
I don't mind doing the work and I love making old stuff look good so its more of a supplemental hobby while I'm not out sailing.

 

[Brian S]

Squirt some 5200 in there, tighten or replace the bolts, and go sailing. As for the cosmetic interior, spend as much time with a flap sander wheel as you can stand, and then paint with ACRYLIC latex paint, and you'll be good to go.

Then, save pennies for the time when you hit 3 foot disease and want to upgrade to a bigger boat

Also, you sound like a good candidate for this book: "Fix It and Sail" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071458093

 

[Benny17441]

No, too much effort and cost. The boat's value will not increase proportionally. As far as I'm concerned a full restoration is only warranted for a few classic boats or especially appealing models. To me a full restoration of most production boat models is the equivalent of a chassis up restoration of a Ford Pinto. I you just want to sail the boat just do a good job in performing adequate repairs and upgrade the systems and cosmetics.

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

it could be fun though to kinda rat rod it with what ever parts you can scrounge up. A surplus carbon pole for a sprit and a cheap used oversize kite, and away you go!

 

[solodare]

okay I had to look up sprit pole. Whats the kite for though... i feel so left out lol.

 

[Meriachee]

wahoo on the sprit and big kite