Tarna

[southport]

well we did it!!

We sign a P & S for the challenger in Freeport ME. Most of the systems done but as always plenty of more work to do. Many questions but the first two are:

THE DREADED chainplates-- are they exposed on the inside w/ the head of the bolt and the chainplate itself exposed? I think that is what we are looking at so eventually we need to grind out the side and extract the backing plate, renew w/ stainless etc. They have a nice drain hole but after 46 years who knows.

The other question is for Tom Young (I think). The interesting Challenger you saw on a cruise was named TARNA? What we are looking at def. has the "D windows" with the raised after cabin to accommodate the same. Hard to imagine there are two Chalengers in ME with the same name but who knows.

We did a title search w/ the Coast Guard because the name plate etc was missing and got the original owner and contacted Alden. She is 949N and finished by Derecktors with TARNA as the original name. We love this site and look forward to meeting every one. Oh what about miniscule splits in the sitka spruce masts???

They've been stored inside for 1 + years. Wondering if they need a wet rag or some good Maine fog.

All our work lately has been on steel tug boats so this should be fun.

Probably a scary thought!!!

 

[Quetzalsailor]

Tarna masts

I've successfully repaired a wood mast for our 1955 Flying Dutchman. It was cracked at a couple glue joints and rot damaged and crushed under the hounds bolt.

I bought thin bladed saws and reefed out the cracks; then I dribbled in West System and followed up with thickened mixture. Care should be taken to get the balance right between enough to wet out the crack and so much that the internal halyards are glued in place. Clamping was of limited utility but the cracks were quite narrow.

I scalloped out both sides of the mast at the hounds and approached the hollow core. I could see this since the unvarnished interior was slightly discolored. I got it thin enough to be flexible at the core. The slope of the scallop was arranged to be about 12:1, a reasonable scarff slope. I made up the fillers with matching spruce (salvaged from a piano soundboard) and epoxied them in.

When revarnishing the stick I did not paint the ends as they were. Paint conceals defects.

At the very least, make every effort to fill the cracks with epoxy or even neat shavings of spruce. (Piano and harpsichord soundboards are repaired in the same way, though with hide glue.) Y'gotta' keep the water out of the stick to preclude rot.

Doug

 

[southport]

Thanks for the info. One might just be the finish is cracked- they are painted white, and the two on the boom are about 6 inches with may be enough room to fit in a razor blade.

 

[TomY]

Tarna will stay in Maine, great news.

And congrats, Southport! I'm assuming this is the Tarna for sale in Freeport? At this point I don't remember the name of the unusual Challenger we met in Northeast Harbor last summer, but if I posted Tarna, I suspect she was so named. But she is the only Challenger(to my knowledge) built without the step or dog house built into the cabin structure. The owners reported it was ordered by a shortish man who didn't want the step.

The chain plates, or more correctly, backing plates for the chain plates are repairable(replaceable). Check the earlier threads but I would be glad to give any more of my experience, I have replaced just one so far. It's not a big deal. I can send a photo or two as well.

Good advice on the mast from above. They sure can be repaired. Short on time right now, hope to hear more and any of us will be glad to help.

 

[southport]

She is the one in Freeport. Noticed the after cabin bulkhead is all in the same plane- Port & Stb are both about half way between the aft side of the cabin trunk and the fwd edge of the cockpit.

thought I read some where many are off set.

 

[rjoconnell]

Challenger from Hancock Maine

may be owned by Hadley Parrot, the brother of Don Parrot at Alden in Boston. We met them very briefly in the Benjamin River three of four years ago and learned that they had taken their boat as far as the Bahamas. I don't recall the unstepped cabintop and odd main ports, but there can't be many Challengers in Hancock. I will look up the name in our logbook when I next get on the boat.

Rick