The Progress Continues H 23.5

[Bobbi Ullinger]

I think I may have mentioned that our 23.5, “Kinship”, has been sitting neglected in the back yard for the past 8 years. Since the middle of June I’ve been working on getting her back into shape. After pressure washing and polishing the hull and cleaning the cabin I found all of the plywood hatch covers and bulkheads, as well as the companionway boards, needed replaced. We ordered a new trailer, which I’m picking up next week.

Today I finished installing a new compass and deck connector for the masthead light. The compass replaced the identical model, so I didn’t have to worry about recutting a hole. I was planning on bolting throughThe bulkhead, but went with an alternative method, taking a cue from Hunter. I used epoxy putty to secure pieces of aluminum between the cabin liner and the cockpit bulkhead, which I then drilled and tapped, to screw the compass to. I tapered a 3/4” thick piece of HDPE to put behind the compass to align it with the centerline of the boat.

The deck plug was replaced with a more robust, solder on connector.

Thanks to Crazy Dave for the consultation, advice, and conversation.

Bobbi (she/her/her’s)
SV Kinship

 

[CrispyCringle]

Nice. How are the sails and motor? When do you think it will splash? Im already feeling panicky that the summer is almost over :-(

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Great job.

 

[Bobbi Ullinger]

I pick up the new trailer on Friday. My son and I will tow the boat on the old trailer and the new trailer to a lake about 10 miles from home, launch the boat and retrieve it on the new trailer. I want to keep the load on the old trailer as light as possible, so the boat will be as stripped down as possible. Then it’ll be a day or two to get all of the equipment and motor on board, then back to the lake for a sea trial before we hit Lake Erie.

The sails have some minor mildew stains, but other than that look good. After it sat on the garage floor for 8 years, I took the motor for service, they changed the oil and gear oil, and said it started on the first pull.

Bobbi

 

[CrispyCringle]

Sounds good. Have you practiced raising and lowering the mast yet? Probably a good idea to try that once at least before going to the lake for a first sail.

 

[Serenity on Hudson]

Mast raising on the 23.5 is a piece of cake. The baby stays keep lateral travel to a minimum. Just need strength for the first few pulls. Much easier going down.

 

[Bobbi Ullinger]

No issues with stepping the mast. Between 1993 when we bought the boat and 2010, we trailered and sailed the boat all over Ohio, the south shore of Lake Erie from Toledo, OH to Erie, PA, and across the lake to Leamington, Ont. I got to the point where we could have the Boat in the water within 30 minutes of arriving at the ramp, unless the kids were helping. In that case, I would add an additional 10 minutes for each kid helping.