Whole list of H23 winter projects I could use advice on

Dave Groshong · Jan 7, 2015

Hi Dan,

Give me a call if you'd like to discuss running your halyards and downhaul aft.

Toll Free 877-932-7245 x116, Mon-Fri, 9-4 Pacific

Crazy Dave Condon · Jan 8, 2015

/Dan;

I see you have one of the original few 23's with the wing/centerboard version of that boat. They were made briefly until Hunter went with a solid wing keel about the time I came on board as a dealer with my first boat being a 23 wing keel. Your friends are correct to let the lock down line for the centerboard to remain loose unless you are in deeper waters and when you come in, just remember to loosen up that line. a

Look at later models and note the location of the deck line organizer turning block for better lack of words that would lie flat on the deck and usually two or three blocks and location of winches and so on. Generally, Hunter use to put in aluminum plates encapsulated in the fiberglass for attachement of hardware which you could drill and tap. Before drilling a large hole, drill a small hole to see if any metal shavings come out.

Also, I did not see a photo of the actual mast step that the mast sat on. That will help tremendously as to what blocks could be added for turning the halyards and down haul at that point. Either you have a Z Spar or Kenyon Isomat mast. No problem as parts are still attainable for either mast either thru the forum store or I can tell you after going thru the forum store in the event they do not have them.

That broker gave you very bad advice on that keel of yours. Once I visited a brokerage that did not last long and that broker said in your case to fill in with bondo and go until I told him the proper way to repair and I indentified myself at which time I was invited to leave. Here is what I would do. Clean out the area and brush the metal portion until all debri and rust is removed. Then spray a metal primer containing zinc chromate on the spot to stop the metal from rusting and fill in with a two part epoxy in warmer weather. Do not use the putty sticks as I have seen that fall out from time to time but rather a slower cure two part epoxy. I know it is expensive but the best and 24 hour is one called Water Tite and it never failed on me in my years as a dealer. Then apply barrier coats to the spot and paint.

My email is davecondon@mindspring.com if you need further help.

Crazy Dave Condon · Jan 8, 2015

Yes, the rest of the boat and you unless you have proper protection and know how to confine the sand. Do it on a no wind an clear day with the area devoid of cars, structures and so on. For the small areas, do you have a dremel?

Crazy Dave Condon · Jan 8, 2015

I would wire brush but that is a decision you will have to make

isaksp00 · Jan 9, 2015

For some reason I can't see your photos now, tho I did a day or two ago.

I have the 23 wiht wing keel and did redo the keel. Mine had a lot of old paint and thick rust when I bought it, so I used an angle grinder with a grinding wheel for some parts and wire brushes for others. I tried the POR "paint" - OK, not great, but easier than epoxy. It lasted a few years with minor rust bubbling, and is still servicebale but not great. If you are willing to do the work, and want what would likely be a longer lasting job, I'd do what Dave suggested.

My mast has an anchor light screwed directly onto the top of the mast crane. You could not do that with the windvane you have. I have a Spar Fly I bought for mine, which comes with two mounts; one is a plate that would mount to the top of the mast fitting, the other is a clip that mounts to the mast side right at the top, which I used. The shaft is thus offset (if I recall mine is on the mast's rear) and the vane is above the top of the lamp. I assume there are similar fittings for antennae (which I don't have being on a lake). There may also be fittings that allow you to mount a new lamp to the side of the mast in a similar way. The Spar Fly is ot too costly (maybe $25) so it may be worth it to discard your Windex style vane. I would attach a messenger line to one of the (ideally unused) mast wires and pull it through, then use that messenger to pull the old and new wires back through. Obviously first test the connectivity of all leads of any old wires you want to reuse, in case broken, so you could pull a new one if needed and avoid rework. I lack coax, but don't see why it would be noisier than the existing 12 v leads. I have had to peel back the "mouse fur" type fabric to get at various fittings and to repair a rotted chain plate bulkhead, and found that contact cement worked OK to glue it back.

I lack a centerboard, but the rudder is a sort of kick-up style. I don't know the centerboard on the original 23 at all - is the locking line tied to a cleat? If so, you may consider (if it can be mounted) a jam or cam cleat instead, given that only gravity seems to work to hold it down now. My H23 rudder has this, and I once dragged on an unmarked rock (well, the whole lake is unmarked - no charts like the Bay) and while the tip of the rudder was gouged a bit, the line's outer cover stripped and the rudder basically kicked up. That may be protective enough for the muddy bottom typical for the Chesapeake. Seems to me it'd sail better if the board is in its proper down position most of the time.

Crazy Dave Condon · Jan 10, 2015

At one time there use to be a cam cleat that would kick up or release in the event of over tension but for the life of me I cannot put my finger back on it.

Crazy Dave Condon · Jan 10, 2015

Dan;

I would suggest that you start on or two projects, finish them and then go on to the next. See what is the most important first and of course leaks being a priority. I have found too often if you start on too many, you will become overwhelmed and could make mistakes and possibly loose items. I would table many making a list of what to do first that are important to the least important. I saw this happening and folks would become frustrated when they say they won't. Pritorize first the most important.

DAVA390 · Jan 10, 2015

Crazy Dave Condon said:
At one time there use to be a cam cleat that would kick up or release in the event of over tension but for the life of me I cannot put my finger back on it.

I redid my rudder last year, found a quick release cam cleat to mount on the tiller at
Annapolis Performance Supply I believe it was. Just went to the boat folder, can`t find receipt but I`m pretty sure that`s where I got it.

ebsail · Jan 10, 2015

Re: the VHF. On my Oday 25, I mounted my VHF antenna on a 8' vertical piece of PVC pipe (about 5/8") from Home Depot and strapped it, with 2 hose clamps, to a vertical of my stern pulpit. Eliminated running wires through the cabin, and having to have disconnect plugs when hauling the boat. I just leave the pole up when I take the mast down. Or if necessary, the hose clamps can come off and the pole comes down without disconnecting anything.
The coaxial is inside the pipe and runs into the boat through a vent hole in the stern. No noise, no connectors to corrode, gives a 25 watt transmitter at least a 10 mile range (line of sight). You won't need more than this on the Chesapeake Actual height above the water is 3' freeboard plus 8' pole plus 18" of antenna.

topcat0399 · Jan 10, 2015

Cable slap inside a mast can be tamed. You can use 3 electrical zip ties pulled tight onto the cable bundle every 12 inches or so along the entire length. The uncut legs of the zip ties make for standoffs inside the mast. That's what we've done - nice and quiet and cheap fix but the cable has to be pulled from mast to get it done. Other people have use lengths of pipe insulation foam on the cable bundle also.

Can't see all of the bow in your photo. A block for the downhaul doesn't' take up much space and needn't be overkill. It just needs to be very near the tack of the sail so that it runs fair. Ours just runs down the side deck from the forward block to a cleat. Other folks put station mounted blocks or stanchion mounted fair-leads all the way back.

The railings around a cockpit are called "pushpit" as opposed to "pulpit" that are on the bow.

Good luck with your projects - damn snow...

Brian M H23 · Jan 11, 2015

Hi Dan,
I owned a centerboard H23 for many years (and still miss it!) . It used to be slipped at Locust Point in the Elk River. My stern pulpit was made of light gauge stainless conduit with 4 bends in it, it a pretty simple project. Two 90 bends at the aft corners, and ~12" after that bend, a 45 down towards the deck, plus two vertical posts and some standard hardware.

My windex was mounted on a short aluminum strap that placed it about 8" behind the masthead

As far as the centerboard. It is extremely buoyant! a few zinc weights will do nothing. I used a fairly stretchy climbers-type line for the hold down, with a 4:1 mechanical advantage - you will find it very difficult to get down with less than that. I used it as a depth sounder many times and never noticed any damage or loss of functionality.
As a side note, the best feature of that swinging board is balancing the boat. Out on lake Ontario, sometimes it would get quite windy. On main alone, the boat balances quite well with less helm having the board up, and "tracks" very well. Board down? it'll spin on a dime and well balanced with both sails up.

pateco · Jan 11, 2015

My dockmate, just redid his radio, and found a wind vane that mounts using the VHF whip antenna as its pivot point. This allowed him to replace his wind vane with the Antenna, and still have a nice wind vane.

Shakespeare 5445 3' Vhf Stainless Steel Antenna W/Wind Vane

Ward H · Jan 11, 2015

Dan, for your jib downhaul, you should look at attaching a block to the same hardware where your forestay attaches. It would save you from creating more deck penetrations for the stand up block.
When I spoke to Garhauer about their hardware recommendations for running my halyard back to the cockpit on my 25, they suggested I could use a Harken 150 cam cleat.
I would think you could use cam cleats for the lines you run aft instead of rope clutches. I would save the dollars and skip the winch also. Do you really need it? Do you have a reef line? If your running your main halyard back you might want to run whatever you need to reef back also.
Please remember I suggest these things not knowing your specific boat. Crazy Dave knows best here.

I do suggest you follow his recommendation to make a list of your projects and prioritize them. Life Safety, Crew Comfort, Boat Preservation, Sailing Ability were the categories I used. I also separated the list into before launch and after launch since I was keeping it in a slip so some projects had to be completed before launch or wait until next year.
That list let me plan and make a budget. After my first season of sailing my priorities changed and I rearranged the list. Now I finished my second full season a lot of the items I thought I needed dropped down to the bottom of the list.

#1 priority will be to keep your wife happy and your daughter safe.

Have fun!

Whole list of H23 winter projects I could use advice on

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