SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Spirit 23 modifications

14K views 50 replies 8 participants last post by  blobaugh 
#1 ·
hey all -

Interested in what folks are doing w/ their cockpits & cabins.

I put on a prefab $300 bimini this last year and it was worth it - has to be installed forward enough for the mainsheets to go from port to starboard.

I pulled the house battery out of the locker and placed in a Battery Box secured to the seetee area directly under the electrical system of my boat - losing the berth underneath but gaining storage for sails, spinaker pole, grill, pop-top encloser - awning, etc.

The battery offfsets the weight of the motor - and allows easy access for recharging.

I also made a new cabin hatch boards from clear thick plexiglass, as well as splurged for the new front hatch.

I have pictures of the set up when the boat was still a mess - MobileMe Gallery
 
#37 ·
Forward Bulkhead Mod

Attached is couple of pictures of the FWD blkhd taken while it was off to do the windlass installation (other thread). Since the solenoids & motor is behind this I wanted a quick method of removal of this blkhd. So I installed 2 locating pins that fit into 2 holes I drilled in the FWD settee. So the blkhd slips into these holes and is attached with 2 screws on top. It turned out to be quite a solid setup.

Also you may notice the magnets. The steel bar is held both in the open & closed positions. While in either position the fabric is held taunt so it looks way better than it did originally.
 

Attachments

#40 · (Edited)
the bow rollers on my trailer were constanly putting gouges in my hull , and from the looks of all the gouges that were in there when i bought the boat it looks like its been going on for a long time.

really poor looking set up , i wanted to fix the hull but needed to fix the cause first
the first picture is the way the trailer was , the 2nd and 3rd pictures are the mod's
done now , i still have to add some padded wooden ears to the part that comes in contact
with the hull .

also the old winch was busted and i was pulling the boat up with a com along , so now it has a
3500 lb winch need to finish installing that .
 

Attachments

#44 · (Edited)
I have to agree with Blo. A Macgregor is a different hull design. I thought I'd be smart & have a 2 roller design like your original setup (but with better clearance) More support is better right?? NOT ! If you notice when your boat is being winched up (or not if your winch never worked!) The hull actually climbs into the roller,and the roller rolls. The angle of the boat & trailer ARE NOT THE SAME when your loading & launching. Having a hard point to contact, wood, plastic, rubber whatever will mark your hull or worse damage it if there's waves. Anyway I could never get the boat into both rollers when I loaded it up, sure it was after I winched it but once it settled onto the trailer & out of the water it was as much as 2" away! This was NOT good for towing as it put less weight on the tongue. So I went to the 1 roller setup & crank the boat attach point right up to the roller, works much better now. Tip... make sure your boat is floating & not have the keel dragging on the support board.
 
#46 · (Edited)
That is the purpose of the pump mounting bracket. First I measured the triangle pocket in the hull, then I made the triangle mounting bracket & arranged all the pumps & floats on it. Then I fitted the aft tab (as seen in the picture) I bolted a piece of small plywood to this bracket with a stainless bolt & furniture upholstery nut. I then slid this whole unit in place with epoxy covering the bottom of the bolted in place plywood piece. I let the epoxy cure then removed the bolt & pump tray. Put the bolt back in place, (So I wouldn't cover the bolt threads in epoxy) and then epoxied the small plywood piece in permanently. The whole bracket assembly is held in place with 2 rubber feet in the front and 1 bolt in the back. This tray allows all hoses & wiring to be installed PRIOR to inserting the tray in position. It sounds more complicated than it was. It didn't take too long at all AND I get no more than 4 cups of water in the bilge before the float turns the primary pump on . This prevents any kind of mold buildup or wet storage areas. The secondary pump is 1 inch higher than the primary one & it has only been on when I test the system every few months. Works great!
 
#48 · (Edited)
Here is the mod I've done to the swing keel. Added a bit of weight and some SS to the leading edge & bottom. I didn't take a finished picture, but you get the idea. All the empty space between the SS & keel bottom was filled with a lead shot epoxy slurry, then all glassed over. It sounds like a bomb going off when it grounds but I haven't even noticed any paint scrapes on it in 2 seasons of sailing.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top