Scorpian Project

[rock33]

I am new to sailing and I have an old Scorpian sailboat which is similar to a Sunfish. It needs patching on botton side and in cockpit floor. Does anyone know of a way to separate the top from the botton hull? There are rivits that connect a band that goes around the whole boat.My question is.....does this boat come apart to work on it or do I see a trip to the land fill in my future?
Thank you rock33

[yotphix]

Don't know the Scorpian but I do know the sunfish. Regardless, if it went together it comes apart. Even if you need to glass it together again. Have no fear! Just drill out the rivets and see what happens!

[rock33]

Thank you I may have to go for it!!

[jmunson2]

I'll add my two cents...taken with a big ole grain of salt!

I also had a sunfish, although I never took it apart...love that boat! I liked the Sailfish better though - it was a bit larger and correspondingly faster!

First, I should think you could do all the repairs without seperating the hull/deck (not seeing it, I have no idea though).

Second, from reading, very light experience, and model building experience, the hull and the deck should be joined as they're usually two pieces - probably where the band is. The band may be just a pretty cover. If it is joined and that's the seam, you may need some sort of saw/grinding wheel to seperate the joint. In other words, you'll probably have to cut it apart.

If you do cut it apart, I would strongly suggest you mark the hull and deck first so that when you join it again you have some reference marks for alignment. You'll probably also need to sand it smooth, etc., to make sure the joint fits properly and won't leak once re-joined.

Hopefully I haven't wasted some cyber space with irrelevant nonsense.

Good Luck!

/s/ Jon C. Munson II

[rock33]

Thank you for the advice marking the hull and top to keep it lined up is a good idea..

[sailingdog]

I'd also recommend documenting the whole disassembly process with a digital camera. Having clear photos makes putting it back together much simpler and can answer a lot of the questions you'll have when you're doing it.

[rock33]

Thank you Sailingdog.. I think I'll be patching from the outside.. I found out that it is a one peice hull and I don't want to saw it in half... I don't have that much skill.. So I will be looking for a fiberglass repair kit or something of the sort..

[sailingdog]

Ahh... in that case, you'll probably want to get the West Systems PDF files on doing fiberglass repairs. Also, Practical Boat Owner, a British magazine, and DIY Boat Magazine (??) both recently had articles on fiberglass repair techniques over the summer. Might want to grab a copy or look it up in your local library.

[rock33]

Thank you for the resources.. Practical Boat Owner That sounds like it would be the way to go..

[sailingdog]

The DIY magazine may have been BoatWorks...