Help point me in the right direction

[tonyism7]

I have to admit I'm a complete newbie to sailing. I've never been, but it's something I've always wanted to learn. However, I already have my first sailboat. Someone was giving away a Holder Vagabond 17 and trailer this weekend so I figured I can't lose with free. I enjoy working with my hands, so even if I end up not liking sailing I'm happy to have a new project and hopefully I'll learn some new skills.

The boat came with a working small outboard motor, the sails seem to be in very good shape, and the cushions are in good condition. I think all the rigging is there but I'm not familiar enough with sailing to say for sure yet. However, that's about all that's in good shape. The owner didn't tell me much other than that it'll float, but I was talking to another guy at the club where I picked up the boat and he told me the boat has been sitting on the trailer for the last three years ever since the owner got the boat stuck in a jetty.

Obviously the jetty did a lot of damage to the hull. Someone started repairing the boat and covered all the dents and and surrounding areas with a white putty. Some of this putty that's on non-damaged areas is starting to come up and I can peel it off. I took some pictures of what I'm talking about and here's a link to the album Pictures by tonyism7 - Photobucket

The mast seems like it's in pretty good shape, but the bracket that it mounts to is all twisted up and looks like it may have been ripped off the boat, I'm guessing during the incident with the jetty. At the moment the winch for the swing keel is rusted solid as well, so I haven't had a chance yet to check out what else the swing keel has going on.

I'm not afraid of doing this work myself and learning how to do it. I'm trying to do as much research as I can about sailing and boat repair, but It's a pretty big world I'm jumping into, so any kind of guidance you guys can give me would be much appreciated. I plan on taking sailing lessons next spring, but for now I want to start working on this boat. What are like the first things I should address and a broad overview on how to get started on that would be great. I don't expect anyone to give me a detailed how to guide, but it'll be a lot easier to look things up when I know what I should be looking for.

Thanks

[ilikerust]

The damaged area likely needs to be excised to get back to a clean surface, and then a patch properly glassed and epoxied in.

I would go to www.half.com and search for "fiberglass boat repair". There is a book by Alan Vaitses - he was a well-known and highly-regarded boat builder.

Also go to www.jamestowndistributors.com and take a look at their How To's - they have some videos on repairing fiberglass.

Another good book is "This Old Boat" by Don Casey.

Do some searching at Half.com and Amazon and you'll find lots and lots of good books out there.

[ilikerust]

Also check out The Plastic Classic Forum • Index page. It's all about restoring old fiberglass boats. I'm not sure your boat would be considered a "plastic classic," but the gang over there is very helpful and knowledgeable.

[tonyism7]

Thanks for the recommendations, I was planning on ordering some books tonight

[ilikerust]

It sounds like the P.O. tried to do a DIY repair using the wrong stuff. "Putty"? You're probably going to have get all the gunk out of there before doing it right.

[dabnis]

Suggest you do a very thorough inspection of all of the inside of the hull before doing any work on the outside. Look for separations or stress cracks where the bulkhesd is tabed to the hull and around the keel housing. From what is shown on the pictures it looks like it took a pretty good beating, which may be why it was free?

Dabnis

[tonyism7]

Originally Posted by ilikerust

It sounds like the P.O. tried to do a DIY repair using the wrong stuff. "Putty"? You're probably going to have get all the gunk out of there before doing it right.

I'm assuming its putty based off the way it feels, but I'm not that familiar with fiberglass repair, so maybe it's some other material. But either way it seems pretty sloppy so I wanna remove it anyway.

Suggest you do a very thorough inspection of all of the inside of the hull before doing any work on the outside. Look for separations or stress cracks where the bulkhesd is tabed to the hull and around the keel housing. From what is shown on the pictures it looks like it took a pretty good beating, which may be why it was free?

I'm curious as to why the inside needs such a thorough inspection before working on the outside.

And I'm under no illusions that this boat is worth much more than I got it for. Though the guys seemed pretty embarrassed about that incident and didn't seem like he liked sailing too much anymore and was just paying for it to be stored, so hopefully that contributed a bit to the price.

[dabnis]

Originally Posted by tonyism7

I'm assuming its putty based off the way it feels, but I'm not that familiar with fiberglass repair, so maybe it's some other material. But either way it seems pretty sloppy so I wanna remove it anyway.



I'm curious as to why the inside needs such a thorough inspection before working on the outside.

And I'm under no illusions that this boat is worth much more than I got it for. Though the guys seemed pretty embarrassed about that incident and didn't seem like he liked sailing too much anymore and was just paying for it to be stored, so hopefully that contributed a bit to the price.

Tony,

If there are separations, de-laminations, or serious cracks inside, especially opposite where there are damaged areas on the outside, it may indicate damage that "went through" the hull, weakening it considerably. Maybe like fixing a skin injury to later finding out there are "broken ribs" on the inside. Inside damage can be an indicator of taking a heavy beating resulting in a weakened hull and can substantially add to the repair effort, possibly making it not worth your time and money? FWIW, Just a thought and it wouldn't take long to do the inspection.

Dabnis

[tonyism7]

Originally Posted by dabnis

Tony,

If there are separations, de-laminations, or serious cracks inside, especially opposite where there are damaged areas on the outside, it may indicate damage that "went through" the hull, weakening it considerably. Maybe like fixing a skin injury to later finding out there are "broken ribs" on the inside. Inside damage can be an indicator of taking a heavy beating resulting in a weakened hull and can substantially add to the repair effort, possibly making it not worth your time and money? FWIW, Just a thought and it wouldn't take long to do the inspection.

Dabnis

I guess I was just being a little too optimistic to even consider that the damage could be that. Though I'm a student so my time is pretty worthless right now so I'll have plenty to spend fixing things up.

Not that this is something I want to do at all, but if the hull has been weakened and I only did minor exterior repairs, how much time, if any at all, do you think I may be able to get out of the boat. A summer just to learn the basics of sailing? It was free after all so I don't care too much if it dies at this point.

[spearfishlaketales]

It's hard to tell from the photo about the damage -- but I would point out that for a price of free, there's several pieces that could be sold on eBay or something where you could come out money ahead. The trailer is probably worth a couple hundred, for example.

In your position, you might come out a little ahead in the long run using it as an excuse to learn the repair techniques, and what to look for in a future boat.

Ignoring the damage, that sure is a cute little thing, isn't it?