Venture 17 restoration

[Joevacs]

Originally Posted by jordanwalker1531

i dont even know if i can fit back there haha. ill have my gf do it. do you guys have any advice or things to look out for while working with this boat?

You don't have to crawl in. Just remove the wood bulkhead under the companionway. The number can be seen from there.

[Joevacs]

Originally Posted by sealover

Got a Windex for Christmas. I was also thinking of putting a masthead light up there when I electrify the boat. I run off the 12V lighter plug on an automotive jumpstarter thing. Only draw presently is the depth/fishfinder/GPS. Interior lights are those silly stick-on battery powered LED touch lamps. (work great, actually!) Current lighting is clamp on flashlight with the red/green split. Anchor light is broken but was the same setup. Would like to go all LED to preserve the battery. Having a cable slap around inside the mast would drive me nuts. Is there some way to keep it from doing that? I thought about shooting expanding foam in there, but I'd want to put the wire in a plastic conduit in case there was a problem later on. But that all adds weight to a mast that I raise and lower solo, "Armstrong" style. It would also make the mast buoyant, which is a plus.

And since I'm going LEDs, why not keep it light and cheap and use 4 conductor telephone cord? There's a good way to plug it in too! Not exactly waterproof though...
Thoughts?

I've heard of people using expanding foam in the mast. I don't think it's very heavy and it is good flotation. It would eliminate your worry of the wire smacking about. The hard thing would be getting the foam far enough down inside the mast. I'm not sure how you would get it much past about 3 feet in. If you're not as concerned with flotation, but want to restrict the movement of the wire, you could fabricate some disks out of styrofoam that would slip over your conduit tightly, and shaped like the inside of the mast, so it would slide down inside with the wire and wouldn't allow for flapping around.

[jordanwalker1531]

ok i think i am confused to where the serial is at. can anyone put a picture on with the boat together? i am thinking it is far towards the aft

[Joevacs]

Originally Posted by jordanwalker1531

ok i think i am confused to where the serial is at. can anyone put a picture on with the boat together? i am thinking it is far towards the aft

OK Jordan,
If your sitting in the cockpit, you know where the keel winch is, right ? The drain that the keel cable goes through, (all the way to the bottom of the boat) is under that. On the starboard side of the boat right beside that drain, is where you will find your number. The picture I posted is without the deck/cockpit attached but you should be able to visualize the area with that picture.

[sealover]

re: cut out styrofoam disks around conduit inside mast -- I like!

As far as getting spray foam way up in there --- The 3" long tube that comes with it looks a lot like fish tank tubing. I guess the stuff needs air to expand or something so if I hook up some fish tank tubing to something stiff (maybe a fiberglass tent pole that comes apart) I can shove the whole works up there and work my way out.

If it only takes one or two cans of foam -- it won't weigh any more than one or two cans of foam. Duh me.

I wonder if that'd be enough buoyancy to keep it from staying keel-up in a storm?

That'd be some piece of mind. No matter what, as long as the mast and keel stay on, just stay in the boat and when the storm is over you'll be more or less right side up and above water. The Mrs. will like that.

[sealover]

Here's something else I'm thinking about: Roller furling and possibly reefing. I like the $221 Harken furling kit for little boats. Get under way a little quicker and sail a bit closer to the dock before relying on the outboard. Especially single-handing. The Mrs. has some industrial strength canvas sewing machine so I figure I could put the wire in there myself. But apparently those things are not for reefing. If I'd want to roller reef it looks like it's $1000. And if I'm doing that I'd ditch the jib and get a big ol Genoa that I can reef down to a storm jib or let out to a gigantic thing since I seem to get stuck out in the puffs. But that would double my boat expenditures thus far. (including the boat) Then my mind goes back to the simple hanked-on jib I have now. I bungee it to the deck when I'm heading out so it doesn't raise itself and block my view. I can't reef it but I can drop it and bungee it to the deck in half an instant. Keep the expenses low and the good times high, right? I keep going back and forth. Anyone have any experience with the cheap Harken furling system? (Harken 435)

[Joevacs]

Originally Posted by sealover

That'd be some piece of mind. No matter what, as long as the mast and keel stay on, just stay in the boat and when the storm is over you'll be more or less right side up and above water. The Mrs. will like that.

If you get the Mrs. to that point and your still alive ( for lack of being beat to death ) I'd say she's a definite keeper.

[sealover]

I don't plan to go out in that sort of stuff but if I drive 2 hours to put in on the Chesapeake and the NOAA is saying "chance of thunderstorms" I'm not driving back home without getting the boat wet. THAT would get me beat.

[sealover]

Here's one for ya - My interior cushions are slightly crappy. They're that awesome 70's yellow, they have small holes in them which were duct taped, and the foam inside them is gross. Plus the zippers are pulling off of them. I have a nice big piece of new carpet that I think would be a perfect replacement for cushions. Anyone ever heard of doing carpeting inside the cabin? I think it'd provide a bit of cushion for a nap, take up less space compared to 2" thick cushions, look better, and I'd do it in pieces roughly the size of the old cushions so I could easily pull them out and clean or replace them. Sliding a cooler or the rubbermaid "tote" that my anchor lives in would be okay on carpet (corners dig into my cushions) yet they'd provide some friction to keep things from moving on their own (to some extent). I think I'd even cut pieces to run up the sides of the hull. Reduce noise and maybe condensation (I intend to make both) during an overnight with the redhead. I'd use nothing more than velcro strips to hold everything in. Thoughts?

[timebandit]

Having a cable slap around inside the mast would drive me nuts. Is there some way to keep it from doing that?

Zip ties with the tails still on placed every foot and in different directions will keep the wires from banging and disturbing your sleep.