I'm a pretty new guy around here, and whatnot, but I've also been bitten by the bug so to speak, and have been slowly working on my 1970 Islander Excalibur (see sig for site with the full scoop).
She needed some help when I got her, the floor had been pulled up by the previous owner to reinforce a support, according to a previous craigslist ad that came to light recently. A few other interior bits were pulled out, and she definitely needed help. I've tried to get up there almost every weekend over the last few months, and I'm definitely learning as I go (I had never touched fiberglass until now, for example).
I also need to securely mount my new GC2s in place, I have a couple ideas for the interim. Wiring should be fine, just have to get it done. And I have a solar panel to mount and wire also. Bow lights need to be figured out. Cabin lights work, mast is down and not hooked up so I can't test that one yet (I have new thru-deck connectors I haven't hooked up yet for that, and the new VHF radio and antenna). Little things that I hope to finish off this weekend.
Sadly, that's the "main" things that have happened so far. Time is not on my side, you see. I have a slip in Alan H Treman park in Ithaca waiting for me, and the locks normally open May 1st. I still have to finish up the glasswork on the hull (I want to go over it again to be safe, being my first boat and my first foray into glass), and then paint the bottom before I have her put in the water, so that next weekend, I can get her from her place in Geneva at the top of Seneca lake, through the canal, and down to Ithaca at the bottom of Cayuga. Worst case, I motor the whole way. But I'm HOPING that the mast raise goes smoothly, and with new halyards I need to still purchase, that she may sail along just fine to her new home.
Once in slip, there's plenty more. But my plan is to get her floating, and at least somewhat stable, and continue the remaining works to be done as I go. For example, I need to finish the floor. There's sealed ply there now to hold over, but I want to glass over the entire thing, once I've mounted the new bilge pump securely. But that work can wait until she's floating. I have a couple spots on the deck that I will likely need to open up and re-core. Nothing I'm going to fall through any time soon, but needs to be done. I haven't finished all the backing plates yet, so they will be done as soon as I can after being underway. It was kind of a triage situation, sort of. The one stanchion that showed leakage, that one got pulled up, resealed, rebedded and I have washers on there temporarily for now.
I also haven't mounted the new chartplotter just yet. I have ideas, but at the same time, I'm also waiting to make sure she floats before I put all the gadgets inside.
Hopefully my strategy of knocking out the major points I have first, and doing the rest over time is a sound idea. Wish I had a better picture of her, but she's in desperate need of the new paint, and a wash. That'll happen in the water though. I'm sure I'll be scrubbing the sides as I float down the lake. But my progress is here if anyone feels like watching an amateur stumble his way through things. The hard part, is doing things in steps, priority-based, and slowly. Not rich by any means, but I will do everything myself to save on labor, and if she's floating, that's half the battle, right? So many things I wish I could do all at once, just not feasible. Probably many others have been in the same boat, no pun intended.
And if anyone has any thoughts (Or knows a place that does custom forming of aluminum - looking for a couple replacement chocks that seem to be hard to find)... Also, I want to put a big thanks to Todd Lipps for his assistance, research and knowledge. His blog was the largest influence I had on actually deciding upon this project.
To the helm!
She needed some help when I got her, the floor had been pulled up by the previous owner to reinforce a support, according to a previous craigslist ad that came to light recently. A few other interior bits were pulled out, and she definitely needed help. I've tried to get up there almost every weekend over the last few months, and I'm definitely learning as I go (I had never touched fiberglass until now, for example).
- I've removed the fixed head and plumbing, and have removed and glassed over the original thru-hulls from that. Also glassed over a old depth transducer to which I had no display (I have a new in-hull for my plotter).
- I've added a hinged mast step, to aid in traversing the NY State canal system over the next couple years. Not often, but it'll save the trouble.
- Replaced the remaining two thru-hull and seacocks for the sink and cockpit drains, new hoses.
- Removed, and cleaned chainplates, and rebedded with butyl tape.
- Working on rebedding stanchions as well, plus adding aluminum plate backing plates to all.
- Replaced interior cabin lights with LED, as well as purchased LED Anchor light (They were easy to replace, so that's why they got done early).
- Added new bilge pump, hose, and discharge out the transom.
I also need to securely mount my new GC2s in place, I have a couple ideas for the interim. Wiring should be fine, just have to get it done. And I have a solar panel to mount and wire also. Bow lights need to be figured out. Cabin lights work, mast is down and not hooked up so I can't test that one yet (I have new thru-deck connectors I haven't hooked up yet for that, and the new VHF radio and antenna). Little things that I hope to finish off this weekend.
Sadly, that's the "main" things that have happened so far. Time is not on my side, you see. I have a slip in Alan H Treman park in Ithaca waiting for me, and the locks normally open May 1st. I still have to finish up the glasswork on the hull (I want to go over it again to be safe, being my first boat and my first foray into glass), and then paint the bottom before I have her put in the water, so that next weekend, I can get her from her place in Geneva at the top of Seneca lake, through the canal, and down to Ithaca at the bottom of Cayuga. Worst case, I motor the whole way. But I'm HOPING that the mast raise goes smoothly, and with new halyards I need to still purchase, that she may sail along just fine to her new home.
Once in slip, there's plenty more. But my plan is to get her floating, and at least somewhat stable, and continue the remaining works to be done as I go. For example, I need to finish the floor. There's sealed ply there now to hold over, but I want to glass over the entire thing, once I've mounted the new bilge pump securely. But that work can wait until she's floating. I have a couple spots on the deck that I will likely need to open up and re-core. Nothing I'm going to fall through any time soon, but needs to be done. I haven't finished all the backing plates yet, so they will be done as soon as I can after being underway. It was kind of a triage situation, sort of. The one stanchion that showed leakage, that one got pulled up, resealed, rebedded and I have washers on there temporarily for now.
I also haven't mounted the new chartplotter just yet. I have ideas, but at the same time, I'm also waiting to make sure she floats before I put all the gadgets inside.
Hopefully my strategy of knocking out the major points I have first, and doing the rest over time is a sound idea. Wish I had a better picture of her, but she's in desperate need of the new paint, and a wash. That'll happen in the water though. I'm sure I'll be scrubbing the sides as I float down the lake. But my progress is here if anyone feels like watching an amateur stumble his way through things. The hard part, is doing things in steps, priority-based, and slowly. Not rich by any means, but I will do everything myself to save on labor, and if she's floating, that's half the battle, right? So many things I wish I could do all at once, just not feasible. Probably many others have been in the same boat, no pun intended.
And if anyone has any thoughts (Or knows a place that does custom forming of aluminum - looking for a couple replacement chocks that seem to be hard to find)... Also, I want to put a big thanks to Todd Lipps for his assistance, research and knowledge. His blog was the largest influence I had on actually deciding upon this project.
To the helm!