[bigred]

Also have recently purchased a Galilee. Looking for a source of parts if needed. Also, I need to install a topping lift to keep the boom from having rest in the hull but don' see anywhere to attach at the top of the mast. (not sure how to post this to the group).
Hopefully you can help.
Thanks,
John

 

[bigred]

I recently purchased a Galilee as well and was wondering if there are any sources for parts and accessories. Also, I need to create a place on the mast to connect a topping lift for the boom. Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,
John

 

[TSchwarck]

Hi John: Here are some pics of the topping lift on my 15'er. I don't know what your masthead looks like, but if you can't drill a hole maybe you could attach an eyebolt or deck clip up there.

Tom

 

[bigred]

Tom,
Thanks for the photos. I really appreciate your quick response. I am new to the site so glad messages are getting through.
John

 

[bigred]

I am also sailing a Galilee. I have a question regarding a huge amount of water coming out of the stern plug. It has been in a slip all summer. Not sure where the water is coming from as it appears to be clean, fresh water. You could hear the water sloshing around in the hull when moving the trailer up and down. Hopefully someone has a answer. Not sure if they used some water as ballast. Would appreciate any help.
John

 

[SeaStar58]

I am getting a Galilee 15 back in service and used a standard 1" deck stanchion to fabricate a new tiller head along with a jamb cleat with a down turn fairlead. Parts have not been an issue as most appear to be standard Dwyer at least for the mast and boom and the local Doyles Loft can make the Standing Rigging relatively inexpensively while you wait.

Original Brochure and Owners Manual are available on-line.
http://ruach.net/Boats/Galilee15SalesBrochure.pdf
http://rvharvey.com/Galilee15OwnersManual.pdf

Many seem to loose the pin for setting the dagger board height (that's what the 2 stainless steel rests at the back of the centerboard trunk are for) for shallow water sailing to get the full range of draft with several choices from about 7 inches to 3 feet 7 inches.

I am putting a BoomKicker on instead of a topping lift.

You do have to lift the bow high to drain the bilge completely and may need to open the air vent plug between the mast and storage area in the bow in order to get better flow. Folks who do not set the tiller head in with both the pin and clamp may tend to drop the rudder post and ground them which may crack the tube the rudder shaft passes through. Putting an inspection hatch in the cockpit will make it very easy to check this area and do any repairs on the tube plus get you access to the nuts holding the motor mount on the stern.

Super Sail Makers have the Main, Jib and Genoa available:
Galilee 15 Main Sail by Super Sailmakers

Here are some pics of what I have done for the tiller and to repair the gooseneck. Note that the Fairlead Jam Cleat has not been installed on the tiller yet. Gooseneck was broken however I welded a new tab on so it can be used while sourcing a replacement at reasonable cost.

Its not a race boat but for a picnic boat its pretty nice. I am told it got beat up being in the rental pool and that most greatly preferred her to the Capri 14.2 that was stored right next to her.

 

[paulinnanaimo]

It looks from the photos that you are doing a nice job. The gooseneck repair looks good, do you not trust it?
A while back you made a lot of posts regarding boats that you were considering for purchase; is the Galilee 15 the culmination of that search?

 

[bigred]

Thanks for the thread. I am considering a boom kicker as well. Have you decided which to use and what manufacturer. I am not clear on your other posts. Regarding water drainage, I have an access port below the access to the cooler. Is this the one you say should be opened to faciliate draining? I have epoxied the bottom of the dagger board as I thought that might be a source of leaks as it had rough edges along the very bottom.
I look forward to hearing from you and staying in touch as there are not many Galilee's out there.
Thanks again,
John

 

[SeaStar58]

It looks from the photos that you are doing a nice job. The gooseneck repair looks good, do you not trust it?
A while back you made a lot of posts regarding boats that you were considering for purchase; is the Galilee 15 the culmination of that search?

I have tested it by hanging from it and the math says its got enough weld are to have tensile and shear strength of some thousands of pounds so I will be cautiously optimistic while keeping an eye on it for distortion.

The Galilee's fiberglass on the hull and in the cockpit was in the best condition of any sub $2,000 boat I had looked at despite being only $500 and the issues that it did have appeared well suited to my skill set with the plus that it was at the Sailing Center which I feel is a worthy cause.

 

[SeaStar58]

Thanks for the thread. I am considering a boom kicker as well. Have you decided which to use and what manufacturer. I am not clear on your other posts. Regarding water drainage, I have an access port below the access to the cooler. Is this the one you say should be opened to faciliate draining? I have epoxied the bottom of the dagger board as I thought that might be a source of leaks as it had rough edges along the very bottom.
I look forward to hearing from you and staying in touch as there are not many Galilee's out there.
Thanks again,
John

I am going with the Selodair BoomKicker 312 due to its no drilling required/simple design and am getting it from West Marine since they had the best price I have found so far at $79.99.

Boomkicker

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/seoladair--boomkicker-boom-supports--P002_063_003_501?recordNum=2

The little white plug on the top of the center board trunk that you twist 1/4 of a turn to remove is just an air vent to allow the bilge to drain faster.

Inside the forward compartment just below the access opening is a seem between the cooler and the cockpit wall which may be open and let water into the bilge. Some may be inclined to caulk this seam but then you will need to mop up any water that splashes in there with a rag or a sponge since it will no longer drain out through the bilge.

The dagger board is a loose accessory and not integral to the hull so I would look elsewhere for the source of the water The bottom of the dagger board is a hefty piece of metal and part of the ballast of the boat making up the bottom several inches of the dagger board. If the boat was grounded there could be some damage to the rear of the trunk where the board passes through.

The cockpit drain would be the next source to look at for water coming in and may need to be re-bedded with caulk both where it goes through the cockpit floor and exits the hull.

Inside the transom there is a section of 1 inch PVC pipe that the rudder shaft goes through from the deck to about an inch below the hull which you will have to cut a hole in the back wall of the cockpit to get to. A 10 or 12 inch inspection hatch will be needed to cover it up afterwards. You may find that pipe cracked below the waterline if someone ran aground after the tiller head came loose and the rudder shaft dropped partially out so that the top end of the stainless steel shaft cracked the PVC pipe when the shaft started dropping out of the transom. Some thick wall PVC pipe and fittings can be used to repair it along with some 5200 to seal where it goes through the hull.

Today I hope to be finishing up the repairs to the bottom of the pipe where it exits the hull as that is where the last renter did the most damage when he dropped the rudder and lost the tiller head. I will be using a 1 inch PVC Pipe Coupling, a small section of 1 inch PVC Pipe to fill in a chipped out section of the existing pipe, Purple Cleaner, Heavy Duty PVC Cement and some 5200 Caulking to seal it to the hull.

 

[SeaStar58]

Today I finished up repairing the external section of the rudders pivot tube and reinforced it as mentioned previously using a PVC Pipe Coupling. Everything went as expected and now there is more bearing and sealing surface due to the larger diameter of the coupling.

While I was there I inspected where the scupper exited the hull and did not like the looks of it. The stopper is missing and the caulking around the nut needs attention as someone just smeared some sealant all over it from the outside instead of removing it, cleaning it up properly and making a righteous job of it. I may break it when removing it however it should just be a standard plastic thru-hull with a manual stopper and locally available in multiple stores.

Most problems I am finding with the boat are from careless renters and/or slipshod maintenance people.

 

[SeaStar58]

I ended up removing and re-bedding the existing cockpit drain with 4200. It's a simple 3/4" thru-hull with a toggle plug but is over the standard 2 1/4" length available locally so rather than ordering an extra length one or switching to a $100 bronze version I just cleaned up the old one and put it back. A previous tech left out the washer behind the nut so I made a new one out of some 1/8" thick high density plastic I keep in my workshop.

The rudder tube and exit bushing set nicely and is much stronger than when new.

Tomorrow will be buffing/polishing day, Thursday we be rigging/standing the mast day, Friday will be for anything left over plus to allow another day for caulking to set and hopefully Saturday will be first sail in almost a decade.

 

[SeaStar58]

Finally got the Galilee out on the water today and it behaved admirably despite light steady winds with occasional heavy wind bursts that were causing a lot of near knockdowns of other boats. There were a number of disabled paraplegic sailors out there in the heavily ballasted boats they use having near knockdowns however the Galilee was not behaving anywhere near as tender as those boats were.

BoomKicker worked as expected and made flaking the sail a lot easier with the boom level and centered over the sheet block although the centerboard being so close to the mast did make it a tight fit with the board raised to one of the shallow draft positions. I spent a few hours sailing her with a coach who had never been on her before and he was impressed with how well behaved and easily controllable she was in the wind gusts. I am considering her a good boat even for this moderately disabled senior citizen with mobility issues.

There was only one real negative and that was the modifications someone did to the original Galilee Trailer where they replaced the bunks with 4X10 lumber on edge covered with fire hose making it so you need 3 feet of water to launch a boat that only drafts 7 inches along with making it very hard to get the boat back on the trailer since it does not come close to touching the keel strip rollers. They had to use the 16 foot hitch extender to launch and retrieve and even then the rear wheels of the tractor were in the water.

Could someone post a picture of how their trailer is set up for the Galilee? That is the only thing I currently would wish to change.

 

[SeaStar58]

Could someone post a picture of how their trailer is set up for the Galilee? That is the only thing I currently would wish to change. I would appreciate pics even if its of something that does not work quite well so I can see options to avoid however anything has got to be better than the 8 foot long 4X10 beams standing on edge that are on there now.

Had an instructor ask to take a couple out for sailing lessons in her since they came in street clothes and not something appropriate for a beach cat or other wet boat. Everyone was very happy with how she handled with the instructor and two students on board. They opted to extend the lesson an extra hour or so enjoying it so much that they signed up for membership afterwards.

 

[SeaStar58]

I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours.

This is how the last guy set it up. Notice the red arrow pointing out how high it is off the center rollers:

 

[SeaStar58]

Got the bunks corrected and now the boat sits much better on the trailer. Fire Hose was miserable to launch with compared to the outdoor astroturf type carpet and the 4X10's easily added well over 100 lbs to the weight of the trailer.

The owners manual stipulates 50 lbs tongue weight however with the way it was set up when I got it the tongue weight was closer to 150 lbs.

Who has setup a cradle to better store the dagger board and boom while trailering along with the mast? Really do not like lashing the mast to the tiller handle and having the boom and board just lying in the cockpit.

Looking for ideas to work with.

 

[Ben Neal]

I am an unexpected new owner of a free Galilee 15, in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. How interesting to come across this 16 year old discussion thread on this boat!

The boat was neglected on a mooring, which is broke free from - the bottom was badly fouled, the boat was on the rocks for a time, the rudder was snapped off and missing (but the rudder post and tiller were still present), and the trailer had two flat tires.

So far I am about $100 into the cleanup . . . and surprisingly it is looking good! I fixed the trailer, hauled the boat, pressure washed the bottom (which was remarkably sound) - removing a serious head of hair, and put on three coats of antifouling. I am still lacking a rudder, but am going to weld a quick blade on to the extant shaft to test the boat out for the rest of the season (but this will not be tilt-able - I will put have to put the shaft in when the boat is n the water and remove before hauling). So - does anyone know if the original rudder assembly is available for purchase anywhere? I would think not, but worth asking . . .

Also - what else particular to these boats should I look for as I clean the boat up?

 

[Jeff_H]

Nice job cleaning her up. If you are able to weld, it would be pretty easy to fabricate and weld the swivel plates onto the rudder post and to build a new blade for the rudder out of glass over wood. You can see what it should look like in the picture in Post 36 of this thread.

Jeff

 

[Ben Neal]

Thanks Jeff - a search for images of the rudder is in fact was led me to the thread. I do still have the rudderhead, and did think about fitting something like the original circular plates, but was dissuaded in favour of a quicker solution, to test out the rest of the boat. Hmm . . . could be a shortsighted effort on my part. One other issue is that I am cautious as well about the condition of the rudderpost, which was damaged in the grounding. I gave it a bit of a straighten with a little heat and some elbow grease, but replacing that tube would be a much better idea if I went to the effort of making a new rudder assembly. At that point I choose to simply pick the low hanging fruit . . .

The breeze out here in Boothbay is simply stellar today, and I am feeling the need to get out on the water quickly! Summer is fleeting here . . . but I do also think my stitched-up rudder might not prove up to the job . . .

 

[SeaStar58]

The rudder is hollow which makes it easier to lift it due to its buoyancy.

Did the round cheek plates break off or did the wooden rudder just break up? I would weld in new cheek plates and make a pine rudder up using a belt sander to shape it before modifying the post too much. You may want to put an inspection port in the cockpit to check the condition of the rudder tube that passed through the transom and out the bottom. I believe its just 1 inch PVC pipe that may have been drilled out to accept the stainless steel shaft which is slightly over 1 inch in diameter. Not putting back the kickup rudder could cause a lot more damage to the transom if you have even a simple grounding so I would really avoid making a fixed blade temporary rudder.

While parts from Tiberias Marine/Galilee Boatworks are not available the Brochure and Owners Manual are on-line. Most parts are fairly standard and available from anyone who stocks Dwyer, Ronstad and Harken with the exception of the rudder. If you want measurements of the rudder blade please let me know.

Here is a snip from the owners manual showing the raise and lower lines that go through the rudder shaft and come out between the cheek plates: