[christian.hess]

Im about to buy a 1982...if anybody has particular helpful info with this model year I sincerely appreciate it

I specifically need help with:

blisters on the cored hull
slightly delaminated rudder and possible fixes that can be made on a trailer

best suit of sails for every day sailing in 10-15knots wind.

thanks

 

[christian.hess]

well we ended up buying the boat

a hell of a deal

with nice nissan 3.5hp longshaft

north sails racing mylar and kevlar/carbon sails and full suit of running rigging.

spinnakers, and hardware and

NEW TRAILER!

this is by far the best deal I have ever bought!

very excited to get into racing around here

peace

 

[christian.hess]

some pics!




killed some roaches...drained about 20 galons fo cruddy water from inside...took sails out...had some cider with my friend...took some pics and headed on home

aaaaaaaaaaaah first day of ownership!

big plans for this baby

peace

 

[christian.hess]

 

[SHNOOL]

Sweet! I know your feeling.. drill out and air out those blisters, and whatever you do, do NOT skimp on barrier coat. 4 coats minimum, 5 is better. Longboard the thing when you are done. Compound, polish, wax... As for core... well that's a whole novel of how to.

 

[christian.hess]

Im not even going there! it has a new barrier coat and 5 coats of antifoul of which 2 are black and 3 are red...its on the first red layer still

I do need to do some rudder work however well leave that for next year hauloyut...we want to enjoy the boat first

its comes with a full suit of north racing sails

2 spinnakers 3 jibs and one oroginal merit main replacement

full new running rigging gear and extra halyards

this boat was a serious racer as its been gutted too

I would love to get it back in shape

more pics to come!

peace

 

[aeventyr60]

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk Christian,

Impulsive buy, no survey, no insurance, no threads on buying the merit 25, very, very disappointed in you....surely your in for a lot of misery and countless dollars spent on an old production boat. Are you sure you shouldn't of spent that money on therapy for your sailing addiction? Do tell of your torment in making this momentous decision...all by your self.

 

[SHNOOL]

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk Christian,

Do tell of your torment in making this momentous decision...all by your self.

Yes don't you know you should be sailing a Mac 26x, with a bluewater bucket? And you should have paid $400 for a survey for a trailer sailor you know.

All I can say is, I'm glad purchases don't require a committee.

The Merit 25 is a cool choice for racing.. Also it's pretty interesting to buy a race boat, you've stumbled across what I've personally found with race boats.. The owners are usually well informed, keep up with mainteance, that have upgraded their sail inventory, rigging, and outfittted the boats with all the go fast options. Usually the boats have decent bottoms. The biggest problem with race boats, is them not being raced/used for long periods, that means the owner stopped upkeep completely.

Again, Merit 25 should be a helluva lotta fun.

 

[christian.hess]

Yes don't you know you should be sailing a Mac 26x, with a bluewater bucket? And you should have paid $400 for a survey for a trailer sailor you know.

All I can say is, I'm glad purchases don't require a committee.

The Merit 25 is a cool choice for racing.. Also it's pretty interesting to buy a race boat, you've stumbled across what I've personally found with race boats.. The owners are usually well informed, keep up with mainteance, that have upgraded their sail inventory, rigging, and outfittted the boats with all the go fast options. Usually the boats have decent bottoms. The biggest problem with race boats, is them not being raced/used for long periods, that means the owner stopped upkeep completely.

Again, Merit 25 should be a helluva lotta fun.

and bingo was his name oh!

thats how this boat was/is

Its got an awesome layer of black moss and grime that has the gelcoat underneath pretty pristine

inside there was rain water...its a lake so no worries with metal and stuff

mast is up but not tuned so the hull was nice and relaxed

in any case

elbow grease and some love and cleaning and we can sail on sunday which is the plan

I already took apart the outboard which just had some crud

I also did my patented pinesol bath for the lower unit and carb clean and we are good to go there

anywhoo

peace

next cleaning and washing sails, doing the downy rinse for my running rigging, varnish tiller and bobs yer uncle

no lollygagging here! ajajaja

 

[christian.hess]

ps Ill take tips for a quick compund buff and polish on the hull

since Im back in the states with all the cool products and stuff it will be easy

Im used to very labor intensive wet sanding and cleaning followed by rubbing compund however

Ill just bleacj the hull fine wet sand then use whatever products you guys can recomend

we have a buffing wheel and as soon as we haulout(well early next year) well tackle the side

btw the trailer is an awesome tandem axle 2 year old trailer! YAY

 

[SHNOOL]

You are going to laugh, but I used regular old turtle wax, compound, polish, and wax, and the quality of the job was indistinguishable from some of these guys that laud the poly-glow. Granted, I put elbow-grease in to do it... My point? I think the brand is less an issue than the labor put in to make it right.

Because I painted my Capri 25, it's hardly a good example... but my Capri 22... it had a chalky gelcoat... Here it is before.

Here it is after compound, polish, and wax:

You decide... Honestly I think its more about the labor.

 

[christian.hess]

EXACTLY I got great results doing the time tested methods however Ill be low on time this project so I want something that s 2 or 3 steps versus 5-6! jajaja

turtle wax is fine for me...how did you prep the sides? simple green, bleach or just a fast wash?

thanks man

mpre pics to come

natural black protection jajaja


industrial bilge pump action(I calculate there was in total 30 galons of water, first time I went there water was above the floor boards...the hull was sitting low at the bow by 3 inches and overall about 2...


and more



oh I also have a full suit of lifevests, gloves, and 2 anchors and rode!

man alive!

 

[christian.hess]

pinesol bucket cleanse(yes this is a new diet jajaja)

 

[christian.hess]

WELL THE BOAT SAILS AND IS PLENTY FAST!

even with a dirty bottom and no haulout we were doing great out there and she sails like a dream

feels better than the j24 I used to sail all the time down south...

pics to come

ps. we completely bleached the hull inside and out and its miraculous how clean it looks

downied the sheets and some lines, worked on the engine...

motored out and sailed in 15 knots...the sail was fantastic

peace

 

[SHNOOL]

Fastest way... pressure wash, then 300grit wet sand, then wax... that's 3.

 

[christian.hess]

jejeje a pic of the bleach pesticide bottle trick(yes in the pic yours trully jajaja)



we didnt even need the pressure washer even the hull sides...

now on to polishing Ill use your trick shcnool, thanks

the boat looks awesome!

edit in the pic you can see the recently made policarbonate hatch, we will tint it at an aoutshop it was a cheaper option than lexan or acrilic...its nice and thick

 

[zz4gta]

Hello, I'm also a Merit 25 sailor. Great boats. I've done a full bottom job, template the keel and rudder, long board, barrier coat, etc. I've also re-cored most of the deck, replaced the mast step, and replaced all running and standing rigging. The biggest cost you want to avoid is doing redoing the stringers. In 85 boats and newer they were bulked up, but the original ones in previous years the stringers need to be rebuilt stronger. A yard would do it for 3k or so but you can do it yourself.

Merit 25 Home Page
The info is old but these boats aren't new, so not much has changed.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[christian.hess]

hey man good to see you! I guess we got conflicting info...I read that the early boats had a stronger keel hull attachment(79-82)

what year is yours? mine is an early 82

here is the link: from the racer twilight zone on the well site.
http://www.well.com/~pk/M25boat.html

There's only one problem with the boat structurally, and this is
progressively worse with newer boats: The structure in the
garboard area, where the hull intersects the keel root, goes
soft. In extreme cases, when the boat is hanging from the hoist
slings, you can wiggle the keel back and forth several inches by
hand. (this was for a 1985 boat, after two seasons of heavy ocean
racing and a Transpac.) The fix is about $2,000, and results in a
very strong repair and a nice new wood cabin sole. A 1984 boat is
probably okay without reinforcement in this area, but if the
surveyor says the keel is wobbly (and make sure they check),
you'll need to allow at least that much for the fix.

and that later ones were made lighter in that area and flex

later year model boats are indeed lighter

what stringers are you talking about exactly? the po did indeed add some knees/floors under the vee berth and mast step post structure...maybe there is flex up in that area when pounding hard?

anyways

my boat has a barrier coat done recently and very solid deck and hull

however you do have me thoughtfull as the cabin sole is a bit soft inside someday Ill do some new floors maybe when the time comes

not now though

how do you have your mainsheet setup z?

would love some pics of your running rigging

this boat is nice as it has a traveller mainsheet system as well as a dinghy like mainsheet clutch.

cheers

 

[christian.hess]

You are going to laugh, but I used regular old turtle wax, compound, polish, and wax, and the quality of the job was indistinguishable from some of these guys that laud the poly-glow. Granted, I put elbow-grease in to do it... My point? I think the brand is less an issue than the labor put in to make it right.

Because I painted my Capri 25, it's hardly a good example... but my Capri 22... it had a chalky gelcoat... Here it is before.

Here it is after compound, polish, and wax:

You decide... Honestly I think its more about the labor.

shnool
I came upon some capri 25 pages last night...did you actually sail a transpac on your capri?

 

[christian.hess]

zz Im trying to become a member of the skeddadle yacht club Id love to see pics of the floors and stringers...

thanks