In order to completely modernize the boat and prepare it for high-end competitiion once again I've set out to replace many of the old systems in the boat. The boat's been well rigged, but the last time it competed regularly was in the late-90s. Rigging changes have certainly come about, as well as significant improvements in line and hardware.
While the hardware is being gone through, I also plan on refurbishing the deck. There are no soft spots, but I want to make sure that the boat doesn't develop any in the future so I will be rebedding the hardware. Fortunately (for the boat) and unfortunately (for my wrists), the previous owners decided to bed much of the existing hardware in West System epoxy. It's going to be a bitch to get this stuff out.
When rebedding the hardware I plan on slightly overdrilling the holes, filling with epoxy and then redrilling to the #8 SS hardware. This will make a strong attachment, seal the core of the deck and keep me from having to deal with the bullshit of removing epoxied-in bolts and nuts!
Here are some images of the boat in its current state.
It's all there, but not looking so hot. The centerboard cap is a major liability, let alone an eyesore. Multiple holes exist for thru-deck bullet blocks, and it looks as if over 20 cleats have been mounted in different areas on the cap over the years.
Here you can see the existing rake (forestay) control markings. It's currently a 2:2:5::1 cascade (net purchase of 20:1). I'll improve upon it by adding an addition 2:1 cascade in the c-board trunk region to get a 2:2:2:3::1 (24:1) purchase. It should also yield less line to pull.
The foredeck paint is complete crap. This is a shot after I've sanded once and filled the individual cracks in the gelcoat. This will need to be sanded twice more and have the filler reapplied twice more to get the foredeck fair for another spray of LP.
Another concern is the existing stiffener for the centerboard trunk. It's begun to rot (as you can see in the photo) and is also too far back to reinforce the trunk for the new HA Waterat 480 board (my newest purchase). I'll put in another piece of mahogany on either side and that should stiffen it up.
The mast step and forward are actually quite good, but will need some rigging updates. This includes installing an auto prebender (ram up) by rerouting the spinnaker halyard, improving the ram down purchase and reinstalling the deck-mounted ram attachment. I also need to install tension and rake repeaters on the bulkhead.
