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Viewing 15 posts - 571 through 585 (of 708 total)
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  • in reply to: Bell Woodworking restoration #13005
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    I should have started by congratulating you on inheriting a family heirloom.   Enjoy!

    Wood mast:   if the halves will split easily than the existing glue has failed,  or is in the process of failing.   So yes,  split it,  and refasten with epoxy.    But if it won’t split easily I would be tempted to leave well alone.

    I concur with your seeking a metal rig for everyday use,  and keep the wood rig for high days and holidays.   Bear in mind that the metal mast is narrower than the wood one where it passes through the gate,  so you will need some form of rigid padding;  the very first metal masts came complete with aluminium cheek blocks for that very purpose.

    Should you modernise?   I am not sufficiently familiar with the market in USA,  but if you were in the UK then I would say most definitely not.    You have a historic boat,  and with the additional and very personal historic connection that she was built by your grandfather,  so I would be urging you to keep her historically authentic.   If you want a more modern GP14 there are plenty available,  and unless you want something very modern indeed they are not expensive;   the market in secondhand boats is very depressed.   And there is plenty of fun to be had from a historically authentic vintage GP14;  both sailing fun,  including in terms of exhilarating performance in the right conditions,  and the added dimension of the vintage interest.   After all,  the boat was designed and built to be fun to sail …

    But the availability of more modern GP14s in USA may be much more limited.   At the end of the day you will have to make your own decision,  but I hope you decide to keep her historically authentic.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Bell Woodworking restoration #13004
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Filler for screwheads:    first question is are you intending to paint over them,  or varnish?    If you intend to varnish,  the colour of the filler is important,  but if you intend to paint the colour doesn’t matter.

    Probably the most durable fillers are the epoxy ones,   and if colour is immaterial I would suggest either Watertite (by International Paints) or Plastic Padding Marine Epoxy Filler;   however neither is a suitable colour to use under varnish.    Both are two-part epoxy filler,  and are very similar.   Be aware,  though,  that Plastic Padding make a number of very different products,  most of which are aimed at automotive applications and are not intended for or particularly suitable for marine use;   so if going for that product do make sure that you get the correct one!

    Back in the seventies (and I think in the sixties) International Paints offered a two-part filler,  which was available in a limited choice of colours including mahogany.   I forget whether this was epoxy or polyurethane,  but it was good.   Unfortunately it was withdrawn decades ago,  but it is possible that you may find a similar product by one of the other manufacturers.

    Failing that,  my personal choice for mahogany filler on a vintage boat is Brummer Stopper (or is it Stopping?).    That is old technology,  but contemporary with the boat,  and it may well be what was originally used when the boat was built;   certainly it was one of the popular stoppers of the day.   Still manufactured,  so far as I know,  and available from some hardware shops;   certainly I have routinely bought it within the last very few years.

     

    Should you refasten the chainplates:   undoubtedly yes!   At the very least take out the old fastenings to check them,  and be prepared to find that they have dezincified,  and/or that they have waisted (due to corrosion) deep inside the wood.   If you are lucky enough to find that neither has occurred then you can put them back and enjoy peace of mind,  but it is more likely that you will need to fit new ones.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Foresail fairlead location #12798
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Steve’s point about the jam cleats of modern production boats:    I don’t know for certain,  but my guess is that the rule applies to the actual fairlead,  since it is that which determines the line of the sheet,  and that the jam cleat is regarded as not an intrinsic part of the fairlead and its position is not specified.   That would seem to be at least a sensible possibility.

    In times past it was quite usual to have fairleads and jam cleats as entirely separate fittings,  and the “modern” tendency to combine them into a single fitting arose only when sliding fairleads appeared on the market,  which I think was in the sixties.   Certainly in the sixties both systems were commonplace,  and from what I remember of sailing dinghies in the fifties the jam cleats and fairleads were invariable separate.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Foresail fairlead location #12783
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    With through deck sheeting it is still usual to have the fairlead or first turning block mounted on a track,  which gives a degree of adjustment.

    And very belatedly I realise that your query whether MAY in “may be fitted on the side decks” should be interpreted to mean MUST is academic.   There is a specific provision for through deck sheeting,  via a slot cut within the deck,  but other than that the key thing is that the position may not overhang inboard of the decks (or outboard,  for that matter).   So in order to meet this requirement either the fairleads have to be actually on the decks or they have to be vertically underneath the deck and with a (rule compliant) slot cut in the deck;   otherwise the deck would get in the way!

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Hello from a new member – Sail #13841 #12318
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Do check that your transom is up to the load imposed by the outboard.   As originally designed,  in 1949,  it would have been amply strong enough;   but over the decades since then the thickness of transoms of new boats has been reduced in the quest for weight reduction,  and your boat is a comparatively modern one.   The fact that a previous owner has fitted an outboard is no guarantee that this issue has been considered.

    If in doubt,  laminate a backing piece,  with the grain vertical,  onto the inside of the transom.    When I had A Capella built,  no. 13934,  not all that much younger than your boat,  I had this done by the builder during the build,  although in the end I could never bring myself to fit the outboard.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Foresail fairlead location #12314
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    An interesting interpretation.

    I suspect that this will have to be determined by David Rowlands,  Chairman of the Technical & Rules Committee.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Hello from a new member – Sail #13841 #12276
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    I have just picked this up while weather-bound in port.

    On the matter of the outboard,  the boat was designed to accommodate the Seagull,  the model that later became the forty-plus,  stowed athwartships beneath the stern deck when not in use,  and it was usual to cut an access hatch into the stern deck to enable the outboard to be mounted direct to the transom.    You may feel that this defaces the boat!!!

    That motor is of course now obsolete,  although there are a great many of them still around;  and much loved and much hated (usually by different owners) in almost equal measure.

    For fuller information I would refer you to my paper entitled Fitting an Outboard in the Members’ Library;  in the All About Your GP14 section,  and for some obscure reason it is listed under Maintenance.    Another paper which may well be of help to you is entitled Suitability for Cruising and Single-handing;   although you have not actually asked about the topics which it deals with I think you will find it worth at least being aware that the advice is there should you decide later that you wish to explore those avenues.

    Fitting oars and rowlocks;   I know that I have dealt with this on many occasions,  and I may be able to trace the advice,  which would save me a certain amount of typing.   Please bear with me,  and I will get back to you.

     

    Oliver

     

    in reply to: Rudder blade control lines #12275
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    I sympathise with you finding it too windy to sail yesterday;   I sailed into Tenby on Tuesday evening in my 20-ft trailer-sailer,  and have been here weather-bound ever since.     On the latest forecast I seem likely to be here for another week yet!

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Rudder blade control lines #12230
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    I cut them to the length they need to be (when fully retracted);   then when pulled fully home the length of loose end is not enough to worry about,  so I just leave them loose.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Vintage sail #12174
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    I have had an enquiry from an owner of a 1957 boat with a wooden mast and boom,  who asks whether it is possible to make contact without yet being an Association member.

    I have declined to put him in touch via the back door,  and instead have explained why he really should consider joining us,  and I hope he may choose to do so.

    So there is a likely good home in the pipeline.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Vintage sail #12166
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    I should imagine that it might be of interest;   I will circulate your offer to other owners of vintage boats.

    1958 is perhaps the optimal year of build for cotton sails acquired now;  the year in which terylene was introduced,  so many owners who had just replaced their cotton sails subsequently upgraded to terylene;   so a 1958 cotton sail may well have had very little actual use.    If it has been well stored,  as my ones have,  if can be in beautiful condition.

     

    Oliver

    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Mark,

    I presume that in the light of two offers to sell you a blade,  my offer of the loan of one pro tem is no longer required?

    Regards,

     

    Oliver

    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    All being well I shall be travelling down to Milford Haven on July 15th or 16th,  towing my 20-ft trailer-sailer.   I haven’t yet decided on my route,  but using the motorway has a certain amount to commend it even though it is significantly further.   It might be possible to meet in the Bristol area.

    Perhaps you would like to email me off-list at acapella13934 “AT” talktalk.net and we can then take things further.

     

    Oliver

    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Bad luck with the rudder blade.

    You are absolutely right to be suspicious of the old blade,  and with that thickness I suspect it is a previous owner’s el cheapo replacement.   Indeed I would not trust plywood,  even of the correct thickness,  because it is not as strong as solid hardwood.

    Plywood’s great asset as regards strength is that it is (approximately) equally strong both along the visible grain and at right angles to that direction;   but this is at the price of being not as strong as solid wood along the grain.    Where the loading can be in any direction plywood has a lot to commend it,  but where the loading is primarily in one direction and the grain can be lined up to match the load solid hardwood will always be stronger in that favoured direction.

    I don’t often hear of rudder blades breaking,  but centreboards are a very different matter,  although the principles are similar.   Whenever I hear of a GP14 having broken a centreboard my first question is “Was it a plywood one?”    To date the response,  absolutely 100%,  has been YES.   ‘Nuff said!

    Best practice is solid hardwood laminated up from strips of medium width (the width is not critical);  these should be cut from a single length,  and then alternate strips in the laminate turned end for end to eliminate any tendency to warp.    Bond the strips with thickened epoxy;   “rubbed joints” are fine,  but accurate biscuit joints if you have access to the necessary tools are arguably preferable.

    I have a couple of spare rudders from my vintage boats,  which are not currently in use.    I don’t want to sell either of them,  but would happily lend one of them if that helps,  and you could have the use of it for at least the rest of this season.    Unless you are near enough to collect (from Liverpool) it would be sensible to send you only the blade,  to save carriage charges.   These are the old traditional “spoon” shape,  not the modern rectangular blade.

    The complication is in another very few days that I shall be away for the rest of the summer,  so if this is of help we will need to get cracking on it.

     

    Oliver

    in reply to: Position of Genoa tracks? #12084
    Oliver Shaw
    Moderator

    Just a thought if you find your sail appears significantly under size as a genoa.

    There is a third alternative headsail for the class,  the midi,  which is a halfway house between the original small jib and the now ubiquitous genoa which has been permitted since the sixties.   Dimensions undefined by the Rules (so far as I know),  although well understood by sailmakers.

    I have no experience whatsoever of the midi sail,  but rumour has it that it is usual to use a separate pair of tracks for this sail,  set inboard.   I gather that Gareth Morris (Vintage Boats Co-ordinator) is something of an expert on this.

     

    Oliver

Viewing 15 posts - 571 through 585 (of 708 total)