Plastic Classic Forum

bhartley

Take a look on the Sea Sprite board for more information. Here's a link to my part of along discussion in March 2012 (the search feature is not working). Mast step construction. This is a very specific Sea Sprite problem (and a serious one that shouldn't be ignored) and you'll probably get the best ...

bhartley

For my decks I used a 1-3/8" Metal/Wood Universal Cutting Blade. A very straight line is easy as you make repeated plunge cuts. It took a few seconds to make each cut and you could feel when you were through the top layer. I used tape to clearly mark the area to be excised and simply followed t...

bhartley

I actually had great results with my oscillating saw. I did a total deck recore with 2 blades. I cut the top skins with plunge cuts and then used the same blade to clean up the rotten core and left over debris. I just used the sanding attachment to tidy up my toe/rub rails and grab rails for refinis...

bhartley

Dark Brown would be great, but I can't find any! Have you picked out a paint yet? I have always used Interlux or EasyPoxy. That is why I was leaning towards Green. Hubby would prefer brown (it was what Cape Dory originally used). Definitely not planning any long cruising...

bhartley

I am getting ready to polish the topsides and paint a new bootstripe and bottom on a Cape Dory 25D I have been working on. I got 3 gallons of red bottom paint with the boat so I am not open to changing the bottom color. The bottom is currently red with a similar color bootstripe which looks bad and ...

bhartley

Round fence posts... My husband moved a 35' x 24" x 10" steel I Beam by himself without sweating (it was delivered by crane) with four fence posts. The boat may take some sweat (and helper).

bhartley

Based on your picture and my experience, I would highly recommend against removing the Gunwale Guard. Clean it in situ. My "economical" dinghy looks much like yours except I took my Gunwale Guard off to clean/fix it. It is in the trash. The holes did not stand up to scrubbing and strong cl...

bhartley

As one who just returned from a day trip with my pseudo-granddaughter, penny smashing is okay - and it is a really cheap way to entertain a 5 year old when everything else is so expensive. We flattened a penny (cost 75 cent) and it was embossed with the Space Needle and then a quarter (for which we ...

bhartley

I guess it would be rude to email the owner asking for more pictures just to drool a little.

Teak decks or no, I would be happy for a while on this one!

bhartley

Don't let age or lack of use put you off however. Our SS23 needed some very minor cosmetic work (some broken teak in the cockpit) and a little work on the stern deck. Original gelcoat was just fine. She was however (apparently) pretty nasty looking before we got her. The guy we bought her from had f...

bhartley

No option for a Sea Sprite 23 here, but they are first cousins and meet all of your criteria. We have a Cape Dory 25D (very much NOT a Cape Dory 25) and a Sea Sprite and had a Typhoon. I opted to sell the Typhoon and keep the SS23 because up in Massachusetts where she will be sailed, the extra lengt...

bhartley

Sea Sprite 23.

bhartley

Brodie, Go buy several disposable cameras. Some will even do digital prints. There is absolutely no way to look at a boat that you can't pop back to look at if you don't have pictures. Besides we here like to see them.... If you decide to buy the boat, you will want something to dream over before tr...

bhartley

I have used this database before to compare dimensions: http://www.jibslist.com/

You can use the measurements from the Jibslist to check places like Bacon's too.

Wonderful boat! Enjoy her.

Bly

bhartley

Actually I did mean 995. That is what was recommended and that is what I used...

http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/ ... &Type=PROD

bhartley

I just replaced the lexan in my Bomar hatch. For installing the lexan, a structural silcone sealant was recommended by the manufacturer. I used Dow Corning 995 (from McMaster Carr). The installation looks pretty close to the original and it sure doesn't leak! I used a razor blade to remove the bulk ...

bhartley

Peter, The carbide blades were just the trick for removing the many layers of HARD bottom paint 2 years ago when she was taken down to gelcoat. The ablative paint wouldn't scrape at all. My only option was sanding (which is very unpleasant!). Once I determined that it was a prep issue, I feel comfor...

bhartley

Ryan, Yes, we are going to be back at Big Water. We have moved down to the C dock in about the same spot we were on B. We're due to launch on Monday. They're stepping the mast at noon. We stayed with the ablative as it became obvious that the prep was the problem. The starboard side waterline had pa...

bhartley

Thanks Zach. I did as you suggested. I have also come to realize some of the paint "failure" areas were likely made worse by improper prep. The bottom needed a great deal of work while stripped. I finished by rolling on several coats of epoxy (not barrier coat). I must not have gotten the ...

bhartley

After completely redoing the bottom on our Cape Dory 25D, I am finding myself having to take OFF the ablative paint along the water line and I am not having much success. I used Interlux Micron CSC as we do not haul our boat regularly (fresh water). The problem is my husband loves to scrub the water...

bhartley

I used Petit UnEpoxy on the interior of Ariel. There is a liner (left alone) but all of the rough fiberglass surfaces were painted with it. It was apparently idiot-proof. I painted over generally clean existing paint and in other areas raw fiberglass. I did not spend extensive time cleaning and prep...

bhartley

The common desk stapler (and staple remover) is your friend when doing any kind of upholstery or sail work.

bhartley

I have a Sailrite LZ-1 walking foot sewing machine that easily goes through 8-10 layers of Sunbrella. Sail cloth (new-ish) at least is a different animal. When I had issues sewing through many layers, Sailrite recommended special barbed needles that actually "cut" throught the sailcloth ra...

bhartley

I read about Performance Plus Duct Tape 8979 in the Good Old Boat Newsletter a while back and I can highly recommend it for the slow-going project. I have been working on the deck of our Sea Sprite for the past several months. The boat has been left uncovered and I have used the Perf+ duct tape to c...

bhartley

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I think I'm going to press <Pause> on what to do until I get the toe and rub rails back on and the mast stepped to see how the angle changes. Brian, If you send me a PM with your email, I will send you the file and pictures from John. The system has worked quite we...

bhartley

http://campavalon.cc/ariel/DSCF0129.JPG Dennis & Zack, We definitely have a teak toe rail. I had to actually cut down the chain plate covers (none were installed originally) to get around the teak. If I make FRP "risers", they will be very narrow on the outboard edge, but it might wor...

bhartley

One of our boats is a 1973 Sea Sprite 23 Weekender (another Alberg design). She has suffered from chronically leaky decks and a crummy chainplate design. The chainplates are S shaped and glassed directly to the hull so there is a pocket to collect water and no way to inspect or change. I purchased n...

bhartley

Brian, Pictures of Ariel Here's a link to lots of pictures of Ariel. She is currently in the yard on her trailer awaiting the arrival of her six new chain plates. She's a 1973 Wickford-built hull so she may look a bit different than the earlier models. There's also a link to an assortment of random ...

bhartley

Looks like a pretty good repair to me... I would cut the ends off of the bolts and paint the support if they bother you -- and go sailing. This is a very standard repair on a Seasprite 23. The support beams are VERY structural and I can only assume based on the sistering that the old beam had split....

bhartley

I actually found a pretty reasonably priced source of 316 stock. http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=639&step=4&showunits=inches&id=27&top_cat=1 Online Metals was very helpful and I got my stock quickly. I got them from the local fabricator this morning and they are set to b...

bhartley

Thanks! Time to check the final dimensions and get the stock ordered then.

Bly

bhartley

I am needing to have several chainplates made. The stock Schaefer's won't work for this application. My question is about annealed stainless. Can annealed stainless be used for chainplates? Everything I Google says it is "normally provided in the annealed condition". I have a general under...

bhartley

TJ, We own a 25D and a Seasprite 23. I have loved our Seasprite since the second I laid eyes on her (it might have had something to do with the 11 hour drive). She is a joy to sail and look at. HOWEVER, commodious she is not! I looked for a 25D because there were just 2 of us, we could transport our...

bhartley

I'm too lazy to walk outside and measure this morning, but the cockpit seats on the Seasprite are longer than our Cape Dory 25D and our Typhoon. We have the Weekender model. The Daysailor has longer seats (and a correspondingly bigger cockpit). We have nice cushions for Ariel (SS23) and wanted to us...

bhartley

We don't have any water down here so I need my fix.

Thanks for the new one.

bhartley

Tim,

I have had the same wallpaper on my desktop for 6 months. Did you give up? I always looked forward to the new photo. I guess I need to get a real life!

Happy New Year (picture or not).

Bly

bhartley

Figment, I think you're right on the cost. I kept reading $400-500 online, but when I started pricing lumber from HD & Lowes (or only options) last night -- $1000+ is looking far more plausible. I'm going to get a price on one of the aluminum roofed RV car ports. In our area, there is far more o...

bhartley

Pyxis made it home today. I think I am going to go with a modified Stimson shed as I need to work on the bottom. I can now take better measurements to figure the optimal size.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Right now I'm just grateful that the trip home on the trailer was uneventful!

Bly

bhartley

Sadly, Pyxis our CD25D is destined to be on the hard on her trailer in our yard for the foreseeable future (aka 2+ years). The drought has taken its toll on our lake and the level is down 22' and is due to continue going down 1' a week. They have to stop letting water downstream when it gets down 35...

bhartley

Brian, Ariel's HIN is stamped on the transom (upper right). She is a 1973 Wickford built SS23. If you have a Sailstar SS23, you probably won't find one there. You will love your Sea Sprite. Ariel has been out of the water for the last two years; however, the sale of our Typhoon will get her back in ...

bhartley

We use swim noodles (cut to about 18") on our pennants and it helps enormously. The hole was too small to thread the existing splice through so I just split them open and tied them on. Worked just fine.

Bly

bhartley

In response to Rachel's question... I rolled on unthickened over all of the area which had been faired and filled as per West System's instructions. Their reasoning is that the faired epoxy is porous and not waterproof. The two coats of epoxy were to seal the filled areas not seal the gelcoat. I ret...

bhartley

Andrew, I used West System with their fairing fillers and Interlux WaterTite (which I loved) to tidy up the gouges and unpleasantries on Pyxis' bottom. The fairing fillers need to be overcoated with unthickened epoxy before painting. Here's a link to the instructions (scroll down to the bottom for t...

bhartley

Assuming by barrier coat you mean something like Interlux 2000, don't do it. All you need to do to talk yourself out of it (aside from reading everything on here when you search for barrier coat), is to call Interlux and ask questions. The moisture level they expect is not attainable in any reasonab...

bhartley

Tim,

The hatch looks fabulous, but can you get me from the one with the black polysulfide all over everything and the next one that is looking neat and tidy?

Thanks for the great pictures,

Bly

bhartley

We also bought a used GPS. If you already have the Blue Chart CD, you can register it for a second device. They will only let you use it twice however. The must also use the area you used the first time for your unlock code. If you have the Blue Chart CD, you can log on to their site and do it with ...

bhartley

For a new Daysailor (one you can go buy off the showroom floor), they are quite reasonably priced and not unattractive. An older couple in our marina traded in their spanky new Marshall for one. It based on the original O'Day molds. Nice little cuddy cabin and self bailing cockpit. Keel or centerboa...

bhartley

Weekender is deck stepped just forward of the cabintop. Daysailor is stepped on the cabintop. Daysailor has a cuddy type cabin with doors. Weekender has a bridge deck with traditional hatch boards.

bhartley

The Typhoon and Sea Sprite 23 cockpit seats are essentially the same length. We swapped cushions back and forth for one season before I sewed new cushions for the Sea Sprite. The Sea Sprite Daysailor is harder to come by, but it does have a huge cockpit. The seats on our 25D on the other hand are a ...

bhartley

Our "new" Cape Dory 25D finally made it into the water in late June just about the time our ISP went belly-up and we were relegated to dail-up again. We're now up in Marblehead (more for the DSL than the weather sadly) and launched Miranda (Typhoon) today so now there is time for some pict...

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