Plastic Classic Forum

Now there's a great idea: The Old Boats' Home! Back in my 20s I used to do a lot of kayaking (and it wasn't that popular then, so lots of us made our own fiberglass boats). We always joked about "The Old Paddlers' Home" that we'd have - with a big front porch for rockers, and a nice shop o...

George, When I said I looked at that A-30, I actually did drive to SE Georgia and look at it, in-person. I though an A-30 that "needed updating" might be a good purchase. I'm not interested in it; if you're far away, I could perhaps give you an idea of what I saw. It is about the cheapest ...

Hi George, I actually looked at that A-30 in early January. Definitely a low price for an Alberg 30 with a diesel, but it is most definitely a true, "gut it and start over" project. When I first called on it, he was saying things like "needs updating"; I'm glad he is now describi...

Zane, I hope you didn't take my comments to mean that you should just live with what you have, even if it's unsuitable; it may have sounded that way. I agree with what you said: Why have a boat if you can't make it the way you want it. I mean, boats and the sea are one of the last few places you can...

Zane, What a great looking boat! I love those mile-wide side-decks. One thing that always bugged me about the Westsail 32 that I spent a bit of time on was the fact that the cabin top was *really* wide. So you had 6' headroom over you while you were sitting on the settees, yet it was a struggle to b...

Mike, It really is neat that you have #3, which features so promptly in that article. There were even more photos of it - and the other first Chinooks - than I described. You might consider buying the whole back-issue from Good Old Boat instead of just the article. It really is a great mag for folks...

Hi Zane, As far as literature goes, I've found the free manual put out by System Three (epoxy company) to be extremely helpful in explaining how to go about it. I see that you can download it at their website (www.systemthree.com), although you have to register first. I believe West Sytem (another e...

Hi Mike, I just dug through my Good Old Boat magazine collection (well worn :-), and found the Yacht Constructors article. First page is full-page black-and-white photo of ... Chinook #3, named "Tamara." That's pretty cool! The photo was taken "circa 1956," on the Columbia River,...

Hi Mike, Good Old Boat magazine had a fairly in-depth article on Yacht Constructors in the February 2004 issue (see http://goodoldboat.no-ip.com:8080/GOBWeb/GOBArticles/Articles_Search_Results?search_method=1&-op=cn&Author=&-op=cn&Keywords=cascade+yachts&-Find=Start+Search. The a...

I e-mailed the seller early on in the auction to request some interior photos and I also asked him if he'd be willing to give me some idea of the reserve price, since I only have so much in my boat-buying fund. He said he'd put some interior photos up on the auction page; as to my reserve query he s...

We had a couple of strands of the tiny, clear ("white") Christmas lights running around the drip channels on the cruising boat (not sure what you call these channels, but they're wooden lips where the coach-roof walls turn under to become the under-deck overhead - you can grab onto them an...

Have you checked out the National Triton Association's project index? It took me a while to find it, as it's kind of hidden (well, it was for me anyway) in the list of stuff in the left-hand frame. There are a number of photos of various re-done Triton interiors. I particularly like Rob Squire's &qu...

First of all I just have to say that I'm still experiencing bouts of mirth from reading Tim's post (above), which had me laughing out loud - something I rarely do before 9 a.m. Thanks, Tim! When I read the suggestion about crystal, it reminded me of a cruising boat I had the good fortune to spend an...

Thanks for both those replies. I understand exactly what you're saying and it makes sense to me. I guess my feeling is that if I were going to go with a K/CB boat, I would want one that was designed that way, such as the Sparkman & Stephens Tartan 27. I didn't realize that the B-29 K/CB was a la...

David and forumites, I'm curious about the fact that you said the centerboard B-29 would be less weatherly. Now I know you said that you thought it had a shorter rig - and I could see that making a difference - but I always thought that a centerboard boat would probably be better to windward, if any...

At this point I guess I just won't make any assumptions about the B-29's hull/deck joint. I agree that the B-27 joint is something to watch out for - I looked at two B-27s last summer; one had a bunch of caulk globbed on the outside of the joint (since when has that *ever* worked) and streaks runnin...

Hi folks, This is not on the original topic, but since the thread is, ultimately, about stowage - and the under-cushion stowage was being debated - I'll throw in a comment. The boat I lived on over the last couple of years had stowage under the main settee cusions - just like Tim's photograph shows....

Hi Bruce, Thanks for the input; I guess I will not assume they are the same, although the text from the Bristol brochure for the 29 mentioned in inward turning hull flange that the deck rests on, which sounded very similar to the 27s joint. I guess if I get to the point of looking at one in-person, ...

Hi folks, Still in boat shopping mode, and considering a few alternatives to the Triton. Has anyone any comments on a mid-60s Bristol 29? The one I'm thinking of has a keel/centerboard arrangement, which, if my research to date means anything, was much less common than the fixed keel. I tend to thin...

Tim, I just re-read your post and realized that you recommended both the cheaper and more-expensive ablative points. So I guess I was echoing your sentiment, more-or-less. I must save my "another opinion" posts for when it really *is* another opinion. At least I threw in a little Southern ...

Hi Simon, (and Hi to Tim too) I think I admired that boat on e-Bay (but couldn't get there to look at it, and there was not much information on the auction page). Congrats :-) Like Tim, I also like ablative bottom paint (having sanded off an old vinyl layer on an earlier boat - ugh). It seems to wor...

That PPG product sounds like it would work well as a first coat to repair that overall spider crazing I've seen on a few Tritons and A-30s. That crazing scared me away from the first good Triton I looked at because I thought it would be like repairing plaster - where you have to gouge out each crack...

Hi Tim, Your locker doors look very nice. What you mentioned about them not holding stuff inside in a seaway is why I didn't go to those on a cruising boat. Actually, the lockers were usually full enough that stuff couldn't get up much momentum to smash through the doors in many cases :-) I also had...

This isn't really going to help your project, but I absolutely have to rant about louvered doors: Inventions of the devil! We had *lots* of them on the boat I was cruising on and they were so hard to maintain. Mildew and dust would appear in the corners almost before you turned your back after clean...

so I'm curious what kind of shape it's in. I almost considered bidding sight unseen - after doing a bit of research - but they couldn't provide so much as one itty-bitty photo of the interior, so I didn't. How does that nifty-looking slide-up hatch work in real life? Congrats on getting it --- Rachel

Hi Joel, Just checked out your website. I'm hoping to find a Triton, yet, lurking in the background, is the urge to have another small-ish power cruiser at some point -- I used to have a MicroTrawler -- or maybe to build a small dinghy or cartoppable rowboat. I realize that the site is still in the ...

Here's that list of Aeromarine hull numbers, which I did find on the New England Triton Association website. It's taken from a letter written by Bill Bell. I hope/assume that in the interest of spreading the information he will not mind it posted here. --- Rachel ********* "The subject of numbe...

Hi Skunker, I looked at a Virginia Triton recently because I am also in the market for a Triton. It wasn't the boat for me, but I'd be happy to share any information about it with you. In fact, as I boat shop, often driving a long distance for naught, I often think we boat shoppers should have an &q...

I'm thinking ahead in case I can't find a suitable Triton with top-loading cockpit-bench lockers. Also, I've seen a few Bristol 24s in my price range, but they don't have bench lockers at all - just long, inaccessible quarter berths. Bleah! I remember reading on Tim's Glissando site, where he replac...

Hi Doc, I've run across a few Tritons/other boats that would probably be just what you're looking for, but, you're right -- they've all been on the east coast... I'm looking for a boat too, but something that's in between a true project boat and a $10,000 "fabulous" boat. I seem to be in a...

Hi, I've been Triton shopping for a while, and am really ready to find one! I spent a year or so in San Diego, so a trip back there to look at your boat would be kind of fun and I could visit some old friends, my favorite Volvo mechanic, etc. Plus, it's a great time of year to be there :-) I'm off w...

Robert, Wow, thanks for the photos. Your boat looks fabulous! Of course I've been tossing ideas around in my head while boat shopping, and you've got a few of them done there, plus many more I hadn't even thought of! It's very cool to see what it looks like, in reality. I'm sure I'll refer back to t...