Concordia Sloop

[George ( Triton #236 )]

Hi Guys,

Thanks to my new found knowledge of Concordia yawls from this forum, I was able to make a new friend. While laying down a coat of white BilgeKote in the stern cockpit locker of "Ca Ira" this afternoon I heard the low thrum of a diesel in the hull and looked up to see a beautifully restored 1959 Concordia 41 sloop about 8' off my transom. The skipper waved to me and asked if that was a Pearson Triton I was working on. I said it was and then asked him if that was a Concordia. He said it was and would stop by after he dropped it off.

After leaving the Concordia to the travel lift operator at the yard he dropped by to see the Triton. As it turns out, he is a big fan of the Triton and had seen me out on the bay testing sails one afternoon. I showed him my newly finished ash wood shroud rollers with their nifty authentic tarred hemp marline Turk's heads. I also gave him some of Bill Rickman's 1/8" marline to play with ( he has teak rollers on the Concordia ). We talked about the Triton for awhile and then...

I got to see the Concordia sloop. What a cool boat. It's like half european styled wood paneled study and half open aircraft cargo bay. I asked him how long it took to restore the boat and he just laughed saying that he has been continiously restoring the boat now for 18 years. He said that a single person could work on a 41' concordia every day for the rest of his life and always have a full day's work ahead. ( The yard was pulling the spar for sanding and re-varnishing that afternoon )

All in all a good afternoon and I got someone to visit when I'm sailing down around Virginia's Perrin river.

[Tim]

He said that a single person could work on a 41' concordia every day for the rest of his life and always have a full day's work ahead.

Gee, I find this to be almost true with a Triton as well! Guess I'd better buy a Concordia so that I can really justify just working on my boat and eschewing "real" work! haha

When one buys a Concordia, one is buying a piece of history with the requisite committment to do whatever it takes to keep her going, or better. Only a few of the many built have ever been lost to storms or the ravages of time. Fortunately, most have been beautifully maintained and/or restored.

Here's a major Concordia project underway...looks like she was in a fire.

Coriolis

I shudder to think what this job is costing.

Tim

[dasein668]

So George, will you be getting out on her for a sail? Drool.

[Dave, 397]

This might be heresy, but can you just imagine of of those boats made of, say, vacuum-bagged e-glass? Mmmmm. Is it hot in here, or is it just me?
Dave

[Tim]

It's just you, Dave! ;<)

Frankly, I can't imagine a Concordia built of anything but 100% WOOD. I believe the boat would lose substantial character in the translation. Witness the fiberglass Haven 12-1/2s, for example...nice as they are, they just lack a certain quality that the wooden versions have.

A certain Je ne c'est quoi, if you will.

Of course, if you're going to build one of composite, why not go for broke and build her of S-glass, carbon fiber prepreg, and Kledgecell, all vac-bagged and autoclaved? E-glass is too mainstream...

(Before anyone says it: I know, I know, the Triton was more or less designed to be built as a wooden boat, and a very similar hull design was constructed by Hinckley in the 1950s, before the design gained the interest of the Pearson cousins, who, of course, built her in fiberglass. And, yes-- I think the overall feel of the design would have been different had it been built in wood. Adding exterior (and interior) wood to a fiberglass Triton works wonders for the sterility of the original production.)

Tim

[Figment]

Tim,

I'm curious.... Are you comparing glass Haven 12 1/2's to wood Havens, or to true Herreschoff 12 1/2's?

With the notion of additional wood working wonders for the sterility of the original triton construction, I hear you barking. There's this constant little tickle in the back of my head whispering "hey, next winter after recoring the deck, why not lay some teak in lieu of all that 'glass fairing nonsense?"

[Tim]

Actually, I was comparing them to the wooden Havens.

Still, a like comparison could be made to the "real" Herreshoff 12-1/2s, I suppose. But that wasn't really the comparison I was making.

Tim

[Dave 397]

OK, OK...
But what about one with a glass hull and deck, with a teak deck overlay and teak house like my pal's Cheoy Lee Offshore 27? Still be pretty, but with all the joys of plastic!

I'm just sick, perhaps.

Dave

[David]

OK, OK...
But what about one with a glass hull and deck, with a teak deck overlay and teak house like my pal's Cheoy Lee Offshore 27? Still be pretty, but with all the joys of plastic!

I'm just sick, perhaps.

Dave

Cheoy Lee Offshore 27...Now that is a name I have not heard in a long long time.....since I helped a friend at the marina jackhammer out her concrete ballast and replace it with lead / remove the teak decks screwed down to molded-in perfectly good non-skid and causing countless leaks to the interior joinery, massive weight high up and contributing to her tenderness...A lovely boat otherwise. Removing concrete ballast is one of those..."I swear I will only do this once" jobs...

David