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New Triton owner #370
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 12:29 am
by TritonTarooki
Just purchased west coast Triton 370 “Tarooki” in Port Townsend Washington with the intent of doing a “Bluewater on a budget” refit.
Wanted to start a thread to get fellow enthusiasts familiar with my project.
She had a TON of work done between 1996-2006 but has since been on the hard.
Some of the more major upgrades include:
-Mahogany rudder -carbon fiber, fiberglass, steel plate reinforced
-New balsa deck core and tri-axial top skin
-Kevlar re-enforced under mast step
-Stainless steel mast support arch
-Epoxy potting of all deck fittings
-Oversized backing plates for all stanchions
-Custom Z-spar 7/8 fractional rig
-New 1/2 fir stringers with 1/2 tapped steel plate inserts
-repowered with 1998 yanmar SB12
-epoxy faired/fiberglass reinforced hull/deck joint
I just picked up a trailer for her today and plan on bringing her home in the next week or 2.
Things already on my list:
New chainplates
New standing rigging
Re-tabbing of all bulkheads
New lowered cabin sole
Add second water tank
New electrical system
Solar
New sails
Windvane
Re-seal all windows/hatches
New dodger
Composting toilet
New seacocks/through hulls
Lee cloths
Tentative plan at the moment is to quit my job and sell my business by June 30th this year and spend 2 full months working on the boat with a target departure for California in early September. I have a Canadian friend planning to join me for the 2 months of work as well as the trip to Cal. After that continue whatever work necessary in southern cal then maybe Hawaii or Central America.
Am I crazy thinking I can accomplish all or most of this in 60 days working full time on her??
I will have a lot of questions so stay tuned and thanks in advance for any information/insight
-Austin
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:03 pm
by svMira
Congrats, welcome to the group!
Looks pretty good from the picture.
Yes, you are crazy, but if you weren't, you wouldn't have bought her in the first place. <grin>
Keep us posted.
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 10:56 am
by atomvoyager
Austin, Welcome to the group and congratulations on finding a Triton that has had so many repairs and upgrades already done. If you and your friend have not already done the same work as is on your job list then I doubt you will finish on schedule. I've done all those jobs many times and even I would be hard pressed to finish that fast. And these are just the items you identified so far. Expect to add more to the list once you get started. By tackling too much now on a new-to-you boat there's a high risk you will demoralize and wear out yourself and your volunteer helper before you even launch. Here's some initial thoughts from your list. No need to reply to these until you get a chance to research it further:
New chainplates - Is this an east coast built triton on the west coast? Or a WC with fractional rig? Does it have forward lower chain plates? If not you may want to add them.
New standing rigging - You mention a custom mast. Does that mean the original was replaced? Maybe the rigging was replaced with it and doesn't need replacing yet? When was it last replaced and what appears wrong with it? If the mast is still up, best to note that mast is centered then mark the turnbuckle threads for reference when ordering. With sta-loks you can order the wire over long and replace one at a time with mast up but much faster and easier if you can make them up to correct length with mast down.
Re-tabbing of all bulkheads - I would only retab the ones that look like they need it. Otherwise, wasted effort.
New lowered cabin sole - How tall are you? You could gain an inch or two lowering the sole but it narrows quickly making footing more awkward. Bare feet inside and learn to stoop for now, haha.
Add second water tank - Or add several water jugs and do a new tank at a later time.
New electrical system - I like to finish any cabinetry mods and paint before electrics.
Solar - Have you thought how much solar you need, where to put them, and what size/type battery bank?
New sails - You need to order right away if possible because it probably will take more than a month to get them once you begin measuring. Can you add only what sails are obviously needed and replace others later after you sail the boat or are they completely shot? Will you want a 3rd reef in the main? Roller furling jib?
Windvane - unless you know which new model you want, keep an eye open now for a suitable used one. If you find a used one it probably needs some modification to fit your transom. Consider a tillerpilot for light airs and motoring.
Re-seal all windows/hatches - Or you could do a hose water test and rebed only what's leaking.
New dodger- Is there a canvas guy that will come out to your boat to fit it or do you plan to make one yourself? Either way, it's a long process unless you already have an old one installed and just need to copy the canvas.
Composting toilet - Choose one that is not too tall or wide and has an angled back base - space is tight. Door may need to go and replace with a curtain.
New seacocks/through hulls - You may only need 3 - footwell and sink drains. The footwell has too tight a clearance for easy seacock installation so maybe you can live with the fiberglass tubes for now? If replacing the hose I found it needs a very flexible hose. For seacocks you may need to close the original tube holes and install the seacocks several inches outboard to have hose clearance. Consider moving the deck and seat drain to their own above waterline thru-hulls. Maybe some other Triton owner can advise you on what they've done.
Lee cloths - The ones I often use are about $75 each plus shipping and still require some modification so maybe you can make your own or drop off a sketch to an upholstery shop.
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:37 pm
by TritonTarooki
Went out to Port Townsend today to do a few things on the boat. She’s in a non-working storage yard right now so I was somewhat limited.
Having her moved to the working yard next Friday to service the engine and systems then will be sailing her to Everett where she will be hauled out onto my trailer and towed home!
Closer inspection produced some concerns:
1) Cracks around where the main Bulkheads meet the coachroof - doesn’t look like they have ever been tabbed?
2) V-birth water tanks are dirty and whatever they were painted with is peeling off. Only two small (4-5”) access ports which will make it hard to clean them thoroughly and re-paint
3) Heat exchanger tank was empty
4) starboard forward chainplate knee is at an angle whereas port is closer to straight up and down
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:56 pm
by TritonTarooki
Photo
Daylight seen between bulkhead and coachroof
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:58 pm
by TritonTarooki
Photo
Forward Starboard chainplate angle
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:59 am
by svMira
Old standing tanks won't ever be cleaned through the access ports. Mine had been standing empty for close to a decade at a minimum and showed evidence of a rather funky green inside. I cut about a 2' x 2' square out of the top of mine and was 'lucky' that the baffle was only attached to the top, so I ended up with an uninterrupted tank to clean. There is absolutely no way that I would have got my tank any where close to clean through a tiny access port. I have/had ambitions of doing the full 'Baldwin' water tank in front, but the fact that my '71 Pearson has a full liner and that there are a bunch of other things that have a higher priority, means that I'll be closing up my tank and leaving it as is for now.
All this to say, don't be surprised that if you actually want to use the tank, you're going to have to get serious.
And, to note, that even if I do leave mine as is, I have to really figure out a way to properly rig up a proper fill/vent system. From factory, what ever system they did have, or rather what's left of that system, would have water surging out of the top of it, as it was never properly sealed. I honestly don't know how it ever worked, unless there are pieces that have gone missing ages ago.
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:53 pm
by Bill Moore
I'm doing a total refit on #335 up here in Anacortes which is also a WC Triton. Might be able to share info. Mine is mostly gutted at this point.
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2020 9:25 am
by svMira
First post, Bill! Welcome here. Best wishes on your refitting. Or, un-gutting. <grin>
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2020 9:51 am
by atomvoyager
Many boat builders only tabbed one side of the bulkheads with glass and most of them have held up OK over the years. If you don't see any sign of the tabbing on the other side coming loose, you can ignore it or just add tabbing to strengthen it if it concerns you. I usually add it just in case something might come loose in the future and to stiffen the structure.
The forward chain plates angle in this case should not be critical either. If the chain plate is undersize you may develop leaks due to movement though. I usually replace them with 1/4 x 1.5" stainless plate. While I don't worry about the angle in your photo I do try to angle the plate toward the mast in the vertical plane.
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 12:06 pm
by TritonTarooki
Spent the weekend going through the boat out in Port Townsend.
Managed to run the engine for a good while and change the oil/filters —Discovered a small leak from what appears to be the rear main seal in the process so engine will need to come out (damn)
Scheduled to launch on Friday (the 13th
![😬](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/s9e/emoji-assets-twemoji@11.2/dist/svgz/1f62c.svgz)
) to see if she floats. If all goes well and weather permits I am planning to catch the early morning flood tide Saturday to Port Ludlow where I will anchor for the day/night before heading around the south end of Whidbey Is. and up to Everett. Given that the maiden voyage goes smoothly I will keep her moored in Everett for a couple of months and continue small interior projects while trying to get out and sail her as much as I can. I figure this will give me a chance to see how she sails and what I might want to change.
Sometime around early June I will haul her out onto my trailer and relocate to my shop in Stanwood where I will start her refit.
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2020 10:58 pm
by TritonTarooki
Had a great 2 day sail from Port Townsend to Port of Everett via Port Ludlow.
Wind 15 knots gusting 20 from the NNW pushed us along nicely with single reefed main and poled out Jib. At one point we were hitting 8-9 knots for several minutes!
After rounding Whidbey, 2 easy tacks put us on a direct course for Everett.
Tarooki is all cleaned up and happily sitting in her new slip.
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 1:35 pm
by markwesti
Awesome plan that is well under way ! If your plans lead to So.Cal. and you need a yard , consider Eddies' in Wilmington . Eddies' is about the only DIY yard left .
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6227
Up date , I never made it back to Eddies' this year and probably won't . Lupe has retired . But my friends tell me the yard is going strong and they even got a new crane . Good luck Austin !
Mark .
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:17 pm
by svMira
Congrats! We want a slip pic!
I'm excited for you. And a bit jealous. My sailing waters is still 3' of solid ice.
And a 2 day sail to boot.
You're well on your way to a great summer.
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 8:56 am
by TritonTarooki
Tarooki in her new slip
Re: New Triton owner #370
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:16 am
by svMira
Nice.
Do you know where the name Tarooki comes from?