> Hi,
> I'm glad to hear that he thought the boat was tough and chunky. I
> have a 1986 model with back stay (non adjustable at this time). I agree
> that the centerboard seems to have too much play in it. I haven't
> noticed much play while sailing though. The trunk could be improved, but
> I like you have limited budget and time.
I think that's a minor/moderate deficiency in boats of our particular vintage.
I looked at Jerry Barrilleau's HMS #48 "Sunshine" last night -- his boat's
trunk is built like a tank! His centerboard trunk is about twice the thickness
of mine. It has a plywood box glassed around the outside and the trunk is
about 2" thick on each side of the blade. Mine is only 1-1/4 inches think.
>From what Jerry told me, the oldest P-19's had a separate mold for the
centerboard trunk, whereas our were molded in one piece with the hull.
Jerry's Sunshine also has "knee braces" on the aft end of the truck, just like
Bruce the Rigger recommended to me. They're nicely shaped to look like shelf
brackets, installed so that the trunk is up against the edge where a 6"
"shelf" would normally go and the floor is against the 3" or 4" edge where the
wall would normally go. (dimensions are approximate -- I'll have to ask Jerry
to measure exactly what the dimensions are)
I've done a little glass work on my dinghies and I think I could glass in a
box and brackets like that in one day. I'm lucky because the cabin liner in
my boat has no floor, so I don't have to cut anything away to lay glass on the
hull. (okay, so I'm not so lucky, it's ugly that way! Someday/maybe I'll make
a floor for it so it looks as nice as the new boats... )
[By the way, Mikey, does your 1986 have a floor in the liner?]
West Marine has free booklets from Gugeon Bros. (they're the manufacturers of
the West Epoxy system) that explains very clearly how to do the job right.
The job of finding marine plywood is probably the most time consuming and
expensive part of the whole job. The actual work would probably only take two
half days. I think the job would go roughly something like this:
Day One:
-Cut plywood for enclosing the trunk.
-Shape brackets from marine plywood so they conform to the hull shape.
-Sand all paint off trunk and surrounding floor, smooth out trunk surface
which is very roughly glassed right now.
-Clamp the box around the trunk so you can figure out the pattern for cutting
the glass cloth layers.
-Cut the layers of glass as explained below (or read the Gugeon Bros book for
a much better explanation.
-Clean up and have a glass of wine to celebrate.
Day two:
-Early in the morning, bond the box and braces to the trunk and hull with
thickened epoxy resin and clamp for 2-6 hours, depending on the temperature,
until the epoxy has cured to a hard rubber consistancy.
-Clean up and have a glass of wine to celebrate, but don't drink too much and
don't forget to come back
-2-4 hours later, fine trim the glass layers (if needed) so that the layers
over the knee brace and from the box to the hull 8" of the hull at the bottom
layer, and each succeeding layer covers 1" less, to spread the load over 8" of
hull.
-Sand any areas of epoxy that have hardened past the "hard rubber" stage.
(when the epoxy is like hard rubber, new coats can be applied without sanding.
Once the epoxy cures, you have to sand it before applying new epoxy) If you
timed it right, you shouldn't have to do this.
-Put a "fillet" (3/4" quarter round) of very thickened epoxy resin in the
corner where the box meets the hull and where the braces meet the box and
hull. Let it cure about an hour.
-Wet out the hull and glass layers with epoxy, layer the cloth on, use a
plastic squeegee to get all airbubbles out and a smooth finish.
-For a glossy smooth finish, cover the whole area with a thin layer of
thickened epoxy sheet of (some kind of plastic film that won't melt, I forget)
and squeege it smooth.
-Clean up and have a glass of wine to celebrate. Plan to come back in three
days to sand andpaint it, but if the weather gets nice go sailing instead.
>My stays are all 1/8th inches
> and I've added one of those quick release things to the fore stay to
> assist in setup. I would love to someday run all the lines aft. I think
> a winch and rope clutches would be necessary. Currently I have two
> turning blocks and if I try to raise the main halyard this way I can't
> seem to get it tight enough.
On my boat, one of the winches has been moved from the cockpit coaming to the
cabin top. It looks funny that way, but it's available for tightening the
main halyard and hoisting the mast that way. Someday/maybe (that's a
favorite day in the life of a boat owner), I'll buy two more winches just so
it looks symetric and _very_ impressive, with two winches on the cabin top
and two on the cockpit coaming. IM sells Harken #6 winches for $80 bucks (a
very good price) or I'll find them at a sailor's flea market for $20-30. For
now I use horn cleats on the cabin top to cleat the halyard, but someday/maybe
(there's that favorite day again!) I'd like rope clutches.
>The jib seems to be no problem, and I
> always run the halyard aft (along with the jib down haul).
> I've sailed Beluga in 20kts and gusting (standard jib and one reef
> in the main) and have always felt in control. My best sail has been in a
> steady 17kts ( standard jib and full main). During these sails there are
> no other small boats on the bay. The only boats out are over 30 feet and
> heeling excessively. Mean time we're heeling around 12 to 15 degrees. I
> love this boat. I only have a standard jib and one reef in the main.
> I'd like to add a second reef and get a genoa or a cruising spinnaker.
> Look forward to talking to you later.
>
Yup, the same thing happens on SF Bay every summer day, because it blow 20-30
or higher every afternoon. The boats under 30 feet go home and leave more bay
for us!
>
> Mikey
> P-19 Beluga, #375, Valrico, Fl
>
Judy Blumhorst, DC
WWP-#266 "Red Wing"
SF Bay, CA