What Winter Projects Do You Have?

I'm going to rig a on the water jib luff downhaul adjuster for my new Tiger jib

My winter project is to Re-paint my Boat Trailer.

Does not really feel like Winter though....

Ordering a new tramp for my 5.0 and trying to find a leak in the port hull that has been driving my crazy all summer.

David

I gotta put the whole Trac18 back together!
:robot:

Fixing up trailers. I'm tired of rusty U bolts, hitches and good cat hulls riding on rollers - so adding paint, stainless steel parts, and cradles.

Also trying to tackle the sail-tube-box problem. Got a length of 15" PVC, but it's HEAVY. I'd like to mount it offset it on my 4' wide trailer, and leave room for a cargo platform, but don't want all that weight off the centerline. Been thinking of using Sonotube instead, after sealing it with fiberglass and epoxy. Or... build a box out of wood....can't decide. Will get the trailers built up and cradles made first, tho.

I used a 14" round by 10'2"aluminum spiral duct work for my 21SE trailer.One end is sealed and the other end has a custom made locking end cap.This sail tube was made in 1989 and still looks brand new today.On my 16 trailer,I fabricated a sail storage box out of 1/8" aluminum tread plate.It too looks brand new today and it is 17 years old(I think).As you know ,aluminum is very light and requires no paint at all.
Be careful using stainless steel parts next to steel parts.Being dissimilar metals they will corrode quickly without a barrier (piece of rubber gasket) to separate them.I did a 16 trailer back in 1985 and used stainless bolts and other custom made stainless parts that corroded in less than a year.Today I use gasket tape between the steel frame of a trailer and the aluminum tread plate that I cover my trailers with.Aluminum and stainless should never touch steel without some kind of membrane separating them.
Good luck,Bill 404 21SE

We'll probably paint/gel the P19 hulls this winter. All other sailing boats are pefect! My real winter project is a Glastron Jetflite 1970.
www.jetflite.blogspot.com

My real winter project is a Glastron Jetflite 1970.
http://www.jetf…e.blogspot.com

It might be an interesting read, BUT, the blue water background renders the text invisible.

WHA? Thanks for letting me know, this is the first I heard someone can't read it, Can I ask your OS and browser? I have a 1000 page views and no complaints, so I'm curious. Thanks!

It must have been a glitch in my computer, (latest Firefox & Opera). When I originally clicked the link the background water filled the frame. The text was nearly the same color & was invisible.
I just tried it again & the darker blue background,containing the pics & text now appears. making it very readable. Nice writeup of your project, makes my winter works look like childs play...that transom... one fistful of power & it was gone.
Thanks

Edited by Edchris177 on Dec 05, 2010 - 10:24 AM.

Progress report! We now have the hulls ready for the gel-coat and buffing. There were a lot of little dings, chips, cracks and a few half a$$ repairs done by the previous owner. I'll post picks of the finshed product next week.

Dings - lots of dings

Close up of redoing one of the half a$$ repairs

Now I know how Mike Holmes feels when he gets a job where it was not done right the first time

Smooth!

know how u feel, just resurfaced my hulls with high build primer, and finished the last coat a few weeks ago. looks good

i guess i am looking to put a spin/genny set up on. then some wings. but............ MOST of all..... trying to line up my calender with some of the sweetest looking BABES that will sail with me...
funny that my old H18 is NOT really a "lay on the on the front with your bra off boat BUT" it's kinda cool when it happens though...

My first job this winter was getting the cat into the storage from the small beach where we stayed last fall.
See my pictures in the " situations" section...... :denk:
Winter kicked in pretty early this year and quit hard. Was away for work for a couple of days when it came.
The small beach is prohibited for cars, so I had to push it on the cat-track a mile and a half trough fresh snow walls and slippery frozen mud trials. It's safe now ! Next year I'll buy a 4x4 cat.

regards, Andre

dewy2437 wrote: know how u feel, just resurfaced my hulls with high build primer, and finished the last coat a few weeks ago. looks good

Tell me, here is how it turned out!

Edited by JohnES on Dec 15, 2010 - 05:36 PM.

JohnES, Those hulls look better than factory! It definitely shows that you invested a lot of time in the prep. Nice work!

I have a project that I'm starting this winter as well. I recently inherited a Sol Cat 18 from my in-laws. It's been sitting on my parents property for almost six months now because every time I look at her I see the endless hours of work and $$ that it's going to take to get her back up to snuff. But I've set my mind to it that she's coming down to the work shop next month to be stripped down and re-painted. Any advice on things that I should focus on... besides all of it? LOL! This is the first and only cat I've ever owned or sailed so I'm excited to get it ready for the spring but don't want to half a$$ it.

It is a rolling list I have been adding to all summer, but avoided completing some things by patching things or making due. Life is too short for not sailing on good wind days.

Rudder Blades:
Cross bar (replace) aluminum round with 7/8th ID must be 1/8" wall minimum
Tiller extension 105"
Spares - Get some (happy with Hobie blank cut for stock Prindle castings)
Sand, Fair, and Gel-coat
Dagger Boards:
Glass repair - Sand Fair, and Gel-coat just the lower tips (minor damage).
Hulls:
Sand Fair from end to end and Gel-coat just the bottoms.
Tramp
Remove tramp, Re-stich (did a fine job last year) new machine will do even better.
Main
Repair Leach bottom, remove hand sewing and replace with 9 oz Dacron patch up to the upper feed, about 18"
Bring by North Sails and discuss reefing options. (consider the top sheave, and the halyard line)
Replace tell tails where missing
Jib
Repair Luff near zipper. may require glue of some type (see North for advice)?
Develop 1/2 size jib for strong weather, 30% foot, 80% leach and 90% luff.
Remake current MX Jib w/o window using existing as template.
Cradles:
Sand, fair, and gel-coat, remount with carriage bolts.
Clothing or Gear
Harness: Get a full nappy like Gill, Murray's is looking kinda getho
Gloves: Gill 7772 extreme sailing gloves
E-Perb - If you sail in the winter, no-one is coming by to help when you break your arm.
Main Sheet:
Upgrade 8:1 $400 (should reduce locking cleat, and subsequent swimming.)

As I don't have access to my cat during the winter. I will only be doing small projects and planning the larger projects for when the spring comes.

-Find a full wet suit for a reasonable price.
-Make some end caps.
-Add tell tales to sails.
-Work out how to complete the addition of a hooter.
-Find/order some good pulleys to complete the hooter set-up.
-Add mast rotation cam cleat to boom.
-Add cam cleat, pulley for main foot tension.
-Design make strap for loose clew foot tension boom slide.
-Re-gelcoat bottom of keel.
-Wash main.

This was just a very temporary setup for fit.

Learn to sail 🙂

Edited by nl_expatriate on Oct 28, 2011 - 10:41 PM.

I am picking up a "garage find" this weekend, a 1981 Hobie 16 and trailer. This boat has been in storage for 20 years. I have yet to see it but I am hopeful that it is in fine shape or repairable shape. So this boat will be my winter project. 🙂

I already have an "81 Hobie 16 and a '89 Hobie 21SE. My 16 year old daughter doesn't really understand that her dad is getting a third boat. 😕

Good day,

Bill 404 21SE

My 16 year old daughter doesn't really understand that her dad is getting a third boat.

Ask her how many pairs of shoes she has. 😀

@ JohnES, nice work! Did a similar job on my P18-2 last spring. Still don't know how to post pics in a message,
otherwise I could show you some of my work.

My winter projects are:
-Sail the cat till the lake freezes over.
-Learn to sail her faster, 2 weeks ago an experienced catamaran crack (12 times round texel race! ) came with me
on a 4-5 Bf trip. Man, I learned more in one afternoon than the whole summer sailing solo.
Learned to sheet in even harder, how to use downhaul on the main better and the setting of the mast rotation.
Also learned to cope with gusts using the helm and less main-sheet. A real eye-opener!
- This winter I am gonna upgrade the mainsheet blocks in 8to1, for a more precise control.
- Replace the old pocket from the tramp with 2 slightly larger ones. My neighbour's Dart 18 has a "2 stories" pocket,
bottom store has zipper to the bows storing the halyards,lines, etc. Upper store has a zipper to the back storing coffee, sandwiches, drinks, flares and a vhf. If only I could find the mesh cloth......
- Repair the spinnaker, it has a tear in the bottom leech.
- Sort out the snuffer-system, lines get tangled and the spi won't go back into the snufferbag without a struggle.
- Get the "space" out of the ruddersystem, when I move the tiller there's always a space of 1 or 2 centimetre
before the rudders move. Its an old cat, so changing the bolts on the crosbar and tiller-connection for slightly
larger ones should help.
- The usual fairing of rudders and daggerboards, there's always some dents on the front after a season.

Thats about it.
Regards, André

I already have an "81 Hobie 16 and a '89 Hobie 21SE. My 16 year old daughter doesn't really understand that her dad is getting a third boat

Bill, I know what you mean. I've got three cats myself. A few years ago my wife and I took a nice road trip to Ohio to pick up a Hobie 16 just because the sails had the same colors as our 5.7.(See my avatar). My daughter threatened an "intervention" for my "addiction". Since then she has been my crew in our fleet races. Here's what happens when you hit a 4ft boat wake rounding "A" mark before you have a chance to uncleat the main. The reason for three boats??? It's FUN!!!

Narcaman 57,

Nice sail colors, my first 16 was a new one in "85 with those White Prism sails too. # 86264 sails.
I upgraded to my 21SE in '89 and traded in my 16 only losing $100 in the trade in. Four years of hard sailing and losing $100, what a deal! 😎

Bill 404 21SE

The boat, a Wave, is still beside the house and not disassembled and put under the deck. I'm toying with going to the Nationals in Key Largo. If I do I need a new sail and a new set of battens built, tapered, matched, ends installed and painted. The materials are in the mail and in my garage. Guess I should do the rudders too. Busy for the next couple of weeks.

Winter plans for my H16... Upgrade the jib sheet traveler and control system , Aussie jib halyard, 6-1 downhaul system.

Hobie 18: Replace both hulls. Fix rudders, clean up daggers. Paint

presto99 wrote: Hobie 18: Replace both hulls. Fix rudders, clean up daggers. Paint

Both hulls? What happend!

Build new carbon fiber rudders and daggers for my Hobie Tiger...

Build new carbon fiber rudders and daggers for my Hobie Tiger...

,

wow, that is cool. how do you do that?

Buy a block of polystyrene foam and shape it, then glass over it with carbon fiber!