Plastic Classic Forum

I just got around to resizing this photo I took last month at my mooring in Boston Harbor.



Tikvah was in my driveway under renovation for the last 4 1/2 years. This picture was taken on 9/11/2005, a month after she was launched. I expect to haul out by the end of October. It will have been a short season, but worth it!

Thanks to Tim and all the others who offered advice and words of encouragement. And to all those who are still grinding and itching: keep going, it will happen eventually!

Mark Whipple
Boston, MA

Sweet! :) Very clean looking, nice job Mark!

VERY nice!

I nominate you as the next guest speaker for the yet-to-be-arranged NETA meeting :-)

-Britton

Mark,

Congrats...she's looking great. A long road, for sure, but I'm sure you agree it was all worthwhile now, and for the seasons to come.

Sure beats the way I remember seeing her in S. Dartmouth on that rainy day so long ago!

CapnK wrote:Sweet! :) Very clean looking, nice job Mark!

Thanks, Kurt. I'll post some pictures with more detail eventually. Right now I think one reason it looks clean is there's no bow rail, stern rail, or stanchions. As much as I like the look I plan to install those before next season.

I also removed the stainless rub rail and filled the hull/deck joint. Any opinions on the necessity of reinstalling the half-oval stainless rub rail (if you can call it that)?

bcooke wrote:I nominate you as the next guest speaker for the yet-to-be-arranged NETA meeting :-)

Does that mean I can count on receiving the usual speaker's fee? ;-)>

Congrats...she's looking great. A long road, for sure, but I'm sure you agree it was all worthwhile now, and for the seasons to come.

Thanks, Tim. I'm just so glad to be sailing her rather than looking at her in my driveway!

Sure beats the way I remember seeing her in S. Dartmouth on that rainy day so long ago!

At the time we first saw her, I thought I could put up with the peeling paint and other cosmetic issues. I should have know better! Fortunately, in the process of addressing the interior I uncovered and fixed a host of problems. I'm hoping that the time I spent fixing stuff will translate into years of (relatively) trouble-free sailing.

Thanks again for your support and the vital Triton reference known as www.triton381.com!

tikvah 59 wrote:I also removed the stainless rub rail and filled the hull/deck joint. Any opinions on the necessity of reinstalling the half-oval stainless rub rail (if you can call it that)?

A rubrail is only "necessary" in that it does provide that certain protection if you bring your hull against a high dock or piled pier.

I don't think my rubrail has ever rubbed against anything, however. So if you prefer the clean look without, then there's no reason to rush ahead with installing a rubrail. This does, however, have the potential for perhaps teaching you "the hard way" why they are installed, but all a rubrail is really going to do is prevent some paint scratches (or varnish, depending on one's toerail situation). Any contact more violent than an occasional light touch to a dock or piling will likely ruin a rubrail and subsequently damage the hull or deck edge as well, so it's not like the rail truly provides any serious protection. (Kind of like car bumpers, which deform expensively at 4mph...it's more about looks than anything.) By way of disclaimer, I should add that on some boats, the rubrail is a bit stronger than this and might actually provide protection in more extreme circumstances. But not those that we're talking about here.

If you do decide on reinstalling a rail, I'd heartily suggest the brass option--much more in keeping with the traditional looks of the boat. No one seems to have managed to locate a source for bronze half oval or solid oval/round stock suitable for a rubrail, so brass it is.

Does that mean I can count on receiving the usual speaker's fee? ;-)>

I propose we double it ;-)

-Britton

I just came across this thread. My boat is moored right next to Tikvah (actually the other boat in the photo) so I got to see it first hand. Mark did a fantastic job. It looks great and is just a gorgeous boat. Can't wait to see more of it next summer. (Mark, thanks for getting North Star in the shot)

Rob

North Star is a real looker as well. Looks like maybe a Tartan 30?

Very close. It's actually a Bristol 29.9 1980.

Rob wrote: It looks great and is just a gorgeous boat.

Thanks, Rob. (I'm a little behind on reading this forum!)

Mark, thanks for getting North Star in the shot

No problem. Of course, I had to make sure you were well behind me so North Star didn't show me up! ;-)

The launch drivers were pretty tolerant of me snapping pictures each time I left the boat. A couple of them got into it - notice there's no wake in that shot!