Plastic Classic Forum

So many books, so little time...my all time favorite is the "Master and Commander" series by Patrick O'Brian. The terminaology is outstanding, very dry humor and excellent human-life story lines. I had a very hard time not putting the books down and going to bed. There is more info on knot...

Not sure of a nautical term. In the aviation world (which most likely has it's roots in shipping and boat building) we have "nut plates" or "tinnermans". The nut plate is an actual nut made to rivet behind the mating surface. A tinnerman is a clip that attaches to the edge of a m...

Peter, Pretty much the same boat. Lore has it that McGlassen contracted with the newly formed Columbia to build the hulls for the IB24. There was a falling out when Columbia started puting out the same 24' boat under their name...exact hull and raised deck, minus the "lap strakes" of the I...

Dave, you're blunt and to the point...good for you. I'll check to see if I can tap into the cockpit drain from above the water line. I may, but the motor well will be a good option if it isn't possible. Thanks for pointing that out. My Cockpit drain doesn't perfectly align with the thru-hull and I t...

My Islander Bahama 24 did not have a bilge pump when I got it... and may not of ever had one installed? The bilge area and access is pretty small so i'm considering a "remote" pump with a syphon hose for the bilge. That part should be easy enough and I'll most likely mount it behind the af...

I can't believe that he tore all those old ribs out at one time...that's something that you replace one at a time (or jig) in order to maintain the shape, as you all have mentioned. Maybe he is thinking that he will also completly glass the inside while using the old planking as a core? He still nee...

I have a Mercury 2004 long-shaft four-stroke that sits in the well. I pull it out and rinse it after every use and keep it on the cabin floor when I'm gone. Great little motor and moves the Islander at hull speed...6 knots...whoo, hoo! Like the Johnson 10 hp two-stroker that I replaced, it just bare...

Thanks Tim, Yes, I will seal/bed it well. The outside seam was hidden by the aluminum trim piece. The factory was sort of hit and miss with the seal job and I occasionally need to wash out the moss and dirt. I plan to scrub it well with bleach then let it dry before re-caulking. I may use a wide was...

My Islander Bahama used to have an aluminum rub rail/trim that went around the boat at the hull/deck joint. The seam is glassed on the insides so I think the the joint is sound even though the rivets are long gone. My thought to improve the looks and durability outside the boat is to install a 1&quo...

Nathan,

the 10' 6" wherry is listed at about 155 lbs. I want to build either the Salmon or the Christmas wherry and they're looking at about 245 LBS or more depending on the length.

Not something that you could hoist aboard my Bahama, but I'd sure look good on my way out...

Tom

Since I'll be on a mooring instead of a slip in the near future, I thought that I'd be needing a way to get out to the boat. I got on the internet and was browsing around to see what was available. I hadn't considered building but I stumbled across www.duck-trap.com . Wow, these folks have the most ...

E, I can't tell by your discription whether or not your basic interior is in place. Mine is stock and in excellent condition. I'v opted to "teak oil" seasonally instead of varnishing. The smell of coconuts is great! My interior includes a very comfortable dinette that will convert to a bir...

E, I have a friend that works with high-tec machinery (rocket scientist) that insisted on building one for me out of stainless. He did an excellent job...I just haven't intalled it yet. I don't plan to launch 'till next spring so I have time to ponder. Somebody on the forum reported that his stainle...

Ahhhh, now I'm starting to get it. My "valves" while bronze, are threaded directly onto the through hull fitting. Further inspection reveals that they are ball-type valves. The two in the head, I've closed and I removed the handles since we use a porta-potty. I'm wondering if should also r...

A whack with a hammer sounds like a good enough test to me! I just opened the head locker to make sure that I was relaying the right information. From the inside, the through hulls look pretty new. The installation looks like this; Through the hull, a 1/4" layer of bedding putty, a 3/8 plywood ...

Well, the sea-cock maintenance seems to be pretty well covered but since my boat is out of the water I would like some inspection advice for the through hulls. Mine (all 3) are bronze and the sea-cocks appear to be fairly new. The through hulls "look" fine but is there any criteria for pro...

The keel bears a striking resemblence to the early Islander/Columbia design. Since you were told that it may be a "Bahama", it may very well be an orphan of when McGlassen was contracting with Columbia to build his boats in Costa Mesa, CA...looks just like my Islander Bahama 24 from the wa...

Tony,

You may be able to get some of your questions answered at www.islandersailboats.com . The forum is very slow but there is a very detailed section that lists the data for each boat, including ballast and sail/mast data.

Good luck!

Tom

If you lay down the largest ply first, the entire repair is at the mercy of delamination if that ply should fail. Each smaller ply is only bonded to the largest one and nothing else. Impact wize, I think you'd be fine but for "peel" strength of the ply I believe that the large ply first th...

Jason, I'm trying to remove my old mass of bottom paint. I'm using the West Marine stripper...but not the "Safety Strip". I think it is similar except for the plastic this is included. ...yer right, I'm working my butt off brcause the stripper never quite gets there. I can get it to the go...

Thanks Tim, I was afraid of that...does it make a difference if the bronze is cast or milled? I have access to machine shops in my area but the only foundry that I've come accross seems to be geared towards figures and jewelry. I've also considered stainless but after browsing an article on creavas ...

I'm taking the bottom paint on my Islander Bahama 24 down to the gel-coat for repainting. I've discovered (among other things) that the keel has a seam along the trailing edge or rudder slot that continues along the botton of the keel. This boat is fabled to be a solid hull/keel with about 1800 lb o...

I'm looking for a source to purshace a new rudder grudgeon/shoe for my Islander Bahama 24. The grudgeon mounts at the bottom of the keel and retains the rudder post. I searched the web and have seen similar ones used as grudgeons on other boats but am unable to find a source. I've been bottom grindi...

I picked up the Coleman self contained lav for about 50 bucks at Sports Authority. West Marine has the the same head (different name) for about $75. I bring this up because it is similar to the subject of this post. It has about 3.5 galons for flushing and 2.5 for waste storage and is (ahem...) comf...

Peel ply is great...we use it in the airplane building world. It's main purpose is to lay-up (as the final ply) over an area that will be worked on again...so you don't have to sand! It is "stippled" on just like any other ply but peels off very easy. The material we use is Dacron...a comm...

David, thanks...yes I've tried that. I also looked to see if maybe a "ridge" was layed up around the through the hull portion that I could grind down and replace when finished. I have the boat in my driveway on a trailer so I'm not too worried about bottom clearance for removal...I just do...

Tim, looks like you have a good mental picture of what I'm doing...I'm really glad that that you mentioned the rudder torque tube length and the possibility of digging a hole. I'm re-thinking and will probably do the rudder work on the boat by shimming it so that it won't move. My other concern with...

Howdy gang! My first post on the forum...I've owned a really nice Islander Bahama for the last year and have finally hauled it out for some much needed bottom paint and maintenance. The rudder needs some "bench" attention for poorly repaired old blisters/voids...looks like bondo was used a...