Plastic Classic Forum

We just purchased a Fuji 32 ketch, Hull #5 built in 1976. She is a honey of a boat and I can't wait to get her all cleaned up this winter and ready for next year's season. She has been in a barn out of the water for the past three years and I'll be sure to post a bunch of pictures once we get her moved the end of October to her new home. For now here is a picture that was taken about five years ago at my yacht club in Newburyport.

Congratulations! What a beautiful classic boat.

Please post photos of every part of the boat. The more the better.

Yep, yep.

Congrats!

Photos!

Rachel

It looks like you found something with a bit more of a 'comfort factor'.

Nice. Enjoy!

-Britton

I loved my Ariel, but this will allow my energetic 4-year-old the space he needs and we plan on doing some extended cruising, so yes the comfort factor is increased substantially. Plus I don't have to break my bed down to hit the head at night.

Tim Mertinooke wrote:Plus I don't have to break my bed down to hit the head at night.

Boy, some people just have to have it ALL...

Where will the new boat live during the off season?

-Britton

Wow. Gorgeous boat.

Congratulations - I can't wait to see more photos.

bcooke wrote:Where will the new boat live during the off season

My parents live in Amesbury and offered some space to store it in their yard for the winter. That's right up the road from you. Once I get it moved there the end of October, you should come up and take a look.

Wow! She looks great from behind! Congrats. Let's see some more pics.

I can't wait to see more pictures!

Document the transport too, if you can...I for one always love transport photos. I'm weird that way.

She looks great Tim! One picture doesn't tell enough but, the biggest problem I see is that you may not have enough projects for the winter.

Hirilond? wrote:She looks great Tim! One picture doesn't tell enough but, the biggest problem I see is that you may not have enough projects for the winter.

Hah, I wish! Although, as a group we do thrive off of futility so the point is well taken ;) As much as I truly enjoyed ressurecting my Ariel (and I did) I look forward to shifting direction and doing the types of projects this boat needs instead. There will be a lot of cleaning stem to stern inside and out as she's been sitting in a barn untouched for three years. Most importantly however, the hull, rigging, sails, and diesel are sound so she is ready to splash now, but there are some things that will need attention before we cruise on her next summer. We are going to replace all of the cushions as the ones on board have a particular funk not to my liking. The head needs to be replaced or rebuilt and some hoses could use some updating. There are a few interesting rogue wire jobs as is the case on most 30 year old boats and I'll need to trace, replace, or eliminate those I imagine. All of the brightwork has ten years of cetol on it which is now starting to look like orange mud. Even though the wood is happily protected below this orange mud, her new adoptive parents like the clear shiny stuff known as varnish and I have a feeling she will wear it well. I'll be spending many hours on that alone with a heat gun and scraper, but there are few jobs more rewarding or zen-like in my mind. The interior finish looks great, but the sole will probably get a fresh coat. The diesel will get a tune-up and the sails will be professionally cleaned. The biggest issue will be a small cracked area in the bow sprit that was repaired before the previous owner purchased the boat. The story goes that the previous previous owner clipped something with the forward side of the sprit which cracked a small area. They did a sister/epoxy repair that has held up this long. It has been about ten years since the repair and I have read about bow sprits in the 30-year-old range deserving a close inspection and possible replacement especially one that was previously repaired. I plan to remove the bowsprit completely, strip the finish and take a close look. Replacement is a real possibility should I not like what I see, but at least I will have a carbon copy to work from and the whole winter to get it done. I'm sure a few things will pop up that I didn't mention, such is the nature of working on an old boat, but that's what I have in mind so far. I can't wait to get started.

I like a person who, when asked for more pictures, provides more pictures!

Thanks, Tim. She looks like a fun project--lots to do, without any seriously huge jobs to hang over your head.

Tim wrote:She looks like a fun project--lots to do, without any seriously huge jobs to hang over your head.

Perfectly said, and that's exactly why I ended up with this boat.

Man! Talk about luxury living on the waterfront!

A friend of mine is the Harbor Master across the river from Newburyport. He lives on Rings Island, but I don't remember what the other side is called.
Newburyport is very nice & just a hop, skip, & a jump from Maine.

Would that be Ray Pike in Salisbury? Nice guy, although I did annoy him a little over the past few years when I kept "forgetting" to put my MS numbers on the hull of my Typhoon. I just couldn't wreck a beautiful bow by putting all those black numbers on the side. Our mooring is actually on that side of the river in Salisbury, but my club is in Newburyort a stones throw away so I say the boat's in NBPT. My mooring is twelve miles from Smuttynose Island in Maine and I'm not complaining. I love the Ilses of Shoals and probably spend a total of a week there thoughout each summer. That's the planned shakedown cruise for next year.

Tim Mertinooke wrote: I just couldn't wreck a beautiful bow by putting all those black numbers on the side.

I put my numbers and RI sticker on pieces of white plastic sign board. I rigged these to tie/hang from my lifelines. I placed them in my hanging locker over the winter and just seem to keep forgetting to hang them.

All I can say is WOW!!! She is beautiful. I can't wait to see some under sail pictures of her.

Congratulations on a great find.

These were given to me by the previous owner.

Tim,
Yes, that would be Ray Pike. He's a great guy with a 50-some foot, not counting the 10-foot bowsprit, gaff ketch built on the West Coast in 1915; a small ship more than a big boat. He kept her down here for a while, but a 9-foot draft keeps you out of most of the bay so he took her back north. When we took her north Ray called Sea-Tow the night before we left to tell him we would be aground the next morning at high tide. The S-T guy thought it was a joke at first. The next morning the S-T guy helped us dredge a new channel out of the marina. We took her to Maine a few years back for what turned out to be one of my favorite cruises.

Newburyport is a great place. I have fond memories of a breakfast at a place there called Sally's, I think. It was a combination bakery-restaurant. We had just come in from a night trip from Boston on which Ray's 38-ton boat was pitched around like a bath tub toy, as a result of which, everybody, but Ray, had plenty of room for breakfast.

I had Favona documented so I wouldn't have to put numbers on her bow. I'm going to hang them, on the Westerly, from the pulpit as Hirilonde does ...when he remembers. I'd better just leave mine on. Say hi to Ray for me next time you see him.

My new boat made it to its winter home today. Everything went as planned and I am very excited to begin work on her.

Great, Tim! Thanks for all the pictures. Looks like a tight squeeze there. (What's the boat next to yours?)

I hope it was you, or someone else, who removed the lazarette hatch before the move, and that it didn't disappear somewhere along the way down the road...

Tim Mertinooke wrote:

The boat next to mine is my dad's which is an S2 9.2, which is probably the largest 30-footer I've seen, but at the expense of asthetics with its high freeboard and center cockpit and all. That boat performs very well however. Over water on a reach we would frequently hit 7 knots. It's a great cruiser and was what I cruised on with my parents while growing up.

There's about a foot between the two boats. We tucked them in close because he and I are going to build one structure over the two of them.

The lazerette was removed prior to the move because one of the hinges is broken and I didn't have the time to replace it. Removing was easier than creatively tying it down, besides there wasn't a cloud in the sky the whole ride so there was no worry of rain.

I'm pretty excited.

Tim Mertinooke said: I'm pretty excited.

Excited are ya? Can't see why . . .

Congratulations.

Congrats Tim! Beautiful boat! I'll think of you next year as my family of 4 starts doing some short cruises aboard our Ariel.

We are still on to hook up in Casco Bay next summer. I'm looking forward to it.

[drift]
If you're a fan of the 9.2, don't ever go to Block Island. For as long as I can remember, there has been a very unfortunate 9.2 tied to the pier at BIBB. Every time I see it, I'm surprised that the bottom growth hasn't yet set roots into the harbor bed. I assume it's a liveaboard for some member of The Oar's staff.
The fact that it serves as a liveaboard says a lot for its cruising comfort, though I must wholeheartedly agree with your aesthetic comments.
[/drift]

Tim,

I have been admiring the pictures of your new boat for some time. She’s very nice indeed.

A couple of things caught my eye in one of the photos that I may be interested in with my Triton project:




Can you elaborate how the overheads were constructed? Are the sections between the faux beams with the rough texture some kind of sheet material? If so, can you tell what the thickness of the material is, the composition, and how it is applied to the overhead? Does that texture lend itself to mold and difficult cleaning? The beams look like laminations of teak or mahogany. Can you tell how they are attached to the cabin overhead?

Also, are the vertical sides of the cabin trunk (inside) covered with a formica type laminate?

You have chosen a lovely boat indeed!

Thanks,

Joe

jhenson wrote:Can you elaborate how the overheads were constructed? Are the sections between the faux beams with the rough texture some kind of sheet material?

Yes, it's a thin (3/16"), soft, closed-cell foam material that the Fuji brochures refer to as insulation. The foam is probably adhered to the ceiling with some sort of goop that I have not yet seen as the edges are butt against the beams and are not peeling at all. I imagine it would be hard to clean due to the texture, but I have not tried yet. I know of other Fuji owners that have painted it with a Brightsides like product with much success and I imagine that would make it easier to clean.

The beams look like laminations of teak or mahogany.

I believe they are indeed teak along with the rest of the interior. They're also laminated as you keenly noticed in the picture which allows for the pronounced curve. That curve certainly adds to the charm of the cabin in my eyes. I'm sure they are partly decorated, but are certainly stout and imagine they do quite a bit to stiffen the cabintop.

Can you tell how they are attached to the cabin overhead?

Nope. I imagine they are screwed in place from inside the cabin then capped with a plug, but I haven't looked that closely yet. I plan to take a ride out to the boat this weekend to do some work (toilet stuff...fun...) and will certainly take a closer look and snap a few photos for you.

Also, are the vertical sides of the cabin trunk (inside) covered with a formica type laminate?

Yes, the sides of the cabin trunk are made of some sort of formica material. It is easy to clean and is in very good shape so there it will stay. I have seen other larger Fujis like the F-35 that has teak up there similar to Cape Dory's. That is a very nice look and would have prefereed that, but I will live with the white. The bulkheads are painted white which the PO did to brighten up the interior. You can see in the photo that it has begun to peel a little near the Weems and Plath lamp. I may depending on ambition and time strip the bulkheads to reveal the teak veneer, but it probably won't happen this year. As far as how the white material on the cabintrunk sides is adhered or fastened to the cabin trunk, I haven't a clue. Let me know if you need any closeup pictures or other angles. I have not been on the boat enough this winter thus far as it is 2.5 hours away at my folks house and work has been busy lately. I will be out there this weekend to do some plumbing and seacock maintenance, etc. and probably won't be back onboard until late February.

Tim,

Thanks for the reply. I went to a great deal of effort to fill and smooth the raw fiberglass overhead on my Triton for paint, but I still think some sort of sheet material devided by small beams would look better. The beams can also be used as a "conduit" to run wiring for overhead lights.

Just out of curiousity, do you have clearance to walk under the beams (standing headroom)?

Thanks again,

Joe

jhenson wrote:Just out of curiousity, do you have clearance to walk under the beams (standing headroom)?

6'1"

Here are some closeups of the overhead beam joinery. I did not see any plugs for fasteners on the beams while in the cabin so I imagine they fastened from the top.






These were taken of the front corners of the coachroof in the V-berth.





This was sitting in the V-berth looking back at the bulkhead on the port side. The door is for the V-berth hanging closet. THe bulkheads in the main cabin are also a teak veneer, but the PO painted over them "to brighten it up down below." Someday I'll strip them so they match the ones in the v-berth.



Let me know if you need any other closeups.

Tim,

Thanks for the additional photos! There is some very nice craftmanship with the interior and exterior wooden components on your boat.


Joe

Videos...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l-qTkf7fog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih9ocJPxg74

Cool boat.

If, you haven't already discovered this site: http://www.anzam.com/images/fuji/projec ... elcome.htm, you might find it interesting.