Plastic Classic Forum

I'm new to this forum but not to vintage fiberglass. I had the good fortune to spend a large part of my youth growing up on a classic piece of plastic. The year that I was born, 1962, my parents had the wisdom and good fortune to purchase a Chesapeake 32, a Rhodes designed sloop and I was privileged to spend the next 20 years or so sharing some incredible adventures aboard this beautiful piece of classic plastic. I thought I'd share some pics of her during various stages of her life, as she aged gracefully.

Circa 1963, on Grand Traverse Bay, Northern Michigan


Circa 1966, North Channel of Lake Huron, I'm the little guy in the Red! : )


Circa 1977, Bras D'or Lakes, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia


Circa 1978, Bantry Bay, Ireland, after going transatlantic.


She was the first but not the last in a series of vintage glass boats that I've had the good fortune to sail on, culminating most recently in my purchase of a 1970 Tartan 27, Hull#487. I've always preferred sailboats from the early era of fiberglass construction and I have no doubt that it's because I was introduced to a design with character and grace at such an early age.

Jim,

Welcome to the forum!

Chesapeake 32? I'd say your parents had pretty good taste!

Of course we'd love to see your Tartan 27, too :)

Rachel

PS: I'm a "reading member" of the T-27 list, and I just this morning downloaded your "Ireland to Portugal" trip report (then had to force myself to go to work instead of reading it). I have a feeling that folks here might appreciate it too, if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Rachel -

At some point I'll post the story you referred to here but I think it needs some major editing, I got a little carried away and it was approaching novel length, maybe after I get a chance to cut it back a little I'll share it here. ; )

A quick synopsis for those reading this thread, it involved the story of a trip in the Chesapeake pictured above, that occurred in 1981, when we took her from Ireland to Portugal. The trip involved a rollover and de-masting about 250 miles off the coast of Portugal, which both the crew and the boat thankfully survived. That we did so is certainly a testament to the incredible toughness of plastic boats built during the early 60's, to say the least.

Here are a couple of somewhat sobering pics that were taken just after that incident, that show some of the damage that we incurred.





The good news is that we were eventually able to repair all of the damage and I have recently learned that this Chesapeake is still alive and going strong in the Netherlands.

As far as my T27, I just bought it several months ago, so I don't have too many pics yet but here are a few.

Hmmm, I don't see that you have any projects to ask about ;)

Really, wow, she looks to be in great shape!

Rachel

Thanks for posting your vintage photos. Sounds like there are a lot of interesting stories surrounding that boat.

Rachel wrote:Hmmm, I don't see that you have any projects to ask about ;)

Really, wow, she looks to be in great shape!

Rachel

For her age, she is in amazing condition. The previous owner had done a 3 year restoration that took care of most of her issues but as with any vintage boat there are still going to be plenty of projects to keep me busy.

As I'm sure your familiar with, T27's had encapsulated chainplates, so one of the bigger projects is going to be opening them up to assess their condition and potentially rebuilding the knees. That ought to keep me from getting bored. : )

Some other planned changes are going to be running the main & spinniker halyards back to the cockpit and adding a another winch, as well as adding roller furling.

Then there is a bunch of minor modifications/carpentry that is needed in the cabin that should keep me busy and out of trouble for some time, so I'm not worried about finding too much time on my hands. ; )

That sounds like just the right amount of projects to be fun, while still having a working boat (well okay, after the chainplate knees are done...).

I hope you'll report a bit on your doings here.

Rachel

Love your T-27. That boat was on my short list of purchases, although I hadn't gone up to see her. How much did you buy her for? That boat was just a little too far for me to go see without being darn certain I wanted to buy her. I wound up getting something needing a little more TLC but much closer to home. Where's your home port? Still on Huron? I am planning on a solo trip up to the North Channel targeting July 2011 if I can get all my projects knocked out by then. I sail out of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan.

Great pics of the Chesapeake 32... Your parents had excellent taste.

christopher wrote:Love your T-27. That boat was on my short list of purchases, although I hadn't gone up to see her. How much did you buy her for? That boat was just a little too far for me to go see without being darn certain I wanted to buy her. I wound up getting something needing a little more TLC but much closer to home. Where's your home port? Still on Huron? I am planning on a solo trip up to the North Channel targeting July 2011 if I can get all my projects knocked out by then. I sail out of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan.

Great pics of the Chesapeake 32... Your parents had excellent taste.

Christopher -
I paid $7K for her which I thought was a decent price given all of the work that had been done to her and that included a double axle trailer. Her new home port is in Traverse City, MI on Grand Traverse Bay in northern Lake Michigan. I don't know if I'll get up to the North Channel this summer but it's possible. What are you sailing?

Here are a few more pics

Munster wrote:

christopher wrote: Christopher -
I paid $7K for her which I thought was a decent price given all of the work that had been done to her and that included a double axle trailer. Her new home port is in Traverse City, MI on Grand Traverse Bay in northern Lake Michigan. I don't know if I'll get up to the North Channel this summer but it's possible. What are you sailing?

Nice! Great little boat. That centerboard really makes for nice low profile trailering. Will love to hear about your sailing adventures with her.

I bought a '70 Bristol 29 in Manitowoc a couple months ago. The post right before yours in this category tells all about my recent indoctrination into boat ownership. I've been a daysailor for the last ten years or so but I've never owned a boat before so this is all pretty new to me.

Nice to meet a fellow Lake Michigan'er! Are either of the Manitou Islands worth visiting? North Manitou looked like a cool place to camp, but not sure about anchoring.

Let me know how your t-27 feels in the water.. I've been curious about that centerboard setup since seeing her...

christopher wrote:

Munster wrote:

christopher wrote: Christopher -
I paid $7K for her which I thought was a decent price given all of the work that had been done to her and that included a double axle trailer. Her new home port is in Traverse City, MI on Grand Traverse Bay in northern Lake Michigan. I don't know if I'll get up to the North Channel this summer but it's possible. What are you sailing?

Nice! Great little boat. That centerboard really makes for nice low profile trailering. Will love to hear about your sailing adventures with her.

I bought a '70 Bristol 29 in Manitowoc a couple months ago. The post right before yours in this category tells all about my recent indoctrination into boat ownership. I've been a daysailor for the last ten years or so but I've never owned a boat before so this is all pretty new to me.

Nice to meet a fellow Lake Michigan'er! Are either of the Manitou Islands worth visiting? North Manitou looked like a cool place to camp, but not sure about anchoring.

Let me know how your t-27 feels in the water.. I've been curious about that centerboard setup since seeing her...

The Manitous are nice and so are the Foxes, particularily South Fox but you have to watch the weather. South Manitou has a decent harbor that offers pretty good protection. Beaver Island, a little to the north also has a good harbor. if I was coming across from WI I'd shoot for Beaver and then work my way down the Foxes and the Manitous. There is also an archipelago of small islands near Beaver that make for some fun daytrips.

I'm looking forward to getting my Tartan in the water. My parents last boat was a Tartan 34c, which I sailed on for 15 years or so, so I'm pretty familiar with C boards and how they handle. They can certainly help ease a weather helm.

Munster wrote:The Manitous are nice and so are the Foxes, particularily South Fox but you have to watch the weather. South Manitou has a decent harbor that offers pretty good protection. Beaver Island, a little to the north also has a good harbor. if I was coming across from WI I'd shoot for Beaver and then work my way down the Foxes and the Manitous. There is also an archipelago of small islands near Beaver that make for some fun daytrips.

I'm looking forward to getting my Tartan in the water. My parents last boat was a Tartan 34c, which I sailed on for 15 years or so, so I'm pretty familiar with C boards and how they handle. They can certainly help ease a weather helm.

Still not sure if I'm going to try anything this summer. I had thoughts of trying to hit the Manitous, but it's probably not realistic with a rig I'm not completely sure of. I may do a crossing during one of the regattas just to shake her down a bit, but it completely depends on the weather. I wish southern Lake Michigan had something more to offer than open water and big stinky cities. I'll do some research on the Fox islands... Garden Island looked really cool with the burial grounds, but didn't look like there were any navigable harbors.

Thanks for the info!

Thanks for all the photos, Jim! They made me feel nostalgic for the sailing days of my youth with my parents. My dad bought a Kings Cruiser 28, a clear finished woodie, in 1962 or so, and we sailed that as a family for a few years before moving up to a Cal 40 in 1968. We sailed that boat all over the place, including the Transpac in 1975.

Congratulations on the Tartan! They are surely terrific boats. I own the precursor and little brother to the T27, a 1968 Yankee Dolphin, designed in 1959. Looking at your photos again reminded me of the DNA from the Dolphin that transferred directly into the Tartan. Here's a thread with some photos of Robin Lee: http://www.plasticclassicforum.com/view ... =30&t=4512

Olin Stephens sure captured something very special with these small centerboarders. I was out singlehanding yesterday, and it was just a lovely afternoon. The boat is a joy to sail solo, so well mannered and assured, she feels like a bigger boat than 24 feet, and surprisingly fast. Given the genes, I'm sure your 27 will be the same. Enjoy!

Erik -
Dolphins are great little boats, I've always liked them. It's amazing how much space has been packed into a 24' boat. I noticed the comparison to a C&C Shark in the other thread, while they are both 24 footers, there is no comparison in terms of space. Sharks are fast little boats, I sailed one for 4 years and they are fun day sailers but are very cramped for anything longer then a day or two. Your Dolphin looks beautiful!

C&C Shark #559 "Sursis"

The boat of my youth was a Pup. This was a 12 foot cat boat designed by William F. Crosby. She measured: LOA 12 ft., BEAM 5 ft., DRAFT (board down) 3 ft. 6", SAIL AREA 60 sq. ft. My grandfather (a cabinet maker by trade) built it for me in 1952 when I was 10 years old. I sailed this boat on Sodus Bay and Lake Ontario where we had a small summer cottage for several years. I learned so much in those great years through lots of trial and error. I can't begin to even guess how many times I capsized her.

She was built of mahogany marine ply with wood mast and boom. The centerboard was bronze and all running rigging was initially manila. When I got a paper route and was able to save some pennies, I purchased cotton linwe for the main sheet.

I'm sorry that I have no pics of her, but here are a couple pf drawings.

Munster wrote:Erik -
Dolphins are great little boats, I've always liked them. It's amazing how much space has been packed into a 24' boat. I noticed the comparison to a C&C Shark in the other thread, while they are both 24 footers, there is no comparison in terms of space. Sharks are fast little boats, I sailed one for 4 years and they are fun day sailers but are very cramped for anything longer then a day or two. Your Dolphin looks beautiful!

C&C Shark #559 "Sursis"

Jim,
Nice to find another, albeit former, "Sharkie" on the forum at last.
Your assessment of the Shark is correct. It's a great little boat but not much on creature comforts.

Shark wrote: Your assessment of the Shark is correct. It's a great little boat but not much on creature comforts.

LoL! The creature comforts were ok, it was the human comforts that were lacking!

Here is a pic of our dog at the time who used to come sailing with us on the Shark, by the time the dog and two adults were in the cabin, things were mighty cramped!

Jim,

The dog looks very comfortable indeed!

The Shark is definitely not roomy inside. After a race, the cabin of my boat looks like an explosion just happened in a chandlery with sails, sheets, life jackets, etc. everywhere!

earlylight wrote:The boat of my youth was a Pup. This was a 12 foot cat boat designed by William F. Crosby. She measured: LOA 12 ft., BEAM 5 ft., DRAFT (board down) 3 ft. 6", SAIL AREA 60 sq. ft. My grandfather (a cabinet maker by trade) built it for me in 1952 when I was 10 years old. I sailed this boat on Sodus Bay and Lake Ontario where we had a small summer cottage for several years. I learned so much in those great years through lots of trial and error. I can't begin to even guess how many times I capsized her.

She was built of mahogany marine ply with wood mast and boom. The centerboard was bronze and all running rigging was initially manila. When I got a paper route and was able to save some pennies, I purchased cotton linwe for the main sheet.

I'm sorry that I have no pics of her, but here are a couple pf drawings.

Dick -

I bet you wish you still had her. Looks like a beauty, I think a lot of us cut our teeth as kids messing around in sailing dinghies and the like. That one looks like it's directly out of Swallows & Amazons. Ahhh, to be a kid on the water again. : )

Jim,

The only problem with having such a wonderful boat at the age of 10 was that whenever I misbehaved my parents held the ultimate tool for discipline. All they had to do was not allow me to go sailing for a few days. I would have preferred to being stuck ashore any day.