Plastic Classic Forum

I decided to show some work I have done and/or doing now.
First up a couple pictures of the boat. A little history first. I've had this boat for a long time. When I bought it, it was at a Yacht Club on fresh water. I joined the club to keep the slip the boat was in. I sailed it almost every weekend for years sailing it in the Sunday afternoon races a lot. I think most of the time it was the slowest boat racing. I really enjoyed sailing it. I ended up buying my Bristol 27 and decided to pull the South Coast and quit the Club and use that money on the Bristol. The last couple of years the work on the Bristol has pretty much come to a halt. You can see the work I've done on the Bristol 27 by looking in Projects under Bristol 27. I still have it and will pick up working on it sometime.
While I was working on the Bristol I also worked on the keel of the South Coast. I will post some pictures of that sometime. So this year I decided to do a little work on the South Coast. I will try to post some of the work I have done here soon.

In these two pictures the keel has already been done.

Looks like a sweet little boat. Do you have pictures of it with full rig?

Pjesus, I took a quick look for a picture of the rig and could only find this; Out sailing by myself.
Also found this one of how I hauled it to the farm from the Yacht Club; Sixteen foot flat bed trailer with a two by four cradle.

I like the innovative trailering solution. I've thought to do similar with my Ariel for long-term storage if I took off on a trip on a bigger boat, or to take her cross country in lieu of sailing thru the western Carib and making a Canal transit.

I wonder is the SC21 the only boat Carl ever drew with a fin keel and spade rudder?

I bet she's a hoot to sail.

CapnK, I think you are right about Carl, the fin keel and spade rudder. I believe they did have to redesign the rudder to help balance the boat after production had started.
The flat bed trailer was just a quick, cheep way to get it home. I have since bought a galvanized power boat trailer that I plan on converting to a sailboat trailer. If and when I get to that I will post the work here, also.

This is the work I've done on the keel. It is cast iron and was rusty and pitted pretty bad.
This first picture shows the keel right after I got it home.

If you notice in the picture, the rust/pitted line about 6" from the bottom. The story there is the water level of the reservoir, that it was kept on, dropped way down during a drought one year. The boat sat balanced on its keel, in the mud, for several months tied to the docks to keep it upright. That is the mud line. Being in contact with the mud caused it to rust and pit more then the rest of the keel.
I sanded the keel down, trying to get all the rust off, with a disc grinder. Coating it with clear epoxy, then, to keep it from rusting again.

Next I added epoxy fairing/filler, sanding between coats, until it was pretty smooth.

All this work was done a couple years ago. I did it then to keep the keel from rusting into a pile of nothing. So this is how the keel stands now.

Ok, it looks like i am having problems posting the pictures. I get them into the post, see them in the preview, but only one loads when submitted. It list all the rest as 'attachment is no longer available'. Tried twice, same thing. It also did it last night. I added the two pictures last night after posting, using the edit post, to insert them.
Can only one picture be loaded at a time? Help

I went back and edited the third post back. Got the pictures into the post now, but all the pictures at the end of the post under ATTACHMENTS are not suppose to be there. They are not listed in the draft. Since I can't see them in the edit I can not remove them????? Oh well.

Lloyd wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:13 pm Pjesus, I took a quick look for a picture of the rig and could only find this;

In the meantime I also googled it and it's a nice looking boat!

Building a new tiller. The old one was straight, this one I put a rise in it.

I plugged the old depth sounder hole. I cut out the old thru hull it fit into. I filled it with multiple layers of bixial cloth, inside and out, after grinding a taper on the edges of the hole.

I built up a new mast beam. The previous owner took out the original mast beam and put in a compression post. Over time the bottom of the compression post started to rot off. It sat in the shallow bilge that usually had water in it from all the leaks in the deck and cabin top.

Before I put the mast beam in, I figured out that the core in the cabin top was wet. I cut a hole to check it out. I then cut all the inside layer of glass out of the cabin top. The mast beam I made has been set aside for now.

I started epoxying in new core. Using 2" wide by 3/8" thick plywood. I haven't gotten that finished yet.

I cleaned out this raised area (hatch slide bump up) and refilled it with a solid wood strip and epoxy. The picture is looking aft. This is the port side. I haven't done the starboard side yet. Leaving it for now to help support the cabin top as I redo the center and port side area.

This boat has two stringers on each side about twelve inches apart. They were made out of a piece of wood (about 1" x 2") covered with fiberglass. The problem was they were not covered all the way with the fiberglass and sealed water tight. The wood rotted out. This picture is looking aft through the cockpit locker on the port side.
I cut the fiberglass off and ground it down smooth. There was not much left of the wood.

I took a PVC pipe, ripped it in to on the table saw, and used it instead of wood for new stringers. I used epoxy to fillet it in place, then covered it with two layers of biaxial cloth. After that cured, I gave it a light sanding and a light coat of epoxy fairing filler on most of it. This picture is looking forward through the port cockpit locker.

Another thing I got done was to build a new block for the motor mount bracket. I laminated three pieces of plywood (2 x 3/4" pieces and 1 x 1/2"piece) together. I coated the new block with epoxy and a layer of biaxial cloth, front and back. I drilled the bolt holes and an indention for the spring (part of the mount bracket). I still have to paint or varnish it.

New motor mount block, backside.

Edge view of the new motor mount block.

I managed to get all the deck hardware off the aft deck area. Except a track end stop which I couldn't get a nut off of. i needed another set of hands for it. A lot of holes to fill and redo. A few of the pieces will not be put back on, fishing pole holders, flag pole holder, life line end brackets and I think some boarding ladder brackets.

I also got the starboard side, two old stringers, ground out. I then sanded and cleaned up the area. I ripped a ten foot piece of PVC pipe in half and fit the two halves in place. I used smaller PVC pipes to hold the new stringers in place. I put fillets on about half, of both, of them. I got the areas that I could reach in and get without crawling in on them.

This is the last patch of old cabin top glass to take out. It is on the starboard side, aft corner.

Got the glass off. This is the wet core.

Next I got the old wet core cleaned out. Sanded the underside of the exterior glass.

I then cleaned out the raised hatch slide areas.

This picture is looking forward at the raised hatch slide areas.

A couple weeks ago I got a bunch of steel for the trailer modification. So I have been cutting, drilling and welding. I wish I was a better welder, I seem to get it done but it doesn't look pretty. I have not take any pictures of this work yet.

Today I managed to get four more two inch core strips cut, fitted and epoxied in place. I think I can get the rest of the core in with one more session.

Time to post some updates for my South Coast 21. This work was done August 2018.
All of the new core in the cabin top is in, sanded, and faired ready for glass. Epoxying in new PVC pipe as stringers. This is looking forward. And looking aft. And with two layers of biaxiel on them. This is the old cockpit drain I put in a long time ago that needs to be replaced. I couldn't find any 1 3/8" hose at the time and had to piece together this mess. I actually did this while the boat was in the water. I opened up the mast base to find this rot. I got it all cleaned out. Cut 6 layers of biaxel cloth. And epoxied in. More to come.

More work done.
I cut out a mini bulkhead. It goes under the aft end of the bunks/seats. The raised center part goes under the forward end of the cockpit. And here it is installed. I also added a mini bulkhead under the center of the cockpit. It's epoxied in with fillets. The upper ones sagged, oops. I also put a new brace under the aft deck. Again, epoxied in with fillets. I still need to add biaxiel cloth to tab them all in.
I decided I needed to cover the boat to make working on it easier. I worked up a list of materials for it. I figured I could build it off the side of the Bristol shed. I ended up cleaning out a place in the barn to put the boat. I put up walk boards around it to make working on the deck easier.

It's been awhile since I posted anything so here is some work I did back in May 2021.
This first picture is how I held up the biaxial cloth I put up on the inside of the cabin ceiling. Epoxying in a new mast beam. Close up of the port end of the new mast beam. And two layers of biaxial cloth on the mast beam. Epoxy fairing inside the cabin top and mast beam areas. And the area sanded out, ready to paint. Fitting new lexan into ports.

More work from May 2021.
Working on the chain plate blocks. I drilled out all the old screw holes. I filled the holes with thickened epoxy. I did all four chain plate blocks the same way. On the back stay chain plate block I filled the old holes with thickened epoxy then put a layer of biaxial cloth on both sides of it. I also tabbed in the aft deck new support with one layer of biaxial cloth.

More work done in May 2021.
I got the deck taped off for painting.
The foredeck looking aft. And the cockpit area. And the aft deck. And the cockpit locker lids.

I think the picture in the last post of the cockpit locker lids actually were of them painted.
The painted areas.
First the foredeck. And the aft deck. And the cockpit area. And the cabin top. And finally the motor mount block. I let all that cure fore awhile then on to the nonskid.

Next up was the nonskid taping and painting.
Deck taped off for nonskid. Two cockpit hatches taped off. And a close up of a cockpit hatch. And a picture of the aft deck taping. And the cockpit area. The nonskid on the aft deck. A close up of the aft deck port corner nonskid. A close up of the cockpit seat and hatch lid nonskid. And a last one of the cabin top nonskid. So now the nonskid is all done.
Next up I start to put deck hardware back on.
I also start reworking the cockpit combing boards. They are in pretty bad shape.

I put some filler on the rub rail end caps, to be sanded out, so I can paint them. I also started to put hardware back on. I started with one of the Genoa tracks on the starboard side. Using butyl tape to seal the bolts. Showing the bolts on the underside of the track. I also started working on the combing boards. They are very old and never had any kind of finish on them. The grain stood out and the soft areas were hollowed out. I decided to sand them to get the gray out (not sanding them smooth) and then seal them with epoxy. These two pictures shows the end block that attaches to to cabin side on the forward end of the combing board. And the aft end of the combing board. Started sanding the boards. I sanded all the gray off before I started coating them with epoxy. I ran tape around the edges so I could build up the epoxy. More to come.

Here is the end of one of the combing blocks after sanding out the rot. And the other block after a coat of epoxy. The hatch board, with the vent in it, before taking it apart and sanding it. Hatch board with several coats of epoxy on it. Hatch board with even more epoxy on it. This picture also shows the two rub rail end caps and the two combing board end blocks.

More combing boards work.
This picture is comparing the two boards. The one on the left has several coats of epoxy on it . The one on the right hasn't had anything done to it yet. This shows where a piece had broken off over thirty years ago on one of them. Combing board after sanding, with broken off piece sanded also. I had kept the broken off piece inside the boat all these years. Getting the broken piece ready for glue up. And the broken piece epoxied back on. Combing boards. The left one has been flipped over and sanded, getting it ready for first epoxy coat. The right one is sanded with broken piece glued in. And the broken combing board with several coats of epoxy on it. Also trying to fill fill up the glue joint using epoxy filler. I messed that up because to much white, from the filler, ends up showing after sanding down smooth.

Wow.

Lloyd, looking back at where you started and now at the progress you have made, just puts a smile on my face. Well done, sir, she is looking beautiful!!

More pictures of work done in 2021.
The three hatch boards, building up epoxy to fill the lost grain and smoothing the boards up. I pulled the worn out bushings on the rudder shaft and fit in new bronze ones, top and bottom. I still have to pull the bottom one back out and epoxy it back in. The PVC spacer is there to keep the rudder from riding up and hitting the bottom of the boat hull.

Still repairing the combing boards. Filling with epoxy. Sanding old varnish off two interior trim pieces, getting them ready for new varnish. I cut new companionway trim out of PVC board stock, the old wood was to far gone to reuse. The starboard aft deck cleat holes, drilled, refilled with epoxy then re drilled ready to install it. And installed. The fore deck cleat, ready to be installed. I've been trying to come up with a swing out bracket, in the companion way, to hold a few instruments.

That looks great. What paint did you use on the exterior and was it sprayed?

By the way, when I epoxy joints or cracks in teak or mahogany that will get varnished I thicken the epoxy with a mix of about 70% West System 406 silica and 30% 405, more of less depending on the darkness of the wood. The 405 alone is too dark.

The deck, cabin top and cockpit areas were primed with AwlGrip 545 epoxy primer then painted with AwlGrip top coat. I rolled it on. The first coat laid out nicely but the second coat ended up with bubbles, I did not tip it. It looks good but a little rough. I used Kiwi Grip for the nonskid. The Kiwi Grip was very easy to put on and came out really nice. I didn't paint the top sides, leaving them alone. I should have thought of the additives to the epoxy to change the color for the combing boards repairs. Live and learn.

Converting a power boat trailer into a sailboat trailer.
I have gotten all the uprights and braces made for the trailer.
This is a back corner one. I welded two ears to the upright tube for the two braces to bolt to. I welded an angle to the bottom of the tube to bolt to the trailer cross frame. The side to side brace is bolted to the trailer cross frame. The fore and aft brace is bolted to a bracket that bolts to the frame. That bracket is made up of two angles bolted together which then is bolted to the inside of the C channel of the main fore and aft trailer frame. In the top of the tube I've got a threaded rod with a nut on it. The top sides of the threaded rod were flattened on both sides so the two angles can be bolted on. The angles will then be bolted to a 2 x 4 bunk board. There are four uprights per side.

More trailer work.
I built an upright frame to hold the wench. The bottom of which will sit on the main trailer frame tube. A bolt will clamp the angles to the frame tube. The angle uprights, holding the wench, have two braces bolted to them at the top and the C channel of the trailer frame at the bottom. This angle is bolted to the trailer cross beams and the 2 x 10 plank that the keel sits on.
There are four of these, front to back.

More trailer work.
I got the old wheels off the trailer. I took the tires off the rims so I could sand and paint them.
Here is the front and backside of one of the rims before sanding. I sanded them as best as I could then primed and painted them all. One thick coat of primer and two coats of paint. I used Rust-Oleum Painters Touch spray cans. They came out pretty good. We will see how long the paint lasts. I also got two of the hubs off (two axle trailer) and cleaned the bearings, hubs and spindles. I have ordered four new tires to put on next week.

coming along nicely!!!
nice work

More trailer work.
I took all of the bolts out of the spring and rocker arm attachment points. I cleaned all the bolts and holes and put them back in. I had to add two bushings, on one of the rocker arms, that were missing. The new tires came in. I got all four mounted, then put on the trailer. I got the last two hubs back on first. I cleaned out a path so I could pull the boat out of the barn. I parked her beside my Bristol 27 shed. I got her out of the barn so i could start working on a mast raising system.
I ran into a snag on galvanizing the trailer parts that I built. The local galvanizer closed up and the next closest one is three hours away. My truck started messing up so it is in the shop. I hope they can get it fixed so I can make a road trip to the galvanizer soon.