Sailboat Restoration Help!!!

[ice42732]

I am considering purchasing a old fiberglass flying dutchman sailboat. The owner tells me that it needs a new gelcoat. Also there are some softspot under the waterline on the bow, plus he says the bow of the boat should be beefed up. How much will all of these repairs cost, where can i get directions to do this, and how much time will it take for a unexpeirnced boater???

[PAR]

Go down to the local sailing club (try the phone book or the web). There will be a Flying Dutchmen fleet there in all likelihood. They will give you the low down on the boat, they probably have seen it before and know of it's recent history at least. Most older 'Dutchmen need a paint job at least. They're great boats, good to learn on as they're reasonably forgiving and the race ready crew can get some good performance out of them.

Costs will depend on the location, who will do the work, how much sweat you're willing to put in and the work involved. If you are grossly inexperienced then a better example of the type (Flying Dutchmen) may be a better way to go.

[Buckle]

The hull of my 27ft motor boat was pickled with stress cracks in the gel coat. I had two opions, to burn the hull, or refair the hull. Either way its costly.

I did it myself and took 3 solid month. So go out a buy a big compressor and some good quality air tools and several hundred course DA pads. Rub the gel coat away making sure your not making any flat spots in your hull.Alteratively you could shave your hull. Once back to the glass, coat with several layers of epoxy refairing resin. Its high build stuff. They rum until smooth and very flat. So keep moving the DA. In the 3 months, I lost 2 stone in weight due to teh phyiscal nature of the work

They do a quality paint job.

Looking back on it now, Its was very hard work and is very mentally challenging as its so brain killing, Ibut m glad I did it. The resultant looks excellent. Its giving the boat a new life.

Shaun

[kschmidt]

I suggest doing it yourself. I recently got a flying dutchman. It's deck was soft as were part of the floor. In five weeks of evenings and some saturdays the boat will be sailing. (two weeks left to go)

To quote I received to repair the boat professionally was around $6000 canadian. I am guestimating that I will have spent $1500 on materials by the time I am done.

If you are interested in seeing what I have done, I have been logging my progress at: http://www.hyannispoint.com/sailing/restore_project.asp

Originally Posted by ice42732

I am considering purchasing a old fiberglass flying dutchman sailboat. The owner tells me that it needs a new gelcoat. Also there are some softspot under the waterline on the bow, plus he says the bow of the boat should be beefed up. How much will all of these repairs cost, where can i get directions to do this, and how much time will it take for a unexpeirnced boater???