Advice on repairing or abandoning old sailboat

Oh, I concur because for some people it is process over product, I was just making the statement that Ronjon could back out and not lose his money. I once owned a Jeep that I bought for the price of the transfer case and sold for the price of the transfer case because that was the vehicles value.

 

Everything so far has been constructive criticism and I appreciate it. Had I known the boat needed such a large repair beforehand, I certainly would have walked away. This thread was meant to assess the plausibility of the repair since I've never done anything like it. The amount of work doesn't scare me. Honestly, part of the reason I'm leaning towards repairing it is because I want to have the knowledge and experience of having fixed something like that, so if anything ever does go wrong with the boat I know I can fix it. Considering the price of the lead and other things I could sell off the boat, I still have a lot of financial room to spend time learning if I'm in over my head before I give up. Thanks again for the help everyone. I'm planning on driving down and cleaning up the cabin, pulling the engine, cleaning the inside of the keel out, and quite a few other things, so I'll probably take a bunch of pictures and start a restoration thread as a couple people have requested.

 

Fork over the photos, the more the merrier. The fiberglass work is not really complicated, just a lot of sanding involved. As said i would put a piece of foam (PU or PVC, if using epoxy even XPS) in the hole, that way you don't laminate over thin air.
I believe the interior is put togheter with screws, the plugs may be burried under the paint. The delaminated overhead I would replace with white rigid PVC foam of the same thickness, saves painting and is cheaper then ply, plus completley waterproof.
After cleaning you need a lot of mold killer. For cleaning the hull outside put a few drops of liquid soap into muriatic acid and spray it on (mandatory face shield and long rubber gloves) that will take care of all the barnacle residue and gelcoat yellowing.

 

I've been using this video as a guide for how to create the shape

If I did it like that, would it be better to follow through with that and make a hollow mold and epoxy it to the existing flat surfaces in front and above, or just to leave the foam in place and glass over it?

 

After cleaning the inside and grinding the sides to a feather edge (12:1 ramp) I would stick a piece of foam in between and sand it to shape to recreate the edge. The foam can be simply wedged in, then you sand with 40 grit glued to a piece of ply (longboard). Round over the corners so that the glass contours nicely. Then laminate over the foam with overlapping pieces. The foam stays in, it does not do any harm.
You can of course shape the foam beforehand if you like, and you can cut the bulk with a hot wire cutter like in the video.

 

Just a small update, I worked on the boat a couple weekends ago, pumped the bilge mostly clean, removed the engine, started cleaning the hull, attempted to clean the hole in the keel but it's so narrow and so low to the ground I'm definitely going to have to remove material to get inside. Removed all the water logged cushions and anything else damaged by water.
Upon returning home I tore down the engine only one pushrod and lifter had any corrosion on it, the biggest problem was water that had filled the intake and exhaust and left a large amount of debris obstructing one piston from being able to reach it's full travel. I'll definitely need a starter and alternator but it seems that once I put it back together it should run fine. Hoping to work on the keel more this weekend, and continue cleaning the hull. Also I suppose I should start a refit thread, but I'm not sure which area of the forum it goes in.

 

Thanks for the update and the pictures. I would say this section of the forum is just right for a resto thread.

 

Wow. That bilge is grrroooss.

 

So I'm here working on boat, I had to commit and cut back a few inches of fiberglass to get in and clean it up. The bottom end of the centerboard is definitely exposed looks like it has been grounded some as well. There is a crack a few inches up on the starboard side right where the centerboard ends. There's also a small hole about 1" across directly above the centerboard. I'm not really sure how to go about the repair with the centerboard sticking out. I was considering cutting about 2" off the end so it ends where the centerboard case currently does, and then fiberglassing straight down to close up the end of the case and take care of the hole above it. What are everyone's thoughts?

 

This is what I was talking about when I mentioned commitment. Drop the centerboard, because it is going to need to be dealt with anyway, and clean to bare glass. There are some citrus barnacle removers that work well, but you're going to need to get out the sandpaper.

 

Drop the board and use muriatic acid to get rid of the barnacles. The hole you are talking about could be the centerboard pivot removal point. The rest is a whole lot of grinding to expose any and all cracks, then laminating them shut.
Is the centreboard really supposed to get into that rear compartment?

 

I've got the measurements I'll figure out how much I'm missing once I get home and start repairing it. That was a nightmare to get out.

 

You need to make a new centerboard, not repairing that one. How is the pivot pin and its stuffing box?

 

The pin is worn out, I've got measurements to make a new one and a friend with a CNC machine, stuffing box I don't believe was leaking but hard to say, the pin felt tight in it

 

Aluminium bronze or titanium would be my choices for a new pin.