Looking at a boat in rough shape

Thanks Messabout. I will try him. Hope to launch again by august, though. May have to wait til next year to add the jib. Sounds like a good price. Dunno why, here where most people are broke, the sailmakers are so expensive.

Alan

 

Well, I Called the owner of the boat again today and asked them if they would take $200.00 for it. They said they would,....So on Thursday I am going to pick up the boat and I hope to have some pictures of the actual boat on here by the end of the weekend.

 

I owned an American 16 back in the late 70's.

The boat is quite tender and has no flotation. The rigging is very light and poorly attached. The hull layup was minimal.

It sailed okay in very light air but I would not take the boat further from shore than I could swim.

 

What do you mean by tender and also why not heavy wind?

 

Tender means it's not very stable. That is not a problem in light winds.
Maybe you can add some flotation under the deck, just in case.

 

How would you go about doing this and one other question since I am a pretty much a newbie with all of this.. When it is said, "the hull layup was minimal" what does this mean exactly?

 

Swim noodles are a good source for cheap flotation! They can be cut to size, glued, you name it.

 

noodles could work....will keep that in mind. as far as is being "tender" couldn't one switch out some of the rigging to make it more sturdy?

 

To get more stability by changing the rig, you would need to shorten the mast, lengthen the boom, add a bowsprit, and buy a new sail and maybe a new jib too. This is a lot of work to do.
Stability can be enhanced in other ways. This is a trailer sailer, so altering the underbody to for example, add outside ballast, is possible, but expensive in terms of time and money---- the centerboard would have to pass through that ballast.
Inside ballast can be arranged by fixing lead pigs down low around the centerboard case, but in order for such weight to work for you, it must be substantial. The boat will be slower, and may not sit in its most efficient waterplane (though the efficiency of the waterplane may also improve by widening and lengthening, depending on the boat on question).
Sometimes just adding a vang (kicking strap) will improve the stability by flattening the sail in heavier breezes, turning heeling forces into lift and more speed. Boats without travellers or vangs can't control sail draft, and the same can be said for jibsheet leads being non-adjustable. The sails are too full, which is fine for light winds, but this does cause noticably more heeling when the wind increases.
These are simpler changes, and make the most sense. The hull looks fine insofar as I can see. It ought to be possible to work with the sheet leads and mainsail shaping and get a pretty good sailer. I would also have reefing points installed.
The boat is tender because it is light and unballasted. Human ballast is therefore needed to keep her upright. And at least if some attention is paid to flattening the sails and setting up a reefing system, it should be an okay boat, and not heel excessively.

 

Thank you all for all of the info is has been very helpful

Alan. Since I am a newbie at this let me try and say back to you what you just said to me, just to make sure I understand you.

If I had unlimited money I could get a shorter mast, longer boom and add an addition to lengthen the front of the rigging out (bowsprit), New sails.

But on a cheaper note
I could put more weight under the boat on the outside around the center board which would make it set lower in the water and add drag ultimately slowing the boat down.

I could add a Vang which pulls the sail tighter keeping it from inflating as much in heavy wind, which would bring the boat out of the water more, and not tilt as much.

Do I have the above understood? Also for people information the pictures that are listed about from Raggi_thor was the same type of boat but not the actual boat. The boat I ended up getting is in very rough shape compared to the above pictures, and needs a lot of work. This is going to be a project for me to complete and I am planning on taking the boat apart to ensure everything is sound and will do what ever work I need to in order to make it a more stable and “safer” boat. On the flip side I would like to try and keep from slowing the boat down. On a different note what resources would you suggest (book, videos, ect.) for someone to learn more about sailing and the ends and outs of working on a boat?

 

This is the actual Boat

 

When I said "lift", as something you gain when the sails are flattened, I meant driving force relative to drag. On boats the sails and the keel can lift sideways, so lift has nothing to do with the hull rising unless the speed increases and the hull rises as a result (but lift still means sail efficiency).
Read Practical Sailer magazine if you can find it, and for books, I'm drawing a blank--- a beginner's book I bought for my ex-wife was really good, can't find it... hopefully someone here can make a good suggestion. My library is more specialized and includes everything but a beginner's book.
My guess is you could join a sailing forum too.

alan

 

Bleach or diluted muriatic acid will get rid of a lot of the mold and reveal the true condition better. Use a brush and gloves/goggles if you want to be safe.
My recommendation is that you do a minimum in order to get the boat in the water functioning, and then you'll have a better picture of what problems you will want to address. You will see how everything interrelates, stress the hardware to reveal weaknesses, and most of all, enjoy the boat for the season. By fall, you'll already be thinking about next year and all the things you want to do to make the boat better. Your centerboard case repair and any other repairs will be tested before you have painted. Over the winter, you will learn much without the pressure to get ahead of yourself. You will change your mind as you go, and by spring, you'll have a solid plan together.

 

durwoodghib there is really nothing you can do to the American 16 to really beef it up. The whole boat is lightly designed and intended for light breezes. There is no ballast and only a light centerboard.

Clean it up and go enjoy it on nice days. Tender means the boat will respond to a strong gust by going over, mast in the water. A moderate gust will give extreme weather helm and the boat will round up into the wind even though that is not what you intended. As soon as it rounds up into the wind the jib will backwind and the boat will likely be knocked flat the other direction.

Enjoy the boat in light winds and sell it to the next guy when you want more boat.

 

What would you all suggest for cleaning the sails? They are is good codition but need a bath.