The happiest day in a mans life, I bought a boat

njburke

Hi,
Just a quick hello and a bit of an introduction.
I've had an interest in boats for some time now, and have and still do toy with the idea of building one. I lurk here from time to time.
At present I own a cedar strip canadian canoe, which I mainly use on the local waterways, I do a bit of diving and from time to time cox the club rib. Lately though I've developed an interest in dinghy sailing, mainly as I've three boys and it seems an ideal way to spend the day.I've a neighbour who has a 28 footer and I've been out with him the odd time.

I've been looking for project dinghy, yesterday I bought one. A fibre glass hulled GP14, in need of a touch of TLC. The plan is to replace the deck with a wooden deck (I have been collecting timber for a while), fit a e-trolling motor or seagull and of course learn to sail. I had been on the lookout for a 14-16 ft cruising dinghy.

The GP came with four sails, (I can identify the mains, the matching hull numbers were a clue). Is the sail with the window in it the jib ? and the very lightweight and garishly coloured one a spinnaker ?

Other than that, the mast is bent nad will need a bit of repair, most of the rigging is on the hull, I have a dagger board in good nick but the rudder is not with the boat.

Can anyone recommend a book on GP14 restoration? I've found an online blog of replacement timber deck on the same hull on line, dimensioned drawings would be a huge help.


The pics of the hull are at the bottom.








NJ

fergal.b

Hi njburke welcome to the forum, Wow thats a big boat it takes up my full screen I don't know much about the GP'S but I'm sure the guys here http://www.gp14ireland.com/ could help you out with dimensions if no one here can.
Keep on toying with the idea of building one

njburke

lashing of apologies on the oversized pics, they are now dinghy sized rather than canal longboat sized.

I'll join the class association and the chap who did the restoration is an avid GP14 nut at newburgh sailing club, I'll drop him an email and see If I can get dimensions or a how-to guide on replacing the the decks.

murphym7

The happiest day in a mans life, I bought a boat

The next happiest day is the day you will sell it!:D

Only messing, enjoy it.

homer911

Did the trailer come with the boat? Seems a bit big. A launching trolley would also be useful. Without a close look, I would question the need to replace the deck - a lot of work for what will be a family fun boat..

Tow

homer911 wrote: »

Without a close look, I would question the need to replace the deck - a lot of work for what will be a family fun boat..

Agreed, The deck looks OK (sags a bit?) and if is bad I would only replace it with an original matching deck. The GP14 is a class racing dinghy and once you replace it with a DIY wooden one it will not meet class specs and she will lose most of her value.

fergal.b

Yep looks fine to me too, some sandpaper, varnish and a bit of rubbing compound and she will look like new.


.

davlacey

by deck do mean a level plywood floor? u could put one in yourself using 1 " aeroboard as a template

njburke

Hi all,
just to get back to folks on their contributions.
@fergal.b cheers for the link, I've been following your builds for a while, hat off to you. Thanks for the nudge on the pic size, the MODs would wave the ban hammer over in the photography forum (well if it was decent shot, maybe not) for such breaches. Any build is a bit of an undertaking, last build I saw in the flesh was the Dutch builder outside Kilaloe, you should see what he has in the shed down there,a master craftsman. He built my canoe, it looks and paddles like it was grown rather than made.

@murphym7, I know, but still we persist,and I've experienced why.

@homer911, nope, no trailer, no rudder, mast is bent and yet to be collected, the hull was only a few miles from my brothers house and his trailer for 19ft lake boat. The GP14 fitted the trailer well, I only needed to adjust the pads at the rear station sole. Twas fine for a short run on a trailer without suspension.
I agree there is no need to replace the deck, its a bit springy near the mast gate, I could take it off and stiffen whats there. Theres a trade off here between OTW time and a bit of a project that I know I'll enjoy and learn from. A couple of years ago I built a garage with the height to raise and lower a boat from the joists. I figure I'ld be prepared to put as much as 50 hours and a couple of hundred euros into a new deck. I reckon the wood in the seats, keel housing and rubbing strips is too far gone anyway.

@Tow, I'm unlikey to want to race it , classification racing is about testing the skill of the crew, I'm an absolute beginner in any boat that does not have an oar, paddle or an e-tec. I also figure my repair job on the mast will not acquire a classification cert. If it hadn't come with sails, it would probably get a balanced lug sail put on it.

@davlacey,theres a plywood deck, looks poorly made, I'll probably replace it.


Going forward, the chap who restored the gp14 #11134 Boomer is a bit of an inspiration. The hull I bought is #11125, probably from the same run.


Boomer before,


Boomer after,


At this point, I'm waiting on my neighbour, the sailor/marine architect to return from hols. It was his recommendation to get a dinghy with built in buoyancy, I'll ask him to tell me exactly what condition the hull and sails are in as well as identification of the missing bits . I'll get an estimate of what I'll need to budget for.

Apart from that, the only progess so far is that my wife now knows, it was one of those rare occasions within a marriage where it is better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission;)

NJ

fergal.b

As your not going racing it does look a lot prettier with the wooden deck

Steve

Wish you the best with your project NJ. From the pics, there isn't a whole lot wrong with it that a little TLC and time wouldn't solve.

I'd tend to be on the side of keeping it to class spec as there'll come a day when pottering about will not be enough and you'll want to go do an event and sail with other Geep owners - beware though once bitten there it's hard to not do it again!!

njburke wrote: »

Apart from that, the only progess so far is that my wife now knows, it was one of those rare occasions within a marriage where it is better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission

Tell me about it.. welcome to sailing

homer911

All this Olympic coverage is giving me itchy feet for dinghy sailing again..

whacker1982

njburke, nice little project u have on your hands there, keep us updated on the rebuild of the boat, i think everyone here loves watching a boat come back to life, its very addictive watching someone rebuilding a boat or rebuilding a boat themselves.
you will get all the help you need here, boats bring people together.:D

Termonator

I bought the same model as that a while back. Had the same sagging problem with the deck and contemplated replacing it also but in the end just glassed in a reinforcing bar as you can see below and is now in perfect shape.

Felt this route far outweighed the time and cost of a new deck although a wooden deck is pretty nice to look at!!

With a bit of sanding and painting it will look like new again.

fergal.b

Super job she looks new

njburke

@Termonator. Thanks, that looks a splendid job, I'll attempt the same.
Did you have any sort of a written or online guide on restoring it ? Is that also a bourne plastics hull?



Progress to date.
I showed the sails and pics of the boat to my neighbour (he's a marine inspector and avid sailor).
I have the three sails I'll need and they're in good serviceable condition, he told me to put the spinnaker away for a while. He also showed me how to roll them correctly for the sail bags.
His advice was not to redeck but to make good the fibreglass deck and get out on the water as soon as possible, I'm not the type to seek advice and then go against it. At this point the plan is 'Termonator II'. In return I gave him a hand with his Mirror dinghy.

Missing bits; the seller was to have collected the mast and had a scour round for the tiller and rudder this morning, I'll chase him tomorrow to see if he's located both.

My brother will want his trailer back later this week so I'll need to move the boat over to my place.
My neighbour says it looks like most of the boat fittings are there, including the cleats but not the kicker.

I also have to make a workspace for it in the garage, which is a weekends work given the current state of the garage.


Niall

Termonator

Not sure if it is Bourne plastics hull but same deck design as yours so assume it is. Boat is 1977.
I didn't use any hard and fast guide, it was more a case of first of all cleaning it very well, inside and out and then quite a bit of sanding to get as smooth a finish as possible. Also used strippers to get take the deck right back.

One decision you will have to make is whether you want to keep the original gelcoat and bring it back to life or paint it. I went with painting in the end using the roll and tip method and it gives an excellent finish.

I used international paint, one layer undercoat and one gloss. 2 pack will probably give an even better finish.

For all the wooden parts I stripped them right back to the bare wood and again plenty of sanding etc followed by nine coats of yacht varnish. Some advise using epoxy as a first coat sealer.

Actually surprising the amount of work involved in a small boat once you get started as you will want it to be a perfect finish.

I would also agree with getting the sagging deck sorted right away and if you manage to get all the bits and pieces you are missing to get straight out on the water and enjoying it before doing it as a winter project.

njburke

Termonator, thanks for the reply. The plate on mine is 75 then the hull number, I'm guessing thats 1975.

My hull looks good, theres a minor repair maybe 5 square inches on it. I don't think I'll be doing much with the hull.

Timber work on the seats etc, they'll have to come out as I imagine they rot from the underside. I don't know about the nine coats of yacht varnish, the timber would want to be in very good nick to warrant that.

On finish, I read somewhere that you can grade finish by how close you get to boat before it stops looking good, ie a 10 ft finish, 20 ft finish.
My cedar strip canoe has a very good finish, be hard to match.

I'll probably just plug away at it,as best I can, time and funds allowing.

NJ

Talent

What part of the country are you based with your new boat? There's a few sailing clubs which race GP14s and if you were to join one I know that you will get a lot of help and encouragement from fellow sailors there. It's also a handy way of picking up bits and pieces you need. Keen racers will replace their gear every few years and will often sell, or even give their old stuff away. That includes sails etc.

Don't discount racing it. There's no quicker (and safer) way to learn about sailing than to try a bit of racing and you'll get lots of advice in the bar afterwards! Don't worry about not knowing too much about the rules. If you're a beginner you are probably going to get left behind after the start and unlikely to get in anyone's way.

Some clubs offer a special rate for new members so it's worth while shopping around. My own club (Skerries SC) does a half price rate for the first year.

Like everyone else I'd say don't bother replacing the deck and I wouldn't be hung up on the floors either. An older dinghy will rarely repay the effort (and expense!) of a complete refurbishment. Just tart it up, make it safe and enjoy it as much as you can.

Talent

And don't get hung up on the timber work - unless it is structural and visibly rotting. I'm sure the seats are fine too. Poke and probe and if there's no softening due to rot you are OK.

There is a technique for straightening masts involving a spare wheel from a car. Post a photo when you get the mast and I'll tell you if it's worthwhile.

njburke

Hi Talent,
Thanks for the tips.
When I get list of what I need I'll put up a wanted ad on a few of the sites.
I haven't got hold of the mast yet, and the seller is off on holidays.
I've to bring it over to my place over the weekend and see whats what.

Niall