Restoration of a Snapdragon

ezra_

So I thought rather than starting a new thread each weektime I had a new question, I'd combine it into a single thread.

The boat
I picked up a Snapdragon 23 a few months ago. The previous owner had plans to do it up, but they didn't materialise. It spent the last couple of years sitting on the hard in Athlone.

The boat is now sitting in a yard in Wicklow, and I've a swing mooring in Dun Laoghaire arranged for when she is ready to get back in the water.

This is she, from a few years back.



The work
The boat itself isn't in that bad nick; hull is sound (bar one issue), sails look ok, overall it has been looked after, if benignly neglected.

There has been a lot of bodge jobs, however. There is a lot of paint that needs to go, the electrics are just a total mess (nothing set up). The inboard has no starter control nor throttle controls (they are sitting in a box) and the bilge pump control is not connected to anything......

The cockpit floor was also raised and a self draining cockpit setup installed, or rather, the old cockpit floor was taken out, the outflows and channels for the new self drain put in and a chunk of ply just resting over all of this

The sails seem in decent condition. some minor tears and a lot of cleaning needed!


Tasks
Critical
It looks like someone moved a thruhull, and I can see fibreglass from the repair staring to delaminate a bit. Need to (I think) grind out what was done and repatch it. Not sure if the bad work goes all the way through or if the water has been working itself in.

Cockpit floor needs to be fixed:

• New marine ply floor
• Glass up the ply
• Figure out how to put sufficient engine hatches in so I can still access engine/bilge

Install new throttle controls
I have a new throttle and cables. Thinking of putting this right at the stern. Due t the newly raised floor, the knobs will be higher than the cockpit seats.

Cabin
There is a lot of old paint, most of it mank. The process for stripping this away has begun and am making good headway.

However, there is a lot black mould everywhere. It seems that either it was growing underneath the paint, or it was growing and was painted over.

You can see the work we have started:


Found that someone had stuffed a carpet into the bilge in the cabin, which was saturated and quite simply; utterly disgusting.

Question - is there a good way of removing black mould? Are there chemicals that I can't use on a boat?
We are also planning on repainting the whole cabin. I'm seeing on the net that bathroom paint is a good solution?

Bilge
I know from the previous owner that the automatic bilge pump switch is broken. I can get access to this, but can't get access to the pump itself



You can see that the pump is underneath the engine. I'm thinking now that I should move out the engine, clean out the bilge. Replace the pump and switch (gessing that its easier to replace the pump now?). Is it normal to have the pump where it can't accessed?

The pump control also needs to be replaced!


I'm also thinking of gelcoating the bilge once its cleaned up, so its easier to maintain

Electronics
These need to be totally replaced. A mate of mine is an electrician and will look over what is in the boat at the moment. As he says "simple in theory leads to fire in practice".

Right now, there are old sun pro dials from an engine that is no longer in the boat


Switches and wiring from a radio system that has been removed. There are headphone jacks all over the boat. All these must go.

The old starter is dead, I'm planning on building in something that is as similar to the original d7 panel as possible


There were some switches in the middle of the cabin


I'm planning on putting working all the electronics into one panel; take out the sunpro dials and use that panel for all the switches, bilge pump and engine ignition and associated lights.

Plan is to glass up every hole, paint, then rebed in the switches, new dials etc

Thats it for

fergal.b

Nice little project, a bit of bleach diluted in water should kill off the mould. I would probably take out all the old wiring and start again sometimes it's handy to attach the new wire to the old and pull it through any hard to reach places. The bilge pump is usually in the lowest place in the boat under the engine if you move it forward it might allow another inch or so of water before the switch kicks in I don't think it will be a problem looking at your bilge.
Best of luck with her. I do like a clean bilge for when you drop that all important nut


.

ezra_

Thanks Fergal, I was planning on doing that actually. Too many dodgy connections, half rusted connections and the like to have confidence in it.

I've also found that pretty much every screw in the boat wasn't stainless. Going to be a fun job drilling them out...

ezra_

So, life got in the way and the restoration was delayed.
However, it is getting back on track.

All of the electrics have been removed, the engine has been hauled out and is being overhauled and I've the cabin mostly cleaned out.
Sails have been fixed up also.

The critical piece remains; there is no cockpit sole.

Photos from this afternoon:



My plan is to remove the wooden frames that were put in before. Lower them so the bottom is flush with the original cockpit sole and then glass in some marine ply.

I'm hoping that this will allow me to have self-draining vents in also. I will glass up the vents that were put in.

Also shown, the engine bay. I'm afraid of what I'm going to find once I start cleaning it.



What am I missing? Are there any warning signs from the photos?

Edited to add: I forget to mention, you shouldn't be able to see the cockpit from the engine bay! I'll have to glass that up also, but will wait until the engine is back

fergal.b

I don't like the look of the white pvc pipe could be prone to cracking with heat and failing at the joints, also while you have the engine out drill some holes into the stringers to see if the wood is good if you can just fill them with epoxy.






.

ezra_

fergal.b wrote: »

I don't like the look of the white pvc pipe could be prone to cracking with heat and failing at the joints, also while you have the engine out drill some holes into the stringers to see if the wood is good if you can just fill them with epoxy.






.

That is the manual pump. When I looked at it, I found that none of the pipes were clipped and that it seems to be made of kitchen waste water pipes.

It will be replaced, I'm just using it at the moment to bail out the water when I wash things down.

Good idea about the stringers

pedroeibar1

Remember to cross over the self draining pipes and use SS jubilee clips.
Use marine grade wiring.
Household bleach is fine for the mould, Milton also is very good.
I'd just paint the bilge with something like Danboline, not sure that glassing is necessary..
I would not use bathroom paint, for a few quid extra it would be better to use two part International - it will last for years. (The price difference is small when you factor in the cost of your labour.)
Have a look at a Leisure 23 if you can, you might get a few ideas.
Also, I’d glass in a fore-aft run of 2x2 teak on the centreline of the ply cockpit sole – makes it easier for those with short legs when sitting to weather. If not, would you use non-slip tape or some other method? Does sugar work the same on fiberglass the same as it does with paint?

Donie75

I think you need to get your hands on all the info from Practical Boat Owner magazine on the Project boat they did. It was a Snapdragon 23 called Hantu Biru. They did a serious restoration and basically made it into a better than new boat. Almost as good as a Fergal Butler Resto!

http://www.pbo.co.uk/expert-advice/expert-answers/pbo-project-boat-hantu-biru-2085

They also published a booklet/magazine with all the jobs they did on the boat. I think I have it at home.

ezra_

Donie75 wrote: »

I think you need to get your hands on all the info from Practical Boat Owner magazine on the Project boat they did. It was a Snapdragon 23 called Hantu Biru. They did a serious restoration and basically made it into a better than new boat. Almost as good as a Fergal Butler Resto!

http://www.pbo.co.uk/expert-advice/expert-answers/pbo-project-boat-hantu-biru-2085

They also published a booklet/magazine with all the jobs they did on the boat. I think I have it at home.

I have it! It is a bible!

I don't think I'll get Iolo up to the same level, but that guide has proved to be excellent.