Back on board: LoFin 1981 s/n 151 Indian Harbour Beach, Florida - Reintroduction

[geodan]

Hi, all:

Previous CPYOA member.  Have owned LoFin since around 1985.  Unfortunately, despite dreams that accompanied her purchase, she never had the opportunity to fully prove her potential, not having ventured beyond the local waters of the Indian River (Lagoon).  Of course there have been exciting moments, still remembered, and on occasion still discussed.  But for the past decade or so she has seen very little usage.  So, last December I decided to retrieve her from my son's dock in Sebastian and sail her back here, 35 miles north to the Melbourne area for a bit of restoration, despite not having a functional outboard motor or prearranged dockage.  I'm seeking keel repair info.  (More later.)

To make a long story short, a strong north wind prevented me from reaching safe anchorage at the Banana River, so I anchored her on the south side of the Eau Gallie causeway.  Calmer weather proved that anchorage adequate, until a week later when a south wind picked up, dragging her to the causeway shore and landing her on submerged boulders amongst the mangrove trees.  Overnight the cabin would fill with about a foot of water from keel damage.  The next day she was hauled and, still on the yard owner's trailer, placed in dry storage where power and water are available.

She is still there on the trailer and with keel damage to be repaired, but otherwise undergoing my best efforts at full restoration, i.e. with all things totally stripped from outside and gutted from the interior to facilitate reconditioning.

[Bob23]

Wow...quite a reintroction story. Welcome back and we'll be following this tale as you rebuild.
Bob23

[findtime]

hello and the best to you.
I'm also in the process of repairing my keel. have some damage on the leading edge not to severe. at anchor she will take on some water. On the trailer now and continues to drip.may need a cover on her to dry the bilge. not sure how water is getting threw.as far as the repair will be done I'm not sure yet. ill be watching and waiting.

[geodan]

The restoration took much longer than expected.  Hauled in December, back in the water in November.  The outer rework was finished sooner, in October, but the rebuilt outboard had problems...wasn't aware of a seal and O-ring needed around the shift rod where it enters the lower unit.

Raising the mast since launch has been a problem.  Two attempts at doing-it-my-own-darn-self have failed.  Help is available, but I was hoping to raise it myself, as was done when I was a younger man.  I suspect the real problem is attempting the mast raising with the boat in the water which tends to amplify any tendency for the mast to drift to port or starboard.  Methinks this last failure was a possibility that the rigging snagged on the outboard or rudder, which was behind me, because the mast came down in a hurry after having been raised about 30 degrees.  There is future help available with other boaters at this dock, so that will be my salvation.

As to the rework, everything was stripped, inside and out, down to the hull, except for the painted plywood partitioning that forms the storage areas.  The boat sat primarily on her keel on a borrowed trailer until the last month, which made the leaky keel damage impossible to work until the boat was raised onto stands.  Both ends of the keel were weeping water from occasional rains that seeped into the hull.  More later.

[capt_nemo]

geodan,

Best wishes on your restoration efforts.

Be sure to have FUN while spending "quality time" with your boat.

Next to actually SAILING, I particularly enjoy WORKING ON BOATS to improve performance, safety, or efficiency.

capt_nemo

[Bob23]

Geo:
    Looks like you still have your hands full. I agree about the mast raising. A few years ago in preparation for hurricane Irene, I had the joyous occasion to lower my 23's mast while still in the water using 2 people. Never again. You need to have a stable platform while lowering or raising and a 23 in the water is not stable. Not only did I bend my mast foot slightly, but I almost lost my brother in law overboard!
    A mast crashing down can do a lot of damage both to boat and human alike. Be careful...have fun with your project. The 23 is well worth investing the time in.
Bob23

[brackish]

Welcome back GEO, thanks for the progress report.

once again I will mention that my simple mast raising system, described in the DIY section of this forum will allow the single hand raising or lowering of the mast, either on the trailer or on the water (I've done it several times) without the normal drama, injury, and destruction of valuable equipment that occurs when trying to horse it up with extra folks.