We are finally at that point where we’ve done the sanding, done the test coats and now we have to do the first coat. Being honest we were quite nervous as we’ve never worked with AWLWood before and not worked with wood in a very long time. But The time was upon us to walk the walk. Preparation Proper, Preparation, … Read More
Classic I14 – Test varnishing the hull
Because we’ve never used AWLWood and we aren’t going down to bare wood, if we can avoid it, this is all a bit of an experiment. So we decided to a couple of test runs on different parts of the hull to make sure that everything works as expected. For AWLWood going over existing varnish you have to sand down … Read More
Classic I14 – Stage 1 – Sanding the hull
The first stage, as ever, involves a lot of sanding, the boat has been varnished on a regular basis so in order to put the new AWLWood on it we need make sure we have a solid foundation. It is also an opportunity to fair the hull and work the deeper dents out. Because the boat is wooden and we … Read More
Classic I14 – Stage 1 and the plan
We’ve started work on “Freebooter” while we are going to modernise the boat, we also want to retain its provenance. Overall the hull is in great condition and has been well looked after, having been regularly varnished. This means that we can focus on fairing and revarnishing the hull. In terms of fittings, they all work and in on the … Read More
Data based decision making – Angel Mast – Part 2
We’ve had four sails since we put the Angel mast on instead of the SuperSpar, in wind ranging from zero to 16-18 knots. So far it is performing well, we set the diamonds tight to reduce sideways bend and to keep the mast straight. The objective is to keep the mast as straight as possible and see how it performs. … Read More
Classic International 14 – Our new project
Our last three projects have all been relatively modern boats, ranging from our all carbon fibre modern I14 to the polyester/glass Wildcat F18. In the back of our minds there has always been the memory of a plot we had with Nick Harvey when the National Maritime Museum was auctioning off its collection of classic/historic dinghies. Nick was keen to … Read More
Data based decision making – Trying different RS600 Masts
To date there have been two official mast makers in the 600 class, the original Angel Masts, apparently 60 – 80 of these were built and SuperSpar masts. While at the Euro Cup in Riva this year we got talking to different people about the challenges of mast supplies. SuperSpar have orders but aren’t delivering, not to mention the cost … Read More
RS600 – Mini Refit Pt2
When we did the mini refit in the summer we also gave the hull a bit of a spruce up. Didn’t take any photos then but thought we would follow up now. It was looking rough with chips out of the hull and big dents. We only had a short amount of time to tidy up the hull, so it … Read More
RS600 – A mini refit
With the Wildcat on the water we decided to give the 600 a quick work over. The underside of the hull had some damage which we needed to fill and fair, and we wanted to get rid of the old blue Pro-Grip on the wings and the deck. Below is the result of the work, before to the left and … Read More
Wildcat F18 – Old sails compared to new sail
We realised early on that if our intent was to race this boat, we needed to replace the sails. While the sails were in ok condition, they are old and on the point of starting to delaminate. The kite in particular was probably letting more air through it than it was holding. The spinnaker sock was literally falling apart in … Read More
Wildcat F18 – Our Refurbished Foils
In order to minimise drag on a race boat the need for the hull and foils to be ‘fair’ is most important. Fair in this case means that the hull/foil is smooth and water can move across/around it with the minimum of changing of direction. Obviously a hull has shaping so the water can’t travel in a straight line, which … Read More
Wildcat F18 – Really wish we hadn’t looked – Part 3
When we dehumidified the hulls we also removed the badly bent anchoring point for the spinnaker pole stays on the port hull. This came back to haunt us, when we turned the hull over to remove it from the shed we heard a piece of metal fall inside the hull. It was clear that the reinforcing plate had fallen off. … Read More
Wildcat F18 – Really wish we hadn’t looked – Part 2
One of the things we found early on of course was the ‘crack’ which turned onto a hole. We decided to hold off on fixing it until we had taken care of the rest of the hulls. It is an awkward fix because it is right on the turn of the bow of the boat. The hull laminates and gel … Read More
Wildcat F18 – What we have been doing for the last few weeks
While we have been quiet for the last few weeks, we have been busy. Even if a lot of it was busy waiting. When we bought the boat we put a moisture meter over the two hulls. The starboard one, the one with the hole, predictably was wet although the port hull wasn’t that far behind. Only solution was to … Read More
Wildcat F18 – Some times you wish you hadn’t looked
The refit of the boat had been, until we turned the hulls over, remarkably easy. Note to self, never ever forget “It’s never easy”. We de-beamed the boat and flipped the hulls over so we could assess what was needed on the bottom of the hulls. The warning of a problem came as soon as ‘Tris…’ picked up the starboard … Read More
Wildcat F18 – In the Dog House
We are a bit strange here at Bearly Awake, we do things like keep cars in the garage. Which of course means there is no room for boats. Solution? We need more space to work on the boats during the winter. So welcome to the ‘Dog House’, our new temporary boat shed. Of course our Border Collie, Roy, had to … Read More
Wildcat F18 – What we found from our clean and assessment
The reason why we do such a comprehensive clean up is so we can check that there aren’t any major issues we missed when we first looked at the boat. So we can build up our job list and order any parts. The good thing so far s we haven’t found anything major. The boat is older so it is … Read More
New Project – Wildcat F18 – Man maths strikes again
During the IMA National Championships at Swords, Ireland, in September, we were down working on the 600, near to the club house, building a set of Spectra/Dynema shrouds to replace the damaged metal ones. Before anyone says anything, yes we know they aren’t class legal but… Predictably this generated a lot of interest, given spectra is banned in rigging for … Read More
