Friday, November 2, 2007

It wasn't supposed to be a full Rebuild!


I had been looking around for an older sailboat for a few months when I came across a 35 year old Grampian 23. It had been sitting in the woods behind a guy's house for a few years, so needless to say it was very grimy, but it looked solid and at first appearances I did not expect to have too much work to do on it. Actually, I could have just put the boat straight into the water and sailed it, but I did want to clean it up a little. Well, a little clean up has turned into a pretty extensive project. None of the changes I am making are really diificult, but every time I remove a piece of the boat or repair something, I discover another problem/opportunity for enhancement.

I had not intended to document this process on a blog, so some of the initial pictures are a bit blurry since I used the camera on my phone. During the refit process, I will be using a camera, so quality should be enhanced.

2 comments:

Neil said...

I have a '74 Grampian 23 in storage for the winter. Come spring, I'll be engaged in much the same sort of projects you're looking forward to. I'll also need to do quite a bit of keel restoration and explore what I hope are primarily superficial cracks in the starboard side gelcoat. (Probably hurricane damage from a piling.) As you said, "Every time I remove a piece of the boat or repair something, I discover another problem/opportunity for enhancement."

I hope you enjoy your project and that you continue to blog your progress. I look forward to your insights.

Unknown said...

Hey. I just bought a Grampian 23. Not sure of the year yet. I will also be doing alot of work. I blew your budject buying my boat. Butit came with a trailer and a motor. Maybe a fair deal. I'll be reading on, and sharing with you my experence as well.

tom
t_van_aalst@hotmail.com