New Boat

[lustyslogger]

I put the "new" boat in the water on Sunday if all goes well and the flooding stops!! I will take pictures and post them on Monday.

Looking forward to it.

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Fair winds and happy sails to you.

[lustyslogger]

Well, I did it. No leaks but 5 years worth of rain water to drain. The exterior of the boat was quite shabby and the interior was a total disaster. I spent about two hours scrubbing the exterior and it looks much much better. Now as soon as my haz mat suit arrives I will tackle the interior. The only thing that appears to require replacement is the table which has suffered extreme water damage. I check with John Owens for a new table and had to take a sedative after he told me the price. Soooo, I am going to Lowes and buy a piece of 4 x 4 plywood and make my own table. Sorry John.

This will be a long term project to make the boat as ship shape as Jopie Helsen envisioned it. I hope to do him proud.

One side note, I used a 55 KW trolling motor on the Sunbird and it did an admirable job. I used the same motor on the Helsen and it was even better. I thought pushing a 2300 lb boat would be a real issue for a trolling motor but I believe it pushed it faster than the Bird. Good.

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I'm not familiar with that boat; but boats of that size and era frequently relied on a 1" plywood core with glass on one or both sides for the main load-bearing bulkhead under the mast. If yours has had enough rainwater to rot the table be sure to check where the chainplates fasten.

Pull a bolt and if brown water seeps out . . . cry.


Also, as a thought, if you get a table mock-up where you like it take it to a cabinet shop and have them put a Formica top on it. Shouldn't break the bank.

It will look "finished" and be easy to wipe off.

[lustyslogger]

I am going to try to attach a photo of the new boat. Its not a good one but its all I have at the present time.

newphoto.JPG

[Art Haberland]

I would definitely be careful of hidden rot if the table was destroyed by water. My own Sea Sprite 23 (built in 1963) had every bit of wood in her rotted.. this included those small bits of wood that were completely embedded in the 'glass.

Other than that advice.. she looks like a fun little boat.. and much more of a "trailer sailor" than my 23

[lustyslogger]

I would definitely be careful of hidden rot if the table was destroyed by water. My own Sea Sprite 23 (built in 1963) had every bit of wood in her rotted.. this included those small bits of wood that were completely embedded in the 'glass.

Other than that advice.. she looks like a fun little boat.. and much more of a "trailer sailor" than my 23

I didn't detect any rot in the wood other than the table. Now, the table was lying on the cabin sole and not upright. The boat had five years accumulation of rainwater. I did go over the boat fairly well, looking for soft spots and loose fittings etc. It appears the boat is solid (if the mast falls off I will know differently!!

[lustyslogger]

pichelsen22101a.jpg

This is not my boat but it is a much better photo of a Helsen 22. The boat is rather unique in that its windows are bubbled and blue. While that looks great from the outside I must admit it does make for a darker interior.

[Michel]

That is a good looking boat! Do you have the enclosure for the pop-top?

[lustyslogger]

That is a good looking boat! Do you have the enclosure for the pop-top?

Unfortunately no but it shouldn't be too hard to fabricate one. Velco and mosquito netting should do the trick.