O'Day Mariner Sailboat Restoration

[tpenfield]

We don't often see sailboat restoration work on this forum, but since I'll be restoring my newly acquired O'Day Mariner sailboat (Sail #3224), I thought I would run a thread for those who may be interested.

The boat is a 1976 model and has the "2+2" design which means the cabin has aft berths in addition to the standard v-berth in the bow that earlier models had. . . not that you would ever want to sleep on a boat of this size . . . My plan is to use this boat on days when the powerboat is just not in the cards, or just to get a few hours of relaxation.



Description - The boat is 19 feet in length, has a 24 foot mast and is known as a 'fractional' rig. The boat has a small cabin and weighs about 1300-1400 lbs. It has an fully retractable iron centerboard that acts as the keel, along with lead ballast that is glassed into the base of the keel trunk. Total ballast is about 400 lbs. The centerboard itself supposedly weighs about 170 lbs


History - I bought the boat from a guy who sailed it in New Hampshire, so fresh water. Based on some of the previous registration lettering, it also looks like the boat spent some of its life in New York.

The boat is fully functional and I did give it a test launch and sail just to see that everything was in working order. However, after 40 years, it is in need of some cosmetic, mechanical and structural restoration. Overall it looks like the boat will need work in the following areas

Centerboard/Keel



The centerboard (CB) is a bit rusty, since it is iron, but still has the original shape. So, it looks like it will be a good candidate for refurbishment with epoxy and glass fairing to protect it from rusting and enhance the sailing performance.

Gel Coat



The logo/name plates are in decent condition, but the gel coat is chalky and has a few nicks and voids where it has worn off. So, I plan of repairing the nicks and some dock rash as needed, then re-coat the entire boat ( I may use a 2-part paint instead of gel coat). I'll also put barrier coat on the bottom of the hull, below the water line, and finish it off with anti-fouling paint.

Other areas that will need attention are:

Teak Wood Trim - old, worn and broken in spots. I plan on going with some custom made vinyl pieces.

Foam Flotation - Wet in some areas and mostly degraded. So, I plan on removing the old foam and replacing it with new foam. (see my previous thread on this topic)

Transom Fixtures - there is a boarding ladder that attaches to the stern, but it requires the rudder to be removed, which is not practical. So, I plan on changing that setup. Also the auxiliary engine mount needs some TLC.


Cockpit and Cabin - needs a little freshening up. The cockpit has some cracks in the floor, which I originally thought was core moisture and rot, but upon inspection, I realized it is a design shortcoming (not a wood core). So, I'll make a modification there to prevent further cracking. BTW - there is very little wood in this boat, which is a good thing.

Mast Raising System. I will make rigging to easily step and secure the mast. Right now it is a 2-person job.

Trailer - the boat came with a nice galvanized trailer that needs a little bit of work on the rollers and the lights, as well as some new tires.

So, that is the plan and with the boating season coming to an end around these parts, I have brought the boat 'home' and put it in the garage, (which it barely fits) so I can do a fair amount of work during the Fall and winter.


I'll be posting updates as I go, and probably asking some questions or looking for some opinions on various matters.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Permission to tag along

 

[jigngrub]

That looks like a real nice small sail boat Ted, and I know you're going to do a real good job on her and I look forward to following this thread this winter.

I also like your introduction to this thread, very well written and planned out.:thumb:

 

[Scott Danforth]

Centerboard/Keel



The centerboard (CB) is a bit rusty, since it is iron, but still has the original shape. So, it looks like it will be a good candidate for refurbishment with epoxy and glass fairing to protect it from rusting and enhance the sailing performance.

Have you thought of Blasting the centerboard then Rhino Lining it?

 

[tpenfield]

Have you thought of Blasting the centerboard then Rhino Lining it?

I have not, but I certainly will look into it. I had planned on an epoxy & fiberglass encapsulation of the keel.

 

[tpenfield]

Progress Update: Gelcoat Prep

I have been taking things apart in preparation for re-doing the hull and topsides.

Whatever I can get to in terms of fasteners, I am removing so that I can prep & paint as easily as possible.

The port lights were oozing sealant from their edges


Real sticky stuff, but is not cured like silicone II

I found an interesting thing one night shortly after buying the boat . . . The boat has these funny looking navigation lights.


They were actually illuminated at night, yet there is no electrical at all in the boat :noidea: I searched the web for what they might be . . . some sort of automatic solar powered navigation light, maybe?

Then I found something . . . .



They are landscaping lights - LED/Solar. A P.O. had painted them red & green and fastened them to the side of the cabin top. There was also a clear one on the stern. Sort of a poor man's navigation light. Certainly not USCG approved.

Anyway, the lights are now dedicated to lighting the walkway of my house. Here are the dirt marks of the light and trim pieces removed from the cabin top.


I also wanted to remove the rubrail, yet be able to re-use it upon re-assembly of things after painting, etc. 40 years aging makes for a pretty brittle rubrail, and I have seen resto threads of these boats where the folks just ripped them off and destroyed them. I wanted to see if I could get the rubrail off intact. So, I used a hair dryer to heat the rail as I gently removed it.



It worked pretty well and I got the rubrail off intact, all one piece that stretched around the boat.

.

There is also an inner piece to the rubrail that acts as its mounting and also appears to be part of the hull/deck joint.



The hull/deck joint looks to be a sandwich type rather than the shoebox type that you see on many powerboats. Anyway, removal of the rubrail material will allow me to clean the dirt that was behind it and get a better paint job with less masking of things. You can see some gelcoat cracking right along where the rubrail was (probably from some docking bumps and bruises) and now I'll be able to prep those better.

 

[littlerayray]

Did your wife know you took her hair dryer I hope you put it back with a bit of flower in it

 

[tpenfield]

Did your wife know you took her hair dryer I hope you put it back with a bit of flower in it

It was the Admiral's hair dryer . . . but all is good.

 

[Lt. Dan]

After the Sunfish, this was Pops first trailer able boat. My brothers and I learned to sail on this, we learned facts like " trimming a sail is like trimming a wing on an aircraft", "once this boat is trimmed, keep your butt in place, do not move about" ha ha, didn't last but about a year, in 77 he moved up to S2 and never looked back. Nice boat, easy to handle and fun to sail. My brother Greg inherited it, used it to teach sailing for years then replaced it with a Victoria 18. Your boat brings back fond memories of great days

 

[tpenfield]

After the Sunfish, this was Pops first trailer able boat. My brothers and I learned to sail on this, we learned facts like " trimming a sail is like trimming a wing on an aircraft", "once this boat is trimmed, keep your butt in place, do not move about" ha ha, didn't last but about a year, in 77 he moved up to S2 and never looked back. Nice boat, easy to handle and fun to sail. My brother Greg inherited it, used it to teach sailing for years then replaced it with a Victoria 18. Your boat brings back fond memories of great days

Yup, an S2 7.9 would be nice someday. I like the full lifting keel and kick-up rudder of the 7.9 and 6.9 S2's. I hope to give this Mariner a renewed lease on life. The sails are a little bit blown out, but it did come with a set of racing sails. Of course, if I had to buy new sails, it would cost more than the boat did

 

[tpenfield]

Progress Update - Cabin

The cabin is fairly basic and there are some gold vinyl cushions ( a La 1970's) for the v-berth and the aft berths that I am not sure I will bother to put back. There is room for a porta-pottie and I have a brand new one that is about 5 years old yet still in the box it came in.




There are some filler boards for the openings in the v-berth. They are plywood with a paper thin imitation wood grain veneer, which is peeling off in places. So, I plan on sanding them down a bit and painting them with white polyurethane.



There is some hull side lining material that has come loose from its foam backing . . .



The foam backing seems to be in decent shape as is the material itself. So I will just wash the material and re-glue it to the foam.



I laid out the siding material in the kitchen just to get a look and the pieces are in very good condition for 40 years old. In the washer they went and I hung them outside to dry.

I am still working of opening up the foam filled compartments in the cabin . . . lots of fiberglass dust to come from that task. Fortunately the fiberglass on a sailboat is fairly thin as compared to a powerboat. So, cutting is a bit easier.

 

[Corjen1]

Ted, great project!! I know nothing about sail boats, so I would like to tag along if you dont mind. There is a guy on youtube that does these kind of boats (BoatworksToday) Great guy and amazing work. Also, I was looking at sail-rite's free video section, there are several that might be useful in your build...

 

[tpenfield]

Thanks, Corjen, I'll check those videos out. :thumb:

 

[Woodonglass]

Ted, Do you know anything about Wood Veneering? It's not all that hard to do and can yield some stunning results. You could really make the cabinets look great!!!

 

[tpenfield]

Ted, Do you know anything about Wood Veneering? It's not all that hard to do and can yield some stunning results. You could really make the cabinets look great!!!

Are you talking about my kitchen?

 

[tpenfield]

Update: Flotation Foam Compartments

I started to open 'things' up in the cabin to get a look at the foam inside the V-berth, etc. The first place I cut open was where the porta-pot goes. It has a plywood backing to stiffen the area. The fiberglass separated easily from the plywood. Very wet. . .



I cut out the plywood to get a look below it. there is supposed to be foam underneath, but it turned out to be only standing water . . .



So, I dried up all the water (about 1 quart) and will see if any more drains into the area from adjacent compartments. I am not quite sure if you can see from the picture, but the fiberglass is made from layers of cloth and not the CSM or WR that you typically see today. The stuff is very dense so cutting is a bit more challenging.



Here are the other holes that I cut in the v-berth chamber(s). I still have 2 more larger cut-outs to make in the aft-berths.



The foam was quite dry and in good shape. the only issues that I could see was a couple of 'short shots' in the chambers. so, I may just add some foam to fill them completely.




I am going to wait-and-see if any more water accumulates in the area under the porta-pottie base. I would expect some. The aft berths had quite a bit of water in them, so that is going to involve breaking apart and digging the foam out piece by piece.

In other news, I have figured out a lifting hoist using my chain hoist to lift the boat off of the trailer and gain better access to the keel (centerboard) and the underside of the hull.

 

[JameO]

Wow I really like your project. Your making good progress so far. I'd like to tag along.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Cup brush on drill extension will chew up the foam so you can use a shop vac to suck out the ground up foam

 

[tpenfield]

Wow I really like your project. Your making good progress so far. I'd like to tag along.

Yes, definitely. I am finding this boat easier in some regards that my powerboat resto/repair projects, but challenging in other ways, like certain places in the boat that are difficult to reach, given that it is a smaller boat.

Cup brush on drill extension will chew up the foam so you can use a shop vac to suck out the ground up foam

I am hoping that I might find a 2 foot extension at HF. The aft berths are 94" long (7' 10") and I plan to cut a 30" opening in the center portion , so my reach would be about 32" each way (forward and aft). Overall there is about 2.5 cubic feet of foam in each aft berth, based on my measurements and calculations. I am hoping that I can get a good portion of it to come out in larger 'chunks', which will speed things up.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I got mine at either lowes or menards. I had used up to 3 18" extensions to get into some of the foam boxes as I did not remove the cap. the boxes were at least 48" long (about 5 cubic feet if I remember)