by Mark Biagio (mibiagio@hotmail.com), last updated 27 February 2004
Index
Sometime in early February 2002 I decided to buy "The Brown Job". Rondar 7493. The advertisement said "in need of some work and no mast" and since I couldn't afford a "fit to race" model 505 (starting in the region of R10,000 and up) and that I had a mast from an old 1968 parker, I decided that the brown job had to be mine. You see I've raced all my life and on a brown 23 ft keelboat, so I'm partial to brown boats and everybody knows when a brown boat beats them cause, lets face it, they stand out!
So I inspected it, and collected it some time later. The boat had been raced hard for many years, hence there were many repairs that had been done, some good and some not so good - basically the boat was tired and needed a total "pick me up". Then for 4 months it stood under my carport at home, suddenly to chicken to tackle this restoration. I spent hours just looking at it and making lists of what had to be done. I spent hours on the Internet, looking and downloading articles, pictures, pdf's anything. Soon I found Ali Meller's article on 7080 and I read it nightly for two weeks, and did some more surfing and saving lots of pictures and articles to my hard drive (Kiss2, 7200, 7356, Holger/Jess to name a few). Eventually at the end of July I moved the boat into the open air, gave her a clean and then the fun began.
Today nearly 7 months later, I've finished her up and sailed her once. Below follows some of what I've done, mistakes and success's. Id like feedback for this article, from the pros and anyone else. We can then highlight, expand and correct some things done here because if someone else wants to do something similar, then this article may give them some confidence and knowledge. (As an aside as I write this article I've just got a mail about a boat repairers club that has just been established by one of our sailing shops - what I would have given for that a year ago) I've broken the article up into small sections, I did not necessarily complete these in this order as you'll see by some of the photographs. Excuses : I must apologise for the quality of some of the photographs as the only digital camera I had was my wife's Nokia cell phone with a camera attachment. Also I was a little hesitant to take too many photographs early on, as I was worried that I was going to document a disaster, if you need a further explanation please contact me and Ill try to respond as best I can.
Are you the kind of repair person? Well you need time, patience, spare cash (not much, just continual small amounts), an understanding spouse, deaf neighbours and some space for the boat and your tools. If you don't have all this, rather save and buy a "Ready to race" boat! Your frustration wont last.
The Brown Job before she was mine:
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"Boat at sunset" |
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Here you can see the damage to the port side of the mast "hole" through the deck. This was a decent repair and just needed finishing. You can also see the port tank crew position repair. |
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Side view |
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Rear View, boat looks a little pinkish, but that is just the camera and the sunset. |
Basically when it comes to fibreglass, being gentle isn't the answer. The only way to fix a damaged area is to remove it! This is a daunting task for a newbie. Anyway armed with a Jig Saw I proceeded in under an hour to put three HUGE holes in my boat (pic). It had to be done. I cut out the 2 damaged areas on the port tank and the whole section of a previous hull repair. The hole now, to the rear, in the port stern tank allowed me to do the hull repair from the inside of the tank. From the hole in the tank at the crew position I could fix the gunwhale area where the boat used to rest on its dolly, again from the inside. For these repairs I uses fibreglass matt and resin. I should have used fibreglass cloth and epoxy, but I hadn't heard about that until Ali told me about it.
I started with the hull repair, I took the piece that I'd cut out with the jig, wrapped it in tin (aluminium) foil. and then screwed in back into the hull so that I could lay up against it (like a template). The process was laying a strip of glass horizontally and applying resin, then the next strip slightly overlaying the first until the whole area was done. I then gave it an hour break and did the next lay-up, this time with vertical strips and then again with horizontal strips. The next day I removed my "template" only to find I hadn't screwed the template close enough and now my hull repair looked like a "beer gut" bulging out. Out came the Jig and out came yesterdays work. So we started again and this time got a better shape (pic). Some time later I "attacked" it with my small angle grinder and using a straight edge across the repair, I ground down the high sections so as to keep that 505 hull shape. This took time and care, but when it was finished and sanded, the depressions were filled with pool coat (like a gel coat) applied by brush and sanded that to a smooth finish (pic).
In this model of 505 there are 3 aluminium struts in the tanks, the one right next to the damage was bend, obviously from a previous collusion, so I straightened it and re-glassed it back in position.
The port gunwhale repair came next with me glassing strips along the inside of the tank, where the tank, and hull join. I glassed in three layers of around 0.5 m in length. Once cured I focused back on the outside of the repaired area, removing all the previous damaged glass and gel coat. I then used epoxy and fibreglass matt and laid up a strip over this area. Some more grinding and sanding to keep the shape correct and then pool coat to fill and smooth the surface, followed by another round of sanding. (pic) I also was lucky in that there was a small hole in the hull which I could also repair from the "hole" in the tank and then fill with pool coat from the outside.
The starboard gunwhale repair was done from the outside in much the same way as the port side, except that it was only done from the outside, because this "crack through the hull" was not as major as the starboard side.
The tank repair was done in two stages. Firstly I worked out restoring the two cut out pieces of tank. For the starboard stern section piece I removed all broken and cracked gel coat and any other badly repaired areas, even if this meant creating more holes. All edges were then bevelled off using a file and then re-glassed with matt and resin from the back of the pieces. I used a tube to maintain the shape of the ribbings/grooves in the tank. Again more sanding to smooth and shape, some pool coat and some more sanding. I used much the same procedure to fix the two holes in the port stern tank section, but obviously from the outside (pic). For the starboard crew position tank piece which was thicker as it had a foam sandwich between the glass, I removed all the previous epoxy repair to expose the foam, I filled in some of the missing foam bits with a bodge mix (matt strands and resin) and then glassed over this area with two lay ups of matt and resin. Again followed by sanding, pool coat and more sanding to finish. (pic)
Now I had to place these cut out tank pieces back. I cut 8 short strips of glass, applied resin and once cured I then screwed them into place at each of the four corners of each hole in the tank. I could then place each cap back in its hole, and then lay up along the edges, after they were bevelled at an angle. Again sanding and glassing and sanding until the areas were smooth, but strong. Pool coat and again more sanding followed to finish (pic).
Other repairs were also done including fixing damaged corners at the stern so that they are now corners again. This was done with lay ups of small patches of fibreglass cloth and epoxy, after the damaged and broken areas were removed and ground flat. All holes from the fittings were filled in with a bodge mix and finished off. All edges that had split or broken were also filled with epoxy and finished off. Where the tanks "bend" to join the floor there were cracks and possibly leaks into the tank. I ground out theses damaged areas, bevelled the edges, and used epoxy and glass matt to redo them, followed by sanding some pool coat and more sanding to finish. (pic. - I was forced to use a dark brown pigment in my pool coat as I was all out of beige/cream, but by this time I already new I was going to re-spray.)
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Holes cut out in the tank, to fix their repairs and to get at repairs in the hull and the gunwhale. Floor has been sanded. |
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Damaged section of hull which has been replaced with a new lay up from the hole in the tank above it. |
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Repaired section of the hull, now ground down, sanded and filed so as to keep the shape of the hull, does not look good, but felt great! |
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Damaged areas in the starboard tank that have been repaired, with glass matt and resin and sanded. Still needs the pool coat |
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Repaired crew position after a first coat of pool coat. Some areas still need to be filled in with more. |
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Port stern cut out , glassed back in pool coated and sanded. |
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Repaired areas where tanks joins the floor. Here the floor has already been re glassed. You can see the floor areas that have been filled in with new foam, and the "suspect" wet areas which are darker. Boat has also been sanded. |
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Picture showing whole boat just after some major sanding, but this shows the repair of the tank at the port crew position |
Floor, mast step and watertight compartment
Looking at the boat I could see many layers of paint were on the floor, so I started sanding and realised that the grinder was the only option. For 2 weeks after work I put on goggles and a bandanna over my mouth and I grinded and grinded, down to the clear layer of glass before the foam core. I even grinded under the deck! Near the mast step I had to be careful and gently removed layer after layer of paint followed by layer after layer of fibreglass. Only to discover that this mast step had some rot (uuugggghhhh!!!) and had been replaced (not so nicely) before. I made the call to remove the mast step and make another. Once the mast step was removed (pic) I also saw that the front marine ply at the bottom on the forward watertight compartment was also rotten and I chose to remove that too! (pic) This was a sad day for me, I had officially gone beyond the point I wanted to.
I none the less cleared all the previous paint, mast step, half of the watertight compartment marine ply and sanded the floor. Some of the floor looked wet (Black areas in the foam), so I drilled theses sections out to just before the bottom of the hull using a hole saw and let the boat dry out for two weeks in the sun. Luckily this is South Africa and during late winter there is no rain. I then filled these holes with foam purchased from my local fibreglass shop and glassed them in with patches of matt and resin. I then did a hand lay-up of the floor, starting aft and working my way forward. I excluded the floor under the deck which still looked dry and in good condition. The lay-up was sealed after a full cure, with an epoxy primer to seal the new floor for a new paint job (pic1, pic2). And a week later the rains came, lucky!
Next I tackled the watertight compartment. I then purchased 6mm marine (should have been 4mm) ply and cut out the required shape, using a piece of cardboard as a template. I cut the ply slightly larger and then filed it by hand down to size until it was a snug fit. Along the floor I epoxied in a fibreglass frame/bandage onto which I could bond the new compartment piece. Once complete I then spread liberally some bonding epoxy on this frame, along the diagonal and vertical wooden frame work under the deck , and at the back of the spinnaker chute. I then inserted my new plywood in place and screwed it in against the chute, backing frame and wooden frame with small brass screws. Once cured I then epoxied a frame/bandage in the front and drilled the drainage holes once this also had cured.
For the mast step I copied the one Id removed and used a combination of marine ply (for the main vertical spine) and meranti for the supports and mast step. (I had no clue what wood to use). I used a cardboard template to get the correct sizes and cut out all the pieces of wood. I was worried about the weight as the parts of my new mast step weighed more than the old one, but I figured because I wasn't going to cover my step with glass it should end up almost equal. I then fitted the pieces one by one in the boat. First were the feet, I bonded the starboard foot to the floor first (using heavy bricks to keep the pressure for 24 hrs), then to this I bonded the marine ply spine, then I bonded in the port foot, I then bonded in the head, side and diagonal struts. All woodwork was bonded with epoxy (thick applied with a "putty knife") and also screwed into each other part with solid brass screws. I also then bonded the vertical deck brace in and used epoxy and glass cloth to keep it in place under the deck. I also finished off a previous repair under the deck. Finally after 3 months this 505 was starting to be put back together again.
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Another view of the rear floor, you can also see repairs to the corners and around the rudder pinions. |
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Another view of the floor and port tank. |
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Shows 1) mast step removed, 2) where glass floor lay up has ended, 3) an old repair , white "spot". 4) Big toe! |
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View under the deck of the removed mast step, only leaving the "top" piece. This was also removed. You can also see the part of watertight compartment has been removed. |
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Another view of the watertight compartment, showing the removal of paint on the left and it still to be done on the right. |
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The new water tight compartment and mast step, in the process of being painted and sealed. |
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View of the completed mast step before sailing |
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Another mast step view |
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Another.... |
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And....... Another |
What no brown! I'm not one for changing a boats colour, but after sourcing 3 different suppliers of 2 part polyurethane paints, and none of them having brown as a colour I realised I had to change its colour. Another sad day! Anyway, it now meant that the sanding had to be brutal. I hired a belt sander and let rip down through three layers of paint and back to the original gel coat. This was done all over (except the floor). I used a belt, orbital, and (although a 505 has an amazing shape the only thing that works is...) the human hand. So after nearly a month of sanding, with my arms looking like "The Hulks" thighs it was complete and ready to spray.
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Hull being sanded, there was a brown layer followed by another brown followed by white and then the brown gel coat. |
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Here you can see the hull as well as the gunwhale repair, the rough waterline, some small repair patches (painted white) where the belt sander went a little deep. |
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Another view of the hull |
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A view of the deck, showing the holes filled with a bodge mix and finished off |
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Another view of the deck. |
Having no garage and only a carport , I took old sails and things and hung them around to make a "spray room". One complete I masked off the areas of the hull and sprayed the tanks and the deck with three coats. I then flipped the boat over the next day, masked off the deck and tanks and sprayed the hull, another 3 coats. I got lucky, I was able to spray her in two days, under overcast skies with no rain! Two days later I used a mohair roller and did the floor and the rail, with non slip beads mixed into the paint (two coats with non slip and the last one without). I masked off a waterline, based on a "thumb suck", painted it and touched up any other areas. Basically I was very pleased with the outcome. I then three weeks later smoothed the hull with 600 grit wet soapy sand paper.
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A view of the boat, clean and in the "tent". |
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Another view of the boat, clean and in the "tent". |
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After the three coats of white, new boat starts to emerge. |
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Wow! |
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You can still see the patches of brown along the waterline, as the waterline still had to be painted. |
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Before and After |
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Floor and rail painted |
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Floor, centre board case and rail painted |
The mast step and the forward watertight compartment were sealed with a penetrating epoxy until no further epoxy was being absorbed. I then had to cover this with a clear polyurethane so that the epoxy would not turn yellow due to sunlight..
All chips and cracked areas were removed and these patches re-glassed with fibreglass matt and epoxy, grinded and sanded back to shape. I then painted it with two coats by roller and smoothed with 600 grit sand paper. The only rudder I had was on old triangular lift up wooden thing from an old parker. I had traced another boats rudder onto some newspaper earlier in the year and then cut this wooden job to the same profile. I then plugged the width and a host of other parameters of my new foil into a java application from Phils Foils, which threw out an aerofoil cross section. I made a negative of this out of board and planed my new rudder down to size until the template would slide over it. The new foil was sanded, sealed with epoxy and painted with a clear polyurethane. It was then wet soapy sanded with 600 grit.
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Completed Rudder |
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Top of rudder |
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Template used to shape rudder, template had to fit over rudder "snugly" |
I'm not going to go into much detail about the rigging (as there is so much on the web), but I basically followed an American style as in Ali Meller's 7080, but I added some other influences from Holger/Jess, what Id seen while crewing on other 50's, and based on whatever spares I had lying around. 90% of all halyard and sheets were replaced.
| Type | Description |
| Spars | Old Gold Proctor "D" or "E" - not sure |
| Spreaders | Proctor adjustable |
| Jib | Stuff luff, with a 16:1 ratio lead to each tank |
| Shrouds | Adjustable with triple blocks on the rail, lead to each tank |
| Kicker | Cascade 8:1 lead to each tank |
| Main Halyard | Wire halyard with a adjustable lever on mast (will change - its awful) |
| Main Outhaul | Wire, adjustable lever on boom (also awful) |
| Spinnaker pole | Trolley system (will change to a Spiro, when cash flow returns!) |
| Spinnaker halyard | On side of CB Cap, Sheave box on mast moved for LLS. Left a bend pulley on the mast at the original halyard position so that we can switch between a big and original bag |
| Pole down, Pole up, Ram Down | On Port C/B Cap |
| Cunningham, Ram up( & a possibly new main halyard) | On Starboard C/B Cap |
| Barbers haulers (twings?) | Cleat on the diagonal bulkheads |
| Jib Sheets | Cleat moved forward of track so crew can tack facing forward! |
| Centre Board up and down | Just off the C/B Cap as in 7080 |
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Completed boat while being rigged. |
Cost (as at 19 Feb 2004)
| Item | Cost - ZAR | Cost -EUR | Cost - USD | Why no Cost? |
| Boat | 5000.00 | 592.41 | 751.89 | |
| Mast | .00 | .00 | .00 | Had |
| Boom | .00 | .00 | .00 | Had |
| Spinnaker Pole | .00 | .00 | .00 | Had |
| Rudder | .00 | .00 | .00 | Had old one, just reshaped |
| Spreaders | .00 | .00 | .00 | Given in exchange for beers (I must still supply the beers) |
| Fibreglass Matt & Cloth, Resin, Pool Coat | 1407.35 | 166.75 | 211.63 | |
| Epoxies & Paint | 976.92 | 115.75 | 146.91 | |
| Rope & Fittings | 2115.10 | 250.60 | 318.06 | |
| Wood | 350.00 | 41.47 | 52.63 | |
| Tool Hire | 240.20 | 28.46 | 36.12 | |
| Working Materials - Brushes, Acetone, etc | 552.90 | 65.51 | 83.14 | |
| Total | 10652.47 | 668.54 | 848.49 |
Paint the name on the boat, add a cunningham and jib cunningham. Get a Spiro pole launcher and a decent mast ram. Remove Main halyard cable and replace with non stretch halyard, as well as the main outhaul. Sand hull again with a finer (1000+) water paper. New mast and boom (don't know how long this 1960 thing will last!). Add another purchase on the shrouds.
To the following who I've contributed to their annual turnover over the past 7 months, but also received much advice. - Davidson Fibreglass, Ivory Industrials, Mica Hardware, Builders Warehouse, Plywood Distributors, Timber City, Springbok Tool Hire, Texwise, Boating Specialists CC.
Many, many, many thanks to the following for their free advice, donations, equipment loans, and "called in" favours (I am Italian - remember!) -
Do a job like this because you want to! I'm extremely proud of what I've done, and love my boat. I don't think Ill take a job on like this for a couple of years again, as for six months its all I thought about and all I read (now all i want to do is sail). Also coming home from a days work and then spending 2 hours almost every night and then the whole weekend working on your 5o, for months on end, can kill you, and maybe even start straining you family life. Luckily my wife met me as a sailor and understands us - at least she knew where I was! Any way good luck if you try something like this and hope you enjoyed or got something out of this article. Ciao.
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