The boat was fitted out with a depth & knot meter. I have a Garmin GPS Oregon 650t for hiking, road trips in my Porsche & trips in the boat. I also have no intention of sailing this boat out of site of land so I really have no need of either the depth or knot meter. So........I removed the depth transponder and the knot paddlewheel. The transponder was simply siliconed to the inside of the hull and came right off but the paddlewheel was mounted through the hull. So after removing it, I patched the hole in the usual way, solid patch on the inside & a build up of patches on the outside of the hull.
This boat is known for being unsinkable due to styrafoam under the cockpit and under the forward birth. The foam blocks are secure under the cockpit. The hold under the forward birth had smaller blocks and various trimmed blocks of styrafoam stuffed in it. They fit OK but I pulled them all out with the intent of filling that space with spray closed-cell foam. I also intend to line the hold with plastic sheeting so the foam will not stick to the hull. In this way, if I ever have to patch that portion of the hull, I will not have to fight the foam from the outside (I can get a patch into the hold from the outside between the hull and plastic sheeting).
Now to the problem of the bulkhead. This boat has the advantage of an interior bulkhead rather than a compression post to support the deck and mast tabernacle. A great idea but less inconvenient than one might think. The mast side stays are secured to the bulkhead through the side deck. The problem is, when the fitting leaks, the bulkhead receives the water and will rot as did this bulhead on the port side.
So I have removed the bulkhead. As it was installed prior to the deck unit being fixed to the boat, I had to cut it up to remove it. It showed the weakness of the instalation as it went to the keel between the forward and rear seats. The bulkhead was made of 3/4 inch plywood (not glassed) and was in a slot 2 inches wide. It also, in order to support the front of the keeltrunk, had to be stepped over to access the forward area. I will suport the keeltrunk by reinstalling the lower portion of the bulkhead with a 2 x 6 and the upper bulkhead with 3/4 inch fiberglassed plywood set on the lower 2 x 6.
In reading about this boat and spending time in the cabin, it becomes obvious that this was a well designed inexpensive family starter sailboat. Though it may seem a bit small for cruising, I know how this boat handles. I had the same boat with a fixed keel back in 2005. I intend to glass over the cabin plywood that has only been painted and make an inland lake & delta cruiser. With the boat in very good exterior condition and the interior being sound, I am looking forward to refurbishing the boat to be a strong, quality day sailer & weekend/week cruiser. Following pic is the previous boat.
