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This brief story begins in 1990, with the purchase of an old Tartan 27

The boat was built back when hull numbers were put on the inside door, stamped on a brass plate.  By the time I became the owner, the plate was long gone. I was told the number was 480something.  Not unbelievable, considering her condition. It was best described as "well weathered", not unlike the owner, I'd say. 

There was some delaminating of the deck that I had repaired,  and it took a considerable time to finish.

After some time , because of age and stress, the aft stay started to give way. I added a supporting structure at the transom, and the result has proven satisfactory.  Although with the added stress of the stay being loose, delamination between the aft deck and the hull had occurred. A costly repair, not only in the labor, but the wood replacement. Anybody price Teak lately ?

Another large problem to deal with, was the centerboard. When I first acquired the boat, the board was completely rotted. I constructed a new one, and covered it with epoxy hoping it would last. Due to the abrasive action of the sand (at low tide) and the stress of blue water sailing, I found that after a couple of years it had taken on a significant amount of damage. Holes have been drilled down to the steel and filled with epoxy. The entire board was then covered with epoxy and painted. But because of the conditions dockside, the centerboard will continue to be a maintenance problem.

Being the owner of a canvas shop, I'm at least able to keep up with the aging cover problem. And with the help of a friend, was able to add a stainless steel rail and bowsprit. We added a couple of seats to the transom gate 

I've designed a dodger to keep dry on those wet rides into the sunset, and a table to keep the "cold ones" on.

All in all, it's been a pleasant.... if not expensive... journey, that continues........

                                                         Click to view more information on my Tartan 27