| 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
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