Drascombe Dabber VICTORY 15 Nov 17 Recovery and Deep Clean

15 Nov 17:

Launched Search and Rescue to go pick up a Dabber we found on Craigslist Pensacola. The seller Bob was working on a canvas awning job and noticed the boat sitting in a filed, keeping an oak tree company. Bob has a boat cover business and builds and restores boats on the side. He inquired on the boat, found the owner and arranged to buy it just to get it out of the field and into someone's hands who would give it some TLC. That's where we came in. Bob put new tires on the trailer and checked over the bearings, we arrived at his place and purchased the boat. Excited to see that the boat still had the oars, oar locks, the main and the jib, main mast, yard, mizzen mast, stays in great shape, rudder, tiller, locker cover, centreplate and a decent trailer. We also like to buy "gray" or "green" boats, boats where all the varnish is burned off or they are covered in slime, hiding their true beauty from other buyers. We usually get great deals on these boats, which makes it economical to restore them. The drawback to this boat, well, there are none that some elbow grease and sawdust can't fix. Here's a few pictures of the condition of the boat a we found it, luckily I think most snakes had lost interest but not all of the frogs.

I was excited to see the Honnor Marine builder plate, they are the same folks that built our 1980 Lugger. The Dabber was imported through Drascombe Boats, Inc in Camden, Maine, that plate was intact as well.

The boat just sat and backed for years. There's a little burnt up pirate flag in there as well.

She already looks better hooked up behind our car. This picture was taken when we doubled back to pick up the sails that we forgot.

The jib and mizzen are in amazing shape.

Plywood rudder blade is rotten but it will make a good pattern.

Got the boat home, put on the hazmat gear to bag up all the big chunks. Removed the non standard plywood floor, which was covering up the mast step and centreplate uphaul eyebolt. Then headed to the carwash to vacuum and spray.

About $35 dollars into the wash.

$70 dollars later.

Went around the boat and made a list of line sizes and lengths to order. R&W Rope sent me some labeled samples a few months back and it has been handy to have that information when trying to remember what line was which size and which brand.

Complete Log of VICTORY.

ALCORT Catfish

15 Nov 17:

ALCORT, pioneers in design of sport sailcraft and builders of the famous Sailfish and Sunfish, began building the Catfish catamaran in 1964. Designed by George Patterson, it was marketed as being fast, comfortable and offered exceptional performance on all points of sailing. Through its production approximately 1500 boats were built.

(Images: ALCORT Catfish brochures 1965)

Features:

All Fiberglass molded hull with foam flotation
-Under hull righting straps
-Roomy self bailing cockpit
-Aluminum rubrails

105 square feet, four batten Dacron sail with polyurethane masthead flotation built into peak of sail
-free feathering aluminum mast for optimum airfoil

Cockpit-controlled patented high-speed aluminum flip-up rudders and pivoting Fiberglass centerboards for easy beaching.

Nylon hiking straps, cockpit jam cleat and spacious wing deck storage compartment for maximum performance and convenience

Handling
-Speed and performance as you've never experienced
-Clean lines, comfortable recessed cockpit, excellent visibility

Launching
-Light in weight, easily rigged and launched from trailer or beach

Trailing
-Perfectly adapted to the ALC-12 trailer and most small boat trailers

Storage
-On her side, on the trailer or suspended overhead
-Requires an minimum of storage space

Specifications
-Length 13' 2"
-Beam 72"
-Mast height 22'
-Sail area 105 sq. feet
-Hull Weight - 170 pounds
-Crew capacity 300 pounds
-Shrouds and stays 3/32" stainless cable
-Hull: Fiberglass, foam flotation. White with choice of red, blue or white deck.
-Sail: Striped red and white, blue and white or all white Dacron. Sailmaker Ratsey and Lapthorn.
-Rudders: Aluminum alloy
-Centerboards: Fiberglass
-Mast: One piece, foil shaped aluminum alloy
-Fittings: Stainless, nylon
-Price: $896 USD 1965, crating charge of $35 USD when applicable
F.O.B Waterbury, Connecticut
ALCORT, INC.
Box 1345, Waterbury, Connecticut

More information to follow on our exciting discovery....stay tuned....

(Image: Hal, 2017).

FMI: Log of SMEDLEY.

References:

ALCORT Catfish sales pamphlet, 1965.
Sailboatdata.com
Sunfish_Sailor Yahoo Group Files

1980 AMF Sunfish VIPER 09 Nov 17 Sea Trials

09 Nov 17:

VIPER raced out of the carriage house for sea trials, well after we laced the sail to the spar with 1/8th inch line from New England Rope. Used the old school marlin hitch, the way ALCORT used to do it before the plastic clips.



She's off!

VIPER sailed great. All the fittings were tight and the boat is well balanced. The sail sets nicely and the Jolly Roger pops. We are excited that our Naval Aviation tribute boat sailed so smoothly and is ready to seek prizes on the bay

We will mess about with VIPER for a bit, then offer the boat for sale. If you are interested in a really unique and solid Sunfish, send us a note. She will come with her own Letter of Marque.

Log of VIPER.

1980 AMF Sunfish Viper 09 Nov 17 Final Fitting

09 Nov 17:

Finished up the final bits before sea trials for VIPER. Inspection ports, deck hardware, coaming, gudgeon, bailer.

Cut a larger hole for the aft inspection port with a DeWALT jigsaw, taped the deck first to reduce scratches. The hole is drawn using the port cap, flipping it over and tracing around the outside of it. Don't trace around the outside of the mounting ring, you'll have a really big hole :)

Sealed the port with a bead of TotalBoat Seal. One trick we have is to run a bead of sealant around the port outer ring, put the ring in place and give it a 1/2 turn to spread out the sealant. Drilled holes for the hardware. Secured the ports with #6 stainless steel machine screws, washers and stop nuts. I bought screws that were long enough so I can reach them to put on washers and stop nuts, plus I bought a deep socket that will hold the nut while the screw is tightened. One BIG tip is to buy a couple extra washers and nuts, because they are hard to find if they get dropped inside the hull.

Drilled pilot holes for the bow handle #8 x 1 inch stainless wood screws, oval phillips head.

Drilled piilot holes for the halyard cleat and halyard block, installed with #8 silicone bronze screws long enough to catch the 3/4 inch wooden backer blocks under the deck. It is a good thing to see dry wood shavings come out when the pilot hole is drilled.

Drilled the 3/16th inch pilot holes for the coaming rivets. It is important to buy the proper rivet, aluminum 3/16th inch closed end. They need to be closed end so water will not get into the hull. I also put a small bead of sealant in the rivet hole before installation.

Tapped the edge trim into place with a rubber hammer. Drilled 1/8th inch pilot holes for the edge trim rivets, which do not need to be closed end but they need a grip range of about 1/2 inch. Once again it is easiest to buy the rivets from a Sunfish Dealer. Be careful to only drill through the top of the trim and the deck edge, not all the way through, that is enough to hold on the trim. If the drill goes all the way through, take a file and remove any sharp burrs that are finger slicers. We also go back and file the top of the rivet to make them smooth.

Installed the gudgeon with #10 stainless machine screws. The metal backer plate inside is tapped for the screws, no need for washers and stop nuts. I add a small dab of sealant around each screw hole before installation.

Installed the swivel cam cleat and the sheet hook. The screws for the swivel cam cleat come through under the cockpit lip, they do not go inside the hull.

Added a retaining line to the daggerboard, so it doesn't float away during a capsize. Skipper prefers the simple line over a bungee, it makes it easy for her to pull the board out one handed when beaching. Otherwise she keeps it down most of the time, or if on a run the water pressure holds it where she wants it.

Complete Log for VIPER.

1980 AMF Sunfish Viper 06 Nov 17 Stripes

06 Nov 17:

Tried something new, cut out some stripes for VIPER from adhesive backed insignia sailcloth. It turned out great, we really like the fabric feel on the deck.

Log of VIPER.

Sunfish Sailboat Air Leak Test 06 Nov 17

06 Nov 17:

How to find leaks in a Sunfish sailboat. We blew low pressure low volume air into the hull through the deck drain. Air can also be blown in through the small vent hole on the forward cockpit wall. Spray soapy water around all of the hardware and deck, top and bottom. We used Simple Green with a little Dawn dishwashing liquid added, good way to clean the boat as well.

Common leak areas are the deck edge seam (on pre 1988 boats with metal trim), the mast step, the daggerboard trunk, the bailer hole seam and the gudgeon. Plus transom drain plugs if someone added them.

Note the leak location and repair the damaged areas. Search our blog for common fiberglass repairs or order our book through Amazon, The Sunfish Owners Manual.

Fair Winds!