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Hey all, I'm looking for an honest opinion here.  Just how bad does a boat have to be before she's better laid to rest and a new one built to take her place?

I've been deconstructing my weekender for a while in gradual fits and starts, but have dug in with gusto of late.  As I peel away each layer I find more problems.  Plywood rot, plywood delamination, gouges, broken glue joints, hollow voids that are much softer than I remember all through the deck.  In fact, the only area that doesn't seem exceptionally terrible is the keel at this point, and that's probably just because she's on the trailer and the keel is in a channel so I can't examine it all that well at the moment.

Originally, I was thinking of removing the cabin and replacing the cockpit, then cutting out rotten areas and patching them in, now its leaning towards replacing the deck, and large sections of the sides, a good bit of the transom, and a few feet of the bottom at the very least.

She's never really had a chance to shine, but perhaps it's time?  Thoughts?

Stuart:  I'm a newbie so my opinion is about as valuable as a bucket of warm spit!  Nonetheless, I'll give it to you.  I think you should rebuild rather than repair.  If you repair, in a short time other areas will fail and need repair also.  The net result will never be as good as the boat built with marine plywood and other materials you judge superior.  Plus you already know how to build this craft!  Start over with the right materials.  It will turn out great, and you'll feel better about yourself.  I'm no expert.  Just my two cents.  Good luck.

Dave

Stuart from what you are telling us I suspect it would be faster and cheaper inthe long run to build new.  There are a lot of things you know now that will extend the live of a new boat that can't be added to what you have now.  I think Dave is right.

Yeah, I think you're both right.  It's not a great end to the boat, but I'll get a much more lasting experience by starting new and not worrying about the problems I haven't found yet.

Of course, that begs the question of what to build.  For the kind of sailing I want to do next, the weekender would have been pushing it, which was the reason for the extensive modifications I had planned.

What I really want is an open cruising dinghy style boat, but the only designs I can find are either factory built, more than I can tow, or for some unknown reason, not answering their emails.

What I had in mind was a 14' roamer dinghy.  She's supposed to be self righting up to 120 degrees, sealed storage in the front, sides, and back, wet storage below the floor boards, and in tow configuration at about 600 lbs, plus gear and trailer ... or just about maxing out what I've got for a limit, but not quite exceeding it.

http://www.smallboatforum.com/PDFfiles/r...dinghy.pdf

For whatever reason, the contact person at he dinghy cruising association for the plans no longer hosts his website, and the email is dead, and both the president and main contact people for the DCA don't seem to want to answer emails.  Anybody know how to get these plans, or have a boat suggestion with similar capabilities?  People have crossed a lot of open water on these small boats, and the southern events sound really inviting, as do the great lakes.

In the meantime, I've got a pair of 8' OZ Puddleduck dinghys to build with my son,  which will keep me from itching to cut corners on a bigger boat when I get started.  By the time I get materials together, the tow vehicle may finally be resolved anyway, which will open up options.  I've been needing one for a couple of years now, and life just keeps getting in the way.  With small dingy's, I'll be able to start attending gatherings again at last, so that's a bonus at least.

Gotta find the silver lining. 

Check out the Adelie 14 from Bateau.com http://bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=AD14   It seems to fit what you are looking for. They also have a 16.  I don't have any experience with it but I did build a 12 foot rowboat form Bateau and it was easy to build.

Stu, run over to Frank's board and check out Graham's Core Sound series.  All told it might be just the ticket.  The Bellhaven would also be good for you.  www.messing-about.com

Stuart, if I ever build another I'm going to build a "Feather" by Glen only I'll use cedar strips.  It's small, 11' but it could be car topped rather than trailered.  Just my $.02.

Thanks for the suggestions ... as to the core sounds, I'm already familiar with them, and love their capability ... though I tend to lean towards the bigger 20 for its capabilities, and my car leans towards the 15 for its weight.  I usualy end up looking at the 17.

As to the Feather, I'm not familiar with that one, and will take a look.  My biggest problem is that my sailing preferences are too broad, and my wife's are too specific.  I want to do events like the texas 200, the florida 120, and the beer cruise, preferably camp cruising while still being able to head to the bahamas, and sail the great lakes.  My wife, on the other hand, wants to sail in comfort, have an actual head that isn't just a porta-pot pulled out from under a bench, a fixed galley, etc.  Compared to the boats I have been looking at, these features seem to add $$$ quickly.

As a compromise boat, I was looking at the Vagabond 20/23, but both are much more expensive than I had in mind, and require a substanial tow vehicle vs a small car.

You'd think that a woman that enjoys tent camping would consider a boom tent and cushioned seats a luxury, but oh no, if it's a boat to sleep in, she wants dedicated sleeping, dining, etc.  I think I need more boats. 

Anyway, keep the suggestions coming.  I've got time to figure it out, the dinghy's will be started in the next two weeks or so, then I'll save some money, settle on plans, and get some more wood.

At this rate, I'll likely get a very small cruising dinghy on par with Scott's Little Gem to take care of that fix, and then start on building a bigger boat, or just end up buying a plastic tub.  Ich, even the sound of it makes me cringe.

Ah well, at the very least, looking at boat designs, and pricing out materials is putting a big smile on my face, and that's worth the price of admission. 

I'm not convinced it would be cheaper or easier to build a new boat. You know what you have, what needs to be done and pretty much about what it'll cost on your Weekender. A new build is a different story, new everything, hardware, materials, sails, the works.

In the end you'll have to be the judge and make some honest assessments of where you Weekender is at. It's very probable that you have some personal issues with her. In this I mean places where you wished you'd done things differently, repairs on top of repairs, etc.

I still think it would be cheaper to redo the old gal, but it's a decision you'll have to contend with.

Paul - you've forgotten we're dealing with Stuart here though    Most of his fun seems to come from NOT following the directions and I think his Weekender was going to be modified to either be the HMS Rose, or the Hunter 170 - or a mix between.

P.S. - great to see you back Stuart and for my 2 cents (Canadian), build yourself a Puddle Duck and go sailing.  If I remember - Dawn is blind - unfortunately she's probably way too smart to be fooled that a PD has all the features she wants - maybe build a raft to tow behind with all the amenities ....