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[chris_720]

hi guys,

i bought phantom 720 over the weekend, obviously a "woody". come from lasers, and want to find out what to do/need to know/any tips please guys as never owed a wooden boat before!

-whats the best varnish to use?
-how do i re-inforce the floor? as the first thing i did was slip, and smack my knee on the floor and now think i need to repair it....doh! (double skin? or epoxy another layer of board down?)
- any tips for the rig/control lines? everything seems ok, but any suggestions?

hope you can help, any advice would be greatly recieved!

cheers

chris

['One-Pint']

Chris,

Welcome to woody world! I am not an authority on varnish but I would say 'the best you can afford' and some of the lunchbox sailors are far more qualified to comment than me...

Bit of of a bugger to wound the boat first time out? I suggest if its just a hairline split then a bit of Mr Wests wonderful epoxy resin with a Mylar lid to keep it smooth on top will do the job.  Bigger hole? could be a significantly bigger job.  You will almost certainly be overweight (nothing personal!) so keep the weight of repair to a minimum.  It would be useful to establish exactly what your construction is so 'them in the know' can be of more help.

Where are you based? Why not come to the Inlands?

See you on the water....

Andrew

[chris_720]

thanks andy!

general consensus seems to be the 2-pack stuff seems to be pretty good, might get some of that stuff!

yeah i know, my own fault though, the guy i got it off did say be careful, and i should have known as im not exactly light on my feet! i was thinking epoxy it and see how we get on, not 100% sure how bad it is so will get some pics/opinions down the club!

i would imagine its a good way over weight but no idea, only picked it up sat, so first sail was sunday! keeping weight down is good, but im only about 14.5 stone, so not too heavy myself, so not mad fussed about an extra kg or 2 in the boat as may help when she blows!

the boats 4mm ply, with a single skin across the main hull, the port and starboard tanks, and bow are completely dry (very happy) so just needs the repair that ive caused. any tips on 4mm ply? if i cant epoxy it, was thinking scarf in a new piece?

live in preston, sail on windermere, where are the inlands? and when?

cheers

[mercian]

Hi Chris
Bought 607 last October, started digging at a bit of rot in the thwart & finished up with a
3 ft by 2 ft hole in the floor by the time i finished. OOPS!
If its just a crack remove the rot & fill with 2 part epoxy + filler & reinforce on the inside with a bit of marine ply.
If its a major cut out the rot & stitch & glue a new piece in using fibreglass tape & tie wraps.
I am very much in favour of bodging & sailing until the close season & then do some more permanent bodging.

Pat
607

[maxibuddah]

Chris,
the inlands are at Chew Valley just south of Bristol on the 28th & 29th of this month (just under two weeks away). You will also need to be a member of the class assoc to compete

[dinghysailor]

Hi Chris

I did the same .... first time out in 671 there was a 'crack' and water squirted up around my dinghy boots. The centreboard case was coming away from the floor of the boat on either side. Then on further investigation and some prodding with a sharp poking thing I found a few more soft spots around the bailers and near the transom.

(reminds me of when I told the doctor about a pain I had when I poked my belly - he just told me not to poke it!)

However, as mentioned by others through the wonders of epoxy and glass tape she is already looking better.

I'll try and post a few picks of work in progress over the next few days -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinghysailor/

Keith

[chris_720]

i have to say, what a fantastic introduction to the class, cheers guys!

im hoping its just a crack, however will have to do some closer inspection this weekend. i think i am landing down on the side of bodge until the closed season, just so far away so need to do a decent-ish job now!

think the inlands may be a bit soon for now, however seen some northnern events which i am more than likely to have a go at once ive "mastered" it!!

when you say use glass tape, and im picturing this right? cut out the cracked area, cut a new peice the same size, epoxy it in, and then glass tape over the top (inside the cockpit) to hold it in?

also spent last night sanding the rudder blade and stock, any problems encountered with just varnishing straight onto the wood? like the look but open to advice!

thanks again

['One-Pint']

Chris,

I've used West straight on wood - takes a bit of taming.  You might find a hairdrier helps to flat it out.  I used the sponge brushes to get a really consistent covering but rollers are good too.  Three thin coats, flatting between with W+D.  This makes a very durable finish that you can polish to a glass finish.  (although in terms of hydrodynamics, I understand a less-polished finish is better becuse it has less surface tension  )

AB

[mercian]

Hi Chris
When i inserted a piece of ply into the floor i cut out all the soft area, cut a piece to fit, lightly nailed a couple of guide pieces of ply to the outside of the hull so the insert has something to butt up to, placed the insert.
I then drilled small holes in hull & insert to tie wrap in place & epoyed into position using glass tape (at least 2 layers) over the joins.
Once dry i removed the guides, cut off & sanded the tie wraps, filled any gap with epoxy & filler, sanded down & painted.
When varnishing onto untreated wood mix varnish with thinners for first coat - it usually tells you the ratio on the tin.
I treated a crack parallel to the CB case by digging out the soft wood filling with epoxy & filler & then epoxying the surrounding area.
Its a labour of love !!

Pat
607

[chris_720]

ab, great stuff, thankyou, will try the hair dryer technique tonight as sounds good! wasnt sure weather to just apply it straigt on, but will mix it with thinners as suggested (wasnt going to do that but will now)!

pat, thanks for that, great advice! im thinking it will be a cut out/replace rather than just expoxy the hole, the tie wraps are an awesome idea....something for the weekend i think!

anyone had any experience about re-inforcing the floor? not sure if o just epoxy another layer of board down, to help spread the load? or anything else that might work? im aware dont want to add too much weight, however also dont think the boat will ever be mega competitive so an extra kg doesnt really matter to me to be honest, would much rather be able to move about without great fear of doing this again!

thanks again

[coopsterdude]

Chris, don't wait til you've "mastered it" to get out there on the circuit, just go and do it. I picked my Phantom up last year and despite it only being my 8th outing in her, went to the Open at Leigh and Lowton. Having come from the Laser class myself was absolutely delighted to meet e really great bunch of sailors, all of which are keen to help out and pass on tips, but are all pretty much trying to work out how to "master it"!

['One-Pint']

Chris,

The hairdrier technique is for two-part epoxy.  Not sure there's anything to gain with traditional varnishes.....but then you might have found that out by now....

[gordon Kingston]

Hi Chris
Word of warning somewhere in my brain from years ago, if you put two pack on top of single pack varnish it lifts it. Also single pack is more forgiving on older flexing boats.
Hope you have lots of fun with your new boat.
Regards
Gordon