An update on 949.
Having bought the boat from Rod last November and sailed it through the winter at Alton Water it is clear the boat has some potential. Having finally worked out how to sail her it has been possible to give some of the epoxy lovelies a run for their money, occassionally beating them and certainly being in the mix. The deck unfortunately is well past its best and whilst the epoxy coating has contained the worst I have decided to do the right thing and re-deck her. Currently in the garage with the deck stripped off awaiting new ply and a new gunwhale. I'll also strip some areas of detached varnish and redo those. Hopefully even with my skills I should end up with a pretty looking and effective boat. Due to the construction of the double floor, conversion to flooding side tanks is not possible as the whole bouyancy area is interconnected.
Anyone have any thoughts of other options whilst the deck is off? Someone had suggested a semi bulkhead under the mast step might be a good idea to help with rig loads. There is a substantial post there now but that transfers the load direct to the keel / floor only.
Plan is to get her finished by Christmas ready for the Frostbite Series at Alton Water. I'll post some photos when she is done. Have bought another woody - 901 in the interim to sail the winter series - couldn't survive that long without a phantom sailing fix! Also hoping to prove you don't need to spend a fortune to have a lot of fun sailing these beasts.
Cheers
Mike
