The Cape Dory Board

Thanks Trapper and OJ. I'll hunt around for some old stands through the winter and keep thinking about an extension. From what I've read - and in talking to a friend - the use of a rope seems to work fine for launching a boat, but a bit trickier in retrieving it. Maybe I'll just launch it with a rop...

I'm in the process of repairing a section of hull just forward of the rudder, and while I'm at it, plan to remove bottom paint from about 20% of the hull bottom (the rest, including bottom paint, looks in good shape) and repaint with barrier paint. I've been using Peel Away and that seems to work fi...

I'm about halfway, I hope, through reconditioning a Typhoon I bought last summer. It's now inside a barn here in Maine for the winter. Now I'm trying to think through what to do with the trailer that came with the boat. Although old, it's a rugged double-axle utility trailer with a wooden cradle to ...

I wonder if I'm the first one to buy an old boat to fix up and find that there is more work to do than expected? I had been hoping to fix up everything this fall, but things are clearer now. The good news is that I just measured the boat dimensions and one of my garage door openings and, by inches, ...

Thanks again everyone. I think I'll use the salt shaker approach, but need to look further into using sand or the beads. On the hull issue, Dave, what do I need to do to check for voids? The glass below the gelcoat (which is now removed) looks and sounds solid to me. What should I be looking for? Sh...

Thanks, everyone for your replies. This is a great board for someone like me who is doing all this for the first time. Mark, just so it's clear, it's ok to just use an epoxy resin (with a hardener) or should there be any other additive in the epoxy? Would you also use epoxy rather than gelcoat in th...

I wrote several weeks ago about a "seeping" hull in a Typhoon that I had just bought. I appreciate the responses I recieved - they were very helpful. Since then I removed the bottom paint from the location of the 5 or so seepage/moist spots in the hull just forward of the rudder on the por...

Thanks, Ned, for your latest message. Our last messages must have crossed in cyberspace. I share your general take on this since I need to do all the work myself as almost all my "boat" money has been and is still being diverted to college for the kiddies! So I guess I'm striving for safet...

Thanks OJ and Dana for your replies. OJ asked about the bilge drain. I'm sure it must have a technical name, but I'll have to describe it. It's a bronze fitting that is attached with 4 screws to the hull; the water is drained by removing a threaded bolt/plug (about 3/4" in diameter) using an al...

Thanks, Ned. No, I only filled the bilge to around the cockpit drain thruhulls. But before I make the effort to put in that much water , as a general proposition, do you think it is a good idea to apply barrier coats to a hull that is almost 40 years old no matter what condition the hull might be in...

I'm a new owner of an old Typhoon - a 1969 Weekender. Although the boat is in pretty good shape, I've decided to leave it on the cradle in my backyard until next spring. In the meantime, I'm using whatever spare time I have to sail my Daysailer II while Maine's short summer is still with us. In the ...