CD25 paint

[Alan Bernstein]

It looks like I found a 1981 CD25 that will be mine after survey. The boat is in good mechanical shape but needs paint. Anyone have any experience with a complete awl-grip job on the hull and cabin or some other similar application. Also any hints on what problems to look for. The rudder has already been fixed and all the rigging is new.
There is only one jib- a 130 on a furler and I wonder if this is too large for singlehanding.



woogie4fur@aol.com

[Bruce Lumsden]

It looks like I found a 1981 CD25 that will be mine after survey. The boat is in good mechanical shape but needs paint. Anyone have any experience with a complete awl-grip job on the hull and cabin or some other similar application. Also any hints on what problems to look for. The rudder has already been fixed and all the rigging is new.
There is only one jib- a 130 on a furler and I wonder if this is too large for singlehanding.

Alan-

I am currently having the deckmould on my 1974 Awlgripped. With no bad core and having removed ALL of the deck hardware myself, I am looking at about $4400. I once worked in a paint shop and in my opinion, this price is not way out of line. I received a bid for about $600 less, but that shop was located several towns away and the savings would have been mostly eaten up by the transport costs.

My job included fixing a moderate amount of superficial gelcoat crazing and completely glassing over the existing portlight openings so I can replace them with opening ones. If you are planning this, add the cost of replacement portlights as well as new fastenings and possible replacement of existing deck fittings. My deck fittings all look pretty good, though I will most likely replace the chainplates just on general principles.

Regarding painting the topsides, those on my boat really look pretty good with MirrorGlaze and alot of elbow grease. With the shiny Awlgrip, I would like to paint the topsides, but this job will have to wait due to obvious budget restraints. If I had the time, I would paint the topsides myself. To make a good painting surface, I would need to make a few minor gelcoat repairs along with appropriate surface prep. If you are a good hand with a brush and have a capable helper for a roll and tip job, I think you could get a nice finish. Even if you ended up with a minor flaw or two, only passing ducks and anal-retentive paint experts will notice once the boat is in the water. I have done a job like this and have seen a couple of others, and the results were perfectly acceptable to my standards. The only thing I would caution you about with the deckmould paint job is to make sure that any full-thickness crazing and wet core is dealt with first. Of all the old CD 25s I have seen, the most likely place for this to happen is in the hatchcovers and the cockpit sole.

I hope this is helpful- good luck and be sure to post pictures when you finish your work.

Bruce Lumsden
Harpswell, Maine
Hull 314
'Sabine"



JLumsden@gwi.net

[B.Andrews]

Alan: Before you go forward with a paint job, I would recommend that you machine compound the gel coat. You might be surprised how neglected Cape Dory fiberglass comes back to life with a little elbow grease. Good luck and enjoy your new boat. BA



and10128@aol.com

[Tom]

Alan, In answer to the other part of your question, a 130 genoa is not too large for singlehanding. I have a 140% on my CD 31 and singlehand all the time. One of the nice things about roller furling it that you can manage big sails from the cockpit without going forward.

I also agree with what someone else said that if your hull is just oxidized and dull but doesn't have major cracks and checks in the gel coat, you can undoubtedly buff it out and make it look like new without painting. Use a grinder with a wheel that rotates - not one of those that just shakes and use 3Ms buffing compound (no other kind will do). Go completely around several times. Then polish it with your favorite car polish. This is something you do at every haulout and every year it gets better and easier. Like spit shining shoes - you just keep doing it again and again until she shines.

It looks like I found a 1981 CD25 that will be mine after survey. The boat is in good mechanical shape but needs paint. Anyone have any experience with a complete awl-grip job on the hull and cabin or some other similar application. Also any hints on what problems to look for. The rudder has already been fixed and all the rigging is new.
There is only one jib- a 130 on a furler and I wonder if this is too large for singlehanding.

TomCambria@mindspring.com

[Jim Stull]

Hi Alan

Just for reference.

We just placed an order with Boats for everything required to do a complete refinishing job on a CD27 using Interlux 2 Part Poly. This includeds the cabin, deck, nonskid and hull to the waterline.
The total cost was $660. Obviously, a CD25 would be less.

If you wish to put the time into it, you can do a job which cannot be told from factory gel coat. We had done a CD25 in dark blue a few years ago.

BTW: We have a 135 on our furler of our CD25 and like it. My wife and I work as a team but I guess if you are used to single handing, the 130 would pose no particular additional problem.
Jim



jtstull@earthlink.net