Sail On documents ongoing sailing adventures on the Columbia River. Having cruising adventures on a sailboat does not necessarily mean you have to sell everything, buy a large boat, and set sail for the horizon for exotic overseas destinations. We find that new discoveries can be made on waterways close to home, and that each of our trips present its own challenges and rewards. And of course, we find that our sailing horizons keep expanding, just on a slower pace since we maintain "regular work lives" in the Pacific Northwest.
The Boats:
The first 3 videos were on a 1978 Ranger 23. Episodes 4-12 are on a 1977 Cascade 29. Episode 13 is on a friend's Picnic Cat. Beginning with episode 14, we are on a 1975 Westsail 32.
Considered the SS sprit - but way past that decision point now. Lots of good back and forth between wood and SS on the Westsail Owners site. There is a WS32 in St Helens OR with the SS sprit - always did like the look of it. Our boomkin is solid at this time.
Do you mean difficulty with the springs? or with the pawls themselves? If the latter, you might look carefully for rounded corners on the pawls or cogs from wear. You might try replacing with new pawls if you see wear.
What a neat little boat. I have been looking for a boat that's easy to trailer and easy to set up and get on the water and the Com-Pac cat came up on my radar. The mast and spars stay on the and the mast can hinge down and be on the trailer in a few minutes. These aren't very common, so it's cool to see a video of one. The cockpit looks incredibly roomy for a 14' boat.
Looks great!!! I am currently working on the same issue with my W32. 80% wood in the step was completely rotten, and the beam below deck slightly cracked. The plan now is to seal the hole for the electrical stuff so there is no water ingres at all and drill a hole in the mast to have the wires come out and put a gland or maybe swan neck for them. Big job for someone like me how has no idea abot boats 😅 bought my W32 a yesr ago without any sailing experience. We will see how it goes i suppose 🙃
Good luck with your work. Will you be building up a new beam? All the cables from my mast almost fully fill the 1-1/2 hole down through the mast step - that means either a really big hole in the mast or several smaller ones - I am not sure if that would affect the integrity of the mast. Are you in the WOA? Lots of good info on the forums there.
@sail-on yes, making new beams. I was really surprised when I took the old beams. One of them was slightly cracked (aft) and the other was rotten from the water dripping over the years. That is why I don't want to use the hole in the step for the wires as time may end up with the same issue. Spoke to a few ppl in the boat yard about drilling a hole in the mast, and they all seem to think it should be fine and it won't compromise the mast (there are only 3 wires). I am not on WOA but I probably should join.
Yes sir! By the way, I met a new person in my marina last week on a Polaris 43. He said he had been admiring Dreamcatcher, he loves Westsails, and asked if I ever watched that sailing into Oblivion guy!
strong work. i need to do this myself. just rebuilt the rudder on my westsail. i will try this method of tapered compression to spread the load through the plywood. thought about using g10 board instead of marine ply as filler?
Yes, G10 would eliminate possible future rot if water ever got in. In my case the area of plywood to replace was so small I figured it didn't really make a difference. If I had cut out all the plywood in that raised area, I probably would've gone the G10 rout.
Thank you for sharing the videos. I purchased my W32 last year and am currently undergoing my first refit in a boat yard. I am learning as I go as i started sailing in March last year. This week, I'm unstepping the mast to assess the damage. Discovered a leak by the head near the compression post, so I removed panels and found some beam rot near the electrical cable hole, along with a slight crack. Let's see what we uncover once the mast is off!
I'm thinking of getting a W32 but was wondering what the head height is and what the bunk length is. It was a deal breaker on a Bayfield 32 I was looking at. Thanks for posting.
@@captainandthelady For a little extra height, consider a Tayana 37 - a guy in our marina who is taller - probably about 6'4" - had looked at Dreamcatcher but ended up buying a Tayana 37. Funny, because we had looked at that very same Tayana as we looked for boats, and Kara, who is shorter, preferred the Westsail. We didn't know each other then, but now the two boats are about 5 slips apart and we are good friends. We compare notes and consult with each other as we both work on our boats. We both are happy with our purchases, and also still admire the other's boat.
Just now seeing this, but HEY! I looked at that boat when it was for sale and I lived down in Newport. Great to see it out under sail on your channel. SAIL ON!
That calm way you have of tackling such a difficult project is really encouraging to me. I also really identified with you when you were listing off the different jobs that needed to be done and then just admitted that maybe that's not a thing you would be doing. I have such a hard time doing that! Thanks for another lovely video.
Thanks for the note. Yes, on an older boat there are often so many things that need work it's easy to become overwhelmed and paralyzed. Just do what you can do now - and then do the next thing next. One Westsail guru advised me NOT to do a full haul out and complete refit all at once - he said he'd seen that happen so many times where a person completely guts a boat, never to put it back together, and they never get to use the boat. That said, if time and money are unlimited - go for it!
Just wanted to say thanks, that’s a big job! And nice laminations! I’m still amazed at the termite damage and that the beam wasn’t totally collapsed! Sail On!
This brought back memories. While you were heading up river, we were leaving Portland under that same red sky. We were heading off for our sail south. Even though we were excited about finally getting underway, I remember that we were all in a rather somber thoughtful mood then as well.
Great video, just what I'm dealing with on my Southern Cross 31. I needed to see this. Great work , clean and very informative!! Please give us a complete repair tutorial.
Nice video. One request. Consider the volume of the music vs your speech. Had to keep tweaking my sound because the music was so loud but your speech was so soft.
Thanks for the helpful feedback. I actually did tamp down the music to 60% and up the voice to 110% - but I'll have to remember to go back through and listen and re-adjust as needed. I'll work on that more for future videos.
I had the same issue under the main mast on my Allied Princess 36. The difference is that my deck was balsa cored under the mast step. I removed all the bad balsa and built the deck back up with solid fiberglass in epoxy. I had a tube through the deck as well. I replaced that with a fiberglass tube I made by wrapping glass around a waxed PVC pipe. I glassed the tube into the new deck so that it will never leak. I did that repair almost 20 years ago and the deck is still rock solid. One thing I changed was that where the mast step was held to the cabin top with through bolts, I attached it to the repaired cabin top with machine screws into tapped holes that did not penetrate the cabin top. So now I have no holes in the cabin top except for the wire chase that extends 6" up the inside of the mast.
Great video…again. Glad it wasn’t rotten. Sounds like the end result will last another lifetime. Looking forward to the video of the process to arrive at the finished product! Cheers.
Great video…again. Glad it wasn’t rotten. Sounds like the end result will last another lifetime. Looking forward to the video of the process to arrive at the finished product! Cheers.
Ugh Termite infestation Really Sucks, and Plywood is Delicious food for Termites. Termites have totally changed what my next Sailboat is going to be, and it isnt going to have any Termite Restaurants Built into it, Termites are not a Problem just in the Tropics, Europe has Termite Problems, and fingers crossed, it looks like the Start of Termite infestations in Britain, has finally been win after 20 plus years war on them. This may surprise people, but Guess what far and away the biggest Source of CO2 on the Planet is ? Yep insects, and by far the Leader if those, is Termites. An area of Brazil larger than Brirain is just Termite Mounds, for example. It surprised me to find that out tbh. Best Wishes. Bob. 👍🤔
Yep, and Plywood aBulkheads or anything Plywood on a boat no longer appears to be a good idea, especially if intending heading to the Tropics, but Europe / Mediterranean are has Termite issues as well. a new channel, the guy has bought a Wharram Catamaran, intends sailing it to the Tropics, and the entire boat is one massive Free Termite Restaurant, because it is 100% Plywood. My planned next Sailboat is a brand new Trrmite proof Island Packet. So many former Customers had Termite issues, the new Owners of Island Packet have replaced Plywood, with a Structural Termite Proof Composite Board, plus I'll have Zero Timber on Deck, it'll be heat reflecting white nonslip instead, plus a bit of Synthetic Teak under the Aeats in the Cockpit, just to make it look nice. Rather a lot of other boats were ruled out due to the amount of Termite food in them, plus too many have too deep a Draft for Cruising, plus have gone for Stupid unprotected Twin Rudders - Sail from Maine down to Florida as just one example, and you have to question whether Any Current Boat Designers have done any extensive Cruising where there are Lobster and Crab Pots ? Seems not doesn't it . 😡
I am so glad that I didn't have to deal with the termite issue when we changed out our compression beam. Thanks for sharing, not an easy fix. I am excited to see how it turns out for you.
Jay, Glorious has a solid marine grade plywood headliner directly glued to the cabin top and held additionally in place with cross beams. All through deck fasteners are exposed. I could send you pix. Not sure how to do that.. or I could just upload them to my channel.
We had overheating issues on a previous attempt to get to Astoria. I figured just sensor issues or something like debris in the tube stack, but we found a leaking head gasket. Beyond that, just lots of corrosion, and we were having difficulty locating parts for the engine. We talked to our mechanic about pulling, overhaul, and reinstall - but comparing costs decide to just replace it.
I enjoyed being at Rocky Point Marina for one year with my Cal 34, until I started missing sailing.... I got a slip in Camas/Washougal, and now I miss Coon Island 😂
