Main Hatch

Main hatch was in need of a paint and the gelcoat showed signs of cracking and so I decided to remove it. I removed the screws holding the track on and then opened hatch to remove last remaining screws. Notice the mushroom vent, this is just sitting on the spot where there had been a plastic one which had disintegrated.

Once removed it revealed a lot of dirt and more crazed gelcoat. There were some significant cracks in the gel coat and I wondered if the boat had suffered from excessive sunlight or heat sitting in the garden in Kent for 10-15 years but nothing that could not be fixed.

The inside of the hatch was blue fleck paint like most of the boat and may have been original but it was not very nice and I sanded and cleaned it off before sealing any gaps and priming the wood.

The rudder...

This was another part of the boat that looked sound on first sight. I thought that a good sand and a few coats of varnish and it would be good as new. On closer inspection I found the two side pieces were starting to come apart from the main trunk of the rudder and I thought a little prising apart and some epoxy and all would be well. I nearly didn't, but when I did prise one side off, I found, like the outboard mountings, the wood was rotting from inside. It was very soft in numerous places. I took both sides off to investigate as you can see below.




Both sides off and sitting side by side. You can see patches I routed out. I had thoughts of routing till I found solid timber and then filling with epoxy but decided in the end the rudder needed new cheeks.

I was fortunate that apart from a very few places the main rudder was sound, phew...

I have not got any pics of the new cheeks being glued(epoxy) and screwed on and shaped but here is the finished article. I used ply for the cheeks and to disguise it I decided to paint it white leaving the main rudder blade varnished. I think it looks good now so I am glad I did it and I can rely on it not falling apart if I get a bit of weather helm!

Outboard mounting on stern

I really tried to avoid unnecessary work and I thought the outboard mountings were fine, the wood seemed solid, at least on teh outside. When I removed the rotten rubbing strake it was clear there was rot at the top of the mountings so I removed them and found they were rotting from the inside, as shown below. The timber was as soft as balsa wood.





I laminated some teak offcuts and then shaped them as below so now ready to fit once the hull is ready but that is another story...old and new mountings below.

Outboard bracket varnished and re-assembled

Outboard Bracket

The outboard bracket which slides down two bronze tracks on the stern. Nothing wrong with this really but decided to dismantle and give the wood a clean and varnish.

Notice the fitting for a rowlock top right so sculling the Alacrity would be an option, might need a long sweep for this though.

Mainsail and Sail number

My first view of the mainsail with the number AY250 which is a nice number to have.


The sail is a little tired but no surprise there but will se me through for now. Would really like reefing points for slab reefing but for now I can use the roller reefing. There is a jib too which has hanks and again I would prefer roller furling but again when budget allows.

The outboard

The engine, a Seagull Silver Centory. I have not started it yet but have been in touch with SOS and have a list of parts to get to get it going but the boat itself takes priority. Can't wait to get it going though!




This is a refilling tank which I have never seen before but useful to refill the long range tank without spilling.


Another view of the engine. Should push Seawitch along very nicely.