Repairs to Take Five

After my first season of racing, it was time get Take Five out of the water and make some needed repairs. Liz was complaining about the wet smell of the boat and it was even starting to get to me.

After a good rain, I always found water around the head from the mast step as well as the port gunwale where it was probably leaking through the stanchions. The prior owner of Take Five did not adequately seal the through deck hardware. Plus it didn't help that she was left uncovered for a handful of seasons in Wisconsin. In an attempt to fix the problem, I didn't do Take Five any favors by using a construction grade silicone adhesive caulk.

The headliner inside surface of the deck had stinky gold 70s carpet. The only good thing was Coastal Recreation did not use foam-backed shag! After removing the trim, I made the cut along the outer edge of the deck from the inside. When I cut into the deck from the bottom inside of the cabin, there was a very wet, soggy layer of what looked like particle board! Further inspection of the side of the cabin revealed Coastal Recreation used plywood for the core. Particle board and plywood isn't the best choice for core materials but I suppose they worked for a cruising boat.

I've been a carpenter ever since I could hold a hammer and bang on my Dad's Chevy truck baby moon hub caps at one and half years old. Boat reconstruction was new to me, but how hard could it be?

After doing some research I decided to use marine grade Luan plywood to rebuild the deck core. Two thin layers of plywood were epoxied back onto the ceiling one layer at a time using West System materials. I ripped some pine boards lengthwise to create flexible supports for the plywood.

Spending all this time with Take Five gave me enough time to think about my first racing season. Take Five was great for cruising but lacked many of the adjustments needed to tweak your sails under all conditions. I started wondering what other sailboats were out there that I could buy for a similar amount of money. After all, I was going to spend all this time and money on Take Five, I might as well have something to show for it with a boat intended for racing.

So began the quest began for a "new"racer...