Chrysler Sailors Forum

I'm gonna say that your "shock absorber" (as described by Shark) is worn out... it was probably frozen in place at first, but after a load was applied it freed up and now has no damping effect... just 3 inches of free-play.
Find a truck and trailer accessory place and they'll probably have a ...

69Shark wrote: Swimming lately Island hopper???
Scott

huh? ... that's a daily event.

um.... We're busy sailing?

That bulkhead is somewhat structural, so it certainly needs to be repaired properly.
Fairly easy job though... Google some "fiberglass boat repair" type stuff and you'll see how it's done.
A quart can of resin and a some glass cloth shouldn't set you back more than $30 or so... and is available at ...

tgentry wrote:IH,
That's a 5,000 pound boat, not 14,000 pounds. Still a lot.

I was guessing ... but in the case of 5000#, a handfull of guys ought to be able to muscle it back up there with the pads slicked up and the trailer tied down

Of course, that's gonna cost you a case of beer or two !

yeah... pulling a 14000 pound boat by the pad-eye is a recipe for torn fiberglass!

Soap water on the pads... tie the trailer to a large tree (with more than one strap.) ... then pull the boat forward from a strap or two around the keel and/or pushing on the transom.
I'd probably try to get a bunch ...

... Thoughts? Bigger is better?

I'd say bigger is better with the ports for accessing the cockpit side floatation areas. Make sure the sidewall is tall enough that you can install them there though. I put a 6" port in my bow (for access to the bow cleat and pad-eye installation)... and it's still ...

1. I'd just put in a plastic rectangle hatch and not worry about reinforcing anything ... I haven't changed mine, mostly for that reason... but if I were in your shoes, having to cut a new hole ANYWAY, I'd just put the hatch I want in there and be done with it. (something that can be closed off ...

Construction.

Here's one way to picture the construction of your vessel:
All the white part is a "single piece"... it is laid up in one mold... the bottom hull, the cockpit sides, the daggerboard trunk, and the transom. It's all a "single piece" of fiberglass.
The red part (the "top" of the boat ...

The little crack at the ends of the daggerboard-trunk?... If they don't leak, I wouldn't bother with them. (But that's just me... I'd rather be sailing than waiting for epoxy to dry :) )

As for the bow-hatch, since you have to work it over anyway (and you do need to get that opened up!), you might ...

I put an Anderson Mini-Bailer in mine ... works great, seals well. (but needs 5+ knots to work:) )

I've thought about replacing my two round ports with a larger rectangular one also, but... that wall supports the deck right above it... I'm not sure how much it would weaken it by removing that ...

Not sure... I didn't quite understand the description, but based on the location I'd guess a cockpit bailer? (Is it a through-hull-thing?)... if it's just an attachment fitting anchored to the floor, perhaps an attachment point for a safety line to avoid losing the daggerboard when you turtle?

My ManOWar was the same way when I got it... The block was completely rotted away, and while the Eye was stainless, the washers and nuts they had used were not... there was nothing left of them but a little mound of rust wrapped tightly around the threads... just high enough that I couldn't pull the ...

Many trips around the sun past, for my canoe, I made an anchor just by filling a coffee can with concrete and sinking an eye-bolt (with a nut on it) into it. Worked great. The boat was so light that would hold it in place even in a running stream. The concrete filled to about an inch below the edge ...

Just measured mine, and it is, indeed, 3/16" aluminum.

You might find some useful info in the "Man-O-War" thread ... similar boats, the ManOWar is a 15 foot daggerboard Chrysler.

Leeway wrote:I feel bad for you.

No need ... It's only like that for a few months... and sailing season is year-round down here!
Besides, I can always make the 90 minute drive down to Galveston Bay and have a steady breeze all day long if I want.

Did you have another chance to try out your new bailer? If yours works OK I will get one and install in the back like yours.

Not yet ... sailed it again, but it was nearly calm ... so not enough speed to get it working. It DOES work great in the back yard though... the tarp I cover the boat with ...

Ok folks, any ideas on what to make battens out of?... My Man-O-War came without the battens for the sail, so I'm gonna have to fabricate some.

Just wondering if anybody has any ideas. (They're gonna need to be about 1.5 inch wide, 3.5 feet long, and 3/16 inch thick.... approximately)

I thought of ...

I got the bailer from defender.com.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|118|299320&id=75542

I originally ordered it from the link you posted (but by phone), but a week later, I called to ask them where it was and they couldn't find the order. So that is the last time I do business with that ...

Sailing was successful yesterday... me and my 5 year old spent a couple hours on the water. Managed to avoid all the submerged obstacles this time, so we came home with no damage!
It is the Andersen "Super Mini Bailer"... but the wind peaked at about 5 knots yesterday... so we were never able to ...

Finally ready for the water again!

A picture of the damage and rot before repairs:
(The photo doesn't do justice to the broken hull at the front and rear of the trunk... water comes in through those cracks at a rather alarming rate!) The wood in the side-supports was non-existant; along the top of ...

Mine does NOT have any aluminum in the trunk, (except for the bracket the main sheet tackle attaches to.) It is all fiberglass, except for the side supports and a wood rail along each side of the trunk at the top (for the aluminum bracket and the plastic cover to attach to, as well as for area to ...

Your post made me go look up some old photos... maybe this will make you feel better...

We did get it sailing again about 4 months later... the only "hired" labor was the rebuilding of the diesel engine.

I haven't been able to figure that out either, but if there is no Hull ID then it was built before 1973. Mine just has a serial number and no HID.

Gizmo's link provided the answer... mine's a '75.

I've got the hull patched now where the trunk was broken loose... waiting for some fiberglass to ...

Banshi wrote:.......grand kids are not to far off for me and we can't have them sliding off into the water

Those aren't my grandkids ... they're my own kids. But I see your point... they have resigned themselves to the idea that lifejackets are required ANYtime they're above-deck.

I've never figured out how to fly a large headsail without it rubbing the lifelines. I've put "chaffing patches" on the sail at those locations... just used sticky-back 3M Sail Patch material. I never had it wear the sail badly, but I did it just as a precaution.

Here's the best pic i could find of the main traveler on my Irwin 30.
It's 900 miles away, so I can't run out and get a better one.

http://homepage.mac.com/brittingham/MainTraveler.jpg

The blue lines are controls for the car. They pull it to one side or the other then cleat off. They are ...

Ah!, handy item... so mine is a '75. Thanks for the help.

Thanks, I've a double block already.

I also took it out for its maiden voyage today. What a fun little boat!!!
Was having a grand old time till i hit a submerged tree or something under the water... the daggerboard caught it while doing about 4 knots... nearly threw me out of the boat and managed ...