I recently acquired a used Chesapeake 17 and a sailrig. I knew that both were rough around the edges but did not anticipate needing to make repairs. Upon closer inspection, my perfectionist tendencies won out and compelled me to start major refurbs for all components. I'd be grateful for any feedback you might have on my plans.
The short version (questions):
• The C17 plans/manual seem to align with the PDF version of the manual I bought 1-2 years ago, but the sailrig is the Mk2 version rather than the current version. My understanding is that the Mk3 version is stronger owing to deck reinforcement and/or mast step. Would it be wise to purchase the Mk3 plans/manual since I am rebuilding the kayak portion anyway? I don't think I owe CLC a plans purchase otherwise since I am repairing, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
• Is it OK to re-do enormous/heavy fillets by removing tape/cloth over them, scraping/chiseling back, and finishing with cosmetic fillets and cloth/tape? One concern might be compatibility of epoxy originally used (unknown) and MAS epoxy.
• I am considering wrapping akas/crossbeams in 4oz (or 6oz) FG cloth before coating with epoxy and varnish to improve wear resistance and add strength (possibly to enable addition of trampolines, which I've seen ome other builder do but know CLC would probably never condone). Worth the effort?
The long story:
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Chesapeake 17
Problems observed:
• Weight (62 lbs) - due mainly to huge fillets (~3" wide). I feel like I'm playing Russian roulette with my lower back and the kayak itself every time I lift it.
• Sloppy fiberglass work in cockpit led to lots of big (1-3" long, up to 3/4" deep) air bubbles under tape/cloth. No rot, amazingly, but this may be due to prior owner using spray skirt religiously. I took it out once and capsized it 2x while getting out (1st time in a sea kayak). I found water and fine sand in these bubbles a few days later.
• Sheer clamps were not sealed with epoxy, and they have dustings/clusters of dark mold on them (mainly in cockpit but also in hatch areas). I was shocked that they were left completely unprotected.
• Light surface rot on top of deck due to dings in center of deck and intrusion around a few nail holes.
• Light rot around a few deck fittings (especially rudder, where deck FG/epoxy had also cracked).
• Wear down to bare wood at bow/stern (beachings?).
Work done:
• Sanded the coaming down and put a radius on upper inside edge (likely wasted effort since I will remove deck).
• Started removing FG cloth/tape from cockpit using heat gun and chisel.
• Cut off the deck with a router and a flush trim bit once I realized the sheer clamps are unsealed and moldy.
Plans:
• Remove nailed edges of deck. Heat gun and chisel to peel off FG, nail remover + mallet to remove nails, mallet and chisel (possibly with heat gun) to peel up rest of plywood and epoxy?
• Clean up/seal sheer clamps. Plane/sand back to bare wood to remove light surface mold. Seal with unthickened epoxy according to manual.
• Clean up/lighten cockpit. Use heat gun and chisel to pull up glass cloth/tape. Chisel/scrape fillets back and add cosmetic fillets on top as needed (for fillet width of <= 1" vs 3"). Add epoxy, tape, and cloth. Paint most visible area since I'll likely mangle plywood surface when removing cloth/tape.
• Optionally clean up taped fillets in bow/stern compartments too (weight savings) in same way as cockpit.
• Cut new deck from 4mm okoume ply and install without brad nails (I like the look but want to minimize opportunities for water intrusion).
• Attempt to salvage existing coaming (but likely build from scratch).
• Make new hatch covers since existing ones are lumpy/dinged up.
• Drill/fill/drill through holes for deck rigging and for rudder.
• Add under-deck reinforcement for sailrig and replace cracked/rotting (unprotected) mast step on floor.
• Add FG tape and Dynel strips to protect worn bow/stern areas.
• New seat (happy bottom), backband (TBD), hip/knee braces, etc.
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Sailrig:
Problems observed:
• Akas: corners not rounded. Major epoxy/varnish chipping and minor fastener hole rot.
• Amas: Unglassed decks have lots of dings/damage and some rot. Bulkhead tops (where amas attach) are chipped but repairable. Hulls are a little lumpy, but I can rejuvenate with sanding and varnish/paint.
• Leeboard: Needs corner rounding in places and new epoxy/varnish.
Work done:
• Amas: Removed most of decks with router and flush trim bit. Removed nails.
• Akas: Removed cracked spacers (and cut new out of fir). Scraped/sanded back to bare wood and rounded edges w/ 3/8"-radius router bit.
Plans:
• Amas: Remove edges of decks with chisel/mallet, plane, sander, and possibly heat gun (so I can peel away rather than chip away). Fill chips in bulkheads with thickened epoxy. Plane/sand sheer clamps flat and install new decks from okoume scraps. Round deck edges and add 4oz FG cloth over deck and fillet/bulkheads to protect against future wear. Again, not planning to use brad nails this time.
• Akas: Sand rounded akas smooth. Optionally wrap in 4oz FG cloth to make more strong/wear-resistant before adding epoxy/varnish. Drill/fill/drill fastener holes to remove existing rot and protect against future rot.
• Leeboard: Round square edges, sand, and coat with epoxy/varnish.
• Mast: Might buy 2-piece tube to replace existing 1-piece tube since rooftopping seems risky (could squeeze into car otherwise). Use existing 40sf sail.
Laszlo:
Thank you for the exceptionally generous advice!
I misstated the model of the kayak in the video with the trampolines. It is a Sport Tandem. Although its listed capacity is "only" 475 lbs vs the 700 of the wider standard double, this is still far more than the 325-lb capacity of the Chesapeake 17 (in the context of ~100 lbs flotation per ama, I guess), and your point stands. This would be uncharted territory and would also complicate the leeboard situation. Not interested in submarining!
I mentioned mast step/deck reinforcement for two reasons:
- The fore deck I removed was lightly reinforced, so I assumed the Mk2 manual called for this (I confirmed that it does not, but it sounds like the Mk3 manual does).
- John Harris mentioned in his sailrig evolution article that the early Mk2 sailrig prototypes (as far as I can tell) would explode into wet splinters (deck failure?) at high speeds. I misunderstood this to mean that the final Mk2 design could destroy kayaks, but he later implies that the mast was weakened to make it (rather than the kayak) the failure point in case of high winds. Relevant passage below.
" At some point, the over-pressed CLC SailRig will explode in a cloud of wet splinters. ... Thus, the mast was designed as a sort of fuse, to shear off at the deck before the relatively fragile kayak broke up under strain."
I will consider buying the Mk3 plans to get CLC's official advice on deck/mast step reinforcement (so I can use bigger sails and thicker mast), but I appreciate your recommendation. Sounds like this is the main difference between Mk2/3.
I won't mess with the mast position or attempt adding trampolines or mess with configurable amas. All are risky/bad ideas not to be attempted by someone lacking boat design knowledge, I think. I will consider rebuilding the C17 without sailrig mods and replace it with a double or triple, and yes - I'll be a careful buyer next time!
I like the idea of using microballoons for cosmetic fillets (if I need them) and grinding existing ones down with a Dremel/vac. Definitely not looking forward to this, but it will be worth it to make the boat lighter. I don't see much evidence of the rest of the epoxy being too thick, so I'll stick to fillet rework and fixing bubbles/lumps. Oh joy.
Hadn't planned to fair the ama hulls w/ microballoons (hope I can sand epoxy smooth), but might as well add it to the list!
Well, that's an ambitious project. But then again, we've all backed into something like this and when it's done it'll give you a good sense of satisfaction. In no particular order, here's my reactions and free advice (worth triple what I'm charging for it):
Wrapping akas for abrasion protection - use 4 oz, not 6. The akas are plenty strong (they work just fine with no covering) so all you need is something to hold the epoxy in place.
I'd skip the trampoline in this case. It will make paddling difficult/impossible and if you try to give a passenger a ride you'll end up with a sail-powered submarine. Remember, the video showed a CLC Double which has over 2x the capacity of the C17.
Underdeck reinforcement - consider carbon fiber and glass instead of wood. A piece of unidirectional 3K or greater CF under the deck (threads running transversely) with a piece of 6 oz glass on the bottom will considerably stiffen the deck. A wooden ring on the deck for the mast to pass through will also beef it up and can accommodate a plug when the mast isn't there. But all that said, why the reinforcement? You're putting on a new, properly-built deck. CLC sail rigs have been around for decades. If they needed the reinforcement we'd have been hearing constant complaints or CLC would have come up with a design change long ago.
Threaded inserts will be force concentrators. They'll need lots of reinforcement. The lashings and mounts distribute the forces more evenly and allow give to absorbs dynamic peaks.
Lumpy hulls can be faired to perfection with phenolic microballoons and a longboard. You just need to remove the paint and get down to bare epoxy first.
Weight reduction - if you're going to trim back fat fillets, I recommend using a Dremel and respirator and shop vac. Just be very careful - that setup will go through okoume like butter. Cosmetic fillets will add weight. Either avoid them by sanding the trimmed fillets or use phenolic microballoons instead of woodflour. The existing fillets will give you the strength, the cosmetic fillets will be taking care of the fiberglass minimum bend radius; ballonns have pleanty of compressive strength for that. Epoxy compatibility will not be a problem as long as the old fillets are completely cured. Also, for weight reduction, consider sanding excess epoxy coatings over the entire boat, not just the fillets.
Mast position. The mast position is determined by the strength of the hull at that point and the shape of the sail. You can reinforce different parts of the hull, but the sail's center of effort has to be in a particular relationship with the leeboard center, hull center, rudder center and overall center of gravity. Be aware that if you do move the mast you'll probably have to adjust all those other settings to keep the boat from steering squirrely.
Sounds like quite a project . Just keep reminding yourself how much fun it will be when you're done. And I'll bet the next time you'll know about inspections of used boats.
Good luck,
Laszlo
Bubblehead,
As much as I hate to admit it, you're probably right. Although I think the price I paid was fair all things considered, I wouldn't have purchased it if I had taken more time to inspect closely since I was not in the market for another build or equivalent effort (which this is). I will say, however, that my purchasing department head would have vetoed the acquisition of two new kits without a 2nd thought, making option 2 a non-starter.
Well, I won't offer any real advice, as you've already committed quite a bit of effort to the project. To me it sounds like it might have been almost easier and less time consuming (and not much more expensive) to start fresh with building a new boat, then using the old boat as a "beater" until it met with a natural (premature) death.
Last comment for now:
I am operating under the assumption that the mast needs to stay where it is (which is admittedly a rather awkward place just a few inches aft of the rudder pedals but obviously well forward of the loaded kayak's center of gravity). If someone has a good intuition for whether I should have the flexibility to move the mast a foot or so forward / toward the bow (adjacent to the forward bulkhead), I'd be grateful. This would take the mast/step out of my foot space, allow me to enlarge the step and/or reinforce it by attaching it to the fore bulkhead, and enable wider aka spacing (easier paddling, ability to add trampolines to accommodate passengers). I would probably try to get some kind of feedback grom CLC/Mr. Harris on such a big design mod before spending all that time on it, though.
My top priority is to make the kayak and sailrig usable - this would be icing on the cake.
Apologies for the double post. I hit the submit buttom twice for some reason.
The Chesapeake 17 manual I got with the boat is v2.2 (my PDF purchased from CLC is v3.1).
Below is a link to a video showing trampolines on the sailrig with a CLC Fast Double kayak. I believe the builder also expanded aka spacing from 4' to 6'. I don't see an easy way to make that wider ama spackng work with the C17 but am considering adding 4 sets of threaded inserts or similar (at, say, 4' and 6' spacing) in place of the tops of the bulkheads to make spacing flexible, but this would seem to be uncharted territory. I'd pursue any such ambitions with appropriate levels of caution and skepticism.