Hey guys, I got one for yalls.
Recently I picked up a heavily modified
cal 20, for free, on a sweet
trailer. Say what you want to say about free boats, I've heard it all. A bit about me, I've worked as a
boat builder,
commercial fisherman in
Alaska, and currently
work as a
marine diesel mechanic, so i know my way around a
boat, this is sailboat #5 for me, probably boat #12 all together.
What makes this Cal20 a unique
project is the previous guy ground off the rub rail/deck to
hull joint, and slapped a bunch of
epoxy, mat, and cloth tape inside and out, probably 2&3, about 4-5" wide depending on how sloppy he did it.
He also removed the chain plates, and out the
mast step in the
cockpit to accommodate the
mast being raked forward like 20 deg and ran 3 headsails, almost
cutter style, with no boom and main, bizarre if you ask me.
Not to mention, after removing all
deck hardware, he applied a do it yourself truck
bed liner to the decks and
cockpit, which is beneficial because January in the
Pacific Northwest means rain, rain, and more rain. At least it's dry inside the
cabin.
I won't forget to mention the last guy got 400 miles off shore on his way to
Hawaii before something caused him to turn back. Gee, I wonder why....
Any who,
The reason why this boat in particular appeals to me, as I am interested in doing the
Race to
Alaska (Iook it up), and it would be a shame to hack up a perfectly good boat, so I am starting with one that has already been hacked and am going to improve upon it and make it a tough no-bs micro cruising boat for the San Juan's and Canadian San Juan's, with the Queen Charlotte crossing being what I am building this boat for.
Keep in mind, while I say Alaska, it probably won't happen, but I would like to build this boat for the occasion none the less, class
racing isn't something I care about, so, I would like to make this a tough heavy duty boat.
With all of the original
hardware locations moved, and the structural integrity of the
hull to
deck joint compromised, I am going to re-glass the joint, beef up the chain plates, reinforce tabbing and bulkheads, and just all around strenghten the entire boat.
My questions about the Cal-20 are if anybody knows what the original lay-up schedule was, and what their suggestions would be for a lay up for the reinforcements.
I plan to start inside, grind out all
epoxy scabs inside the
cabin and then get down to bare glass. I am thinking a 12-18" glass job should be sufficient, and I plan on using either poly or vinylester, skipping the epoxy. I haven't decided material weight yet, but I figure a 3 mat and 2 biax, maybe 4/mat and 3 biax, with cloth overlay for cosmetics (they way cloth is meant to be used), and either a 4&3 for chain plates or a 4 mat, one uni, and 2 biax with cloth overlay. I am. It sure yet.
Fortunately the deck is in fair condition, I need to stick a dehumidifier in there and dry it out, but there aren't any soft spots but there is dampness, Iam debating whether or not to rip out the
headliner and glass in one mat, one db, one mat, and cloth and stiffen the deck, but if I get into that, and I find out the
plywood is bad, then I'd be up a creek.
The chain plates, I would prefer to go as low into the center of the hull as possible, without ripping up berths. I would also consider adding stiffness further back towards where I would put winches and
Genoa tracks/cars, and of course reinforcing the transom with the same lay-up as the deck seem, but do the entire thing, and re-bed the back stay chain plates.
It's going to be an involved
project, but in the end, I intend on having a solid well built boat capable of heavy duty
racing, with the intent on
family cruising with the wife kid and dog
As far as the Rig goes I'd probably go the next size up in
rigging, dynema or
spectra back stay, fully adjustable, with heavy reinforcements on the hinged mast step
I know how to do all this stuff, so might as well do it right.....right?
I've always been a fixed
keel San Juan 21 guy, I've had a few of those, but Cal-20s like Black Feathers and Chalupa have definatley inspired me
-Erik