S/V Necessity

[CharlieJ]

Laura and my original small cruising boat. The owners had it on the market, and for my birthday, I bought her back. I'm a trailer sailor again ;)

Gonna have to change my tag line I guess ;D

Lindsey 21. 7'6" beam, 2 foot draft

[Captain Smollett]

Very Cool, Charlie.  I always thought that boat still "belonged" to you...in a way.   :)

[tomwatt]

Wow, congratulations! Seems like a sign, suggest you don't try selling her anymore after this.
;D

[CharlieJ]

Written long ago, here's the tale of Necessity's rebirth. You'll pardon me if I'm a bit stoked. Tehani goes to Laura tomorrow as a birthday gift, from me to her.

Here's the write up- written in about 1991 or 1992-

When I moved to East Texas in 1983
and sold my Cross 35 Trimaran the buyer didn't have enough money
to meet my price, so I removed a lot of gear. Extra
hardware, extra anchors, line, chain, the inflatable and its outboard,
lots of stuff like that. I also took this sailboat as part of the deal. Put
it on a hay trailer, hauled it to the farm in E Tex and put it in a barn.
Worked a little on it over the years, gutted every thing out, stripped the
deck and took off the keel. Had made a half-hearted start at rebuilding
and was getting set to redo her as a singlehander.

Then I met Laura.

She indicated a serious interest in going cruising (she already had indicated the interest?she got serious), so we
went up, loaded the boat and its gear on a trailer and brought it down to Magnolia Beach.
We started working on the boat and got to the point where the interior was about
done last year as daylight savings time was ending. No work over the winter,
to speak of, then we finally got started again this spring.

The boat is a substantially built 21 footer with a cast iron keel of around 400 lbs (guesstimate) with a 200 lb swing
inside the keel. I am bolting the swing into the up position and adding about 150 lbs of lead inside the stub
to compensate for the lost righting moment (the ballast is now higher). I detested the cable and winch arrangement
that came with it. That's about all the underneath changes.

We redid the deck and cabin (exterior) because it looked like heck and the
boat had sustained some damage on the cabin top. We sanded the whole
topside to get rid of the factory nonskid, as we couldn't match it after
the repairs, and it was pretty wimpy. We sprayed a coat of epoxy primer on
the cabin, decks and cockpit, sanded, then taped off the nonskid areas. We then sprayed a second coat of epoxy,
poured the nonskid sand onto the area thickly and let the paint dry. Then we used an airhose to blow off all the sand
that didn't stick and sprayed another
coat of primer. After finishing all the nonskid areas, we pulled the
tape and reprimed the entire top. We then followed up with three coats of linear
polyurethane (white).  I used Cactus Paints, which is formulated for use on
fiberglass oil tanks. It's cheaper than IMRON or AWLGRIP, and every bit as
good. The oil industry people aren't spending 60 or 70 thou to paint a big
storage tank, and then buying junk paint.

I had previously cut the cockpit companion/cockpit and built a bridge deck. The companion previously went to the
cockpit floor with about a 2 inch sill, now
there?s 14 inches with a 1 inch sill. Also, the drains were a pair of
plastic hoses, less than 3/4 inch in diameter, running from the rear of the cockpit out
thru the transom. Took about a year to drain a footwell full of water! I cut
them out, molded some glass tubes with 1 5/8 ID's and glassed them in--
Heavily! Upgraded all cleats on deck by at least one inch, put an 8 inch
Herreshoff style on the centerline of the foredeck(note - there re now two cleats) and added fairleads on the deck
edges. Put a chain pipe forward of the cleat.  Found some #16 Barlow's , brand new,
sitting on a dealers shelf where they had been since 1982. Paid 1982 dealers?
cost for them - $90 for the pair. Overkill, but the price was right.  Laura won't have any trouble winching in the 150
genny.

Found some windows from a wrecked Catalina 30, which I traded some labor for,
and have built interior frames from ash. Built a new hatch
for the cabin top from some teak I had left from building the Tri. Used 
plans for a "Griffiths" hatch as lauded in "Ocean Sailing Yacht". Found the
plans at 'Messing About in Boats'. Put a lexan top on it for
interior light. Built it to open forward or aft by moving the hinge pins from the front to the rear. It can be opened aft
if raining. That about covers the topsides.

Now to go inside--------
Didn't like the interior from the beginning, so had already torn it out to the
hull sides years ago. So here?s what we did, from front to rear - extended the vee berths back to the mast
compression post which we rebuilt as a 4x4 ash post. Added a bulkhead in the
bow, with a door in it, so now we can store 250 feet 1/2 nylon anchor rode,
along with 30 feet of 5/16 chain. Made space for a portapotti under the head of the vee, with a
large storage locker on each side also under the vee. Now have three lockers
accessible thru hatches in the top of the vee berth. Main bulkheads are at
the compression post and carry the chain plates, which I changed from
aluminum to stainless.  Aft of the bulkheads on the port side is a settee/
berth with 3 storage lockers built into the seat back and 3 under the settee. This settee is an even 6 feet long and
stops at the bulkhead under the cockpit (which is at the end of the cabin).

Starboard side is a storage locker with a varnished ash lid  ( now formica topped)that makes a small galley area. There are three storage bins against the hull stacked vertically, with handholes into each of them. These are for condiments, dry
foods, coffee, etc. The small one burner kerosene stove that I have used on
small boats since 1974 will stow in the locker, along with pots, pans
plates, etc, in dish pans.

Continuing aft, on the starboard side still, is a quarter berth that I extended
under the cockpit. Mainly just your legs will be underneath. I added a vertical
fore and aft bulkhead under the cockpit to seal the cockpit area off from the interior.
Added a bulkhead with a door at the foot of the berth to close it off as well. This berth is 6 1/2
feet long and also has storage in the back and under the berth.
Both of the settee backs have a shelf on top for things like
books, glasses, whatever for at anchor. The radio will be on starboard side shelf just
under the cockpit.

As you step into the cabin from the cockpit you step onto a folding
step/shelf that covers the ice chest. The space was built for a Coleman
48 qt cooler and there is storage aft of it. Probably 5 or 6 gallons of water will fit. The floorboards inside are to
be 1/2 inch oiled cypress duckboards, raised about 1 inch off the hull
bottom (to keep feet dry as there is no bilge in this boat). The duckboards will also hide the keelbolts.

All interior trim has been redone in varnished ash and the inside of the boat is done in a Sherwin Williams
'Incredi-coat' semi-gloss latex enamel, a creamy white called
'Moonglow'. Laura is going to do the cushions a little later this summer, when we get
some extra money. We have the fabric and  access to foam at wholesale prices.
All the exterior wood is teak, which was already on the boat but had to be
modified in some places. All trim, inside and out, has five to seven coats of
spar varnish sprayed on it.

The mast, boom and spreaders were stripped of hardware, sanded, primed two
coats and sprayed two coats of gloss black polyurethane . Still needs to be re-rigged.
Have a 110 Genoa and an almost brand new 150 which will see little use
here as our winds average 15-18 in the summer. The 110 will probably
be our primary headsail. We were given a mainsail from another boat that, while
almost new, had been stored in an attic and gotten chewed by critters. Fortunately, the sail is
too long for the boat and almost all the damage is in the foot  which will be removed 
when Laura cuts the sail down to fit. There are only two small holes to patch in
the part we will use, neither of which is over about 2 inches.

[Jim_ME]

Congratulations, CJ, for your generosity--and on being in the right place at the right time, when your old boat found its way home to you.

And congrats to Laura, too, on receiving Tehani.

Fair winds to you both [And Happy Birthday!].
-Jim

[CapnK]

Been a long time, since I read that description last. Why am I thinking "What goes around..." :)

So she can go 55mph to windward? Well, that opens up the cruising grounds just a bit... ;D

Please give me at least 30 days notice so that I can make sure the rum cabinet can absorb the shock of your arrival.

(hehe)

[Captain Smollett]

Hey, CJ, I'm a trailer sailor again, too!

Brought the trailer boat back today ..., 8 hour round trip, including time getting some stuff fixed on the trailer before hitting the road.

She's a mess, but should clean up fine.

[Jim_ME]

Congrats, John. Was it your (Sanibel 18?) sailboat that you got back, or another one?

I have found someone that is interested in trading his Cape Dory Typhoon 19 for my Bristol Corinthian 19, so I may be a trailer sailer again myself this coming season.

Now that you are trailer sailors again, you and CJ (and others) will have to consider land-yachting it up to Maine for the Skidattle 2012 on Penobscot Bay, say in August?

-Jim

[Captain Smollett]

Congrats, John. Was it your (Sanibel 18?) sailboat that you got back, or another one?

Yep my Sanibel (Skipper's Mate 17, actually, the first incarnation...same hull).  Her 'coming back' was partly why I posted in Charlie's thread.

I have found someone that is interested in trading his Cape Dory Typhoon 19 for my Bristol Corinthian 19, so I may be a trailer sailer again myself this coming season.

Cool!  I know how much you miss your Typhoon.

Now that you are trailer sailors again, you and CJ (and others) will have to consider land-yachting it up to Maine for the Skidattle 2012 on Penobscot Bay, say in August?

-Jim

Hmmm.  That's a VERY inviting thought.  We've been wanting to head to Boston and Plymouth for some historical field trips anyway.  Only hitch is that I don't know if we are available in August.  Our summer schedule is slammed.  I'll definitely take a look.  Is there a web site with specific dates and other particulars?

Charlie, do you know when the Texas 200 is this year?  I doubt I can make it on short notice, but I'd like to check it out.

[CharlieJ]

June 11 - 15. I'm signed up. Doing it in Traveler. Don't know yet whether I'll be single hand or have crew

[Captain Smollett]

June 11 - 15. I'm signed up. Doing it in Traveler. Don't know yet whether I'll be single hand or have crew

Conceivably possible.  Have to look at some compromises elsewhere.   ;)

August is more free than I thought, too...maybe a trip north would be do-able.

[Tim]

Well! Happy for you all, kinda makes me sentimental...and..., want another boat  :o

[Jim_ME]

Yep my Sanibel (Skipper's Mate 17, actually, the first incarnation...same hull).  Her 'coming back' was partly why I posted in Charlie's thread.

I understand now. It was a good thing to have a smaller boat to do some sailing, while work on a larger one was under way. I had the Mariner 19 and then the Sovereign 18 in recent years. Sold them to raise funds to put into the larger boats, but then the recession came along, and I wished that I had stayed with the smaller boats. The problem with trying to accomplish the bigger things, sometimes in the near term, it can be like jumping a chasm...if you don`t make it to the other side, there is no partial credit.

Cool! I know how much you miss your Typhoon.

It would be similar, although a Typhoon coming back to me in the form of a sisterboat. I hope that it works out. I`ve got to get the pickups situation sorted out so that I can go down and get it...and then to use it. If it should not work out, maybe I can get the Corinthian 19 (also a fine little boat) ready and use it for a season or so until another Typhoon opportunity comes along.  

Hmmm.  That's a VERY inviting thought.  We've been wanting to head to Boston and Plymouth for some historical field trips anyway.  Only hitch is that I don't know if we are available in August.  Our summer schedule is slammed.  I'll definitely take a look.  Is there a web site with specific dates and other particulars?

One of my favorite events is that American Folk Festival in Bangor, Maine, on the banks of the Penobscot River, which is navigable from Penobscot Bay. This year is August 24, 25 & 26. Maybe I should post more information about all of this in a separate thread so as not to digress too far from this one.

Thanks, Tim, I know the feeling--a little too well...  ;D

CJ, Appreciate the story of the background on Necessity and your moving to East Texas. Hope to get down there sometime--probably by trailer sailer. My old friend has moved from Alexandria to Lafayette, LA (where his wife was originally from), and that is closer to the ocean. His base is right near the ICW. He has been inviting me to come visit for years, and works a 7-days on/7-days off (for now), which gives him a lot of flexibility.

-Jim

[CharlieJ]

Thanks. While I still have the acreage in east Texas ( family farm), I live on the Texas coast, on Lavaca/Matagorda Bays. I'm five blocks by road from the beach (and launch ramp), but can sit on my front deck and watch the channel markers flash ;)

[Captain Smollett]

One of my favorite events is that American Folk Festival in Bangor, Maine, on the banks of the Penobscot River, which is navigable from Penobscot Bay. This year is August 24, 25 & 26. Maybe I should post more information about all of this in a separate thread so as not to digress too far from this one.

Please do start a thread on this idea. Perhaps it can go in Routes and Destinations?

I'm very interested to talk more about it, and just as importantly....the XO is interested as well!   ;)