Today I had the first real opportunity for examining ‘Minnow’.
To fully know what will be required for renovating her will take more time. I
must remove the wiring from the exterior of the mast so that I can see its entirety.
Both the boom and the yard are warped, but their condition may not present problems.
Obviously, the straighter the boom, the more easily it will rotate when the
sail is being reefed. The cabin top is rough and disintegrating, and her sail
is badly chafed. These are some of the negative points, but they are not
insuperable to put right.
In my hands ‘Minnow’ will never be a showpiece, because as
far as I am concerned, she does not warrant being rebuilt.
Looking on the positive side, she would appear to have a
strong and reasonably fair hull. Her CopperBot antifouling still has life in
it. The interior is basic. She has internal buoyancy in the form of
polystyrene blocks. However, they are a bit of a pain, because small pieces of
polystyrene can accidentally be broken off and end up in the bilge.
Why am I looking happy in the photo? Because I know what a
fortunate person I am! I have a Paradox! Yes, she’s not the best in the world,
nor will she ever be, but I think I can bring her up to the standard I require. I
am convinced I have found a worthwhile project that will engage me for months
to come. Like all of my mistresses, she’s not going to be cheap.
4 comments:
Awesome Bill....I will eagerly follow your progress! :-)
Hello again Bill, you've certainly taken on a good bit of work there with 'Minnow'.
The thing that would most concern me is the insulation/buoyancy. I hate to think of that little lot catching fire, never mind the annoyance of it crumbling everywhere. Charles Stock insulated 'Shoal-Waters' with the bedrolls sold by camping outlets, but available cheaper elsewhere!
Your boom sounds to be a bit of a poser. It could be that it's been badly stowed, causing the warpage, in which case you could try suspending it at each end, with the warpage uppermost, and either hanging something heavy or tying it down to a ring bolt or similar for a few days to see if it would stay straight. Realistically speaking, you'll probably end up making a new boom, in which case, to avoid further problems it would be best to make it of two pieces glued together?
The trouble with the sail sounds unavoidable to me and is probably down to wear and tear. The way to go there would be to get a sailmaker to sew in some sacrificial wear patches.
Thanks Richard for your helpful suggestions.
The warping of the boom is not that bad.
I think I must have had an off day!
I hadn't thought of the fire hazard.
Cheers,
Bill.
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