Shannon,
Sorry to hear about Roger. It does sound as though he has lived much, certainly not all, of his dream though.
This is what we're all working on.
It is great to see you post however. Tell us where you are with your new co26 and related project.
51 2008-08-19 02:26:16
Re: A past Contessa Owner Passed Away (1 replies, posted in General Questions/Comments)
52 2008-08-18 15:38:25
Topic: repowering (19 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
There are those who are doing with what you have and those who have repowered. I have decided to spare my self the grief of dealing with the original engine (1985 Bukh) and biting the lead and writing the check for a new.
I have heard the one cylinder Bukh in Varuna and the one cylinder Yanma in several other small boats. Vibration and noise. Having said that I am looking for advice, experience, etc., on repowering with a twin cylinder diesel, ie. Beta, Yanma, Nanni, Phasor, Perkins, Westerbeke, or any other repower someone might have experience with.
53 2008-08-13 02:36:23
Re: Spring Start-up (17 replies, posted in General Questions/Comments)
I am replacing my low hour BUKH with a new two cylinder diesel. I've been looking at the Beta but would like opinions, etc. from others on repowereing and experience with their motors.
Does anyone know anything about the Nanni? Nanni vs Beta?
54 2008-08-13 02:32:58
Re: Spring Start-up (17 replies, posted in General Questions/Comments)
Seedler,
Nice photo....
How do you like your Monitor? Do you know anything about Cape Horn's or any of the other selfsteer gears?
I'm planning on buying one this year for my refit.
55 2008-07-28 15:26:46
Re: Bukh for sale (6 replies, posted in For Sale)
I haven't come up with a price yet.
I don't know about the footprint and shaft. Maybe someone out there will . . . .
The motor has low hours, don't know how many though, and runs well according to the suveyor. I have not run it since I bought the boat nearly four years ago.
I am suspect about the flywheel alternator/generator arrangement.
My boat is going to be refit this fall/winter replacing the Bukh with a Beta. Tim Lackey (Northern Yacht Restoration) will pull the Bukh, make a stand for it, and run it up. Then we can decide what it's worth. Not this summer, maybe well in to the fall or winter.
I'll keep you posted.
56 2008-07-23 05:09:32
Topic: Bukh for sale (6 replies, posted in For Sale)
I'm going to repower my 1986 co26 and will be looking for a home for my low hour 10 hp Bukh.
Any interest?
57 2008-07-07 09:56:50
Re: Toerail repairs (2 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
Luke,
I have a JJ Taylor co26 and it's genoa tracks, like the genoa tracks on any boat I've owned, are thru bolted the toerail with washer and a nut accessable, though barely, from below. If you can get a backing plate in there then all the better.
Can you get fingers up there to fit a washer and nut? If so, that's it!
Bob
58 2008-06-16 13:53:57
Re: Refurbishment of Morava (17 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
I'm glad to see there're others out there contemplating a total refit. We know these are wonderful little boats and are worth rstoring. Having bought my 1986 boat three years plus ago and not having any time for my "signature project" I've decided to buck up and have someone else do it. Northern Yacht Restoration in Whitefield, Maine (GOOGLE him) is taking me on this fall/winter for a spring 2009 splash down. Total refit; paint, decks, Beta diesel, plumbing, wiring, spars, wood, traveller, Cape Horn, cushions, electronics, etc. etc.
He's a one man shop and also runs a website for Tritons. He digitally records the entire project for the owner and others to watch on line. Pretty exciting stuff!!
Expensive? What are our toys worth to us? Think about your bank balance when you take last breath. . . .
59 2008-06-09 15:13:31
Re: venting the holding tank (5 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
My below the cabin sole holding tank was quite foul when I bought the boat. The bottom of the keel length tank had an inch or more of concrete it's full length. Ballast? I am having the fellow restoring my co26 cut the laminate under the cabin sole, top of tank, and remove all the concrete, clean and seal with epoxy and paint. I will then have a hatch or two put in the laminate, which was the top of the tank, for access to what is now storage area in the lowest part of the boat. I am replacing this tank and head with a porta-potti. This makes so much more sense to me. I think this boat is just to small for this large area to be used for such a large tank and all the plumbing. This will make a great storage area for anchors, fenders, rodes, chain, parts, water in disposal wine bladders from "box-o-wines", etc. etc. I am planning on putting a flexible water bladder in the water tank under the vee berth. I don't like the idea of potable water sitting in a f/g tank.
Did I read somewhere that you must have a holding tank in the Great Lakes? A Porta-potti won't do?
60 2008-05-10 13:24:44
Topic: shroads and stays (1 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)
I am totally rehabing my 1986 co26 and would like to know what size stays and shrouds were stock with the Cinkel spars. The previous owner replaced the stock rigging with 1/4" ss. This is over size but I don't know by how much. I am convinced the design rigging is adequate. I, we, don't need any additional weight aloft.
61 2008-04-14 12:55:52
Re: Bukh engine water supply (9 replies, posted in Technical)
speaking of Bukh's.....
I am going to repower my 1986 co26 with a new Beta. I will be looking for a home for my low hour Bukh DV10ME.
I have no personal experience with this motor. When the boat was surveyed, three and a half years ago (last time it was in the water) it ran well according to the surveyor. I wasn't there.
Any interest???
Bob P.
Ipswich, MA
62 2008-03-27 14:05:57
Re: paint (7 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
I don't even dare to think about painting my boat.. It has taken me three years to get it under a cover I can finally work under. I would need to live another fifty to seventy years to do what I would like to do before my launch. Having said that I've decided to have the boat professionally rehabed. and launched for the first time it has been in my ownership, in the spring of 2009.
The paint: AWLGRIP seems to be the standard approach. What about AWLCRAFT? Apparently it is softer and can be more easily repaired then AWLGRIP. If I spend XXX thousands on a paint job I want to be able to repair the scratches, dings, etc.
The decks: the rehab. guy's usual approach is to sand the non-skid smooth and paint with non-skid Interdeck. I am not convinced this is the way I want to go. My non-skid is in nice shape and would like to preserve it. I'm told the sprayed AWLGRIP "pools up on the non-skid". Can non-skid textured gelcoat be successfully painted? Spray painted?
What about one of the glue on plastic-like overlays where the non-skid was?
All kinds of things are on my "to do list". rewire, plumb, bright work, possibly replace the low hour Buhk with a Beta, and anything I feel I may either need to, or would like to, replace or repair within the next ten years or so.
I just want to sail . . my co26.
As I read this back this sounds like the midlife crisis sort of thing I have heard about.
63 2008-03-19 07:18:53
Re: serial number (5 replies, posted in General Questions/Comments)
My number is ZJT03350186. Based on this and my understanding of my boat, this is the 335 hull JJT built, building it in Jan. 1986. I don't know what the "Z" is or the "J and T" for that matter.
If I'm right what does this say about your boat? You may have the 252th hull built in March 1980?
I'm curious to see what others say.
64 2007-11-08 15:00:44
Re: Contessa 26 Drawings (16 replies, posted in Technical)
What do you know about concrete in your bilge?
I am down to the top of the lead ballast (the bottom of the holding tank), thru the inspection port on the top of the holding tank, beneath the cabin sole. The bottom of the holding tank has an inch or more of concrete that had been poured over the lead ballast. This concrete also filled the vertical voids between the ballast and the keel laminate. A very thin layer of what I think was just gelcoat was then poured on the concrete forming a cap for the concrete and a "waterproof" bottom for the holding tank. Well...this just hasn't worked to well.
I found most of this concrete broken and easily removed by hand and a hammer. The concrete filling the (1/8" to 3/8") voids between the ballast and the keel laminate is broken and crumbling and will be impossible to remove.
My solution to this mess is to remove as much of the broken concrete as possible and replace with epoxy. The epoxy should flow down in the ballast/keel voids waterproofing and adhering all. Gallons of epoxy!
I have not read anything on this site about concrete in the bilge but have come across this in other boats on other sites. It seems as though during production the cast lead ballast is lowered into the keel. In the perfect world any voids would of been filled with epoxy or some other non water absorbing filler/ adhesive, not concrete.
I think there was perhaps a leak in the gelcoat which allowed the concrete to become effluent absorbed. Throw in a few seasons of freezing temperatures and presto, broken concrete in the bilge and a worthless holding tank.
65 2007-11-05 06:45:13
Re: Contessa 26 Drawings (16 replies, posted in Technical)
In addition to the above improvements I would suggest the following:
- ss backing plates, with access, to all the deck hardware
- careful monitoring of layup schedule (quality construction)
-vinylester resin for the hull
-foam deck cores
-a real holding tank
-ss or cast bronze stemhead
-cherry interior (take the pressure off the rain forest and cut cost, Hinckley and Morris do it)
- and last but not least making this all possible for less then a quarter mil!! Remember someone has to buy
these....
66 2007-10-29 12:06:54
Re: Stemhead / Anchor Arrangements (8 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
Not all co26's have the same stemhead. My 1986 has two ss sockets for the bow rail screwed down on the stemhead casting. I have seen stemhead castings that include the sockets for the bowrail as part of the alum. casting. These I might add were quite corroded.
My anchor roller is a bolt on. The design doesn't allow a line to pass through the chock without chaffing on the rather sharp edge of the bow roller extension. Needs to be redesigned.
So where do the four bolts or screws thru the stemhead go? Is there a backing plate? A solid piece of f/g? What is under this stemhead? I would like to know before I take mine off....
I will post a photo of my stemhead in the near future. I would encourage others to do the same so we know what we are talking about.
67 2007-10-24 12:45:32
Re: stemhead casting/forestay tang (24 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
I have read of other co26's falling between the straps. The fellow who hauls my Cape Dory and any other keel boat, ties a lenght of line between the two straps to prevent them from slipping outwards. Simple enough to avoid tragedy or near tragedy.
Chris, I am glad to hear it was from only four feet....
68 2007-10-08 08:43:03
Re: head removal / concrete ballast (10 replies, posted in Technical)
Christopher,
I'm 6' so the head wasn't to high for me, but, my 5' wife! You probably know how important this may be to her..
The base of the Brydon head is the only thing that hasn't been removed. Same problem. Two bolts came out but the other two did not. The nuts under the inaccessable liner are turning. I plan on using a Sawzall with the longest hacksaw blade to cut the bolts, not the liner. I am trying to remove the head leaving the liner intact because I plan on using the liner as the base for the porta-potti. I don't think, am I wrong, that there is enough room below the liner to make cutting the liner out, then having to make a new base, worthwhile.
What kind of head did you replace the Brydon with?
69 2007-10-05 12:35:59
Re: head removal / concrete ballast (10 replies, posted in Technical)
Golliwobbler:
Mounting a manual pump on the bottom of he sole hatch, flipping the hatch then pumping sounds like a good idea for the use of this space. I don't think you could use the former head thru hull for discharge because the pump and discharge would be below the waterline. The water would siphon back into the boat, I think...Being able to discharge into the cockpit sounds good especially if you could work out something so you wouldn't have to remove the wash boards. How about a hole in the wash boards with some kind of one way port for discharge. Even a small plastic inspection port...
I'm talking about bailing and my boat hasn't seen water for three years.
70 2007-10-04 13:35:46
Re: head removal / concrete ballast (10 replies, posted in Technical)
Oh yes I am trying my best to keep the work to a minimum but this just looks so bad, unfinished, not structurally right.
My plan is to cut a rectangle hole in the top of the holding tank the same dimension as the cabin sole hatch just above it. The only access to the holding tank is now thru the sole hatch and the 8" inspection plate/cover directly beneath. I won't need the waterproof inspection cover any longer because I won't be using this as a holding tank.
I will then have to do all my concrete removal and cleaning thru this rectangular cut. Pouring in the epoxy should not be a big deal, I hope. I will just make a rectangular f/g cover for the cut hole.
I will try to get some pictures but can't be sure what they will show anything other then the 8" inspec. cover.
Where can I can borrow an endoscope ?
71 2007-10-04 07:07:40
Re: head removal / concrete ballast (10 replies, posted in Technical)
My boat was built in January 1986.
I failed to mention that the concrete was covered with what seems like gelcoat without the fiberglass. The lead doesn't fill the f/g keel very well (1/2" clearance on one side, 1" clearance on the other side running fore and aft) this void being filled with concreete then topped off with another 1 to two inches of concrete forming the bottom of the holding tank. This was then covered with what just seems to be gelcoat. The gelcoat and concrete were broken and easily removed by hand thru the 8" inspection port into this area (holding tank).
Perhaps many, or some other, co26's have concrete in their bottoms, unknown to their owners because of this gelcoat covering.
Concrete has been used in many boats, but a JJT co26???
72 2007-10-03 14:34:54
Topic: head removal / concrete ballast (10 replies, posted in Technical)
I have just finished removing the head and all the assorted plumbing to make room for a far simpler porta-potti type head. Because of the flair of the hull if mounted in the same place the porta-pottie will have to be mounted so that the seat is higher then the original head. This leaves your feet dangling. Any suggestions? Located in front of the vee berths is one possibility but that is a little to close to the berths for my olfactory sensitivities.
Part of this project is to remove the one to two inches of concrete I have, much to my surprise, found that has been poured on the top of the lead keel that forms the bottom of the holding tank. This concrete has also run down between the lead and the fiberglass on both sides of the keel, the length of the keel, a thickness of about 1/2 inch. I won't be able to remove this so I hope to remedy this entire situation by removing and cleaning out as much of the concrete as possible and then covering the lead with an inch or two of epoxy I trust will seal the whole thing. I will replace the inspection port with two hatches below the hatches in the cabin sole. This former holding tank will be a good place for flexible tanks of water or fuel.
What do you know about concrete in the bilges of Contessas and or replacing factory installed heads with porta-potti types?
73 2007-10-03 07:40:55
Re: Go Engineless? (15 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
Not having yet sailed or even launched my co26 I can't speak from experience but from what I've read on this website. Many have seemed concerned about weight in the ends of the boat ie: a Monmitor versuses other windvanes, a big hook out over the bow, chain in the forepeak, etc. and weight in general. A 9.8hp 4 stroke is a heavy motor. My experience is with several inboard and outboard auxilliary sailboats. The inboards are an expensive pain in the ass. When they run right they do what they are designed for well. You can't beat an o/b for serviceability and cost I am currently sailing a Cape Dory 18' Typhoon with a 6hp Johnson out over the transom. It works better then great. I do wonder how it would sail without this weight hung out far over the transom though. I sail in area with a strong tidal flow amongst many moored boats in an area with fickle winds. I can't chance taking the motor off. The biggest drawback with the o/b is that in a following sea the water comes right up and above the bottom of the motor cover. I have to be very careful not to fllood the o/b therefore limiting where and when I go. Having said this this is my concern about taking the 10hp Bukh out of my co26 and replacing with an o/b. Oh yes, outboards sure are ugly on any but the ugliest of boats. A lot can be said for this
74 2007-10-01 07:48:12
Re: Grease your running rigging? (3 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)
What do you lubricate with??
75 2007-09-27 11:12:12
Re: paint (7 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
A lot of work where experience can pay very big dividends. I am planning on painting my 1986 dark green co next year. The topsides show some "print thru" which I trust will be covered by the primer and paint. I feel Awlgrip is out of the question be cause of the cost, the need to move the boat to a painting booth, and the difficulty of repairing scratches, gouges etc. Besides, I like to doing everything even if I have no idea what I'm doing... Sprayed Awlgrip looks great at the boat shows when you can see your face in the shine, but my boat hangs on a mooring covered with dry salt water. I only see the topsides for a few minutes from the launch. My plan is to roll and tip either Perfection or some other two part paint. I am in the very early stages of fact finding in this project and I'm posting for your experience and advice.
The decks: I am in the process of removing all the deck hardware with the plan on sealing w/ epoxy and rebedding before installation. Why not paint the decks if I am going to all this trouble. The decks are twenty-one year old sun burned off white gelcoat. Roll and tip the decks?? What kind of paint?? Any thoughts??