Re-Tabbing Settees and Bulkheads

Port fore cabin locker


Starboard main cabin bulkhead (battery compartment)...

Bow Hatch Replacement

Like most boats of this age, the bow hatch is crazed, foggy, and has a less than ideal gasket.  The butyl sealant has begun to fail, and what's worse (although not unusual) is the lack of sealing off the exposed deck core.  Oh yes, and the supports are missing, so it only stays up when I prop a board in it.  In this project I will replace the original hatch with a new one and properly seal off the decking.

New Lewmar Hatch

Of course, the original hatch had square corners, but the new one had rounded corners.  I cut balsa to the new shape and epoxied it into place, then applied new upper inner and outer skins, and finally coated with new gelcoat.  

New Transducer Fairing Blocks

The original transducer fairing block was unsealed wood, and very rotten.  It was not seaworthy my any stretch of imagination.  In this project I create a new fairing block out of fiberglass sheet material and mount it on the hull.

The block was epoxied into place, filleted, and then barrier coated with the rest of the hull.

Ravat Design Philosophy

When I began this project I was initially overwhelmed by the volume of choices to make in sealants, epoxies, paints, wires, and techniques.  How could there be so many different ways to build a boat?  Surely there is right and wrong... Right?  Yes, and no.  There are definitely standards and guidelines, but they tend to be high level.  This left me the work of identifying the products and techniques. What I discovered as I dug into books and articles is that before you can even begin to pick your products and techniques you need to understand what your goal is.  For example, an electrical installation for an ocean-voyaging vessel is fine for a freshwater coastal cruiser.  However, a technique that is adequate for that coastal cruiser might not be sufficient for the ocean going vessel.  A race boat may also have very different needs than a day sailer or a cruiser. My intention in writing this section is to describe the underlying assumptions behind my projects, techniques, and product choices.  At first I was laying out my project plans based on what the real salty ocean going vessels would use.  After all, if it worked for them it would certainly be right for me!  What I discovered quickly was that given the scope of my restoration project I was not possible in terms of time or budget to bring every system up to long distance cruising levels in one season.  Nor would it be appropriate.  A boat needs to be sailed in order to understand what she needs and how you live on her.  While I had some time in, it was not enough to commit to a complete refit. The foundation of my plans comprised the following points: No Oceans: There is very little likelihood that my boat would be used for ocean voyages during the time that I own her.  The exception may be a brief trip from Lake Ontario through the New York State Canal system to NYC, or (dream time!) a trip out the St. Lawrence, down the coast to New York, and then back home via the Canals.  In either case, the salt water exposure would be minimal and all sailing would be coastal. Diminishing Returns: My boat is 30 years old, and was not ideally cared for during those years.  Although a fantastic boat with a long life ahead of her, it is not a pristine Hinkley worthy of replacing every screw.  I will accept some degree of aesthetic compromise to respect the budget and what I can reasonably expect to sell her for someday. Primary Use: As big as my dreams may be, 90% of my sailing will be day trips that begin and end at the marina slip.  Most of my "cruises" will be overnights, with perhaps one multi-day trip per year.  As such, design choices should favor the day sail.   No Racing: Racing is not a design goal.  Not at all.  I may take her around the cans someday for fun, but it will never be a design consideration. Safety is primary:  When in doubt, overbuild a safety item.  Plan for redundancy and contingency in systems, and don't skimp on safety.  For example, while I don't need an exotic chart plotter, I will absolutely have a GPS on board that I can interface to my VHF radio to allow for a DSC emergency call to broadcast my position. Sweat Equity: I will not pay other people (the yard) do work I am capable of, even if it means less time in the water.  I will call in expertise where it is needed, but I will not throw money at the boat if I can instead throw sweat at it.  This will necessarily include some stretching of comfort zones. The other design element is one I learned from a friend who helped me remodel the kitchen in my dry-land home.  At some point you need to stop analyzing and just get into it.  Once you get into it you trust that you will find a way out.  I actually spent weeks trying to figure out which sealant to use for the deck to hull joint, and the toe-rails.  Yes, weeks.  I have finally reached a point where I do my best to identify the choices, then I make one and move on accepting that it may be wrong.  I believe that in most cases my brief research leads me to better decisions than most people (who don't bother to research!) make with much nicer boats than mine.  On a fiberglass boat there is nothing you can't fix. I don't fear breaking it. One last point I need to make involves overall cost and scope.  I do have a budget, and it is relative to average selling prices I found for CS27s.  That being said, one of the goals I have for this boat is to really learn marine systems and develop self-sufficiency as much as reasonably possible.  I want to know how things work, and learn by doing.  I know that I will mess things up along the way once in a while, but that is part of the intended journey.  I have learned that having others do work on your behalf does not always produce as good a  result  as work you do on your own behalf, and so I move forward without (much) fear.

Ravat: The Name

How we arrived at the boat's name, and known history of CS27 #1254...

The first white wine that my wife and I loved drinking is Bully Hill Ravat 51.  It seemed like a perfect name for the boat, and there was no doubt that the old name had go.

Naming History Of CS27 #1254

Ravat

Cap'n Crunch

There was an outline of a prior name beneath the Cap N Crunch paint, but I was unable to decipher it...

Books

I love books.  I always have.  With determination and research you can do almost anything.  My experience thus far in sailing is proof of this theory because I came from ground zero when it comes to knowledge of boat systems.  I'm now flying high, at least 1/64 inch above ground zero!

When it comes to sailing, there are a few categories of literature I consume.  The bulk of my reading has been from the Boat Systems and DIY category.  Then there's seamanship books which I really enjoy, but haven't had time to really dig into yet.  Sailing stories are another category I have a few victories in.  Finally, magazines tend to transcend all categories, but they are small and cheap, so I'll give them their own category.

As stated in the Tools section of this site, I'm insanely busy right now refitting my boat, so I don't expect to be writing book reviews any time soon.  What I will do in the interim is make note of the literature that deserves some writing...

Boat Systems and DIY

• Don Casey: This Old Boat
• Don Casey: Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual
• Nigel Calder: Boat Owners Mechanical and Electrical Manual
• Nigel Calder: Marine Diesel Engines
• Charlie Wing: Boatowner's Illustrated Electrical Handbook
• Peggie Hall: Get Rid of Boat Odors
• Brian Toss: The Complete Rigger's Apprentice
• Fred P. Bingham: Boat Joinery and Cabinetmaking Simplified

Seamanship

• The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, 3rd Edition Revised
• Chapman Piloting

Sailing Stories

• Stay tuned...

Magazines

• Practical Sailor:  The Consumer Reports of sailing.  Reviews and practical advice on gear and techniques.
• Good Old Boat:  Fantastic and essential reading for those of us not afraid to work on our distinguished boats.
• Sail:  Mainstream marketing that's chocked full of six-figure yachts I have no interest in owning.  But it's another source of sailing fix in the long North-Eastern winter.  There are good articles on seamanship as well, but I sometimes find it frustrating that the magazine doesn't spend as much time covering the yachts that most of the world seems to own.  My boat yard has about 10 older 30 footers to each 35+ foot modern big boat.
• Epoxyworks:  More of a boat building magazine than a sailing one, but it often contains ideas and techniques which prove very useful in restoring a classic sail boat.

CS27 Survey

Having nearly rebuilt a 1977 CS27 from the bare hull up, I have reached a point where I have a pretty good idea about what is and is not vulnerable.  I've often thought to myself that I'm certain I bought the correct boat design, but perhaps I may have bought the wrong implementation of that design.  by that, I mean to say Ravat needed far more sweat and finance than I ever intended to invest.  In an effort to install a silver lining in that cloud, I thought it would be useful to put together information for people considering a CS27 so that they would know what they were getting into.

The content of this page is not intended to be authoritative or complete.  It's just a holding tank for thoughts I have and things I have encountered.  I am not a certified marine surveyor, nor should this list be used as a substitute for a valued professional opinion.  I do believe it could be a very useful indicator of what boats are worth investing in a survey and which boats may be passed by.  It could also be useful to someone who already owns a CS27 and would like some ideas on how to improve their fine yacht.

Contents

1. 1 Structural
   1. 1.1 Hole Potting
   2. 1.2 Gate Stanchion Backing Plates
   3. 1.3 Chainplate Openings

Structural

Hole Potting

None of the deck piercings in the CS27 are properly potted.  Almost no stock boats are potted, which is why we have so many structural issues with old boats.  I believe the best procedure for doing this is documented by MainSail at his Compass Marine site.  There are two article you need to read and live by:

• Sealing Deck Penetrations to Prevent Core Rot
• Re-Bedding Deck Hardware

If you don't do this, assume your decks will rot and become structurally unsound.  I'm serious.

Gate Stanchion Backing Plates

With the exception of the gate stanchions, all the stanchion bases mount on the toe rail completely.  This is an excellent load distributor.  In contrast, the gate stanchions extend into the fiberglass.  If the deck core gets wet, it can soften where the inner bolts pierce the deck and eventually fail to support the load and allow the upper laminate to crack.  This leads to a total side-deck replacement.  You don't want that.

The solution is to make sure all the deck holes are properly potted, and to add a nice backing plate to the stanchion bases.  Ideally while you are at it, add plates to all of the stanchion bases.  But at a minimum make sure you add them to the gate stanchions.

I made mine from structural pre-fab 1/4" fiberglass sheets bedded in epoxy thickened with colloidal silica.  I think 1/4" aluminum would be better, but all I could find at convenient locations was 1/8" stock, so I used fiberglass instead.  It was a beast to cut that stuff, but I guess that's a good sign of its strength.

Chainplate Openings

The cut-outs in the deck where the chain plates to through are much larger than they need to be.  As a result, the sealant is being asked to do much more work than is necessary.  As with the other holes, this is not potted and needs to be.  Use the standard Don Casey technique and gut out out, but we'll fill it a bit differently.

Load up a syringe with epoxy thickened just enough not to sag much.  That means you can suck it into the syringe, but just barely.  Now grease or wax the chainplates and loosely install them with screws.  Now, using the syringe, inject the thickened epoxy up into the gap from the cabin interior.  You should be filling approximately 1/8" of gap through the 1" deep deck.

The Don Casey cast-island method will not work with the CS standard chainplates, unfortunately, so make sure you pot the hole well, and watch the interior for leaks to catch them early.  Alternatiely, re-bed those plates eavery few years proactively.