Re-Attaching deck? Centreboard attaching?

[mr-mac]

Hi,

Getting a GRP ok that has it’s deck off at moment (owner said it has bolts to attach deck to hull – he said it was a composite but also it was a grp deck – think it’s most likely composite as can’t see how a glass deck would come off).

1st is there anything I should do/look at while deck is off that will make my life easier?

2nd Do I need to do anything else to attach deck? Do I just seal between hull and deck? Or do I need to run a strip of glass/epoxy resign all round once bolted?

Current owner says centreboard has a bolt that is a pig to get at and he said something about a new way of attaching it which I didn’t quite get. Happy to re-attach in old way but just wondered how else it could be attached and if there is any reason to do it?

Lastly is there anything else I should do? Does mast bearing need any attention? Anything else I should do/ or would be good to do to get my boat running? been reading up but if someone can give me some quick measurements to take that will allow me to see if things look in correct place.

Thanks for all the help

John

[mr-mac]

The OK is

K1904 (a new one for list).

He said it said something about being sold as a composite but is grp hull and grp deck (aparently grp deck is bolted down somehow as it is off at moment – deck or all boat is aparently a gaudy orange colour and looks like original colour).

Couldn’t remember builders name but said it was some fellow/name in Kent. guess the builders name has the word composites in it.

Going to see it on Tuesday so will report back then (will take it anyway as it gets me going).

John

[andyt15064]

Sounds like a plastic Seamark Nunn boat. The boats had loads of screws holding the deck to the hull, presumably with some kind of mastic type jointing compound between the two to stop the leaks. This boat was first registered in Jan 1978 to I.Stewart in Sevenoaks, Kent but I doubt he built it.

While the deck is off it is paramount that you strengthen the bottom mast step. The Seamark Nunns just had two bolts through the botttom of the boat holding a piece of ply in place but this isn’t really up to the job.

We don’t have removable centreboard bolts these days as you have to remove the bolt to take out the plate which is a right drag with the deck on. Nowadays we have a stainless bar glassed into position and a slot cut into the centreboard which hooks over the bar and is held in with a big screw. This means you can remove the plate easily with the boat on its side. I expect Dave Cooper can draw a diagram of this arrangement for you.

Andy

[mr-mac]

Saw the boat today.

K1904
Bright Orange Seamark Nunn
Built in 1978
Measurement Cert for 1978 said it weighed 74.5kg re-weighed 1981 and was still 74.5 (so hopefully removing the wood blocks behind things could get it near weight.
Hull looks in good condition (not got a metal keel band but looks like the shape of keel band is replicated in grp.
Has a needlespar black top mast
3 x centreboards (wooden one looks very nice) bolt already permanently altered with slots in centreboards.
2 x rudders (original is white painted one – very floppy), other rudder is varnished wood and is very light and stiff.
3 x boom (one wood – not going to use, one alloy black square section, last one is gold alluminium square slithly rounded with a lever bar kicker arrangement).
brand new tubes installed from front to rear nicely sealed.
mast step is as mentioned (adjustable at top and bottom – will look on forum with hints and tips on sorting it).
brand new mast-up cover
brand new launching trolley
old road trolley.
2 x Sails both in good condition (1 sail has an H logo for sailmaker and looks hardly used very crisp material, 2nd sail is a Banks and looks used but is still quite crisp)
Under deck control tubes removed.
2 x self bailers flush with hull
looks like hull was sealed with something like silicone sealer when new so unless it’s silly I will just use this to make sure it is well sealed.

Taking it without a doubt hull does not seem silly soft or floppy.

To get on water all I need to do is sort mast step, seal and screw top half on, redo cleats for overdeck and will probs re-do the wooden blocks as per guide to loose some weight. Also has the foam blocks for centre section (is foam best???? I remember someone 20 years ago said the just threw in some sealed plastic bottles).

I really am So looking forward to Sailing the Orange Beasty.

John

PS thanks for advice Andy

[mr-mac]

Will measure distance to join to see how stiff mast is but thinking black top won’t be all that great for me. Will keep eyes peeled for a nice high jointed redtop as I will always be at heavier end of the ok sailors

Updated the boat record and loaded a picture. The best boom looks like make was SS&E (can be seen in foreground of picture) the kicker arrangement looks intresting bigger leaver than homemade one on this site but I guess similar arrangement.

John

[mr-mac]

So what is the problem with lower bearing? I take it the bolts are not the issue as would reckon the weight of mast and control lines would hold it downwards (do the bolts go awol when wood starts to break (would reckon the wood is the weak point anyway)?

If current bottom bearing is in good condition how do I make it stronger? Would I be able to re-use it if I epoxy the wood with west use large washers to spread the bolt load and maybe built up some grp locators from hull at sides of plate to help make it stronger and spread lateral forces (thinking pop step in corrct place and wrap in clingfilm then fiberglass round it so it has a flush hole for step)?

I am just returning to sailing, don’t have much spare money or loads of tools so need to be able to do this as easilly as I can. All suggestions welcomed (had a look in forum and see info on wooden boats but not seen any info on anyone having done this on a seamark nunn hull).

John

[Mike Edwards]

Hi John and welcome………finally to OK sailing.

Your Orange Beastie looks in really good nic and can’t be bad for free!

The H on your good sail probably stands for Hyde I would imagine.

With regards to other Scottish OK sailors, there has been some interest in Scots buying OK Dinghies since word got around about the worlds in Largs. Firstly, top Solo sailors Kevan Gibb and Robbie Wilson borrowed OKs for the Nationals at Dabchicks 2 years ago. Robbie didn’t get on with the OK, but Kevan was keener. He is well known on the Scottish dinghy sailing seen and showed a real interest in building his own OK, however, I am not sure whether he has taken this any further. He is a really nice guy and I am sure he would not mind if I gave you his contact details. With others in Scotland showing an interest you never know.

Kevan Gibb
07939062156
0131 2293481 (work)

There was also a guy called Raymie, who I think bought an OK not long ago. I think he may have bought an old OK that caused him a lot of problems, but not sure. Have a look at postings on the forum going back a year or more and you will find postings from him. Contact details below.

raymie
email
Tel: 01475723747
Mob: 07538724518
scotland

I am sure there was one other guy who enquired about second hand OKs. You should be able to find him as well if you spend some time scouring old postings on the forum. I would do this for you, but time is an issue at present.

Good luck, keep us posted and we the Association will help as much as we can to assist in growing the Class in Scotland again

All the Best
Mike

[mr-mac]

Thanks for all the info,

I would be more than happy to maintain a list of names or people who contact us in Scotland (will join the assoc asap) and maybe with even a small list we could organise to be at a few regattas (maybe 2 or 3) and make them clubs where one of the list sail at (maybe even have a small informal trophy). Likely be next year if we could manage this, anyway just thought I would offer my services as I am sure it would help a lot having someone up here with an interest in getting something organised.

Cheers

John

[Chris Starling]

If not Hamlet – the “H” on the sail, that is

[mr-mac]

@Chris Starling wrote:

If not Hamlet – the “H” on the sail, that is

Yeah could be. Sure it’s not Hyde unless their logo has changed. Could be Hamlet I guess. Just doesn’t look like it came from the 70’s material is still crisp, quite stiff and looks like it has hardly been on a boat (be seriously surprised if it was 40 years old).

If it helps the logo is a white H on a black background the black bit looks a bit like a flag with a jaggy trailing edge. Oh well if it is Hamlet I guess it’s not much good to me at all if so I would be happy to swap for a usefull bit (if someone is doing an old ok with wooden mast and would be keen to get what seems like an almost un-used sail).

Thanks for all the help so far guys. Now to find some rope, blocks, jammers etc. , Oh Yeah, and some bugger to tow boat for me or a towbar

John

[X]

That Logo is deff Hamlet. The sail would be cut for a wooden mast.
Looks like you may have yourself a reasonable boat (or at least most of the component parts). The lever was called a boomerang – they didnt work very well & had a habit of slicing lumps off your hands when you let the sail down.
i would take it off & use the aluminium to make a conventional lever – it will work a lot better.

[mr-mac]

Shame about the sail being cut for wood as it looks like it’s been used about 15 or 20 times judging by how crisp the material is. I take it Hamlet didn’t ever make metal cut sails when OK’s moved on to metal masts as it just doesn’t look old enough to have come from the 70’s.

Thanks for tip re kicker. If I make it a conventional leaver can I use the existing hole as the attaching point for the new lever? Or would I need to move it? Once I can get the Orange Beastie moved I will get a nice still day and rig the boat up and maybe look at how much adjustment the lever gives in current form. Think I would rather get it onto the water than mucking about with it. See how things work, look at how people rig their boats on here and decide exactly how to arrange things once I get used to boat.

1st things first is to try and find a job-lot of cleats and ropes so I can get all the rigging changed (will try boat jumbles at the local clubs).

Thanks.

Anyone got any tips or pics on how to replace or strengthen the lower mast bearing? Needs to be cheap and not got a lot of tools so don’t think I will be able to make a new one in that white nylon stuff everyone seems to use.

John

[X]

John,

You will probably need to put a new hole in the boom towards the top otherwise the lever will hit the CB handle when you gybe.

While the deck is off you really should do some work on the mast foot. The Seamark Nunns were built in the wood mast era & most likley your bearing will be too far back in the boat. The structural issue was the fact that the bearing mounts glassed into the boat were too far apart which means the wooden bearings took more load than they were capably of.
I would recommend that you grind out the mounts & put 2 new ones in further forward & closer together. It will make a world of difference to how the boat feels. There is plenty of info on this site suggesting where the range should be – you may not be able to go all the way forward as you are restricted by the deck position.

If the boat is with a couple fo kilos of min weight it would be worth doing the job – i dont suppose a boatbuilder would charge you that much to do it.

Good luck
Terry

[mr-mac]

@X wrote:

John,

You will probably need to put a new hole in the boom towards the top otherwise the lever will hit the CB handle when you gybe.

While the deck is off you really should do some work on the mast foot. The Seamark Nunns were built in the wood mast era & most likley your bearing will be too far back in the boat. The structural issue was the fact that the bearing mounts glassed into the boat were too far apart which means the wooden bearings took more load than they were capably of.
I would recommend that you grind out the mounts & put 2 new ones in further forward & closer together. It will make a world of difference to how the boat feels. There is plenty of info on this site suggesting where the range should be – you may not be able to go all the way forward as you are restricted by the deck position.

If the boat is with a couple fo kilos of min weight it would be worth doing the job – i dont suppose a boatbuilder would charge you that much to do it.

Good luck
Terry

Nice one,

Will need to be all DIY I am affraid as an 11month old baby is kinda restricting my budget and still got cleats and ropes to sort (+ bouancy aid and other bits).

Will rig it up when I have it and see how far I need to move the mount and work from there. Just not sure what to build the bearing it’self out of as not many tools so may need to be wood again. if it doesn’t need to move to far forward I will narrow the stock mounts so they actually support the wooden bearing the epoxy the bearing as well so it is stronger and better supported. If I can at least get it a little forward it will help but I guess I am never going to get tp winning championships in a 1978 hull so if I get that good will look at getting a better hull anyway.

Have searched forum but there is a lot of mentions of moving step forward but not any mention of how far in cm it needs to be moved so I will need to put mast up set rake then see how far forward to move step (however if step is in wrong place then measurements to set correct rake won’t work.

[Author]

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