Hull composition

Laura, from one Gator to another, KUDOS for your sailing determination! (Lake Santa Fe?... good times to be had there... )

If you really have NO soft spots, on the tops (decks) or the sides or keel ridge, then you are WAY AHEAD of the game, and yes, probably just need to install some port hatches, and claw that foam out of there (which is probably pretty "funky" smelling by now).

If all the fittings on your hulls have good integrity, then the foam is optional. However, that pylon design seems to take on a lot of water. It seems the foam could be replaced by some kinds of BALLOONS, such as used for PACKING MATERIALS...? Somewhere on the huge UF campus, someone (Mech. Eng.?) must have a line on industrial AIR BLADDERS.

So every season your reach in your new inspection ports, and pump up your air bladders, lol. At least they won't soak up water.

Or perhaps if you see a roofing job being done with concrete tiles, you could charm the roofers into filling your hulls with that super-strong epoxy foam they now use to hold down roofing tiles! On second thought, that might prevent water drainage even worse than the blocks.... hmmm... AIR BLADDERS!

Hey Gator,

Here's an update on the H14 - PERFECT.

It could be done! And on the cheap too. After tipping the hulls in all ways imaginable, I finally got the water out. Some landlubber stuffed a Laser plug in the starboard hull and, as you can imagine, didn't fit all too well. So after 5 bottles of Softscrub, some fiberglass repair and a few new fittings the boat couldn't be in better condition. A friend from GT's sailing team came down at the beginning of May to help me race her in the 53rd Annual Mug Race. We finished the World's Longest River race (40 miles) in a little under 8 hours. No problems at all and floated high with two people and a lot of booze.

Thanks for the advice from everyone! The next step is painting the funny vinyl stripes going down the sides. The colored decks and stripes match my sails but I'd like to paint them from yellow and blue to - you guessed it - orange and blue. Anyone have suggestions for this?

Edit: forgot the best part, we beat a Nacra 5.2 and some Prindles in the Mug Race

Laura