a strange discovery

Whilst washing my boat last night, after returning home from the NCAC, I happened to be at eye level with the port drain plug hole and noticed something inside. Upon closer examination I found it to be a complete righting line w/bungee in the center.

The only thing I could think of is a tripled up piece of #9 tie wire on the end of my 1" wide Black Max measuring tape formed in a fish hook shape. I've managed to drag it as far forward as the rear crossbar, but it's all balled up and damp. The hook just straightens out now. This is an 18, so trying to get both forearms down inside the 6" port and then something past the daggerboard trunk is a challenge.

Anybody ever had to retrieve a large heavy object from their hull? I guess I could flood it and try my hook again. Comments welcome.

ps Major kudos to Fleet 84, Mr. Sohn and all the gracious participants of the North Central Area Championships. Despite no wind on Sunday it was a superb event! ps

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hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

Short of installing a second rear hatch in your hull... I guess I would try a more robust version of what you are doing now. Maybe tape/tie a coat hanger to your fish tape and try that.

Good luck.

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Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

John,

Here is what I did when I found junk in the rear of my hulls. I purchased a wooden dowel from WalMart and used it to push the trash forward towards the inspection port. First I removed the drain plug housing, then I measured the opening size of the hole. I don't remember off the top of my head what size it was, but I know it is less than 3/4". Slowly, very slowly insert the dowel into the hole and push the junk forward to the front of the boat. Be careful because your foam blocks are in there and you don't want to break chunks off of them. You also don't want to punch a hole in your hulls and daggerboard wells. It will take a little work, but you can get it done. Once you get everything out, remove the dowel and reinstall the drainplug housing making sure you use sealant around the edges.

The dowels come in three foot lengths and should allow you to push it far enough forward to at least get a better grip on it through the inspection ports. I hope this works for you.

And just a sidenote, the foam flotation blocks will sometimes move around inside the hulls. I have noticed that if you move the blocks up against the daggerboard wells, the boat tends to perform better. This may be a weight distribution thing, but it has worked for me.

Good Luck,
Wichita Falls Mike

OK, I didn't know there are foam blocks. Thanks again Mike, that's obviously what this mess is stuck on/at. The fish tape with a close hanger in conjunction with the dowel rod should get us over the blocks.

Thank you gentlemen!

Moving the foam blocks sounds interesting, but if they're foam how much could they weigh? Would'nt the hull be wider the farther forward you go? I'm afraid of them just sliding on there on if I try to move them. What think?

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hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

I was just thinking that maybe the rope is stuck on the blocks. If so, you can take the dowel and push it against the end of the lower block and lift up on it to release the rope. I say lift on the lower block because there are actually two blocks in each hull. One foam block sits on top of the other and are kinda connected using a zigzag cut on the top of the lower and bottom of the upper. Pull the rope UNDER the blocks. I wouldn't even attempt to try to go over the top of the foam blocks. Too much of a chance of getting them tangled even worse.

As for where they are positioned, I agree. They can't weigh too much, but it has improved the attitude of my boat. However they do slide back when I trailer because I leave the inspection ports open to allow airflow in the hulls. This is the only reason I have noticed a difference in performance because sometimes I forget to slide them back forward.

Wichita Falls Mike

The blocks themselves probably weight little, but if they have assorbed water over the years you would be amazed at their weight. As a point of reference a sunfish can gain a hundred pounds are more when the foam blocks become saturated. It may be possible that difference in location could make for stiffer hulls. Stiffer is alway better flexible.

Collin

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PHRF is measure in seconds, skill is measured in minutes

I'm planning on doing some trailer repair this weekend. Yup, slide the boat off the trailer into the nice soft grass in the backyard, and hey, might as well turn her upside down, maybe do some hull inspection, a little polishing...

Wait!

Guess what?

It's really easy to get that righting line from the back of the hull to the inspection port and removed when the boats flipped over!

Sometimes just gotta step back and think things over a bit.

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hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297