4.) Getting Started

Now we're at the shop and I've started sanding off all of the bottom paint along with a layer of fiberglass someone added at some point to protect the hull.  I am going to strip the entire hull down, both inside and out so as to better inspect the condition of the boat and see what needs to be done to transform it into a vessel that's in better shape than it was when it was first built. That's right. My goal here is not just to get this boat back in the water, or even to do a museum-quality restoration. Rather, my aim is to exploit modern materials, tools and woodworking techniques to (hopefully) create an Interclub that's as competitive as any in existence.

I have to observe the Interclub class rules, of course.  So I can't just cover the bottom in carbon fiber and epoxy or materially alter the design.  But there's also a lot of room for flexibility and interpretation within those rules and I plan to exploit those boundaries to the fullest my imagination can grasp while retaining the one-design spirit of the class.  It's sort of the restoration equivalent of a sonnet.  You have to follow the form; the creativity comes in what you do with it.

I am approaching the project like this for a number of reasons, which I'll elaborate on as the story unfolds.  But the most important one is this: I LIKE DOING IT!  I enjoy working on boats almost as much as I enjoy sailing them. Actually, I might enjoy it even more (except for maybe those rare times when I am leading the fleet around the racecourse.  So far, that's only happened once in an Interclub, and my lead didn't last more than 100 yards past the first weather mark when the top boats started blowing by me to Starboard and Port.)