Newbie - Repairing a Maricat 4.3

[manderson]

Hi Everyone,

Well, I'm a newbie to the whole sailing thing. I used to sail a reasonable amount with friends but never had anything of my own. I recently acquired a somewhat used (to say the least) Maricat 4.3 which is very sun baked and is missing hull caps etc. From what I can tell it is water tight. I have had the trampoline replaced, but I have some questions:

I have been trauling the internet looking for information on how to restore the fibreglass to a better appearance. Am I right in assuming that I need to sand off all the gelcoat and start again from scratch? I can't seem to find any reliable information.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, I can't find any information on the rigging of the cat. I really need some help on how to and where everything goes. Are there any reliable online resources? Or do I need to be paying someone. Basically, i need to start from scratch with all ropes and wires etc.

I am the kinda person who prefers to do things myself if I can - I don't really have the money to invest in paying someone else to do it for me.

Anyway, hope someone can help me out or point me in the right direction here.

Thanks for your help

Mark

[humungus2]

Hi Mark, I should be able to help. Where are you located?

[manderson]

Hi humungus2,

Great, thnks! I am located in Toowoomba in South East QLD.

[humungus2]

That makes things a bit more dificult.

I am form Newcastle NSW.

2 options with the fibreglass.

1, Light wet and dry with 1000 grit. Polish using a cutting polish called Tru-Grit and an electric buffer with a foam pad then use a polish and a buffing pad.

2, heavy wet and dry with 250-500 girtt, use a singal pack enamal and a small 100mm roller/tray kit. Paint on a warm sunny day.

If you want to talk, call me Mick 0419999785

[manderson]

Thanks for the tips Mick, I'll perhaps see if I can get some photos of the state of the fibreglass and perhaps I could email them to you. Would you be willing to have a look at the images and see what you think would be the best way to go about it?

Thanks for getting back to me!

[humungus2]

no worries, send to mike@ltpmarina.com.au

[manderson]

Here is a few shots of her if anyone is interested - there is a lot of algae etc on her, which I have got to clean off - again

http://www.mdastudios.com.au/maricat/mystic.html

[knobblyoldjimbo]

That's a mighty fine mess you've got there!!

I think:

1. High pressure spray a few times - do it at the car wash first, then at home.

2. Oxcylic acid wash - 123 is the same, wear gloves (my hands started fizzing before I remembered!)

3. Like iRobot (Mick) says cut then polish - I used Meghuirs to great effect.

4. For the trailer try POR 15 (silver or black) or I think it's called Rust Bullet. You paint over the rust and all.

Go find a club that has Mari's, if you haven't got the racing rudders these are highly recommended but yours may not have been redrilled (so the rudder comes forward).

good luck.

[manderson]

Hi knobblyoldjimbo (that's a mouthfull) Thanks for the pointers! I hadn't thought of the carwash down the street, but that's a great idea! Will make that part of the job much quicker.

Thanks also for the pointers re the trailer. I was wondering what to do about it.

As for the rudders, I am not 100% sure what you are saying there, but Mick has asked me to get some shots of the rudders, so perhaps you could have a look at those tomorrow and point out what you meant. I'll be adding them here in the morning.

Thanks for your help!

Mark

[knobblyoldjimbo]

There are two types of rudders on Maris, one is the 'beach'/'resort' rudder which doesn't need to be hinged up out of the way, this is not a good setup.

The other one is the racing type which is a long, spitfire wing shape (sort of). This is the one that as standard comes with a hole drilled that when you pull it to the down position goes straight down. Nowadays the racers have it 'balanced' ie a good 30-40% of the blade is forward of the line down from the pintle. This, together with big mast rake aids upwind performance (so I'm told) it does mean that when you're going to windward you get a light feel on the tiller and little weather helm.

To assist this the sail design has changed. You can do the fix yourself by putting a clew about six inches up the leech, this allows the mast to rake further.

There are lots of tips on the Maricat site and also here, you just have to do a bit of digging.

Also, check along the keel line just under the fattest bit of the hull, where the cat has been constantly hauled up on the beach. This often becomes a long hole. Standard treatment is rough up with heavy sandpaper then apply a couple of layers of fibreglass tape (having applied resin to it!).

These cats are terific fun to race and while they look really simple take quite a long time to master. I'm in my third year and am only just getting used to it.

[darcy1945]

Mark, wash with 30 seconds (brand name), available from any good hardware, then oxcalic acid, available same place (ask for white brick cleaner made by Diggers), If you are then satisfied with the wet appearance of the colours you can polish or oil with 'Penatrol marine', If you decide to paint the decks use as close as possible to the same colour so that any small scratches will not be obvious. But before you do anything check for corrosion under the hound fitting on the mast, and the front beam under the mast base and dolphin striker fitting, check the rear beam for cracks (there are saddles underneath on both sides where the cracks start) ph 02 43591729

[darcy1945]

Mark, also whilst looking for faults which may make your project beyond economical repair, check the transoms for swelling, deformity and cracks around the pintles, and the tramp retaining rails for loose rivets (with the tramp on, press firmly on the tramp around the edges, you will see the rail lift adjacent to dud rivets). If you find that the cat is repairable, replace the dolphin striker wire(If this wire breaks, both beams will break before you can ease the main),

[manderson]

@knobblyoldjimbo AHHH, I get you. well I have the spitfire wings, though they point straight down when in the lowered position.

Thanks for all your hints and pointers! really appreciate the help! I'll be sure to check everything out

[manderson]

darcy1945 thanks for all those hints! unfortunately I am not particularly familiar with catamaran anatomy, so I will reasearch what some of those parts are. Sorry but you lost me with a few of them. Good old google will be able to point me in the right direction though.

thanks again for the hints. I'll keep updated as the project goes and may well have more questions.

Mark

[QB2]

Go here for Maricat info which can save you a lot of hassles and a help set up your new toy faster. Enjoy!

http://www.maricat.com.au/association.html

[manderson]

Thanks QB2. I have had a look at that site before but struggled to find my way around it for the info I needed. It is very helpful though for general info on the maricat etc. I'll keep wandering around it.

Hey, are any of you situated in SE QLD? Just wondering what spots people go sailing around here? I remember going to Lake Catharaba years ago.

[Pointed Reply]

Check the tuning guide which has been bumped again.

[manderson]

thanks Pointed Reply (interesting referring to someone with a name like that.)

[Pointed Reply]

If we get well acquainted you can call me Pointed !! manderson is also a funny name !!

We tend to use our Boat names, except for Darcy who uses his age, 1945 years old.

[manderson]

give it a few months hey?

Ahh, I see. so my username should be Mystic then? Perhaps I should change it - though that depends on if you count her as a boat yet - or if she is more of a mess for now...

[knobblyoldjimbo]

my 'moniker' came from Microsoft! when I signed up for their MSN Groups (for Trailer Sailer Place I think it was) I tried all the usual names which were all taken, then it suggested that it could give me a choice of auto generated names.

Hence knobblyoldjimbo - generally shortened to KO, KOJ or Jimbo - much better than the boat name (which came later) ie Daisy!!

BTW, there's a lot of good info on this site but it takes quite a while to weed it out - also try the 14ft forum too.

[manderson]

Thanks for that Jimbo, I'll keep looking.

If any of you were interested, I have put up a bunch more photos of Mystic on that same page - there are close-ups of stuff that I thought could have been dammaged and any of the things you asked for - hopefully I got it all.

http://www.mdastudios.com.au/maricat/mystic.html

Thanks again for your help!

Mark

[darcy1945]

Spitfire wing rudders only came out on early Mk 1 Maris, the current rudders have square tips with more rudder area to reduce cavitation (Rudder stall). If they have not been replaced yet your boat will have thin (1 ml), dolphin striker connecting straps. Replace them with 2ml when you replace the striker wire.

[manderson]

Hey again everyone, thanks again for the input and advice! It's been great.

I have uploaded a few more photos of Mystic if you are interested - they are of the rudder in both the up and fully down position, and then of the main sail, as well as the manufacturers label. (which says "Maricat - manufactured by I & S Fibreglass Manufacturing... and then some location in NSW that I can't really tell.")

http://www.mdastudios.com.au/maricat/mystic.html

[manderson]

I just worked out the label, thanks to some photo manipulation software. It was made by I & S Fibreglass Manufacturing, 287 Ramsay Road, Haberfield, NSW - here it is in google maps

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=287+Ramsay+road,+Haberfield,+NSW&sll=-33.870843,151.131535&sspn=0.012133,0.018797&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=287+Ramsay+S t,+Ha]http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=287+Ramsay+road,+Haberfield,+NSW&sll=-33.870843,151.131535&sspn=0.012133,0.018797&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=287+Ramsay+ St,+Haberfield+New+South+Wales+2045&ll=-33.873462,151.133884&spn=0.006066,0.009398&z=17&layer=c&cbll=-33.87361,151.133317&panoid=X7K7NbqPePwtjE_QHfAThQ&cbp=12,67.88,,0,-1.78

That place has Mariner Craft Australia printed on the front of it, though seems to no longer exist.

They call me Holmes, Sherlock Holmes

Do either of those places mean anything to anyone?

[This message has been edited by manderson (edited 07 August 2010).]

[This message has been edited by manderson (edited 07 August 2010).]

[This message has been edited by manderson (edited 07 August 2010).]