"cavelamb" wrote in message
...

Ed Huntress wrote:

I miss sailing, too, even though my Typhoon had a hull speed of 4.7
knots. g


Get your sagging asymmetrical ass up off that chair and go sail!


There is a real simple solution to that major problem, Ed.

http://www.sailingtexas.com/scapedory18108.html

Pay for a U-Haul and I'd even offer to bring her to you!

Very interesting! That's the same year I bought mine. And the current
reduced price is almost exactly what I paid for it, although my price
included a Seagull Silver Century outboard, but no trailer. I kept her in
the water.


I had a Seagull 5 horse once upon a time.
Seriously interesting little motors.
Damned thing had a five blade prop and would push a freighter, given
time to accelerate. Not very fast, but a good solid shove.

The nice thing was that you could swing it out of the water, running, and
sling the seaweed off the prop without worrying about the engine
over-revving. g


This one has been on Sailing Texas for over a year - maybe two.
I don't know if that means he's asking too much and won't be reasonable?
Or ? But she sure looks sweet to me...

I don't know what the current prices are. Cape Dories are expensive
boats. But you know the story with old fiberglass boats: their lifetime
is related to hull thickness raised to some positive exponent: twice as
thick, lasts 10 times as long, or something like that. My dad's Boston
Whaler Nausset, for example, which he bought in 1962 and used heavily,
was just as solid when he sold it in 1984. And Cape Dories are heavily
built -- like the Boston Whalers of sailboats.

Prices, on old boats like this mainly depend on condition and desire.
The nicer it is, and the more you want it, the more it is likely to cost.
Basically whatever the buyer and seller can agree on.

(break)

Part of that is progress.

Back when they first started building hulls with glass, nobody knew much
about how it would work out. They heavily over built to over compensate.
Some of those 60s and 70s boats probably qualify as ice breakers.

As the designers gained experience, they reduced the laminate schedule to
reduce cost and weight. Some, like McGregor, took the idea to extreme and
wound up at the bottom of the quality list.

Fiberglass tends to get strong enough to carry the loads long before it
get
stiff enough to retain its shape. And, as you pointed out, flexure leads
to fatigue, and to eventual failure.

The extreme example is the very expensive International 14's made for
world-class racing. When they're made of polyester and E-glass, they have to
be replaced in the middle of the season because they're oilcanning and the
hulls are swaybacked from the stress of the stays.

Interestingly, the ones made of cold-laminated plywood last for many years.

--
Ed Huntress