Chrysler Sailors Forum

Greetings all! I'm new to the forum and am just beginning to restore a 1976 C2. First, thank you to the moderators and forum owners for all the documentation on these boats. It's been great to see the wealth of information in one place. Well done!!!

I'll start posting pictures of my restore / renovation as I get into it. So far I have the cabin gutted back to the liner and then found that I was getting water in the sea valve compartment on the stbd side with no rain. Found out that all the positive floatation foam is soaked. I had to remove the entire STBD side seat from the fwd bulkhead aft and have been pulling foam out in chunks to get rid of the water. plan is to keep the V birth intact and just keep chipping away at the foam until it is all gone.

Not sure if I need to replace the foam on a 22 or can just build the seat on the STBD side with storage underneath it.

That there was water under the inner liner has me worried about the wood reinforcing the swing keel. I'm afraid to pull that inner liner apart as it would be a pain to get back in place and glassed in... but I really need to check on what it looks like and there is water in the access hatch to the keel pins so I suspect it would be best to cut the liner out and then repair the wood and re-glass it all... just a lot of work. I'm already surprise at how hard it was to remove the foam. it's been a solid day of work so far on just that.

My mast step was cracked... Looking to swap to a hinge mast step but Dwyer won't email or call me back. Wondering if I can just use a generic hinge and drill and tap the foot of the mast to attach it all. I'd feel much better with a solid steel piece supporting the aluminum mast foot. That mast pin hole doesn't look like it would take much to break the whole thing.

Looking forward to the adventure. Hopefully back on the water by next summer.

The first thing I would try to do is find out how water got into the foam. On my 22, it was in a slip and I put in a bilge pump just in case something bad happened, never did thank god. I ran the tubing through that area and took out some of the foam. I don't know what purpose it served and how effective it would be as a result of it's age. I remember mine was dry and very itchy, also I don't know what to replace it with, so I left it alone. My mast step has cracks in the gel coat too. I sealed them up to stop the water from getting in, I had to use some Git Rot to fix a soft spot on the starboard side near the step. I figured it was getting rain water through the cracks. The mast can send a lot of water to that area. It hardened up fine. There is a honeycomb material sandwiched in between the fibeglass layers beteen the deck and cabin. I think it would be very hard to replace or replicate. That is why I injected Git Rot into several small holes.

The pin on the mast step does not raise the mast, it holds the boom when you use it as a gin pole. When you step the mast try to get the pressure straight down on the boom and keep the boom at a right angle to the mast. If it looks like it is trying to lift the mast as a lever, stop and adjust the lines to the boom. There should be very little stress on the foot if the boom has the proper tension. Also, the hook looks like a thumb. I have meet people who thought the base was broken.

My advise is if it ain't broke, don't fix it. There is enough things to keep on top of with a vintage boat, a "poor man's Hereshoff". The 22 is a tough boat and a great sailor, and most people on the water are impressed when they see one. I would suggest trying to figure out where the water is coming in. I would mess with the keel boot as a last resort, I am not sure what you are reffering to as as an inner liner. I get water on the starboard side of the boot in the off season. Rain water. Check your cable on the keel, if that breaks it could be a real problem, like punching a hole in the front of the boot/cabin floor. A previous owner on mine had a rope on it, and I replaced it with a stainless cable, 3/16 if I remember correctly. One of the satisfying things is when the boat is really running efficiently, the cable puts out a humm you cam hear. The windows are one of the prime suspects for leaks, mine have always been a problem, and I would check the top of the transome for cracks. I ended up putting aluminum and fiberglass in the transom where the mast rest attaches to the transom. Mine was weak and had some cracks. I hope this helps, feel free to contact me if you think I can help. I am currently restoring a 26, Formally "Copacetic"

Carl, Columbus Ohio