This blog is to document my attempt to restore a MKI San Juan 21 sailboat. the San Juan series sailboats were made by the Clark Boat company between 1969 and 1984. There were three basic designs of the San Juan 21 (SJ21). The Mark I, Mark II, and Mark III. I have included some links below if you would like more information:
http://sj21class.org/pdf/clark_boat.pdf
http://sj21class.org/index.html
I am not sure how I came to buy this boat. I grew up around the Chesapeake Bay and crewed on many sailboats but never owned one though I thought about it frequently. Then I moved to central Pennsylvania and figured owning a boat would not make much sense here in the mountains. I would look at ads for sailboats from time to time and would daydream about owning a boat but that is as far as it got. Especilly in view of the fact I had four kids and a mortgage. One day I saw this ad in Craigslist for a SJ21 and for some crazy reason I went to look at it. It was a mess.
It had been stored in a yard uncovered for over 10 years. the hatch cover was missing and locals had used it as a "party boat" thus it was full of empty beer cans. The cabin had several large wasp nests and moldy water. But the price was low and it included the trailer so I bought it. That was two years ago. For several reasons I have not been able to devote much time to the boat but this year I plan to get it into the water and sail her. Cosmetically she is in rough shape. There is peeling paint, mold, and lots of cracked gel coat but the hull seems fair w/o defects and I could not find any significant soft spots on the deck. All the deck hardware and mast appear to be in good shape but all lines and halyards will need to be replaced along with the wooden base for the traveler. The owner lost all the turnbuckles and the tiller handle. It came with three sails which are still in bags. The first thing I did was buy new tires. I thought the tires on the trailer were flat but they had just sunk into the ground after sitting in one spot so long. I was surprised they still held air and had decent pressure but the rubber was deeply cracked. I packed the bearings and drove it home (about 60 miles) looking in my rear-view mirror the whole time waiting for the trailer to fall apart.
I will add to this blog as I go about getting the boat in shape. First I want to make sure the rigging is stable and I have to replace all the lines and sheets. There is work to be done on the trailer and I need a new tiller handle. Any comments and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I have never restored a fiberglass boat before so all this is new. I am fairly handy and the internet is a great resource but this will be a lot of trial and error I am sure..
Tom
The place where I took it to be sandblasted was also the local machinist. The main pole was round and there were too many intricate parts to remove the rust by hand. He extended the metal holder for the bow butterfly roller. The old one was in the wrong position. I used a heavy duty wire wheel on an 4" angle grinder to remove rust on all the flat surfaces. I used a rust preventing paint that I obtained from the local auto parts store. The owner said all the loggers in the area used this paint for their trucks. He said you don't even have to grind the rust off - just paint over it. I figured if loggers endorsed this then it had to be pretty sturdy stuff. I still ground off the rust. The machinist also recommended a rust paint called POR (paint over rust) which he said was similar to the paint I had. I replaced the winch - the old one was beyond repair. The machinist also made me a new rear mast crutch that fits in the rudder gudgeons. I had him drill a hole in the pintle so I could put a cotter pin in to keep it from bouncing out. I plan on removing the rust from the remainder of the trailer with the angle grinder (this worked well). I also added a spare tire holder I purchased from Tractor Supply for $35 - this seemed a bit steep for all it is but it is sturdy and fits well. The next step for the trailer will be to finish grinding off the rust, paint it, and replace all the rollers and bunks. I will need to get the boat off the trailer for that. I was thinking of building the jackable cradle - I saw this on the SJ Asso. Forum (http://www.sj21class.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=230). My other option is to put it in the water at the local marina. They charge $10/night, then take the trailer home to work on it. I am leaning towards the cradle because I will probably need to replace the keel gasket and I would like to see what kind of shape the keel is in. I also added a picture of part of the deck. You can see the mold and peeling paint. I have my work cut out for me.
