Restoration: Venture 22 (MacGregor)

[smithy]

So I picked up a little 22' Mac, in decent shape outside, pretty rotten inside, for a mere $300 a couple months ago. While I've rented sailboats for years, grew up on the water as a kid, this is my first large boat I've owned myself.

The impetus for buying it is not family, unfortunately - my wife loaths small boats, and to her, anything smaller than a washington state ferry is "small". I work with Boy Scouts, and they've been making noise for some time about having a sailing-based High Adventure, so this was the perfect excuse for me to acquire one.

Here it is, as I bought it:





Outside is great, if you don't look too close at the crazed gelcoat around the upper deck, and a few loose fittings that need rebedding.

Inside, however, is a different story:



What's not so obvious in this pic is the amount of funk in the foam, and the layer of frozen slime on the walls. The funk of nearly fourty years, this being a '72 I think. And yes, that's ice on the deck... several inches thick back in December.

It's been so cold most of the time, I hesitated to send boys down into a frozen bilge. With a couple weeks of favorable weather now, and a forecast of a clear cool day, I sent out a call for volunteers to work on our little craft.

Here's what we pulled out, for the dump:



Pulled all the old cushions, rotted out trim, the "galley" and upright cooler, old tilt-bowl porta-pot, and some random lumber that was tucked away in the starboard quarter... and what was left of the rusted out battery mount. Full pickup load.

My boys scrubbing it out:





Next up is a complete re-wire. There's lamp wire, crimp connectors, and corroded wire all over the place. I'll tear everything out, solder and shrink-wrap all the connections and put up better anchors to bring it up to code. I think I'm going to install some LED interior lighting, so we have plentiful house lights for overnights with minimal draw... one over the dining table, one where the new galley will stand (old head location forward of the starboard seats), one for the V-berth, one for the portside quarterberth, and maybe even something for the cockpit.

After that, I need to cut new storage hatches along the portside bench, so I can use some of that abundant space under there. I'll install hinged lids, and make sure everything's supported well for sleeping or sitting there.

Then we'll repaint the interior with white latex exterior paint, semigloss. That ought to brighten it a bit. Install some new trim, replace the dinette wood with new boards, and build a galley cabinet. Get new foam and sew covers for everything.

and, and, and... the list seems endless. But that ought to get us to a strong usable point.

[Nimble1]

Kepp us up to date on your work..Love restorations...I mean other peoples restorations...LOL

[Mark1977]

Great little boats, I almost bought on about ten years ago. Keep us up to date.

[smithy]

Thanks for the encouragement.

I'm looking for a product I used to use years ago, fiberglass filler paste - it was a dark green, with white paste peroxide catalyst... would set up in about 10 minutes, hard and solid. No visible fibers - not clear at all. Can't remember the name for it and didn't see anything obvious in the West catalogue.

Anyone have any ideas what this stuff is called, and where I can get some? This boat has a few damaged gelcoat spots and glass pinholes on the upper deck that need filling, and this was the perfect product for it.

[djmarchand]

Smitty:

MarineTex is a good all purpose fiberglass filler that matches white gel coat pretty well.

Don't use latex paint on the inside. It will quickly get chewed up. You need to use a real enamel. It doesn't need to be marine paint. Rustoleum has a paint that has worked well for others.

David

[smithy]

That's mighty expensive - the product I recall would have topped out at around $50/gallon, if that, back in the late 90's. And it was dark green.

[smithy]

Scored a 18# Danforth for twenty bucks today. Clean, no rust, smooth movement.

Deal of the year, I say.

[Sam Plan B]

I owned a Venture Newport in 1977. It was an okay boat. It was a bit kitchy maybe with the wood cockpit rail and trail boards. The post about latex paint is true. I would also add, I have tried Rustoleum but found it to be too thin to go on over gell coat. The paint sags. I think high quality marine paint is worth the money because it has a higher solids content. It saves labor in recoating. You will not need more than a quart for your interior. Also, you should go with marine grade ply for your cabinetry. The edges sand better and so the finish is better. Again, the added cost is slight because the quantities are small.

I would advise you to take a close look at the swing keel winch and pivot bolt. I had some trouble with corrosion with both of them. Also the kick up rudder cheek plates. Same thing, aluminum plates with SS thru-bolts.

[smithy]

Thanks for the input on paint and wood. I'm not sure if there's a good source of marine grade ply here, but I'll check the local West Marine and Home Depot. Since this is a working Boy Scout boat, I'm less concerned with overall finish quality - the point is to get a functional craft out on the water... but quality that lasts, and keeps me from having to overhaul anytime soon, is worth looking at.

I found a Johnson 9.9 hp 2-stroke and brought it home today. Electric start, even.

This Saturday we'll powerwash the interior, cut some hatch holes in the port bench, and start restoring the wood of the tiller, swim ladder, and the new hatch covers.

Last time I was working on her, I got underneath and had a good look at the keel. It's paint is a little flaky in spots, but appears solid enough all around. The cable is clean on the winch, and the winch operates smoothly. The pivot bolt appears relatively new, as does the locking pin bolt... so I'm not terribly concerned about those just yet, and it'll have to get wet before I know whether there's a leak anywhere.

I still need to source a few more parts - a fuel tank and line, some blocks, running rigging, and new wiring and cushions all around. A few of the good fitting on board need re-bedding, too. But we're almost ready for the water.

[Sam Plan B]

You cannot go wrong with Bacon Sails in Annapolis. I have known the owner, Steve Reeves for a very long time. He is a straight up guy. They have a warehouse full of salvaged boat parts. It's heaven.

[smithy]

Thanks, Sam. I've been looking at his site, seems like you almost need to walk through the place to find what you might need. In a kid-in-a-candy-store sort of way.

I found the name of the filler I was looking for, "Duraglas", but West Marine does not carry it, and I can't find another local supplier who does. I really don't want to pay the $20-30 for shipping, on top of the material, if I can find someone around here who has some... any help in the DC/Baltimore area? Last time I used it was on the Oregon coast, the local marine supply (like an auto parts store here) had something of everything. My google-** is coming up empty for such a place around here.

[smithy]

Found my filler, by way of a mailing service that supplies auto-body shops around here. $45, delivered, in a day. Nice deal. Some online services were charging almost $60, plus another $20 or $30 to ship it, since it's heavy and hazmat.

[Sam Plan B]

Smithy,

That's right. Their website has very little of their inventory listed. Things are sold and new stuff comes in. They have a hard time keeping the website up to date. They have a lot of wood items like teak drawers and trim that was salvaged from older boats. I bought an 8 foot dinghy from them for $50. Cleaned up and repainted, it now lives on my foredeck.

[smithy]

Went in today with a circular saw, a drill, and a powerwasher.

Blunt force in the face of hidden nuts (see the other thread), persistent mildew, flaky paint, and the need to open up some more storage under the port bench.

I feel better about it now, and got all the wood deck trim off too, for reconstruction, but it still looks like it's going to take a couple more washes/wet-vac's to get all the little bits rinsed out of there before I can paint.

[smithy]

Let's talk gas for a moment.

There is a compartment at the stern, which would be the logical place to put the gas tank for the outboard. There really isn't a better location, and the PO agreed, having cut a small channel for a fuel line to keep the hatch closed.

My concern is fuel vapor in the boat. That aft section is open-air to the rest of the hull, with the electrical panel being the first thing it meets before any crew in the cabin. I'm guessing it would be prudent to wall off that aft compartment with plywood and glass tape, to create a sealed off area for fumes that might come from the fuel tank. Does anyone see an issue with this, beyond the obvious surface prep?

Hatch open aft:


Same open area aft, as viewed from portside quarterberth: