Flying Dutchman (FD) Sailboat Restoration Project
At the end of the summer (2003) Laura and I had the opportunity to get a Flying Dutchman sailboat. This boat was 
purchased by her Grandpa sometime in the late 50's or early 60's and was initially sailed in the Vancouver area.
Eventually the boat was passed on to her mom and dad and they sailed it for many years. The last 10 years of its life, however, have been spent under a tarp in Williams Lake, BC. This is where we came into the picture and decided we would like to resurect the boat so we towed it back to Vancouver.
The hull is in great shape, however the deck needed some work so I figured it was something that I would be able to fix myself.
The restoration project began in June of 2004. We started it off by having someone come out to estimate what it would cost to fix. After all, there is no point spending countless evening working on something that an expert could do for $1000.
Well, the estimate to replace the deck was $4000. The guy suggested also replacing the floor for a grand total of $6000. He also told us that a boat like that, in good condition, would be worth around $16,000... so it was worth repairing.
I decided that I would do the work myself. Event if the materials cost a few thousand, I would then have the experience to do future repairs and it would save a lot of money in the long run.
I am also going to document everything that I am doing so that I can publish it on the web. The main reason for doing this is to share my experiences with others. A lot of what I have learned so far about boat repairs, fibreglassing, laminating, etc. has come from reading stuff on the web.
If these articles help you out, drop me an e-mail and let me know.
Let me begin with a list of what needs to be done to the boat:
- Remove the deck
- Remove the rear floor
- Remove the bulk head
- Remove the rear keel (center board)
- Replace the rear keel
- Build the bumpers (edge of deck/hull)
- Replace the bulk head
- Frame the deck
- Frame the floor
- Cover the deck (plywood and Fibre Glass)
- Mount the riggings
For each of the above steps I will document the process that I used. I will also list the materials and tools I used.
I hope you find these articles useful... or at least entertaining. Also, if you are on these pages I am guessing you have a boat as your own that is in need of repair so I have included some references to items from Amazon that could come in handy.
Special Photo: The final picture. The boat is ready to sail! (Of course there is more to do at a later time such as the hull and floor... but that will forever be the story with an old boat)
