attempt at pictures/madien voyage

Im going to make the attempt to post some pictures of the sidewinder after I got her all rigged up yesterday.

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Lets hope those work shall we.

Im going to take her on her maiden voyage this afternoon afterwork, basicly a "lets see what leaks" test. Ill update when I get back.

Matt

Well, my maiden voyage was not ment to be.... my wife, the loving woman that she is, got off work early, hitched up the sidewinder, and headed out to supprise me at the lake after work. Ten miles into her jurney to she had to pull over on the shoulder because she thought something was a miss... now be mindful she has never towed anything ever before. she checked the trailer hitch and everything looked good... as she slowly pulled off the shoulder back onto the highway the boat came unhitched from the back of the durango, and a small SUV hit it.

The trailer i believe is fixable.... the boat however has a large 12"X4" hole about six inches from the rear of the centerboard, on the left side facing the bow. Through outer hull cracking extends beyond the hole... and there is atleast a 12" to 18" crack that runs down the outer bottom hull.... i think the boat is totaled... i know nothing about fiberglass and it would cost a small fortune to have someone fix it properly. So as soon as she is in my grasp, like dust in the wind, she is gone.

Matt

Your boat might not be a lost cause. Fiberglass repairs are really quite easy to do. The only tool you need is some kind of power grinder/sander like a Fein Multi-master. I have made full thickness repairs to the deck and sliding hatch of my Mariner with polyester resin and fiberglass that you can buy at Home Depot, so the materials aren't very expensive.

I'm so sorry to read this. I'm sure your wife must feel really bad. But count your blessings to have such a nice wife who wanted to do something special for you. Tom is right: fiberglass repairs are not all that difficult. If you are not comfortable doing it yourself, it is at least worth an estimate? You have nothing to lose.

Paul
Webmaster: sailmfg.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2013 03:09AM by Paul.

Good Deal,

Im going to get the estimate, my local racing association gave me some information of some local guys that do great work. I figure the cost of getting this one fixed is probably about the same as me driving across the country to find another one. Yeah my wife does feel terrible, and I do Thank my lucky stars every day for her. Some friends of my wife's have a Catalina, don't know the size, but it is big enough to live on. They said they had to do some repair work to there hull and it wasn't too bad and that they would lend any advise they could. I've got to wait a few days to get the trailer out of the shop so I can bring her home, really assess the damage, and get her over to the fiberglass shop.

On a positive note.... the bailer doesn't leak, we have gotten a lot of rain here the past two days and since the boat is out in the open at the tow yard, and there was some water that pooled up inside the cockpit, and it was holding tight until I opened the bailer and it all rushed out. So there is a silver lining lol

Keep you posted,

Matt

Ok well I fixed my trailer and took the boat by a very reputable boat repair place and my estimate came back at around 4k. That is unfortunately more than I can justify spending. Apparently the damage was internal as well. Being on the road for work I won't have the time to learn/fix it trial and error style.

The good news is I'll have all the screwed down hardware available to those who might need it when I get home from Wyoming.

Other good news, I found and purchased a '73 Sidewinder out of Denver that is in just as good if not better shape than my '72. It is orange on top and white on bottom. I don't have any sail #'s or serial numbers as of yet. But when I get the hitch put on my car and can go pick it up I'll post pictures as well as any Identification numbers.

Matt

Best of luck!