-Don Henley
WARNING:
The following post contains images that may be offensive to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
DonorBoat, a Buccaneer 25, has given up all that she has to offer to the catamaran project. After getting a letter from the county informing me that stately Jones manor's front yard cannot also double as a boat yard, it's time to get rid of the evidence.
Donorboat has more than fulfilled her role. She has provided: 2 mainsails, 5 jibs, a spinnaker, all with lots of life left, a spinnaker pole, spars, serviceable standing rigging, running rigging (some reusuable, some good only for determining dimensions), 5 winches, three winch handles, decent chainplates, myriad cleats, turning blocks, cheek blocks, deck organizer, mast plate, traveller, sail tracks, cars, outboard mount, rebuildable 9.9 hp outboard with alternator and electric start, cockpit controls for O/B, pulpit, stern rail, lifelines, stanchions, dozens of feet of teak trim, opening ports, lights, compass, radio, icebox, head, holding tank, (Unfun to remove,) a cradle... and a 1000 lb. lead keel, which goes to Mars Metal next week, for about $.70/lb. Her rudder will live on, going onto another Buccaneer 25 that otherwise wouldn't see the water next season. So, even though DonorBoat's day is over, she helps other boats live.
Conventional wisdom shared by those who have committed this sort of heresy before me is that the tool of choice is a chainsaw. We ain't doing surgery here; this is all about high-speed, wholesale, quick and dirty destruction- that spells chainsaw. However, a couple of obstacles soon loom before me.
Obstacle #1: I do not own a chainsaw.
Obstacle #1 is easily overcome with a phone call, producing the loan of a chainsaw. Which brings me to...
Obstacle #2: The chainsaw itself.
No tool is more frustrating than a borrowed chainsaw. To be effective, a chainsaw must a) start, and b) run, and c) both of the above, consistently.
The tool I have borrowed will perform, occasionally, either a) or b) but not c).
It went something like this:
*flick ignition switch to “On”*
*prime*
*pull starting cord"
*pbbbtth*
*prime again*
*pull starting cord again*
*pbbbttthhh*
*pull starting cord again and again and again and again and again and again and*
*pbbbthh pbbbthh pbbbthh pbbbttthhh ppppbbbbttthhh...*
*pant, pant, pant*
*Open Choke*
*pull starting co-*
*pppbbbtthhhh...ring. RING-DING-DING-DINGGGGGG!!!!!!!*
*Close choke*
*DINGGGGGG!!!!!!...ack.*
*optimistically pull starting cord*
*pbbbbthh*
Repeat until exhausted or chainsaw gets punted across driveway or you run out of creative curse words.
Then I did what I should have done in the first place- called up the Holy Trinity of Electric Powered Destruction. I scampered into the workshop and grabbed the reciprocating saw, circular saw and jigsaw. In minutes, progress was being made.
I had been dreading removing the head and half-full holding tank. Here's why:
Best Case scenario: Unbolting the sloshing tank, gingerly shuffling through the cabin with this box of waste cradled in my arms, then climbing up through the companionway, carefully stepping across the cockpit, climbing up onto the coaming, and then successfully descending the extension ladder 10 feet to the ground.
Worst Case Scenario: Do I have to spell it out?
Based on past experience, what do you think the odds are that I will enjoy the benefits of the Best Case Scenario?
Luckily, one of the upsides of boat destruction is that it allows a liberating amount of latitude when it comes to component removal. I simply cut a hole in the side of the hull and yanked all of the head apparatus out through the side of the boat.
Note safety gear and insulated coveralls. Even though there's no snow on the ground, it was chilly.
Some part of DonorBoat will live on, memorialized on the catamaran. Pieces of uncored fiberglass will be reborn as backing plates for hardware, and the prow will be preserved and mounted in the saloon of the new boat.
Total labour to date, including sorting hardware, stripping the keel back to clean lead, stripping and clipping the hull is about 12 hours. Having all of the hardware, rigging, sails, etc., on hand has put me days ahead of schedule, and thousands of dollars ahead of budget.
Anybody need a cradle?
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Hello - very interesting project! did u end up getting rid of the rudder? My dad and myself are just starting on a US 25 Reno.....and are located in Mississauga. Cheers - Evan e.karaim@sympatico.ca
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