When Summer Dance got beat up in a freak storm back in 2014, the damage was mainly in two areas. The worst damage was the deck rim and the rub rail, for which I described the repairs in Storm damage repairs. The collateral damage was the bottom paint, which also got hammered as you can…
Category: Hull
How to Paint Cove and Boot Stripes Like a Pro
Ever wish you could repaint your scratched, faded, or worn cove or boot stripes? Have an older boat with a stripe color you don’t like and want to update? New stripes are one of the little improvements that can make a big difference in the personality of your sailboat. You can apply them with vinyl…
How to Reproduce Classic Brand Emblems
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve seen how I’ve taken on almost every possible restoration and improvement project. There’s more that I want to do to Summer Dance, but now that all her major systems have been overhauled, my attention has turned toward more aesthetic projects. One that was quite obvious when…
Storm Damage to Summer Dance Repaired
After Summer Dance was badly damaged in a freak storm, the first mate and I doubted whether we would get her back in the water before the end of the sailing season. I didn’t know how I was going to fix her, whether I could do the work, or whether our insurance claim would pay…
Summer Dance Badly Damaged in Freak Storm
It was supposed to be a short casual cruise to a waterfront restaurant and dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary. My wife and I were spending a four day weekend on our favorite lake with our Catalina 22 named Summer Dance. I had spent the last year refitting and restoring her from stem to stern…
How to Rebuild a Rotten Battery Tray
The battery tray on Summer Dance was heavily water damaged. The nails holding the side pieces to the base had rusted away and the pieces pulled away easily by hand, leaving only the base. It was badly stained and rotted and gave off a very funky smell. Fortunately, the previous owner had installed a plastic battery…
Clean That Filthy Bilge!
When we first purchased Summer Dance, the bilge compartment where the anchor, its chain, and rode (rope) were stowed was badly stained. The gear had been put away drenched with sea water and allowed to rust down there. The anchor was encrusted with barnacles and some of the galvanizing had been eaten away to the bare…
The $tingy Sailor 