Resuscitating a 1993 Precision 15' CB

[PapawBrett]

Thanks CB. First I have to 'Learn Me Some" fiberglass repair techniques from U-Stupid (aka YouTube). It'll be my first fiberglass repair. I think I might still have a small piece of sheet tin under the old workbench for backing. Maybe once it's fixed I'll think about rollers instead of boards and guide poles for the trailer....

[Quantico Frank]

Brett,

I was going to say, but Charles beat me to it so eloquently, that you need to follow this forum for a while, and you'll feel a WHOLE LOT better. These folks have bailed me out of so many jams with their advice over the five-six years I've been here, you wouldn't believe it. I have lee shore adventures I'll put up against anyone's, including the one when Fairfax Fire and Rescue pulled me off the mud flats leading to the Ft. Belvoir marina because Tow Boat USA couldn't get in there. And that's just one "story" I have off the top of my head— I have many more. One thing for sure is they all look better and funnier in the rear view mirror. Still, you learn from each of them, and they all go to improving your check lists for the next time.

[Riggerdood]

Brett, I agree with Charles and Frank. It's very easy to get discouraged on a first outing, and my first one on my DS was much like you described: getting blown all over hell and back, feeling out of control, etc. Heck, the dang boat didn't even have spreaders, because I didn't even know it was supposed to (after all, my Sunfish 30 years earlier didn't have them). I quickly found the DS forum, much like you have found this one, and immediately got answers to questions I had and ones I didn't even know I needed to ask. That's the power of a community of folks with any common interest: most of the members are more than willing to bend over backwards to help each other, because no matter the activity, they want others to find the same enjoyment they find in doing it. So don't give up Brett - you are on the most active group on this forum (and it's not even close), and you can find all the help you need here.

[Charles Brennan]

PapawBrett, I was going to let my response be my last; but a statement of yours, concerned me. 
"I think I might still have a small piece of sheet tin under the old workbench for backing."
I don't have a problem with mechanical backing, but I just hope you know just how easily epoxy fiberglass resins can leak, from ANYWHERE to ANYWHERE.   
You might consider bridging the hole from underneath with several layers of duct tape, and THEN a piece of sheet tin.

Just a thought,
Charles Brennan

[PapawBrett]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. There is a sailing club about 1 hour and
20 minutes away at Lake Norman. They have annual dues for community sailing. I took their course last year, maybe I'll try that route next, just for some experience...

[Wolverine]

There is a reason my boat is named Miss Adventure. Every outing something goes wrong. We were launching one early spring and the floating docks had yet to be put in. I left the trailer winch hooked up, but let out enough strap so the boat could float off the trailer, then be pulled in. Well, the hook broke and I watched as the boat drifted away. I hesitated to jump in the cold water and she quickly caught the wind and headed out into the lake. I parked the truck and ran down the shoreline following her progress. She finally stopped when she ran onto some very large rocks along a distant shore. It took me a long time to free her from the rocks using a paddle and boat pole. Then the o/b refused to start. Raising the sails got me a quarter of the way back, but the wind completely disappeared. I wore the skin off between my fingers pulling on the o/b cord hoping it would start. My wife, still waiting in the truck at the ramp 3 miles away, asked 2 young men if they could check on me as she no longer had sight of me and there wasn't any cell service. The bass boat pulled up and the 2 young men found me moving from port to starboard attempting to paddle my way back. They towed me back to the ramp which now had boats waiting to launch. So, after a 2 hour drive to the lake, over 6 hours retrieving the boat, another hour and a half waiting at the ramp to pull the boat, and the 2 hour drive home, I was very surprised when my wife excepted my invitation the next weekend to go sailing. We did, and we had a most enjoyable time. Until, on our way home, a trailer tire blew out.

[wvanderclock]

On most small sailboats the main sail holds up the boom.  You can add a sail track stop under the boom to keep it from dropping when lowering the main.

https://sailm8.com/products/davis-sail-track-stops-flat

How do I determine the correct size for my boat?

[Wolverine]

The round one in the link is what I use on my Compac 19. It should fit your Precision.

I owned a Starwind 19, also designed by Jim Taylor, and aesthetically very much like the Precision line. On the Starwind the boom wasn't free floating. The mast had a permanent mount it attached to.

[Riggerdood]

Wolverine, my current boat is a Rebel Spindrift 22, also designed by Jim Taylor (the reason I'm even on this group), and a very close relative of the Starwind 19. She too has a fixed gooseneck, among many other similarities.

[PapawBrett]

Just a question ; I'm thinking of replacing the trailer bunk boards with roller bunks. Any preference or suggestions ? I am thinking this would make the P15 easier to launch/ trailer single handedly.

[Charles Brennan]

PapawBrett, The biggest problem with roller bunks is that they are mostly used for flat-bottom boats like skiffs, prams, Jon-boats and Bass boats.
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You would be hard pressed to have more than two rollers on each side, contacting the hull.
My other problem with black rubber rollers (of any type or function!) is that they leave black streaks on the  hull, as the rubber gets old and oxidizes.

Sailboat hulls are wayyyy too curvy, to take good advantage of in-line roller bunks.
Does that hull look very flat, to you? 
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A problem with using roller bunks on sailboats is called "point-loading", where a lot of the hull's total weight is resting on a few rollers. It can even cause the fiberglass hull to "flex" in and out, in a manner called: "oil-canning".   
Since your hull sits on your trailer probably 90% of the time, proper support is essential to keep the hull's form the same as the designers/builders originally envisioned.

I mention all this, because I discovered all this, (including experiencing "oil-canning") when I tried to put rollers on my trailer over 45 years ago.  One of my more spectacular trailer failures.
However, I discovered lumber bunks and carpet were not the answer either, for two reasons:
1) The bunk carpet, no matter how much the manufacturer brags about good fabric drainage, retains moisture.  Over time, you get gelcoat "blisters" on that part of the hull that is in constant contact with the bunk carpet.
Used to have two rows of random blisters exactly the width of my trailer bunks; very annoying. 
The moisture problem is aggravated when you're in salt water all the time.  The hygroscopic action of the salt crystals will absorb moisture from anywhere and remain "wet" unless or until thoroughly rinsed out with fresh water.  If most of your boating is in fresh water, then this will not be as much of a problem, but it sure is, for me.  One of the by-products of salt crystals is that there is more friction on the carpet and therefore, it's a little harder to push the hull off the carpeted bunks.

2) The bunks no matter how well pressure-treated, succumb to moisture and rot; the only suspense is whether it happens in 5 years or 8 years.  SURPRISE!!    Sometimes, only 3 years. 

My solution was not to use pressure-treated wooden 2X4 bunks run vertically, or 4X6 bunks run horizontally, but to use synthetic planking like they use on decks, called Trex and available at most Big Box Stores.
https://www.trex.com/products/decking/

A single plank is far too flexible for supporting an 18 or 19 foot hull, but it might well do the job for a lighter, 16 foot hull.
The Trex planks typically come in 12 foot and 16 foot lengths.
In my application for my 18 foot hull, I needed 8 feet for a bunk length, so I bought 2) 16 foot planks.
What I did was to cut a 16 foot plank in half and take the two planks and screw them together back-to-back and then install them.

Here's a pic of the whole trailer; notice the curvature of the planks, even when the hull is not on them.
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And not a black rubber roller in sight!! 
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Here's a close-up of the two Trex planks screwed together.
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Didn't want the hull scraping against hard bunks, so my solution to that was to get rid of the carpet by using HDPE strips screwed to the planks.
Taco Marine sells a product called Glyde Slicks which are 2 feet long.

https://tacomarine.com/dockside-accessories-p06-06?srsltid=AfmBOopMBUl6tXra2LQiAtdyC4cCfmnjDmX2WkE7YK9jhFAgKVf2LWRd

Three columns of Glyde Slicks is really overkill, but the reason I did so, was because when the hull is coming onto the trailer, it can rub on the side of the planks until all the way up on the trailer. This way, the hull is always rubbing against a Glyde Slick and not a plank.  A single strip on each side of a trailer will support boat hulls up to 2000 pounds, so you can see it is really overkill.  If I had it do again, I would probably just leave out the center row of Glyde Slicks.  I never have to worry about rinsing salt water out of the bunks, or that rain will drip down the hull and soak the carpet and start aggravating blisters. 
I'm a Big Fan of Low Maintenance Solutions.   

******* WARNING*******
They are VERY slippery.
They used to come with a sticker reminding you not to disconnect  your winch cable until ready to launch.
I once watched a guy whose trailer had Glyde Slicks, at the Hollywood Marina in south Florida, backing up a 25 foot sports fisherman and his buddy shouted something to him and he instinctively hit his brakes and dumped the boat right onto the asphalt and put his lower unit through the engine compartment.

I never disconnect my winch cable, until my hull is over water.

On the plus side, it is extremely easy for me to launch my boat.  I never have (or need!) help to launch and retrieve my boat.  Most of my sailing is done single-handed.
Here's another addition to make single-handed handling easier:
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Notice the 6-inch cleat bolted to the mast support, about a foot above the winch.
If I am at a problematic ramp that requires a "snap-launch", I can pay out 5 or 6 feet of bow line and secure the bow line to the cleat.  Now, when I back in and gently hit the brakes, the hull slides off the Glyde Slicks and into the water, between the goal posts, until it is snubbed by the bow line.  Then I can get out, disconnect the bow line from the cleat, and guide the boat over to the dock.
All by myself.

I have self-centering keel rollers and the swing keel sits on the middle two rollers and the bow sits on the forward roller.  The aft roller is only for guiding the hull onto the trailer and is unused when the hull is sitting on the bunks.
You can see the aft roller well clear of the hull in this pic.
You can also see the hull curve nicely supported along the hull by the Trex planks.
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The cost of some Trex planks and Glyde Slicks strips is also considerably less than a good pair of bunk rollers.

Hope this helps,
Charles Brennan