TOPIC: 1969 Orlando Clipper - my first boat

I just purchased my first boat which is a 1969 Orlando Clipper. I have a bit of work to do as I have a soft spot in the bow area of the deck and the hull has crazing with some fiberglass exposed. This will be totally new to me so I'm not sure where to start on the deck repair or the hull. I'm really looking forward to the work and getting involved with the forums and sharing my progress!

Duwood,
Welcome aboard, glad to have you here. Post some pics of what you have and where the problems are and folks can chime in on suggestions.

Bob

I've posted some photos of the boat on Flickr. I've shown in detail the two areas I'm having trouble with one being the deck and the other the crazing on the hull. Thanks for any feedback!

Orlando Clipper Photos

The boat deck crack



The hull which appears to have crazing below the water line. In some areas the gel coat has flaked off exposing the fiberglass

Looks like quit a project! But, It's certainly doable.

First- As far as the floor goes- I've found there is really no such thing as a 'soft spot'. Floors tend to rot from the inside out, so there is a VERY good chance that the whole thing needs to be replaced. Under that, you're most likely going to find wood stringers that have rotten- You'll also want to check the transom as well. The wood in most boats of this age is suspect, unless they've lived a good life- and it looks like yours has had it's share of abuse.

The crazing in the gelcoat looks like it's pretty bad- Sitting in the water unprotected like that for 2 years isn't good for it... A good pressure washing would probably get all the 'gunk' off. You can then determine the real condition of things down there. I would be a little worried about blistering since it was in the water that long, but you won't know until you get there. In any case, you're probably going to need to sand and grind it all down, fill it, prime, and paint- Or Gel-coat, depending on your level of comfort and intended use for the boat.

-Andrew