Do any of these scenario’s sound familiar?  

Your fleet has some new people or crews potentially interested in moving up. You have some older boats in the area that could be available at low cost or no cost. Or you’ve got that old skipper who just needs a little help getting the boat back into sailing shape.   

How can you help? Make it fun. You don’t have to be handy w’ tools, and it need not cost a lot of money.  

It may help to make it a fleet or group project.  It’s best that the beneficiary of the boat is a big part of it but encourage others to join in also. We do this virtually in the Classic Lighting group with internet, photos, and zooms. But it would be so much easier at the local fleet level where face to face and hands on is possible.

I find that most people are much more interested in a future for their old family Lightning than the money they might get for it. But these aren’t typically the boats that are advertised on the class website. They are the ones sitting on your club property unused or covered in former members’ back yards.  Not really for sale, but if asked will often become available for nothing or little money. Especially if you explain you are trying to use the boat as a “fleet builder.”  My own fleet has helped two 20 somethings get into low-cost competitive boats in the past few years. Both boats have won races this year. 

First, avoid boats built on thick (4 to 6”) foam cores. In my opinion, the Late 1980’s to early 2000’s Nickels boats make particularly good candidates.  You want a boat at least close to minimum weight. Let’s say near or under 720 lbs.  You or your fleet can buy a decent (but non certified) 2000 lbs Scale on Amazon for under $50.  It’s not calibrated or certified for championship regatta use but will be plenty good enough to steer you away from a seriously overweight & waterlogged hull. Best I can tell, mine is within 3 to 5 lbs of accurate on a 700 lb boat.

It is helpful to already have someone interested in using or owning the boat (ie; past or future skipper). Next you need a fleet member or two to help. The new person often doesn’t know where stuff goes or how it fits together. Further, they may be challenged to distinguish what is a worn-out part of a control system vs one that can be salvaged or may not have seen enough other boats to understand the many choices and options to set up the boat. There are nearly infinite choices. Finding parts in today’s world is also a challenge for the new person, as well as the returning sailor from several years ago. These are areas where the fleet needs to help with just a little basic support and guidance. And, most importantly, everyone needs the mindset that what you don’t know you will figure out or broaden the circle and ask someone else.  “Free Advice” is easy to find in the Lightning Class but everyone needs help finding those initial helping hands.

I have to say: when boats look like crap, they are crappy boats, and a lot less likely to get used. It is therefore essential that step # 1 is to get an old boat visually spruced up a little. This step is more motivational than a good engineering sequence. But nothing is more important on boat projects than maintaining momentum. 

Wash it! Power washers are great if you have or can borrow one.  Rubbing cut up lemons is an environmentally friendly way to get some of that brown grunge out of the finish on a white hull. Use a little polishing compound or restorer wax on the sides and bottom to bring back some of its “pop.”  I usually do this by hand (good exercise), but you can borrow or buy a buffer (under $75 at Harbor Freight Tools).  For the anti-skid in the deck and floor I’ll use a little bathroom cleanser and a mild scrub brush. 

Bingo – So far you have spent a couple of hours, under $100, and may have already doubled the value of the boat. If nothing else, you have made it clean enough to want to climb in and start addressing other issues.

Once the boat is cleaned up a little, it is time to start looking over the exterior and interior of the hull. Identify chips and nicks that need to be repaired. Mark them with a pencil.  How to repair nicks and chips” is a future subject, but a little marine putty can fix a lot. Lots of different products are on the market. Here is a link to some of them, from the Jamestown Distributors website Link to some marine filler putty.  The choices can be overwhelming. But basically, it boils down to Polyester vs Epoxy and structural vs. non-structural (i.e. some include small pieces of glass fiber for additional strength).

A good source of how-to information is also provided by Jamestown Distributors for fixing hulls and other things.  They have a You-Tube channel  Jamestown Distributors You-Tube channel. There are many other instructional sources you can Google as well.

I am most certainly a limited skill set amateur, so I usually use paint rather than gel coat on my repairs. Even on glass hulls, I do so because it is much easier to get a decent outcome and less expensive for us amateur hobbyists. I’m not embarrassed to admit I occasionally use rust-o-leum from a 1 quart can for my paint. It is a good quality oil-based paint. I’m not really recommending this, but I want to make the point that there are lower cost options than the marine store that you can get by with sometimes.  If you are not happy with the outcome, it is not a big deal to sand it down and paint it again.

Turning to new lines, blocks, & cleats: this is where it can start to get expensive. But new lines are a good place to invest your $’s – they make things work and look a lot better.  It is fine to go with the lower cost lines, such as ‘Sta-Set” from New-England Ropes for most sheets and controls.  Again, lean on the fleet. Peel back the covers on other boats to see how they run their control lines.  Ask other local members for usable old hardware. Everyone has no-longer used stuff in their toolboxes and homes. Share it, re-sell it, or give it away.

I also have to share my opinion that most of the hot boats are overly complex for the newer member.  They look cool but can be overwhelming and expensive. The new owner can re-rig to more sophisticated levels as they grow into it. But getting started - keep it simple and go sailing.

Lastly, the single best place to invest is in Sails. No single thing will make a bigger difference than good sails.  They are wildly expensive to buy new but can be reasonable if you can find some with 1 or 2 years of actual use from someone.   Most active lightning sailors have 2 or 3 sets at home. Deals can be found but are likely not advertised on the class website (not sure why not?). Again, fleet members need to be sharing and helping re-launch these older boats and newer sailors!

So, how does it feel when you get beaten by a boat that you got for free, spent evenings tinkering with, mixed and matched mostly used parts from multiple other boats, and sold for the cost of the two tires you put on the trailer?   It feels fantastic!  I don’t keep track of what I spend on my boats, but maybe I was out $500 or $1000 on the project. I certainly had more than that much fun doing it.