Not really a motorsport.. but still grassroots. I may need to start a blog!
The Seasprite 23 started life as the Alberg 22, designed by Carl Alberg who was one of the most prolific and well known cruising boat designers in the 60s and 70s. Born in Sweden, all of his designs harkened back to Swedish "folk boat" designs with a long deck, short waterline, and a deep full length keel with a cut out in the foot. "Seakindly" is the term most often used for his designs. Most all of them, including the small 22 could be considered "blue water" boats and all of his designs have crossed the Atlantic undersail. This includes the tiny 22.
My boat, as far as the SeaSprite association knows, is one of the oldest still around. According to their records.. hull number 000 exists (the original wooden blank that was turned into a boat) and hull number 101 is still around. Mind is hull number 110 and was built in 1963.
She is a lovely old thing. Tiny inside and out compared to modern vessels, but sturdy and has certainly endured a long and seemingly difficult life. As she sits on her trailer now, her cockpit sole (floor) is cracked and flexible and needs to be cut out and replaced. Her cabin top is covered in a spiderweb of gelcoat cracks, her forhatch does not dog down and allows water into the cabin (and explains the foot of rainwater in the bilge) and her wiring is beyond suspect.
today I cleaned her out. I do not know why people store all sorts of things in boats, but they do. Even online brokerages are covered with pictures of boats filled to the brim with their owner's crap. I filled a 50gallon trashcan with junk
Pictures:
Currently named "Black Jack, it is beyond tacky to call Atlantic City her homeport with a name like that. Once I get her stripped and repainted she will be renamed to "Wisteria Maiden"
The Engine mount is also suspect. It keeps the engine at an unreasonable angle and was just bolted through the glass. They did not even put fender washers in to help secure it. A good full throttle blast and the engine might have just jumped off of the sterm and left a hole in it's passing
Here is a shot of her cockpit sole. You cannot see the cracks, but trust me, the 'glass is flexible enough to worry about. I am going to have to cut it all out and replace with marine ply and glass it in. The tiller broke in transit, the wood was very rotten
Moving inside: The quarter berths (named because they are in the rear quarter of the boat) hold no surprises worse than maneating spiders. Raid took care of them
Being as old as she is (probably older than a lot of members here) she originally came with a "pump it over the side" toilet. It has been replaced with a portapottie and while they left the thruhull fittings in place. They glass over them on the outside. I will have to dig them out and do a proper repair
Why a boat this size has a sink, I do not know. It also has a questionable watertank all the way in the stern that will need to be addressed. The Sink is in good condition, but the hand pump is shot and the countertop has seperated from the wood beneath it. Opposite this is a space for a cooler that I will also have to address when I rip out the interior to repair where the tabbing has pulled away from the plywood
Now for the horrors of old boat ownership (and car) What the previous owner did. Supposedly he installed and rewired both the running lights and the bilgepump. The Navigation lights are cheapy plastic chromed things that are not even hooked up and I have not found the bilgepump yet. I think it may be under the foot or rainwater that is in the bilge.
Gotta love the wiring panel. I guess the Coast Guard does not do inspections on Lake Champlain. The way it is hanging out from the bunk and the use of speaker wire seems par for the course for most boat owners.
Somewhere under that water is the bilgepump. I am going to have to get a manual (I do not dare put a battery in this boat as she sits) and get it out before it soaks the glass.
Being an older example of this boat (they were produced by three different builders up until 1978, she is an odd duck. Originally designed for an inboard, most boats have a well built into the lazerette for an outboard. Later boats had it centre behind the rudder, early boats like mine it is offset to the left (port). BlackJack/Wisteria Maiden has neither an outboard or a well, nor is there anything to suggest she ever had either.
On the good news front, her rig is recent and all but her mainsail was made in the past 5 years.. and came with a trailer that was probably used to drag around a 28 foot boat to judge by it's length
plus it helps you to remember important safety procedures because you'll remember that if something goes wrong the superstitious folks would feel validated.
