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Rugger's S2 7.3 Sailboat Build

rugger

rugger

TheOrginalMiataGuy
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
139
Messages
538
Loc
Roanoke, VA
Inspired to post by
irate4x4.com

CAL 31 sailboat thread "Mystic", formerly CAL 29 sailboat build/refit "Traveller"

This story started a few years ago when I changed jobs and worked on the water for a living, I decided I loved the water and wanted a sailboat to maybe live on one day. I figured I was single, nothing to lose, and most people that live on a boat are either retired and too old to enjoy it, or...
irate4x4.com irate4x4.com

I never thought to put a sailboat build thread on Irate. :laughing:

For beginners, I got the worst kind of boat that one can. It was free. But, it was mostly dry and the bones were good. I wanted to make it into what I wanted and to know every system. I am still working on the interior, but the exterior is mostly good now. First order of business was to clean the outside. Some boat cleaner, a bug sprayer and an electric power washer and I was in business. Then I turned to the mast. I rebuilt it including all electrics, a new VHF antenna, new wind direction thingamajigger, wet sand the mast and boom and powdercoated everything else.

Day 1: The horror story

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Awesome. Used to own a 23' Columbia years ago. Loved it. Someday I will own another sailboat.

Good luck
 
Trashman said:
Awesome. Used to own a 23' Columbia years ago. Loved it. Someday I will own another sailboat.

Good luck
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I'm already wanting more speed. 😂
My buddy has an S2 7.9 and it's quick.
I'll use this one to learn all the systems and to improve my sailing. I have more pics but need to get them off my phone that died.
 
rugger said:
I'm already wanting more speed. 😂
My buddy has an S2 7.9 and it's quick.
I'll use this one to learn all the systems and to improve my sailing. I have more pics but need to get them off my phone that died.
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It was fun learning to sail. Occasionally it would get away from me and I would end up doing a 360 😆
 
Trashman said:
It was fun learning to sail. Occasionally it would get away from me and I would end up doing a 360 😆
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Been there, done that. Then I bought and installed a tiller pilot. Fawk me, it's another hand on the boat. I can go all the way forward without concern. View attachment 715005
 

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Keep it coming, man. I love sailing, but live in the middle of the country where there's no sailing :lmao:. Just watching the threads here until I get to go out to Maine again and jump on the boats that my family has.
 
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Oh fuck.... Drummer79 is going to be wetting himself, or remembering the horror of the boat he sailed without knowing how to by seeing this.
 
rugger said:
Been there, done that. Then I bought and installed a tiller pilot. Fawk me, it's another hand on the boat. I can go all the way forward without concern. View attachment 715005
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yeah I needed one of those on Traveller. you can do it cheap/free with a rope across two cleats looped just right around the tiller. The cleats on my boat weren't really in the right spot, the tiller had too much leverage for the angle the rope was at.
Mystic has autopilot :smokin: I can tie it in later to like a chartplotter and it would follow a route, but it's great for like what you just said. When I'm motoring away from the dock through the channel out to the river, I can point the boat at a channel marker, (heading) set the autopilot, and go up front to get sails ready, etc..
 
Rough day on the water yesterday. I'm a new sailor. It's only my fourth time to have her out. I've been on a bigger boat and this one sails differently. With a small keel it has to sail much flatter. I'll have to adjust and learn. Three of us friends had our boats out. It was cool to be sailing so close to each other.

On the way back to my slip I was running the outboard and caught a rope in it. Damn the bad luck. No damage was done.
 

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rugger said:
Rough day on the water yesterday. I'm a new sailor. It's only my fourth time to have her out. I've been on a bigger boat and this one sails differently. With a small keel it has to sail much flatter. I'll have to adjust and learn. Three of us friends had our boats out. It was cool to be sailing so close to each other.

On the way back to my slip I was running the outboard and caught a rope in it. Damn the bad luck. No damage was done.
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One of your own ropes? (you're a sailor now they're lines or sheets if they're used on your boat :flipoff2:) or some random crab pot or something in the way?
And yeah each boat handles different, but the basics stay the same. Sailing really isn't as hard as it's made out to be, for basic day sailing fun anyway. let the sails out til they luff, then tighten it back up til they stop. Not that hard. But yeah people look at sailing like it's magic or something lol. But yeah with a smaller keel I can totally see how it would be far less comfy to really let her keel over and dig hard into the wind and haul ass.
 
Just went to sailboatdata.com and looked up your boat type, and keel doesn't really look small for the boat, I guess the difference you're feeling is that the boat is smaller, lighter, etc.. not as much inertia as a bigger boat. First is a profile pic of your boat, then a profile of my Cal 31, then a profile of my first one, which wasn't free, I paid 2800 for it lol. Not sure which is worse (referencing your first post in here)
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How is the interior? Hopefully not as bad as Traveller was. Looking back though, and having seen worse, Traveller wasn't horrible but I gutted it anyway.
 
Drummer79 said:
How is the interior? Hopefully not as bad as Traveller was. Looking back though, and having seen worse, Traveller wasn't horrible but I gutted it anyway.
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Mine saw some moisture. It has to be redone. So yeah,interior was not good. But, I was able to salvage and clean the cushions. It was covered throughout in the old monkey fur carpet. It's all pulled and walls are being faired and celling is T&G wood. All furniture needed to be refinished.
 
Drummer79 said:
One of your own ropes? (you're a sailor now they're lines or sheets if they're used on your boat :flipoff2:) or some random crab pot or something in the way?
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Forgot to answer that part. It was some line in the water. I didn't see it, and it was near the pier. I turned the engine off well before any damage could occur.
 
rugger said:
Rough day on the water yesterday. I'm a new sailor. It's only my fourth time to have her out. I've been on a bigger boat and this one sails differently. With a small keel it has to sail much flatter. I'll have to adjust and learn. Three of us friends had our boats out. It was cool to be sailing so close to each other.

On the way back to my slip I was running the outboard and caught a rope in it. Damn the bad luck. No damage was done.
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Very cool stuff. I had the opinion that sailboats were meh years ago, until I went offshore on a friends. He layed that sucker over and was just getting it. Waves over the front, beer coolers and chairs piled up on the low side railing. Totally awesome with nothing bit the sound of waves and wind.
 
I finished up connecting my mast electrical as well as all the running lighting. Then I figured that I'd sail.

Fawk me. My outboard tore out of its mount and went into Smith Mountain Lake. 🤣

Fortunately I had a line attached to it. It was running when it took the swim. Seems to be fine after I pulled the plugs and exhausted the water.
 

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Thought of making the new mount out of 316 stainless. Uh, that's not happening. For what I need it will be around $300 in just material. And, I don't have the equipment to weld it. Looks like it will be fiberglass again. Expect some build content for glassing this thing up.
 
rugger said:
I finished up connecting my mast electrical as well as all the running lighting. Then I figured that I'd sail.

Fawk me. My outboard tore out of its mount and went into Smith Mountain Lake. 🤣

Fortunately I had a line attached to it. It was running when it took the swim. Seems to be fine after I pulled the plugs and exhausted the water.
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Some day I may see you sailing out there on SML. My parents live there and I sail their 18' boat every chance I get.
 
The mount broke off awhile back. Finally finished the glass and gelcoat, my first gelcoat job. Engine is mounted on the "test stand". :laughing: I've done shit to it except empty the cylinders of lake water, spray cylinders with WD40 and seal back up.
 

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Got the outboard running. It took some shots of starting fluid to get it going. Smoked a little and started purring.i took her out for a test.
 

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If I have on attribute and fault combined it's believing that I can do anything.

My original sail cover was shit housed. I bought material and sewed a new one. It's the best looking and best fitting one in the marina.:smokin:
It's exponentially the most complex and largest thing I have ever sewn.
 

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rugger said:
If I have on attribute and fault combined it's believing that I can do anything.

My original sail cover was shit housed. I bought material and sewed a new one. It's the best looking and best fitting one in the marina.:smokin:
It's exponentially the most complex and largest thing I have ever sewn.
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Wait.... Pelican point, 3/4 of the way back into the cove :flipoff2:

I sail past you every time I am out on the water. :lmao:
 
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