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Everyone has done something to “personalize” their boats. It would be fun to share the best upgrade you have made. Maybe someone else could benefit.
Great Question.
The best up grade we did was done by the Dickerson Yard at Trappe when Alan was in charge. They certainly did excellent work.
We bought our 35 ft wooden ketch –built in 1968–from Dickerson in 1982
At that time our 35 ft center cockpit ketch had a traditional dinett, ceiling and floor and counters. We looked at a new 37 and deciding we could not afford that we tried to make over our new purchase to look like a 37 below decks. The yard took out the dinet and installed a table that hinges down to a bunk, installed new teak flooring, new plastic ceiling–which I scrub off midew every year, new formica counters and a used gas stove with explosion proof propant tanks in a sliding door compartment aft in the aft cabin. The renovation cost about $20,000 and it was well worth it.Joe Slavin Irish Mist
Michael Aitken who sails his 36 ft Dickerson in Massachusetts told me I could publish his note to me on the extensive repairs he made to Iris. Certainly in reading this you will see that he truly loves his classic Dickerson and is quite a skilled craftsman. If you have any questions Mike who is a member of this Web Site will be pleased to answer them at BOATSNH@yahoo.com Here is Mike’s note.
Hi Joe,
Saw your post :re our boat “Iris”. Una Folan (My lovely wife – also known as the Admiral) still is the current owner. She has told me that as long as I fix it, clean it & keep everything working at 100% she would let me sail it most summers. Such a deal!
Since you seem to like Dickersons, and it’s snowing here in NH, I’ll “chat” a bit about some of the projects we have had “fun” with on Iris. Boy, in retrospect it seems that all we have done is “fix” the boat since we bought it – not true – we have sailed it almost every weekend it’s been in the water.
We bought Iris ( the only BLUE Dickerson I’ve seen under 37 feet) 4 years ago from the 1st owners, John (Jack) & Mary Robinson who live in Lusby Maryland. The boat’s prior name was “Land’s End” and was registered as a Maryland vessel. Jack & Mary actually sailed the boat down to the Bahamas & cruised the tropics for a year or so some 20 odd years ago. We bought the boat in Solomon’s Maryland – where we eventually realized it had sat out of the water for +/- 10 years. The next spring we did enough “re-fit” work to launch it and sail it to New England over the Memorial day weekend (week).
We have sailed out of Westport Massachusetts for the past three years. Buzzards Bay has been a wonderful area to explore; This fall we sailed the boat to Portsmouth, NH where it now is at a local storage yard. We hope to have a mooring for 2009 in the Portsmouth NH, area. Down East Maine is on the horizon for next year.
Since we bought Iris, we have done a huge list of repairs/upgrades that would have cost a fortune to have a yard do. I guess I’m lucky (or unlucky – depends on your point of view, I guess) that I know how to do most anything on a boat, and am a super scrounge of parts and materials. Here are many of the Major projects we have tackled – they have hat have changed the boat :
Year 1: 2004 – 2005: The boat stayed In Slomons Island Maryland for the fall & winter in a yard. That spring part of the front deck was replaced (rotted); New steering station box fabricated (old one weathered beyond salvage), new compass & and steering cables replaced; A holding tank & all hoses, ect. was installed – there was no holding tank on the boat when we bought it; A bunch of wiring & switches replaced & new VHF installed. All 3 Sampson posts (rotted) were replaced with laminated black walnut – Very strong & looks like teak after a couple years in the weather finished bright.. The alternator was replaced on the trip north – it failed. Leece Neville makes a great replacement.
Over the the winter of 2004/5 We replaced all running rigging. I made a new custom mahoghany rim for the existing spoked edson mahoghany wheel – it now looks like a destroyer style wheel; I also made 3 cast bronze tops to shed water off the sampson posts – they add a beautiful custom look to the boat (I have made up a set of these for another Dickerson in CT and a set for a 1932 sloop in Westport).
Year 2: 2006: All 4 hatches were re-made (in teak) to better than new – I copied Shannon Yachts design & used acrylic for the tops of the 2×2 square hatches in the cabins – they let in great light – the lazerette and main hatch are teak set in black epoxy; Coaming boards repaired & new winch blocks made. New (old style) winches installed at the same time; New Instruments (GPS & depth) mounted above the wheel in a NavPod on a new angled Edson wheel guard; Cockpit sides rebuilt where rotted & re-fiberglassed & painted. New Teak Dorade boxes made & installed with bronze 4″ vents. Much of the teak trim work refinished (it was all pretty ugly from years of neglect). Lots & lots of interior painting. I also fabricated a “pump” to drain the engine oil using a Fynspray pump & custom made hose screwed into the engine drain – now to change the oil you pump it dry – takes 3 minutes & no mess! (like the Beta marine set-up). Scrounged a new pressure pump for the water system & rewired it. Removed tanks, cleaned & reinstalled with new hoses. New A&B Main Switch & all new Battery cables.
Year 3: 2007 : This was an overloaded project year – never to be repeated!! On the last sail of season 2, our engine ingested water in the fuel – Goodby injection pump!! So, over the winter I completely rebuilt the Westerbeke engine & Paragon Transmission, to include a new injection pump & injectors (EBAY!). Lots of interesting sourcing for westerbeke & Paragon parts; That spring prior to re-installing the engine we had a new Stainless Prop Shaft made, cut down the torque tube & installed a new cutlass bearing. New motor mounts too
I had to remove & re-glassed in the torque tube, since the tube somehow became loose over the years & leaked -ahh, what fun. The entire engine compartment (the entire back 1/3 of the boat under the cockpit floor) was then painted with 2 part epoxy paint. Much better (cheaper) than “bilge Kote” & solvent/fuel proof too! New Stainless steel “engine drip” pans fabricated & installed under the engine to keep the bilge clean (although the engine has not “dripped” a drop in 290 hours since re-build). I also installed another “in-line” fuel filter that is made for Cummins diesels (big boats) – Filterguard. It has 10 times the capacity of my Racor & works great! No more filter worries.
Also needed all new Engine Gauges since the mechanical Tach died. Fabricated, wired and mounted a all new kit in the cockpit. More wiring replaced – to include mast re-wire & a new antenna.
That winter we bought all new sails (3) – the ones that came with the boat were at least 25 years old. Very, Very happy with the cut/quality – Custom made by Rolly Tasker. My wife made a set of “Stack Pack” style sailcovers & integrated lazy Jacks. (copied from Mack Sails). I installed them along with a new Rolling Furler and new Head Stay for the 135% genny – This changed the boat. Easier to sail, simple to reef – simple to drop sails – we love it! The boat sails wonderfully with the new sails. Sits flatter, sails faster and looks better too!
This same spring, while refinishing the eyebrow trim on the cabin (a very bad idea!) I noticed the trim had allowed water to migrate into the cabin trunk & rot the cabin sides. All the trim came off & the ports came out – the cabin sides repaired with epoxy & mahoghany patches – then epoxy & fiberglass coated. all faired & painted with 2 part urethane. Of course all new ports had to go in ’cause the cheapie aluminum trim rings were destroyed on removal. I found a “deal” and installed 8 bronze ports by Spartan – I only scrounged 8 so I blocked in the front port in the fore cabin – no more fixed port. We like it better – no leaks & do not miss it.
Year 4: 2008 : Time to keep the cook happy. Replaced the existing, smokey, kerosene stove with a Force 10 propane 2 burner/broiler style stove. Built a new propane locker in the lazerette (under the helm seat), large enough for (2) 11 pound bottles. Installed a remote solenoid & “sniffer” system. The galley had to be re-made to fit the stove – so out went the “teeny” sink – in went a less teeny sink. New faucet set against the bulkhead and a new corian counter top for the sink area. Re formica the ice box. Old beat up hinges ect, replaced.
Also refinished the drop down table with new hardware/ hinges & re-screened the teak hatch screens (love these screens). Also Tig welded a couple cracked bronze stanchion bases & installed gate supports to eliminate the problem.
This year…..Hope to do little to nothing – but we both know how that usually works out.
My wife jokes with me when I tell her that I’ve “repaired” a few things on Iris. She loves to tell our friends that “Iris really likes Mike ’cause he has made her like new again”. I guess I’m on the right track.
Hope you have found this to be of interest…
Enjoy!
MikeMost favorite updates I have made to my Dickerson
I bought my Dickerson in the spring of 1998 from the original owner, Dr. Robert Dyer. He had named her “Aequanimitas” which is from an essay by that name, written by a Dr. Orser of Johns Hopkins Hospital. The essay was written to explain to his medical students the importance of remaining calm in the face of adversity, particularly as pertaining to patients and families.
My first upgrade was to remove the 6 gal. holding tank and add a Lectra San treatment system. This has operated excellently for the past 10 years. Toilet and holding tank odors are a thing of the past.
I also added an Adler Barbour refrigeration system and a complete rewiring of the boat with new electrical panel. I went from a one 12 volt battery system to 4 six volt Trojan T105’s for the house systems and a 12 volt marine starting battery for the starting system.
In the spring of 2005 I added a Hoyt Jib Boom and switched from a 135% roller furling genoa to a 100% roller furling jib sheeted to the jib boom. In my mind this improved performance upwind in both pointing and speed. This also simplified foresail handling greatly, especially as the wind picks up. In the spring of 2007 I had the main reconfigured for full battens and a loose foot. Again performance has shown some improvement.
This past season I removed the mainsheet system and replaced it with four part tackles sheeted to the rail just aft of the aft lowers on both sides of the boat. They act as vangs, preventers, and mainsheet. There have been several articles in Good Old Boat magazine over the last few years describing this system. It is simple, achieves excellent sail control on all points of sail and totally eliminates the danger of accidental jibes downwind in nasty conditions. I also am able to get much better sail shape control with this system. I now have only two sail control lines in the cockpit. In the past there were a minimum of 5 at all times.
For me, these changes have made my sailing much more enjoyable, simpler and I feel also safer. At 75 years of age, these are changes that have really extended my time on the water. They have also made life a lot easier for my wife, a very important issue.Bob Shelton
Hi Bob,
At 81 I am very interested in your main sheet system. Could you give me some more details on the set up. Do you have a photo of it. I have a 35 ketch and my main trims in to front of binnacle housing just aft of the engine hatch. I also have an Elctra San for abt 20 years on Irish Mist. Works great.
I see you keep your boat in Norfolk. Barry Creighton is getting a group together to sail to the Rendezvous in June–either on weekend of June 19 or the previous weekend. Crew Rest is a Forum Moderator so you can easily touch base.
Joe Slavin, Irish Mist jws2827@aol.com
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We’re way ahead of you (for once), Joe. Bob and I have already discussed a flotilla sail and arrival in the Tred Avon. Might even stop by Deale and “troll” for any good looking ketches of Irish descent sporting new “mystery slick” bottom paint that want to join the formation.
More about this later here on the forum—stay tuned.
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