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Hi ,
In regard to general maintenance with an older wooden boat you do get dry rot on deck plywood and cockpit plywood which is covered with fiberglass mat. And then wooden cabin posts are places to look at. Re the hull I have not had any maintenance except putting a new wooden shoe on the keel and just painting. I put Awl Grip on sides 15 years ago and it is still holding up. I touch it up every two years. I paint bottom every two years and have diver clean it in off years. I paint decks every 2-3 years. Used to use varnish on teak trim but now use Sikkens Cetol about two coats a year.
With a wooden boat you should know how to use West System and you have to check it over every year. Problem with fiberglass is sometimes you neglect it and it catches up with you
Joe, Irish Mist
Hi, A good question. I had about 3 wooden boats and then two fibereglass boats. So then 25 years ago I bought a wooden Dickerson 35 ft ketch. Would not have bought it if it were caulked like most wooden boats. But Dickerson’s wooden were strip planked that means 1 inch by i nch maghoney gued together and then nailed edge to edge each plank as it it is secured with bronze screws to ribs and frames 18 inches apart. So I can not believe it but my boat does not leak a drop.
My advice is look for a wooden Dickerson. With all I have put into my boat because it is wood probably would be lucky to get $15,000 even though it cost me about $50,000 with initial purchase and up grades. I saw a wooden one recently that sold for only $3,000 the other day. Even a fiberglass 36 ft you can get at a reasonable price. Just look around.
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!
MikeHi Mike,
You are so right. I have a 35ft center cockpit wooden ketch built in 1968 and the hull is just as sound as the day it was built. Doesn’t leak a drop. Have had it for 26 years
We are updating our Directory of Dickerson Owners and we have your boat Iris but with previous owner Una Folan listed. Could you please send me your e mail so Barry Creighton can contact you on the specific information we need. We would also like to add you to our e mail mailing list of some 70 Dickerson Owners.
Looking forward to hearing from you
Joe Slavin
Irish Mist jws2827@aol.com
Steve In talking to some instrument experts one suggestion was to use plexiglass or formica as a interface. He told me you can probably rent a hole saw drill bit to cut external circle and internal circle from Lowes. Also a 1/4 inch thick piece of rubber glued into hole as a filler might do it.
Good Luck
Joe
Steve How about Ray Marine ST 60 plus speed and St 60 Depth.
Mounting hole for each is 3.54 inches wide and external dimensions are 4.3 inches wide by 4.5 inches high. They are available from West Marine. See page 96 of catalogue. They are popular so should get them at any Marine store. Price at West Marine is $400 for each.
Hope this works.
Joe
Steve I found them on the internet and their Web Site had those instruments. Did you talk to them by phone or what
I will check out some possibilities at my end and get back to you. Maybe we can find a distributor with some.
Joe
Great Pictures Alan, How long has the Yard been under the current Management as Dickerson Harbour. I visited it about five years ago in Irish Mist. Mostly very impresive larger boats. I wonder if sometime in the future they would be interested in hosting a Dickerson Annual Rendezvous on their grounds. I remember in the old days we would have the reception on friday at the Dickerson yard and then Saturday after the race a catered cook out at some members house on the water.
Thanks
Joe
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
Hi Steve, I replaced mine with Standard Horizon SL 45 for knotmeter and DL 45 for Depth. They are designed for a 4-inch hole. You can contact them at following Website http://www.standardhorizon.com/
I belong to Dickerson Association and we maintain a list of Dickerson Owners, boat size, name tel no, e mail etc. We would be pleased to add you to our list.
My boat was built in 1968, it is a center cockpit ketch. I keep it in Deale on Chesapeake Bay.
You can contact me directly here or at my e mail jws2827@aol.com
Good luck
Joe Slavin