#66 before...

Thought I'd post some pictures of #66 before I begin her restoration.

Here's the galley...

Forward cabin and head (to be replaced w/a porta potti)...

Port side w/fusebox...

Starboard side & icebox...I'll probably remove this & either relocate it or just go with a portable cooler. With a wife and three kids, we won't be doing much more than daysailing and some simple overnights.

Looking forward... I'm thinking about removing the cabinets entirely in favor of longer bunks.

Portside bunk...

And starboard. The blue cushons are on hinges...the PO installed them as backrests. Not a bad idea, but I'll have to replace them...perhaps with a different design.

Forward cabin... In need of some paint, although I'm dreaming of a nice redwood ceiling... Those Don Casey books have me thinking...

Another angle on the forward cabin...the port portlight needs replacing.

The starboard portlight is still good, but I may just replace them all (fixed and opening) with some nice bronze jobs that open...hmmm...now to convince the wife to spend the $$$ ;)

Yet another view from the forward cabin...

Under the cockpit. The battery used to be next to the sink, but this seems to be a better place if you have an outboard; a hatch in the cockpit sole would give good access to this area. Anyone else do this? Any thoughts as to weight distribution?

We washed her topsides. It looks much better from a distance, but the gloss is gone and there are a lot of scratches & small gouges.

Rudder needs work. Has anyone undertaken a rudder repair? Would it be better to replace the shaft with something continuous and rebuild the whole thing, or just encase the existing one in fiberglass?

Some very familiar photos here!

We recommend against placing weighty objects (such as the battery) any further back in the boat. Forward is better.

If the rudder shaft is sound, don't fix it. Marine bronze stock is outragously priced. (I think it was $25/ft the last time I checked.)

The rudder appears to need only a small section of mahogany to make it ok. Removal requires lifting the boat higher at the stern to allow the rudder and shaft to seperate from the hull.

Encapasulating the rudder in fiberglass has its downside. A good clear expoxy coating may be a better solution. BTW - the opening of the joints on the rudder are not a problem. They close as soon as the boat goes back into the water.

I replaced all the ports and windows with bronze and am happy to have done away with the crumbling aluminum. They come from Ronstan, RI listed in the manual. Not inexpensive, but then, what is when you're working with boats? The frames, however are "new" design that came when Pearson shifted from a Dutch source to a US source. The openings in the cabin trunk will need to be ground about a 1/4" to fit on the curve.

Wow Brent!! Your photos look very familiar to when I bought hull #399 about seven years ago down here in Florida. I'm sure that you can see that your Ariel is a diamond in the rough. Some TLC will make her shine right up. Good luck!!

Ken

Brent,

You brave soul , almost looks as bad as #45 did a year ago , but it's worth it .
Vinegar kills the mildew and is non-toxic to humans .Dont use bleach , it has to be neutralized and leaves a residue that the mold actually grows back on . GoJo Orange hand cleaner is a goods follow up to scrub down the interior ( also smells good ).

Mike G

Brent,with all that empty space under the cockpit I would sure put it to use and not worry about the little bit of extra weight .The Inboard models have an 325 lb Atomic 4 and carry 160 lbs of fuel under the cockpit.On top of that I built a battery shelf in the forward end of the port sail locker.My house bank is 2 group 31 130 amp hour batteries that weight 72 lbs apiece.On boats this small you have to take advantage of all space.Of course I dont race so the extra weight doesnt concern me.

Brent,

Your photos sure bring back memories for me, too. It's amazing, though, how things start look up once you clear out all the old undesirables and clean things up a bit before you get to work. Good luck--and enjoy the process. It's fun!

I noticed that you mentioned new ports. I have a couple comments: first, if only the glass is bad (I noticed cracks in the photos), it can be replaced without replacing the whole port. Also, most of the problems with those fine old bronze ports can be dealt with. I recommend you remove them from the boat and take them inside where you can work on them at your leisure and at bench height. They come out easily.

Regarding new ports, though: there's guy in our Triton group who is currently researching and getting a quote from a foundry to cast new ports, identical to the ones in your Ariel and in the Triton and Vanguard too. The thought is that this foundry will be able to offer the port castings for far less than the insane prices for a port currently (supposedly) offered by Ronstand RI.

If you're interested in finding out more, get in touch with me and I'll pass you along to the guy who's taking charge of this, or I can let you and others know once we know more about potential pricing.

Tim Lackey
Triton 381 Glissando

Rereading a couple of the messages I belatedly realized that perhaps all or some Ariels have different opening ports than the Triton. Apologies if my information is incorrect.

Brent's pics look like the cast bronze ones used in most, though not all, Tritons. Some early Tritons had aluminum ones, which were most definitely of inferior quality and were also just a bit smaller. But the bronze ones are nice, and can usually be saved. If not, see my previous post.

Tim

Tim,
Tell us more about the bronze ports . #45 has aluminum like Brent's , I think the first 100 or so Ariels had them . I feel Ronstands price is very high compared to other bronze ports i have seen .

Well...

There aren't too many details yet. This is still in the very introductory stage. Here's the deal: a friend/fellow Triton owner has spoken with a local foundry about the possibility of casting new bronze ports. We recently had this place cast some nice bronze Triton plaques and they seem to do good work for reasonable prices.

The thought with the new ports is to offer them somewhat stripped down--perhaps without drilled and tapped screw holes, without glass, etc--to keep the cost down. Way down, we hope. Installing glass and tapping holes is pretty simple and well within the realm of any money-saving hopeful, so we don't see this as a detriment. The foundry seems very interested in casting these ports for us, so I hope the pricing reflects that.

I would like six new ones myself, but mine are in decent enough shape that I wouldn't consider paying Ronstand's prices. If the price comes down, though, I would love to replace my old ones, each of which is missing one of the two dogs. Plus, the other main reason I am interested in new ones is because I'd love to get rid of the chrome plating on the inside--I couldn't really get it off during my restoration, so I ended up spray painting the inside part with chrome spray paint. (The outsides are cleaned up plain bronze that I lacquered.) I would love to have lacquered bronze on the inside, too.

I will post something new here as soon as I find out myself. If anyone else is interested in these ports, please post here or email me direct at glissando381@hotmail.com.

Tim Lackey
Triton 381 Glissando

". . . I think the first 100 or so Ariels had them" Unfortunately, all Ariels and Commanders came with aluminum port and window hardware. Pearson may had done this for cost reasons as Vanguards came with stainless steel frames, Tritons with bronze ports, etc.

I'm for six chromed bronze, count me in for a group order.
My guess for the high price is due to the prep and buffing necessary for the chroming process to be perfect. Some people may not need the chrome. I do and have located a good plater here in N. Calif., so I'd take 'em either way.
I don't know Ronstan's work. is it real pretty? The price for the best may be worth not having to fiddle around with the pieces.

Thanks for the encouragement!

The look of the rudder makes me nervous, but except for the missing piece, it doesn't seem like there is any structural problems. We'll see once I get it dismantled.

Unfortunately, the portside port will need to be completely replaced. In my haste to open it for the first time since I purchased #66, I forced it open, snapping the aluminum at the right-hand hinge.

Probably a good thing, since it gives me an excuse for replacing the forward ports ;)

Anyway, I'm almost ready to begin; nearly done with the workbench and organizing the garage. I think I got all the wasps too; the cold snap a few weeks back helped with that :D

Brent

I wouldn't worry about the rudder too much. I actually looks pretty good. You could just fit something for the missing piece.

Different schools of thought on whether to fiberglass the rudder.

I think the best idea is to leave it alone.

I coated my rudder with epoxy two years ago. The only reason I did this is because the rudder had alot of gouges in it, and I wanted to fair it. However, it is nearly impossible to completely waterproof the rudder. Water got in some spots and lifted the epoxy, probably because the wood swelled. Then you end up with a wooden rudder that is partly wet and partly dry. Can't be good.

Since I went this far, I might try to cover it completely in fiberglass cloth some day. But, I still think water will find its way in, most likely at the top and bottom of the shaft.

Your rudder shouldn't be much of a concern, as long as the rudder shaft is good. Hell, the boat will sail fine even with the missing piece.

Good luck on your project and thanks for saving a classic.

"It's fun" says Tim. "Some TLC" says Ken. Yuck Yuck

Commanderpete
(with an evil grin)