Printable View
Hey guys, I just bought an Ariel, and am overjoyed to find this wonderful resource that is this forum. She is down in cape cod, and I'm in NH, so it will be a couple of weeks before I can get to work on her, but she seems to be in fair condition, my plan is to get her in the water asap, and work on odds and ends in between sailing :)
Fox, Congrats on your new Ariel,
and on one of the best plans I've heard!
We thrive on pix here!
And please begin a thread in the Gallery forum for your new boat . . .
Ill try to get some picks asap. It will be a couple of weeks though, The boatyard she is at in cape cod, wont be able to move her to New Hampshire for another 3 week. I will probably go down to start cleaning her in a week or so, so I will defiantly get some pictures while I'm down there.
Congratulations, Fox! You say a couple of weeks until you can get to work on her...what do you have planned? Do you have a hull number yet? Are you planning on sailing her home or voyaging the asphalt ocean? Well, you know the concensus here, just take lots of photos to start with and everybody will kind of 'jump in'. :D
Ditto!Quote:
Originally Posted by ebb
You should really listen to what the forum admin says!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill
What he said.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony G
:D
---- edit ----
A-322, just checked Fox's profile...
She is hull #322. As this is my first sailboat, I will be having her shipped to me via the good old road. As far as working on her goes, the first thing I need to do is, either fix or remove the original atomic 4 engine. The previous owners put an outboard mount on her and just left the inboard as is. I am not really sure what is wrong with it, but clearly it is just taking up space as is. I also want to re-bed all of the deck hardware. The deck seems in good shape, though there is a nasty spot were it looks like some one nearly ripped one of the life line posts off the deck. All of the teak is in rough shape, and will need a good refinishing. I was thinking that the old engine bay would make a good place to put a battery bank and possibly another water tank. I ultimately plan on making her in to a long range coastal cruiser to make an anualy trip down to Fla and the islands every fall, so the more storage on board the better. Also in her near future is a new mainsail, a new outboard engine, and a 55+ watt solar panel. I don't plan on focusing to much on making this boat pretty, just strong and functional. I know that the outboard mount on the back of the boat is not ideal, so I may eventually re-power her with a diesel or figure out some way to retrofit her with an outboard well.
*Edit* I will start a gallery thread as soon as I have a pic.
Fox congrats on the second happiest day in a boat owners life.
IMHO.... I would spend a few bucks having the A4 looked at before you drop a big chunk of change on an outboard. Having inboard power is vastly superior and the cost of a new OB will get you pretty far along towards a complete rebuild of the A4. I find that often A4s that have been given up as worthless still have good compression and just need a carb rebuild and a clean fuel supply. Again, my humble opinion.
p.s. Its a very basic motor and not a bad first time "do it yourself" rebuild project. Marysville Marine is a great source for parts and also know how.
Your first sailboat? have you done much sailing before?
I have never sailed before, I know some people who have though, and I will enlist their help on getting me started. As far as the atomic 4 goes, It probably could be rehabilitated, though I am a bit leery of having a gas inboard.
As one first timer to another I strongly advise you to invest as little as possible in time and money right now. Do just enough to get the boat out on the water safely and sail it as much as you can. My perspective on what my boat needed changed drastically as I discovered what I enjoyed most about sailing. The boat will sail just fine with dull paint and no varnish. Old sails will get you out there. Rebuilding an Atomic 4 is a great winter project but for now borrow an outboard or buy a used one that you can resell later. I've sold a lot of things used on E-Bay I never should have bought new at West Marine. Give it a real good scrub inside and out, get a PFD, flares, a sleeping bag, some throwable cushions, a chart book, a radio and GO SAILING!
I like the way you think SkipperJer, I really intend on doing just that. There are a few projects that I really do want to at least get under way though. The deck hardware re-bedding for instance. I purposefully picked the Ariel as my first boat because all I have read about it has been positive. My original fist choice was the Triton, but they seem to be harder to come by, and honestly the extra 2 feet isnt really going to make much of a difference to me. I cant wait to get her to NH and in the water, the fish and the whales are a callin lol. There is just something about the sea that seems to draw me in, I guess it may have something to do with practically growing up in a canoe. Some of the best times of my life have been just poking around in a boat.
Fox,
Congrats on your new boat! I can personally attest that she is the perfect Bahamas boat! My wife and I cruised aboard 'Faith' (Ariel #226) for 8 months. They are just about perfect as long as you do not subscribe to 'Sail' magazine and think you need a built in breadmaker, and a walk in closet. :D
One of the best things about these boats is the devoted group of owners (cult-like as they are) that is the Ariel Owners Association. I really recommend you join, and get a manual. There is a TON of knowledge here, and the initiation is really not that bad... :eek:
If there's no deck rot around the fittings now you might consider leaving them alone. Unless there is an obvious problem they are not likely to go soon. Go sailing.
That's some more good advice. Unless you have leaks or immediate repairs are needed, start getting her ready to sail. Because once you start "one little project", it has a tendency to lead to another, then another , then another... :rolleyes:
Well I don't subscribe to Sail magazine, and having just moved out of my 16 foot 1965 shasta camping trailer, in which I lived for 4 years, I have no grand delusions of what life on a small vessel would be like. As for the deck hardware though, I still think it would be a good idea to as least start re-beding it, after looking through some of the threads on recoring, I think in this case an ounce of prevention is worth way more than the nightmare that re-coring looks to be. Oh and by the way, you guys are great. I never expected this much interest on a forum that is dedicated to a 44 year old boat. I think I will be sending some money the forums way, and definantly getting the manual.
Fox,
I promise. I'll stop nagging after this but, go sailing.
I grew up canoing Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I paddled and camped all through high school and college. My other boat is a 16 foot, 1932, Old Town, model HW, wood and canvas canoe. I understand how sailing looks from that perspective. And my perspective changed drastically after 6 months of sailing. The problem is that those 6 months didn't occur until the second year I owned the boat because I spent too much time the first year fixing things that didn't really need to be fixed. Then I found out some of the fixes weren't going to help me sail the way I found out I wanted to. A lot of the boat renovation stories on this board are coming from people who have sailed all their lives. For those of us who haven't its more important to get out in the wind than make the boat perfect.
Make it safe. Go sailing.
I'll shut up now.
Congratulations and enjoy the sailing time, for it is upon us now! You of course have one up one those of us that have already decided and are in the middle of taking care of business, and all the "one thing leads to another syndrome", (thanks Mike, you hit the nail on the head with the statement!).
Get her wet, let yourself get wet behind the ears, enlist those folks around you for moral support and guidance, and enjoy the water now.
Sheet in for me too.
Just an update on my Ariel, she is still in cape cod, they are charging me less to ship her if I wait till they have a pickup in Maine. She will hopefully be dropped off in her new home in NH next week. I will take lots of pictures, and start a gallery thread on her when I get her up here. I have a bit of work to do to her before her splash, but I am going to take every ones advise and not get caried away. I really cannot wait till I have her in the water :)
Well it has been 2 months or so since my first post, and today I finally got ariel 322 up to her new home. I spent today cleaning her, and taking pictures of course :) http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...ontrailer1.jpg
And now for the not so pretty. First up, busted stantion and core rot.http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...x/deckhole.jpg Not looking forward to fixing this :( I need to take a pic from the top side, but needless to say, its bad.
Nice, I've always liked the looks of a dark hull.
I like the double shelves and storage she has.
But why are your lights upside down?
Ken.
Must have started my reply before you were finished (slow typist!)
Stanchion shouldn't be a major problem to fix, it's easy to get to from either side!
next is a small hole in the hull right above the cockpit drain, It does not go all the way through the hull, just into the drain channel, but all the same, I want to take care of it.http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...oafox/hole.jpg
This looks like a nightmare to me.... http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...oafox/prop.jpg The engine supposedly does not run, and the last owner was using an outboard on a bracket hanging off the stern, but this is another issue I would like to remedy soon.
And what is an Ariel without a keel void... lol http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v.../keelcrack.jpg This dosnt look all that bad to me though, and I think I am going to leave it till the fall.
Not really sure why the lights are mounted the way they are, I think whoever had her in the past did a bit of mod work to her, sadly at the expense of the sink and stove, and he must have liked the look of the lights upright. Overall though I think I got a decent boat, the price was right anyhow :) $1600 if you count the $600 to ship it from cape cod
Just an update on 322, she is in NH now :) 2 months of waiting for her to be trucked up here have finally payed off, now the fun begins :) http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...ontrailer1.jpg
more picks and info can be found at her gallery page :) http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/s...ead.php?t=1987
Very nice find, congratulations. Are you working at home on this or a yard?
The interior mods look nice.
Do a search here for Ariel parts posted by Ted Mahavier on this site he has a supply of engine Atomic 4 parts he was looking to get rid of. I have his Email address somewhere if you need to contact him.
Good Luck:) Carl
just found Em address: ted.mahavier (at) gmail.com
she is sitting in a boat yard atm, the plan is to do the minimum necessary to get her in the water, and then well learn to sail, this is my first sailboat, so I want to make sure this is something I want to do, before I get to carried away. Pretty much I am going to fix the deck, throw a 6hp nissan or tahatsu on the back, and get to sailing. Im sure I will be working on 1001 little projects all summer long though. As for the atomic 4, Im really not sure what Im going to do with it. I definantly have the skill to rebuild it, but Im not really sure its worth the effort. I dont have a garage any more, so it would be a problem finding some were to work on it. I may just yank it out and use the outboard or repower her with a diesle in the future.
Love the chart table and steps! Congrats! Nice to have another Ariel in the neighborhood. :)
Sweet! I like your approach too. Given your location and plans you are on the right track. Get her to float and then go sail. She looks pretty dang good inside for having some holes!
yeh... she should, I spent like 5 hours with scotch bright, rags, scrapers, and pine sole lol.... but all things being fair, I think the deck hasnt been leaking that long, Im pretty sure that some one took a hard fall against the life lines a year or so ago, and got the problem started.
YES YES YES! I bought 282 (Panacea) for next to nothing last fall. Since, I got the safety gear and painted 3/4 of the bottom - and that's about it! Don't be shy about sailing her! It's the only way to learn and the BEST way to enjoy your boat. From one new sailor to another - FAIR WINDS! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by SkipperJer
Well, bad news on the engine front :( It seems that the engine is seized up good. I pulled the plugs and 2 of the spark plugs were rusting away. I think I am just going to pull the engine out, I really wasn't to keen on having a gas inboard anyhow. The question is, should I pull the engine now before she is launched, or just leave it till next haul out. I am a bit concerned that the weight of the engine, plus the outboard hanging off the back may be a bit much. Anyone know what it would run to buy a decent diesel to put in instead of the a4? On a better note, I have the electrical pretty much sorted out, the bilge pump works, though there is no way to turn it on except the "auto mode" the radio works now, one of the contacts for the fuse was corroded, so a bit of sand paper fixed that, the cabin light over the chart table works, the marker lights work, though I seem to be missing the bow light. Anyone know what sort of bulbs to put in the cabin light fixtures, it looks like a regular 110v bulb holder, but I dont think I have an inverter on the boat, unless its hidden some were.
A-322 is looking good! I'm get the idea that she'll be well taken care of... :)Don't worry too much about this being your first sailboat - the way these boats sail - you'll be hooked soon enough! It does not hurt to plan ahead...
Regarding the motor; It seems like you're headed towards repowering with an inboard diesel... If you do not have tides & currents to worry about; I'd say pull the seized A-4 out and use a small outboard (2-3 hp) to get you by. (You can always add some ballast to trim as needed) This will get you out in the water and you can look around to see what options are available. (e.g - if any other motors have similar mounts) in the meantime.
Refurbished A4s come up for sale ocasionally...
Oh - the bulbs are 12v. At least in most A/Cs I've run into.
7hp Farymann Diesel Marine Engine 18W + 2:1 trans NOS
Try looking at this link for a small diesel eng/trans combo, the price seems right, has a built in alternator, I don't know if I like that.
I'm sure the light bulbs are 12 volt, any RV store will sell them.
I would pull the A-4 on the hard, unless your plan is to deep six it in the ocean and call it a man made reef:D
Maybe this helps.
Good idea, in theory, but unfortunately I have some nasty currents to fight against. The current under the bridge near my mooring is one of the strongest tidal currents in the world. I'm not sure even the a4 running 100% could get me though there with out waiting for the tides to change, guess I will have to just give it a shot. I was thinking of getting one of the nissan/tahatsu 6hp engines. They seem to be the best power to weight, and they arnt too expensive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rico
Surely the best testimonialed small diesel is the BETA.
It is also red.
It is a marinized Kubota tractor engine. Out of Britain, it's expensive.
Haven't heard of any Ariels having one installed. I know Admiral Bill wants to convert from OB.
Why not be the guniapig and show us how to do it?
I very well may be the guinea pig for this one, the idea of a kabota tractor engine sounds pretty appealing. Any how, the old A4 is now sitting on a plastic crate in the middle of the floor. My God those engines are heavy! I could hardly lift it the 2 foot off the floor to get it up on the crate. Now I just need to some how get it out of the boat. Who ever built that chart table in my boat has my gratitude, It lifts up and the right side of the stair supports lifts out as well, so pretty much it gives you access to the whole space between the bunks, it made it very easy to get the engine out of there, well except the having to crawl through the cockpit locker to get to the prop shaft. Anyhow, would it be ok to leave the prop shaft as it is? Im a bit concerned that with out the support of the transmission it may slide and cause a leak. Anyhow, I forgot my camera, but I will bring it tomorrow and take lots of pics. When I was climbing around back behind the engine, I noticed that some one glassed the hull to deck seam. looks like they did a good job too.
Deck to hull HAD to be glassed by Pearson with sumthung.
Little Gull's seams had strips of plain matt, and not very much of it, pasting the boat together.
When cleaning silicon out of the seam covered by the stainless molding with a Dremel tool, it seemed much TOO EASY to cut thru the bandaide.
The inside was covered everywhere with paint, even up into the cove - because I remember how hard is was scraping and handsanding in there.
It may be a clue to check to see if indeed a former owner tackled this job. There are plenty of areas, like the cockpit lockers, where it's normally impossible to reach the cove (the inside of the toerail.) Forepeak might be another and of course the stern locker.
There have been some novel remedies to the seam problem.:D
Well yet another picture-less update :( promise Ill bring my camera tomorrow. Anyhow still haven't gotten the engine out of the boat, I am going to buy some 2x4's and make a scaffolding to pull the engine up, then slide it onto a couple more boards and lower it down into my truck. On other fronts though I'm making lots of progress. I pulled the prop off, and slid the drive shaft out of the boat, I am going to plug the hole with a dowel and then glass the hell out of the back were the shaft used to go, at least this way I will be able to easily remove the glass and the plug if I decide to re-power later. After pricing the betta engine, I feel it may be a while till I have the funds to purchase one, so outboard for now. I also removed the old shut off valve for the water intake for the old engine. It was frozen open in a big way, so I am just going to replace it with a new one, and then for added security I will put a threaded cap on the other end. Honestly I would much rather put a proper sea cock on instead of that horrid thing that pearson put there, but time is running short, and I think that it would be a bigger job to retrofit a new fitting. I will probably go ahead and do it this fall though when she is hauled out for the winter, or maybe even glass over the old thru-hull. I have recruited the help of my father to re-finish the outside wood work. Its pretty far gone, but I am going to put many coats of tongue oil on it, I think that if enough soaks into the wood, it may actually look decent. I was just going to varnish it, but it is dried out to the point of pending dry rot, so I think the oil will be better for it. I am hoping to have her launched very soon, and I will continue all my fun projects afloat. Just gotta get the thru-hulls under control then into the drink she goes.
Well the Atomic 4 is now out of the boat, and sitting on a cooler in the cockpit! I just have to call around to some local salvage yards and find one that will take the engine. I ended up just making a beam out of 2 2x4's and laying it over the companion way entrance, it seemed plenty strong enough, and I guess it was, because a couple minutes later I had it winched up to the door. I could not get it high enough up to just slide it out, so I had to pick it up and half drag it into the cockpit, but I did it!, now it just a matter of chucking it overboard, and loading it into the truck. The blue tote is over it because Im technically not supposed to be doing any major work on the boat. The marina seems to think I should pay them top dollar to do work that I can do myself for free, yeh right on that one! I just have to be sneaky....http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv63/tioafox/A4.jpg
To celebrate getting the engine out of the cabin, I decided to start work on glassing over the propeller shaft aperture. After much scraping I got the old rubber bushing out of the shaft, kinda scary that this thing was supposed to be stoping water from coming into my boat! Anyhow I rammed a cork into the hole and started the fun process of sanding off all the crud. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...aftapature.jpg I ended up sanding a much larger section than what is shown in this picture, but after that I started putting glass on it, and didn't want to get it all over my camera, so more pics will have to wait. The plan is to put 9 layers of fibreglass cloth over the hole, stopping every 3 to let it dry and sand out the wrinkles and any small air pockets. After that I am going to fair the whole thing with a couple of layers of fibreglass bondo, and then sand and repaint the whole thing. If I go to re-power her later, Ill just sand off the glass and pull the cork. I ended up just getting a brass cap to put over the old engine water intake, I was going to use a bronze ball valve like what was on there, and put a cap over that, but I could not find a 3/8" valve. I highly doubt that the cap is going to corrode through any time soon, but I have a spare just in case. Ill probably glass over the hole next year anyhow.
post 49
Doesn't exactly look like white poopon,
But you can always blame the POS in your cockpit on the birds.
Nobody will know what's under the blue lid.
About cleaning it off of there....?
On the estate here Pedro removed and put back up a heavy capstone over an outdoor fireplace - maybe 12' off the ground - with a plank and tackle.:D
Seagull poop.... lol, anyhow I have put 6 layers of glass over the hole were the prop shaft was. 3 more to go, then I am going to use a couple layers of glass bondo to smooth is out a bit. I am going to go talk to the marina tomorrow to set up a splash date, hopefully next week :) Oh, and I removed the 150lbs of lead in the bow, and am going to move it to the back were the engine was. I guess I will build a box or something to put it in, I don't want pieces of lead flying around in the event of a rollover.
well I talked to the marina, and they are launching her june 3rd. I guess that is good seeing how I still dont have an engine, and they are ripping me off royally to launch her and put up the mast. At least I have a couple weeks to save up. I finished the glass work that I started the other day, and gave it several coats of paint, which Im sure will be growing critters in no time, seeing how I cant afford anti-foul paint and still get all the stuff I need to launch her. Oh well, at least its not a big spot. I cant beleave no one seems to mix there own paint, I searched all over the net and turned up pretty much nothing. Its pretty much just a durable paint with copper added, it cant be that hard to make. Oh well, that can be a project for next year. I took apart the seacock that dumps the wast tank overboard and greased it and put it back together, and it actually works now, and started sanding the woodwork in the cockpit, its actually looks decent, instead of putting clear coat over it, im going to use an oil made for teak and mahogany, I figure when it starts looking bad again, Ill just give it more coats, better than sanding for hours on end. Anyhow Ill post pictures soon.
Well I have come to the conclusion that the 2 batteries I have are dead :( Tried charging them several times with a charger that has a built in desufate thingy majiggy, and well, no luck. I read that you can empty the acid out, fill them with distilled water and charge them at a low current for some insane amount of time, then drain out the distilled and put in new acid, but that sounds like way to much work.... Anyhow here are some pics for you all. The first is the finished product of my fiberglass work I did to cover the old prop shaft hole. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v.../propshaft.jpg
the second is of the wood I found under the horrid grey patina on the cockpit boards. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...oafox/teak.jpg
it should look really good with the penatrating oil finish I plan on using, and lastly, here is a picture of 322's future mooring. I got it so rough...... Oh yeh almost forgot, I ordered a tahatsu 6 hp sail-pro from onlineoutboards.com should be here on thursday. I know i could have used the regular long shaft, but seeing how the sail pro comes with a built in alternator and a high thrust prop, It seemed like a good deal. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...ox/sunset2.jpg
Nice work on her, those coamings look to be in great shape. Those coaming blocks are in great shape compared to what mine was like when I got her.
After a quick look around, I've come to the conclusion that none of the coaming blocks are the same on any Ariel (or Triton for that matter) that I've seen. I would have thought they'd cut them out in runs to speed production, but by the subtle variety of shapes, it looks as though they were individually crafted.
Ken.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
Not sure what you mean there, do some Ariels have the tubes glassed along the side of the hull?
Mine are just glass tubes on the bottom connected with hoses to the cockpit.
Ken.
I believe Fox is talking about his deck scuppers? Mine drain into a tube glassed along the inside of the hull and exit below the waterline.
My cockpit drains are fiberglass "fittings" connected by a hose. I really must add seacocks as soon as the budget and time allows...
yep, you got it right, I was not sure what to call them.
A338 has holes near the toe rail in the low point of the deck on both sides.
Inside there are short angled shunt tubes from the hole to the hull where half round tubes
go down to the bootstripe and exit. All built-in fiberglass.
It is a small closed system that does not allow water to enter the boat.
May want to make sure the shunts are glassed in well so that they won't leak.
Is it possible that a DFO tried to drill an exit hole up where the tubes touch the hull? This is not a good idea as deck water would stain the topsides.
Ok, those posts clarify it, mine doesn't have them, I have two small scuppers that drain through rubber hoses into the drains for the seat hatches, then into the cockpit itself. What can't make it through the scuppers goes through a cutdown 'spout' aft on each side.
Think I like the larger tube idea better.
Ken.
The earlier boats had the "hole & hose" arrangement. Sometime later, Pearson improved things by going to the "hole and tube" setup.
Whohooo, got my new 6hp 4 stroke tahatsu sail pro :)http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...ox/engine2.jpghttp://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...ox/engine1.jpg
Nice looking motor. Look forward to hearing your opinions on it.
Hope you don't take it wrong, but I'm glad mine is an outboard model!
Ken.
Bumping my very old thread because I need your help. I sold my Ariel over a decade ago, but it seems she has fallen on hard times since I had her. I recently found her on craigslist as a free boat in disrepair. The add mentions scrapping her. I would really hate for this to happen, I lived aboard for a summer and at the time my dream was to sail the world in her. It really kills me to think of my d boat being cut up. I am not in a place to save her, but maybe someone here can? I have attached a link to the Craigslist add and I will reach out to her current owner saying I have posted this. She was a good boat and does not deserve this fate. Thank you guys and happy sailing. https://nh.craigslist.org/boa/d/alto...457631123.html
The CL listing has been deleted. What happened? Let's hope she found a home!!! No Ariel should ever be scrapped, they're the prettiest of all Carl's wonderful designs... My girl Katie has, in her time with me, sat in slips right next to Tritons, an A-30 or 2, a A-35, and even Cape Dorys, and her lines edged them all out.