Restoration of A107-"Lilly"

[Thor]

Thank you for allowing me to join this group. I have been browsing the posts for many months. I learned to sail in 1983 at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis. It was the first time I had ever seen the ocean or had been on a sailboat. After a single day of sailing a Rhodes 19, I was hooked for life. I am a Mechanical Engineer specialized in the design and fabrication of composite structures. I have owned and sailed a few boats in my life so far. The largest being an Ericson Cruising 31. I downsized to a 1974 Cape Dory Typhoon and have sailed her for many years. She is now going through a restoration.


I have a "bucket list" cruise that I plan to do in a few more years and have been looking for a nice, compact cruising boat that would be able carry me along the Gulf Coast and up to Maine. I am not much on the modern boats which keeps bringing me back to the designs of Carl Alberg and the Ariel.


Last year I started looking for a nice Ariel that I could restore over the next 5-6 years. This boat will be more suitable to the very rough waters of Lake Pend Oreille in nearby Idaho which is just a short drive from my house and be quite capable to take me on my Coastal Bucket List trip.


I ended up acquiring A107 from McCotter's Marina in Washington N.C. She was in much rougher shape that what I was looking for, but she had "good bones". Abandoned by her former owner at the Marina and in rough shape, McCotter's was preparing to haul her out and have her scrapped. Being such an iconic vessel and in restorable condition, I negotiated a ridiculously low price for her to save her from the scrap heap. I pick her up in April, 2018 and will trailer her home to NW Montana for the long process of restoration which will begin this summer. Triad Trailers LLC in Raleigh, NC built my Typhoon trailer and are now making an Ariel trailer for my trip.


I will need to replace many of the GRP items on the boat such as rudder, cockpit hatches, as well as the companionway and forward deck hatch. I will be fabricating good molds from the existing parts which will be "dolled" up enough to pull a professional grade mold. If anyone might need replacement parts for your boat, please do not hesitate to let me know. The deck, also, needs a complete re-core. I will be molding up the entire deck surface to fabricate new, solid epoxy skins that will be placed back over the new foam core. My deck re-core process may vary a bit from the beautifully completed work I have seen here on the forum.


There is a tremendous amount of very valuable information on this forum. I want to thank those who were kind enough to place it there for folks like me who want to get an Ariel back on the water. More to come as this project progresses.

[Lucky Dawg]

Wow, Thor! Sounds like you have some major work in the plans. Thanks for saving an ailing Ariel from the scrap yard! Can't wait to see your progress.

Don't know how others feel, but if I had it to do over again, I would have glassed over my forward hatch on my Commander when I did my deck overhaul several years ago.

Keep us posted and the more pictures, the better!

[Thor]

These photos are as she sits over in North Carolina

[Thor]

Here are a few photos of "Lilly" as she sits over in North Carolina