Well, the Cape Dory 22 has been sitting in the yard for about 15 months now, and we thought she would have been done a long time ago.  But last summer was filled with excitement and drama; Lance's new job, the kids moving here from California, Becky working 12 hours a day, and we did not even get started on her.  We did manage to do some boating, but that involved buying a little Bayliner, plopping it in the water and GOING.

The kids are settled now, Lance is comfortable in his new job, I am off for the summer this year, we are starting to see some warm weather, and it is time to get it done.

Where to begin..............?

The first major decision actually was to rethink the name.  When we first brought her home we thought we would name her "Encore" since she was coming back for a second go-round after almost leaving the stage for good.  Then we had changed our mind and she was going to be "Ready to Fly".  (It's a song........if you know it you will understand.)  We have been talking about names for months, but nothing seemed just right.  But then one evening recently we were sitting at the kitchen table with our grand children talking about rebuilding the boat.  The kids wanted us to explain to them exactly how she got all that terrible damage.  We started describing the awesome power of a hurricane and some of the things that the boat might have gone through.  Our 7 year old granddaughter looks at us and says "boy, that boat is one tough cookie".  PERFECT!!  We knew right away that "Tough Cookie" had to be her new name.

We did manage to buy all new sails, a new engine and the chocolate brown Sunbrella for the sailcovers last year.  We get a lot of rain around here.  Rainy days will be sewing days.  To make sure I have plenty to do on those rainy days, I wanted to get everything lined up to work on the interior upholstery also.  Baltimore is pathetic for upholstery fabrics.  We have very few stores, and the ones we do have are either outrageously expensive (custom order only through upholstery shops) or have a horrible selection (JoAnn Fabrics).  There was a place named Blanks that was good, but when I went over there yesterday they had closed their doors.  Arghhhhhhhh.  I miss UFO in San Diego (National City).  That place was one stop shopping for boat upholstery.  You could take in a paper pattern or an old cushion and walk out a little later with new foam that was cut while you wait, a great fabric at a nice price and any possible notion you could need to complete your project.  Plus they had the Sunbrella, vinyls for headliner, carpet (if you are so inclined), padding, pillow forms in every imaginable size and shape, closed cell foam, you name it.   It's not going to be that easy here.  I did find a place that will cut foam while you wait (Conkling Foam Center, 3531 Claremont Street, corner of Conkling Street).  I have not had any foam cut yet, so I will report on my experience after I do so, probably this coming week.
For the fabric, I have been shopping online and have some fabric samples coming. What did we ever do without the internet.

I brought the old cushions in and removed the covers, thinking I would take them apart and use them as patterns.  Louisiana dirt was falling out all over the place  I ran them through 2 cycles in the washer, just to get them clean enough to work with, and sand and dirt is still falling out.  I am going to have to run a soapy water cycle in the washer just to get it clean enough to wash clothes in again.  So, I decided to keep the old covers just as a reference for the construction technique, without taking them apart.  I will cut my fabric using the cut foam as a guide, like I always have.  Then it will be my great pleasure to throw them in the trash.

We will be ordering our new bow pulpit (the old one is "gone with the wind" literally) from Whitewater Marine in Port Huron, MI (http://www.whitewatermarineinc.com).  They did the bow and stern pulpit for us when we rebuilt our Bristol.  We took some measurements, sent them a check (excellent prices) and a few weeks later a box arrived with the pulpits that fit perfectly and looked great.  We are looking forward to having another good experience with them.  Hopefully we will get that order in this week. 

We have requested a rigging quote from Defender U.S. (www.defender.com). We have made a lot of purchases from them in the past and they beat Boat U.S. and West Marine prices, hands down, every time.  The quality of everything we have ever purchased from them has been just as good.

I have 2 stoves in the basement; a 2 burner Kenyon Homestrand pressurized alcohol stove and a one burner  Force-10 pressurized kerosene stove (brass, never used, very lovely) that I got for a deal on eBay.  The Kenyon will probably end up for sale on eBay again.  I have a Sea Swing (second hand from Bacons, we had the corrosion sandblasted off and it looks like new) for the Force-10 and we will probably keep that one in the boat for the rare occassion when we might want hot tea or soup underway, or when we just need a second burner.  But I plan to get a one-burner non-pressurized Origo for the galley.  There is room for a 2 burner, but there would be no counter space left for anything else,  and I just don't see myself doing big elaborate meals on this boat.

The caprail and toerail, which is chewed up and missing for the most part, has to come off.  We're taking samples to Hardwoods, Inc. 2 Worman's Mill Ct. in Frederick, Maryland to have new mouldings milled.  We want to put the boat back to it's original specs, so "off the shelf" mouldings aren't going to cut it.

The cabin sole veneer is buckling up from the moisture.  After we take it up and evaluate the condition of the plywood I will decide whether to scrap and refabricate the whole thing, or whether I can just laminate new veneer on it and go.

Another big issue is the outboard motor bracket.    We have a bronze outboard bracket (Spartan Marine) from a Typhoon and are trying to figure out if there is a way to make it work.  I bought it second hand at Bacon's in Annapolis and the person who had it before had put an extension on it.  The idea is good, but their execution of it wasn't so great.  The metal plates they used to extend the reach of the bracket are reacting with the bronze leaving a rusty mess on everything, and I don't know what size engine they were using, but the board they put on there is massive and overwhelms the whole fixture.  If we can find a way to make the bracket work, these are things we want to avoid.  Lance has been trying to take it apart as I type.  He is not having an easy time of it as the whole thing has fused itself into a big rusty, metal-bonded, bolt-stripped mess.  (If anyone has had experience with this and can offer advice or information about the feasibility of using theTyphoon bracket on the 22, we would welcome an email from you.) 
        

Paint is another problem.  Interlux has long since discontinued the old original Cape Dory browns.  There are browns out there, but finding 2 browns (bottom and bootstripe) that will also match the canvas, might be a challange.  I'll let you know what I figure out.

And repairing the fiberglass damage to the hull.......  to remove or not to remove the hull ceiling.  Sigh.

I could go on and on.  There are so many details, as any of you who have ever done a boat restoration knows.  But I will deal with each step individually on this site as the work progresses.

Any questions or comments are welcome.

Thanks for sharing our journey with us.

Becky