Local Knowledge
I had sailed on a Flying Dutchman in the 60’s as a kid in Ft. Myers, FL. So when I saw an ad under the “Boats for Free” in Wooden Boat for a FD (a mid-50’s Doesburg, #121) with “minor cockpit bottom delamination”, I drove from Folly Beach, SC to Cleveland to get the boat. After seeing it, I told myself there was no point in driving home without it.
I turned it over under my house and starting stripping it to see what I had. Not much. To keep the boat from completely collapsing, I took one section at a time, cut it out and rebuilt it. Good grief!
The whole bottom ended up being replaced. Then, there were 72 rotten places in the sides, some as small as a silver dollar to others the size of a dinner plate. It took about 2 years. I went at night with a flashlight to mark the places that needed to be faired. The bottom got an epoxy and graphite finish.
The deck was OK. I guess the previous owner hadn’t let the boat fill with enough water to trash that. The boat was sailed several times at Lake Murray Sailing Club in the summer of “95. I ended up giving it away several years later since there were no FD’s to sail against in Charleston.
I’m sure other boats have been brought back from worse condition, but I can’t imagine why.
Now I’m doing another FD that sat unused at the LMSC for many years. With 4 moths, a laser, and an M16, I need another project like ^%$#@!. But, it should be fun to sail, even if there still aren’t any FD’s around New Bern, NC where I live now. – Anarchist Gary.
