Repairs/Modifications

BOAT REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS

FEATURES

Sponberg Yacht Design does a fair amount of naval architecture for repairs and modifications to boats. Usually, we are hired to produce suitable drawings and a procedural specification. Sometimes we have even carried out the repair ourselves, so we organize all the tools, people, and transportation to the boat and do the work.

The stories below are some of our more interesting cases.

	New lifting strakes for BLUE BILL Blue Bill was a beautiful repowered Wilbur 34 with a nasty spray problem. So much fog and spray engulfed the cockpit that the boat was not pleasant to ride. Sponberg Yacht Design’s new lifting strakes cured the problem and increased speed. This article shows how it was done.
	The rebuilding of AMERICAN PEARL Professional explorer Tori Murden twice tried to row across the Atlantic Ocean, and both times met defeat. The second time she abandoned her plywood rowboat American Pearl in the mid-Atlantic. Not to be stopped, American Pearl was recovered from the ocean and rebuilt for Tori’s third and successful attempt. Sponberg Yacht Design was there to help with new specifications and design modifications.
	Truncating the keel & adding a bulb on Cambria 44 MAGIC Magic’s keel was 7’ deep, and the owner wanted a 6’ draft without sacrificing performance. Sponberg Yacht Design reduced the draft and added a bulb that proved successful and even improved performance.
	New bow for WOBEGON DAZE Wobegon Daze is a cat-ketch-rigged Freedom 38 that tended to sail bow-down. Steering and handling were real problems. Adding a false bow with a plumb stem onto the existing raked-stem design added enough buoyancy forward to successfully change the boat’s trim and improve its sailing performance. The owner also liked the new, modernized hull profile.
	Rebuilding the bottom of BIG BIRD TOO Big Bird Too was a 50’ commercial ferry in the Caribbean, and her whole fiberglass bottom had to be rebuilt. Sponberg Yacht Design spent twelve days in paradise rebuilding the boat at a local marina in St. Maarten. The keys to success were a good crew, good tools and materials, and dedication to a fixed schedule