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Purpose
To create a one design retrofit which will allow
owners of older
J-22s
to enjoy a functional, simple to install, maintenance free cockpit coaming.
To
introduce the coamings to the J-22 class members as an International J-22
Class Approved modification
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Goal of this webpage
I want the reader to come to this
conclusion: Fred has built a prototype and a set of molds and has built
appropriate fiberglass coaming boards for the Racing International J-22.
I want to cause solutions to every concern
such that:
1. There is no doubt about the legality of the parts for
J-22 racing competition.
2. The only remaining concern is making certain any
builder who wants to provide these coaming boards will be able to compete on a
100% equal footing with any other builder.
3. Fred wants to be allowed to be a supplier of class J-22 Class
legal coaming retrofit kits
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Parameters
The
coaming must serve the same functions as the wood coaming with respect to
keeping water out of the cockpit.
The
coaming must allow a spinnaker cleat to be mounted in the usual Class Standard
Position.
The
coaming must not change the sailing characteristics of the boat by changing the
deck stiffness.
The
coaming and its fasteners and caulk should weigh about the same as the teak
coaming and its fasteners and caulk.
The
coaming should be durable
The
coaming should not significantly alter the appearance of the boat.
The
coaming should be about as comfortable for seating as the new fiberglass molded
coamings.
The
coaming should be of a defined laminate and built to a standard weight.
The
coaming should be easily installed by a typical boat owner using simple hand
tools.
Installation of the coaming should not cause any harm to the J-22 and the
coaming should be able to be removed by those owners who desire to return their
boats to the classic teak coamings.
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Sales pitch from the designer /
prototype builder
This
prototype and mold was built while absolutely convinced I could simply show it
to other fans of the J-22and
receive instant support for its use. I sail J-22s
and have sailed J-22s
since the first "two digit" sail numbered J-22s
arrived in Austin. I have watched the development of the boat and the racing
class and I have maintained literally hundred's of racing J-22s.
When J-24s and J-22s
first appeared with plastic toe rails, many sailors instantly decided to
retrofit their older boats. The change to plastic was well received. sailors do
not generally like to maintain teak rails. The original teak toe rails on most
Texas J-22s
have weathered to the point where the teak plugs are gone and the screws are
sticking up above the remaining wood.
The first
1200 J-22s
came with a teak coaming board on each side of the cockpit. The very newest
J-22s
have a plastic molding where the original J-22s
had teak coaming boards. The teak coaming boards on most of the Texas
boats are severely weathered and worn away. Some coamings are fractured and many
have uncomfortable or even dangerous splinters waiting to find homes in lines
and crewmember's skin and clothing. Replacement of the teak is a difficult
process involving a lot of chiseling, a very expensive thick piece of teak,
woodworking tools and a skilled artisan.. Owners whose goals include "getting
rid of all the #%&@##! teak would love to have a better option than "replacing
everything but the coaming boards. No one, according to my limited knowledge,
has offered a practical plastic one design retrofit for the J-22 teak
coaming rails and the class has not approved any modification what so ever to
the teak coamings. (Rumor has it some racing J-22s, without first seeking class
approval, have already been modified to match the new decks. I am trying
to get ahead of the problem by creating a standard solution.)
The owners
of the old boats would like to believe their old boats can be competitive with
the newer boats. One definition of even competition might be that the owner of
an older boat be able to make the older boat "just as pretty" and "just as
comfortable" as the newer boats.
Specifically? The owner of J-22
number 307 said, "I want plastic so I don't have to maintain old teak
ever again. I want something nice to sit on like Mark has on his new boat."
(Mark has a deck with a molded coaming)
As a long
time racer / cruiser of the J-22, I built the exact coaming I
believe is appropriate. I built a prototype and I built a mold because I believe
I have created the exact thing which solves the problem of "Retrofitting a J-22
coaming with a fiberglass coaming while maintaining the integrity of the One
Design Racing J-22."
My
proposed coaming rail kit will have zero impact on the order of finish in any
race at any time. My proposed coaming may cause some extra boats to participate
as the sailors will be more comfortable and more likely to enjoy themselves.
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Structure
So far I
have only built a plug and a mold. I still need to finish the mold by removing a
few high spots, polishing it, and waxing it. I believe the laminate will consist
of white gelcoat, a thin back up layer of resin and 1/32 inch milled
fibers to prevent tiny voids from breaking out, 3 layers of 1.5 ox mat and two
strips of 6 inch wide 10 ounce cloth. The cloth would overlap about 3 inches in
the entire center of the length of the part. I also plan to install a backing
plate pre-tapped for #10 fasteners appropriate for a Harken 150 cam cleat. (or
maybe just include the preinstalled cleat)
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Installation
The plan
is based upon simplicity and the minimum tools a J-22 sailor may
own or reasonably purchase. I believe it would be best to remove the screws and
chisel away the old rail before installing the new fiberglass rails. The new
rails are constructed such that a person could simply grind away about 1/2 inch
of the old teak rail and install the new fiberglass rail over the old shortened
teak. We have already tested our concept by using a Surform brand tool on
another J-22. In fewer the fifteen minutes of work, we had the old teak
sufficiently ground away to drop the new fiberglass over the old teak.
The new
rails should be adequately mounted using 3M 5200 sealant and six or seven self
tapping #10 truss headed stainless screws.
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Fred's Proposal
I am not
an authorized J-22
sailboat builder. For the last 30 odd years I have made a substantial part of my
living by maintaining various "J"
racing boats. I have no real reason to change that relationship described as
"You build them and I fix them." I also understand that other suppliers have
built many retrofit J-22 racing items and few if any have bothered to do as I am
doing and seek approval before producing and selling parts for racers.
I have
dabbled in the creation of J boat retrofit parts and even sold many racing motor
mounts for installation at the factory on J-24s.
Link to photos
My initial
target guess price for this kit would be $600. I would happily build and sell
the parts and maintain one design quality control as described below and for the
short term, I will even try my guess price as the officially set price. No
other part builder original or aftermarket is building to an approved set
price . ( $650 with preinstalled Harken 150 cam cleats.)
I would
initially build and ship One design Standard parts to any builder for a set $400
plus packing and shipping price.
I will
build a set of tooling for any Designer and Builder Authorized manufacturer to
use. That tooling would be just as the molds in the photos below. Mine have
orange tooling gelcoat, at least 6 oz of mat and Iso resin, a layer of 2 mil
Coremat, one layer of 1.5 oz mat, another layer of Coremat and at least 6 oz of
mat. I tried to keep the Coremat away from the edges of the molds. I believe I
could build a set of molds for $1000. That number may cover only the labor and
not materials and shipping or perhaps I could accomplish the entire task for
under $1000. Particulars could be worked out if and when anybody seriously
asks for a set of molds but I am willing to guarantee delivery in the US for
under $1500.
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Fred's Political View
Background: The reader should be told I have
served as a measurer in various sailboat classes since I was a teenager. I have
also made a living both building boats and maintaining boats. Most of my life's
work experience relates to maintaining sailboats that also race. I have always
worked within the One Design Rule system for any class where I believe
improvements or modifications should be approved.
Specific to J-22s: This modification is not significant to the
performance of the boat. The only reason any J-22 owner would make this
modification would be looks and comfort. My only reason for seeking approval is
a strongly held PERSONAL belief that ANY modification no matter how
insignificant to ANY one design boat should be approved in advance of its
implementation.
I
sincerely believe the officers of the International J-22 Class should have
no objections and quickly and simply "rubber stamp" this proposed fiberglass
coaming. I have no idea why anyone would possibly object to this proposed
coaming. I am only seeking approval because, I do not believe it is proper
for anyone to modify the boat in any way without prior International J-22 Class
Association approval.
Whining
about reasonableness: The plastic mounting blocks and extra pulleys for
cross sheeting the jib sheets certainly affect the performance of the boat. I
certainly would have asked before installing anything like them. The specially
shaped custom blocks are not only being allowed, they are being supplied by
after market suppliers as well as the builders.
I am doing
everything I know how to do to properly play within the intent and the letter of
the rules. it certainly seems reasonable to expect superlative consideration for
my superlative efforts.
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Photos
The gallery below is captioned in an
attempt to make everything clear. You can click on any image to see a large
version.
I am here and have already seen the parts. Therefore I don't
really know what you cannot see or understand. Please ask questions freely.
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Contact
Fred
You can try the phone but I rarely am able to pick it up
and talk. sanders are louder than phones. I don't stop when painting. I
don't take a cell phone to lunch, sailing, the gym, or bed. Please leave a
message and appropriate call back hours>>512-769-4466 |
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Prototype parts sitting on the deck
The prototype parts are not really thick enough or made with the right layup schedule. For that reason and the fact this boat races and we can't install parts that may later be found to be illegal, the parts are sitting loose. |
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Plug ready to spray
This is to show what goes on in making a mold of this sort.it is a lot of work. Some folks who are involved in the J-22 Class approval process who don't build fiberglass things for a living may like information about what is involved. |
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Plug ready for gelocat
We needed to have an available boat and an owner who was willing to let us make a big mess all over that boat. In order to build the prototype rail we first had to remove the old coamings, then make a mock up of the prototype rails, then build a mold.. The owner had to be willing to let us have the boat for a few extra weeks |
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Partly gelcoated port mold.
This first layer of the mold has to be sprayed. This is more of a mess that has to be made on our willing owner's deck. |
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Gelcoat on port mold
This is what the gelcoat looks like from teh back side before fiberglass is laminated over it. Thee will be about 12 layers of fibreglass mat applied to this gelcoat before we pull our completly laminated mold from the deck. |
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Parts in molds
Here are the molds after they were lifted off the boat. The prototype parts are still sitting in the molds |
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Ends of molds
This view is just for detail. The parts are siting in the molds but the parts ahve been previously lifted loose. The parts are only prototypes. They are not made like the final product. |
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One part lifted out
Here is a mold with a prototype part in it and a mold with the part lifted out. When parts are made from these molds, the parts that come from the molds will need to be lightly sanded all around the edges, but every part can be easily produced in a fashion making every one virtually identical to any other. |
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Molds and prototype parts
From the angle shown, the prototype parts are indistinguisable from the coamings we are proposing. These parts only look like the parts. They will never be installed on a boat. |
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Close up of mold ends
Just a closer look. These molds must be sanded and polished and waxed before they can be used to make anything. |
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Deck from camera held over my head
This is the boat with no coamings. Since the prototypes were made and the molds were made we heve installed the new plastic toerails, regelcoated the entire smooth parts of the deck, painted Awlgrip nonskid, and shined up the sides a bit. |
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Cockpit with no coaming
The owner really wants to replace the coaming rails with something other than the original teak. The owner actively races and has seen the newer boats with no wood anywhere on the deck. The coaming project started out with the simple goal of producing something for this boat that is not wood, does not change the weight location, blocks water similarly to the wood, and does not abuse tender fannies. |
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View from port chainplate
This shows we have met our goals with respoect to similar water bolocking characteristics, We also molded in a space for a Harken 150 cam cleat for the spinnaker sheet.. |
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Close up from port front
This part is neither screwed down nor caulked and it already fits nicely. There is nothing to catch sheets, sails, clothing or fingers. |
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Port coaming from cockpit
This gives a clean look and no fear of splinters when the crew goes over there to sit down. |
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Port coaming from cockpit
The black is modeling clay from the mold production process. The paret will be laminated such that it fits more tightly against the dech than shown. As it is, the space is about 3/16 inch and could easily be filled with 5200 sealant and lok just fine. |
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Port coaming aft end close up
The parts will not catch ropes. The backstay can still be led foreword with no problems.
Mostly, doesn't this look a lot more comfortable than the top edge of a narrow piece of teak? |
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Starboard coaming from chainplate
The starboard side from standing by teh chainplates |
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Starboard coaming from standing by winch.
Just another view |
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Detail of starboard front
The piece is sitting loose and it fits well already |
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Starboard front detail
Nice sneaker huh?? Lots of layers of paint on that shoe. |
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Starboard coaming aft view.
In the "ready to spray" photos you may have noticed radiating blue repairs. The cracks were caused by water leaking around the fasteners which encouraged the balsa core to rot. I am hoping the 3M 5200 and this coaming will help to prevent reopening of the repaired cracks. |
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Bartlett's J-22 in front of Bartlett Sails and Awnings
The boat is sitting in front of John's shop and local J-22 sailors have been noticing that John has had his boat refurbished.
The question has been, "Are those legal?"
The universal request has been, "Do whatever it takes to make those new rails legal. They look comfortable. I want to install some on my boat." |
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