The rebirth of 214

Here's the story of the rebirth of 214 that I undertook starting in December 2012. The story really began somewhat earlier when out of the blue one day while chatting with Bill Layton, he asked if one day I might want to get my own boat. It wasn't all that out of the blue I guess since I had been racing Laser 28s since the first protype. I replied to Bill that yeah, maybe one day I would.

In November 2012 there two boats for sale, one local and one in Wisconsin, so Bill sent along emails with info about the boats. Not seeing myself as more than a tire kicker at this point, I did end up going to see the local boat. The boat had the usual issues, nothing overly concerning but it didn't really excite me. I then contacted the owner of the Wisconsin boat to get the background and possibly more pictures.

Once able to speak to the Wisconsin owner it sounded interesting but it was a long way away from Montreal, 1,700 km actually, so asked if the owner could provide pictures from a list of areas I wanted to see in more detail. He kindly agreed to get all the photos I wanted but the boat was a 5 hour drive from him and likely covered in snow. The next weekend he made the trip and the photos showed everything I needed to know. The boat was sound but hadn't had a lot of use.

Things kind of snow balled from there, I was interested in having a look at the boat but when I checked the cost of flying and then renting a car, or taking the time to drive there and back just for a look and later hiring transport, it was becoming obvious that the only worthwhile undertaking was to drive there with a vehicle and trailor and hauling the boat back if I liked it.

More things fell into place and Paul Lhotsky kindly offered to lend his BMX X5 diesel to pull the boat and our local yacht club was willing to move Convictus off her trailor and onto a cradle. All of a sudden it looked like this was turning into a real possibilty. I spoke again with the owner and negociated a deal with him, we agreed a price and if the boat was as I expected and, very importantly, we must be able to start the engine. If all was satisfactory I would buy the boat.

The adventure set off at the end of the first week in December. Bill agreed to come with me to Bayfield, Wisconsin on a 1,700 km journey each way, on snowy and icey roads, much of which was single lanes. We arrived late at nigh after a pre-dawn departure in a snow storm that would leave almost a foot of snow that night and into the next morning. We met the owner at the marina and the yard staff was a little incredulous at the amount of snow they had to move to get the hydraulic trailor under the cradle and move it under the crane. A few eyebrows were raised when I mentioned we needed to start the engine as a condition of sale. The manager, a seasoned fellow, asked if we'd noticed how much snow there was and that it was -12° C outside.

After digging off the boat from under the tarps, hauling out a massive booster pack, heating the intake with a heat gun for 20 minutes, cranking over the engine with the decompression lever activated, she started without too much fuss. We ran it long enough to run 9.5 litres of plumbing anti-freeze through her and test out throttle response, etc. She ran well and I agreed to buy the boat. We then had to explain to the yard guys that we would have to collapse the cradle and load it on the trailor before loading the boat. Given the weather this all took 2 days longer than expected but there were no real surprises, just mother nature testing us.

So here it is. The first pictures show some areas of the boat before work and then comes the outcome before launch. Thanks to Bill Layton for all the help he offerred, I couldn't have done it without him.

Here's she is at the end of the season before picking her up;















And finally, loaded on the trailor and ready to leave.


With Bill Layton's help, and while the boat was in his driveway for the winter, 214 essentially underwent a restoration over winter 2012 and was launched in June 2013.

I'll start with some pictures from just before launch. Since then, in spring 2014, she had the previous expoxy bottom sanded off and 6 coats of Interprotect followed by VC17.





Below you can see the new name, lifelines, webbing, tiller cover, new fuel and holding tank vents, Sailcomp controller and Nexus instruments. We had to regelcoat the transum, it was impossible to remove traces of the old name.


All of the gelcoat applied to the inside of the hull was removed and then painted with a one part polyeurathane. You can also see the new port engine bulkhead. The fuel vent is yet to be installed. Very important to tie wrap the vent so that there is slope throughout, otherwise a form of trap is created.


Below is the wet locker showing new shifter and throttle cables, slightly longer than oem for smoother operation. Also shown is some of the new plumbing.


New head installed. New plumbing throughout.


All of the woodwork for the cooler was replaced and the fold away table added.


The ice box and dry locker covers were replaced. We found almost identical looking cutting boards that we cut to the same size and also added the dado cuts for the handles as original.


Not seen but hiding under the battery is an all new mounting bracket.

The keel bolts were romoved one at a time, while the boat sat on the trailor, anti-seize applied and then retorqued. Very important step.


We later replaced the instrument thru hulls for the Nexus instruments. I have one dummy plug and a tri-ducer for speeed, depth and temperature nearest the centre line.



The rib flanges in the tie rod areas were epoxied with various width fiberglass tape for reinforcement.




New step treads top and bottom.



We made all new soft lockers throughout the boat. The sides of the pockets are done in mesh as are the front and rear covers in the v-birth and quarter birth.








Below is the engine after a complete service. The throttle shut off solenoid is functional and now incorporates a fuse.


No engine oil leaks after 2 seasons!


Above you can see the rear engine mount reinforcement and below is the front.


The engine mounts were also stripped, epoxied and top coated in white enamel with new nylock mounting nuts all around.


Thumb screws for the impeller cover.


New water strainer, 90° fitting on the through hull, anodised fuel tank with ground. Both engine bulkheads and engine cover doors were replaced.


Final instaltion of fittings, all double clamped, ground installed. The inline fuel filter before the fuel lift pump is not shown.


Every single clamp, tie wrap and hose was changed throughout the boat.

Lot's more to show, just need to get pictures of the rest. I'll update this post from time to time.

Cheers


Edited by Bill Layton - 13 April 2015 at 4:08pm

Yes; she looks great!

She looks awesome Paul! Congrats.  Love to see some more of her.

Very nice, I'm sure the wheels are turning for every Laser owner viewing these pictures.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever... well done !!

Edited by George S. - 16 December 2014 at 2:36pm

Interior paint was Brightside Seattle Gray by Interlux

Softlockers are Weathermax 80

Mesh is whats used in the bottom of some spinnaker turtles