All sailboats should have an emergency tiller anyways, so sourcing at least a basic tiller has always been on my todo list.  

k

Look at how much space the wheel takes up in the cockpit well, and how tight it makes walking forward or aft (impossible basically, need to step out of cockpit well).   This is not a good situation in my opinion and a significant drawback to using a wheel on a DE32.   The irony is, driving is done from the high side which is perfect for a tiller on a 32' voyaging boat, and when not voyaging the tiller can be stowed away which releases a huge amount of cockpit space, this strongly suggests a tiller is better!  Another irony is, the interesting main sheet rigging does not need a traveller, which already frees up the entire cockpit area, compared to those nasty boats where a traveller makes moving around a cockpit difficult.    I have sailed more miles driving with a tiller on other ~25'-~32' blue water boats than I have driven with a wheel and found it just as enjoyable, actually a bit easier when tacking (my voyages while driving with a wheel are biased since those boats with wheels mainly used autopilots to steer so "driving" meant adjusting the autopilot heading with pushbuttons, rarely actually placing hands on the wheel).    Those boats with travelers made me love the Downeaster much more because all the traveller lines were always in the way, the knees constantly bumping against the metal beam, having to watch out for fingers during a mainsheet adjustment, etc.

I am nearly decided to remove my wheel, autopilot, binnacle (and compass, chart plotter mount and wiring, and "cheese tray" sized wooden tray table), also the huge quadrant with all it's wire mechanicals, from Oasis, unless I get some opinion that a tiller has some drawback which I'm not considering.     The quadrant uses a significant amount of space in the engine room as well.   Not having a quadrant unlocks a good amount of internal real estate.    

The Downeaster 32 drives very lightly considering its weight and fat rear, the rudder is sized perfectly, so using a tiller I would guess does not have problems with leverage or maintaining against weather helm.  Some Downeasters were manufactured with tiller, so it's not unknown to voyage with that option.  Probably the wheel was a $$$ upgrade, and as I ponder why owners chose the wheel, I've only assumed it's a case of "bigger boat envy" since larger boats which have wheels look fancier, more beefy, more nautical, and less like a Sabot. 

It sure seems that a tiller is superior on a Downeaster 32.   Maybe a tiller is even superior on a Downeaster 38 although because of the cockpit dimensions, the DE38 tiller is absolutely massive in size.

So in summary, is there any reason why I should not dump my wheel & quadrant & binnacle to retrofit a tiller? 

I will let you know my rule for core.. 100% seal and encapsulate any penetrations whether they go through half way or all the way. There are actually two reasons both with lots of value.

1st ......is that no matter how well you seal it eventually in a year or 20 years you will get water into the core and then have to fix de-lamination. Once water gets in, the first sunny day it turns to vapor that penetrates large areas and you can never dry it totally without pulling it apart. Moisture in there is long term problems. with the foam core in the DE's it takes years and years compared to wood but Eventually you have issues. I would be surprised to see a DE that hasn't had this issue in one degree or another. Our boat is solid but it has had parts of the cockpit re-cored, a little place on a side deck and another larger area in the bow. It's not a job outside anyone's capabilities to do but it is a bit of labor. Pretty much any boat brand of that era has the same issues if it is cored. Deck coring wouldn't slow me down on owning an old boat, coring of the hull and I would not only walk away but run from owning a boat old or new. I consider every project that pulls old hard ware off a opportunity to upgrade that part of the boat. To make my life easy when doing this I just buy the premixed calking tubes of west systems thickened epoxy at west marine or better yet at lowe's hardware if they carry it there. Last time a few years ago that I purchased it, it cost 10 dollars or so a tube at lowes and 15ish at west marine. It's a really clean lack of labor way to do small projects like that when your replacing rails, or pulling and replacing winches or whatever the hardware is.

2nd....   leaks that get into the core usually don't come out inside the boat at the bottom of the penetration into the overhead. They go down and then run through the core and build up water or find an exit point for or aft of the ingress point. So  you might know you have a leak but not know where it is, You seal where it is coming in and that just forces more water to live in the core without leaking out anymore or until it finds another place to drip out. If you seal and core and then have a leak there you know that that is where the leak is period.

When working on coring and filling holes, I like to use Allen wrenches. I always have a plethora of them in my tool box from all the electronics that ship with them to open battery compartments or other adjustments on thing so it's easy just to grab one and put it in a chuck on a drill and use it to wallow out the foam core after opening the hole 1/8 to 1/4 inch larger diameter than the hole you need for your fastener. once wallowed out I tape the bottom and inject the epoxy, use the allen key by hand to make sure any bubbles or air pockets get pulled out of the wallowed out area. Fill till it domes up a little and let it cure. next day I might cut the domed up area off flush if it hasn't shrunk down level or concave. Then if it's hard enough drill it back out.

After the second time of chasing leaks I couldn't find due to this issue, and the first time with a soft spot that needed to be re cored I became a convert to just doing it right. If you have to money to pay someone else to fix then it probably won't bother you much other than your pocket book but having to do it myself its one of those things I don't ever want to do again.

off topic

I have a similar pet peeve with marine heads. I will never have one on a boat I own again. First project is put a composting head in. After twice fixing the flapper valve on a marine toilet and twice cleaning up after a leak or overflow out of a holding tank in to a boat I decided I never ever wanted to do it again. 🙂 turned out great as composting heads don't have odor like a toilet/holding tank does so once changed over the boat never has that odor and I have never had to repair the toilet/septic system again. No pump outs, recovered all the space where holding tank was for storage. Dropped weight by amount of full tank, plumbing and toilet. Commercial composting heads only weight a few lbs.

I'll post photo's when this is all done. Just completed the Awlgrip Oyster White finish in the cockpit, last bit not done by the previous owner, ordered the soft sand should be here today.

Another little project I've decided to do topside as part of the (my) finishing is add back one set of 4 rung teak handrails just over the V-Berth cabin portion only, (interior has headliner  removed and is painted, good time to do it while exposed, before another finishing project to match the saloon ceiling that has already been redone in wood) 

Previous owner only left the aft section rails on the upper raised deck portion and removed, epoxied, fared and finished everything else. So, .. now I have to install these suckers. I'll have a local shop drill and c'bore from the rail top for 1/4-20 thru bolting, I will install a bung to seal the c'bore holes.

Here's the question. Can I just drill thru the cabin top and seal the rails with 4200 or do I have to epoxy encapsulate between the inner and outer decks. This is the "professional method" but does it really have to be done that way? The original installation didn't do that.

Also commissioning a set of companion way doors to be made, in preparation of A/C installation. I hate weather boards.

Leo, SV Paper Moon

Port St Lucie Fla

I tried getting him to finish the non-skid before he sold it but he didn't. It's the last thing left on the outer topsides that wasn't re-finished.

A note on the "Soft Sand" product, after viewing several You-Tube video's; Some of the comments were the larger granules seem to want to hold mildew and was difficult to keep clean. If applied heavily the resulting finish almost looks like a mat. I don't want that appearance so I'm choosing the Fine and not planning on over applying it. Once I finish off the topside I'll post photo's.

Leo

SV Paper Moon

Port St Lucie Fla

it really grimes up over time and is hard to clean once the mildew gets a hold. A pressure washer wont get it clean on its own. Normal soap won't touch it. Simple green and purple stuff cleaner and or vinegar did some but didn't leave it new clean, it still had mildew staining shadows everywhere. We used home depot extra strong industrial clorox and just sprayed it straight onto the deck at full concentration and then misted water over that and used a stiff brush to scrub the shit out of it. Let it sit for 15, 20 or more minutes keeping it wet with a mist  of water if it looked like it would dry out, scrubbed again and rinsed. Looked like new. It was vicious on us using that strong a concentration of clorox/bleach. I recommend a day windy enough to carry fumes away 🙂 or wear a mask that can handle them. We were worried that the chemicals would damage the coating or affect it negatively but it doesn't seem to have affected it at all.

also about not sanding all the non skid off.... yes.. I just scuffed the old non skid with 36 grit if I remember right and just went over the top of it. I think I washed deck before painting and after scuffing with TSP really good to make sure there were no oils etc that could affect the bond. So far in more than 5 years I have found maybe a couple places of a centimeter or so that have pulled up at a edge. Don't know why but other than that it is not coming off without being physically abraded off. I have dropped all kind of heavy stuff on it and dragged stuff over it etc.. it is very tough. I haven't touched any area up yet but supposedly I can just get a can and after a good cleaning just go right over the top of the original layer from what I can remember.

https://www.acrytech.com/product/soft-tread-anti-slip-coating-standard-colors-5-gallons/

Wondering if you ever came up with the name of the product you used to paint your deck and the distributor here in FL? Sounds like you applied over top of your old nonskid without completely sanding it down. That is exactly what I need to repaint my deck. Also have searched the site for any information on the deck material under the mast on the DE 32. Looks like I need to take my mast down and replace under. Life in the boat yard haha. Look forward to any info on the deck paint.

Thanks

The Boat

Loved the DE38–Why—It has a lot of reserve buoyancy in bow and stern along with the high freeboard, gives you a dry boat in rough seas.  This also added to the weight carrying ability.  Having a fiberglass boat also cuts down on time spent on maintenance.  Of course what you consider as necessary safety maintenance is an open discussion.   The addage “Keep it simple stupid “ will change your life style.  The balance you make between making life safe and enjoyable and time spent on maintenance and cost , make every boat personal and interesting.  Remember, my thoughts are geared for a long time commitment to the cruising life style.  

The Crew

The life style is full of highs and lows, and not the more even keel life of living on shore.  There is alot of mental and physical strain on the lady of the boat, which is the glue that holds this lifestyle together.  In some respects she is living in the 40’s with food preparation, food storage, entertainment, laundry, cleaning, health issues(mostly infections) , and boat destination decisions.  I cannot comment too much on raising children on a cruising boat, but would like to say that most children we met were 12 yr olds that acted like 25 yr olds in knowledge and maturity.  We attribute this to the parents and responsibility that is passed on due to this lifestyle.  Pam and I often wonder what happened to these kids when they reached there 40’s.  The captain is the dictator of this little country. I always tried to explain my decisions and get as much input as possible from everyone.  The final decision, good or bad was mine, and I would have to live wth it.  Looking back at those decisions, I would have to say it is much better having a lot of LUCK.  For the most part, we did keep a happy, healthy boat over those 22 years. There were some hard times, but the scales were definitely tipped on the positive side.

Finances

In the 1984 to 2006 time period, we lived on 12 to 15K per year.  This was for everything.  We have met boats that lived on 7K and others that needed 30K per year.  A lot depends on how and where you cruise and  the size of your boat.  You must remember that we had no insurance,bank loans, cars, and did do all the maintenance ourselves.  Entertainment was with other yachties as well as traveling to the various tourist sites.  Meeting “locals”would give you good tips on how and where to go.  Most of the fun was meeting and getting involved with people from other countries.  That for us, is what cruising was all about. Seeing the seights was enjoyable, but probably get more info from watching the TV.  Almost like watching a football game on TV verses going to the stadium.  

Cheers,

JIM

Cheers,

Jim