I've been compiling photos and notes for a proper blog post covering PocketShip #1's major refit last spring. The boat got a teak-veneered transom, a fresh paint job, a hollow carbon-reinforced gaff, and a number of small-but-interesting rigging tweaks.
Below is a collection of odds and ends from the project that will be interesting to PocketShip builders, especially since PocketShip #1 is the oldest of the class and probably the most vigorously sailed.
The boat was forklifted off the trailer for the first time since 2008 for fresh bottom paint. (For slings, I used rope passed through the bow eye and the drain holes in the transom.)
The first thing that I noticed was that the centerboard was sticking out of the trunk quite a lot further than intended. In spite of using low-stretch line for the pendant, apparently mine had stretched almost four inches in eight years. (Someone else had noted this on the Forum recently.)
The exposed top of the board must have caused substantial parasitic drag under way, though I never noticed. Perhaps the as the pendant stretched, the increase in drag crept up very slowly over the years. I replaced the pendant, and will make a note to take up on the stopper-knot about a half-inch per year!
Given all of the hand-wringing on this bulletin board over the durability of the bottom of the keel, I was especially curious to see what mine looked like. Quite a lot of wear, as you can see. Interestingly, in the context of threads posted here over the years, I found ZERO evidence of water incursion or damage to the plywood and timber of the keel assembly. The wood was dry and extensive poking revealed no evidence of rot. I patched the keel with a couple of coats of epoxy, and that's the end of that. I'd fret about it more if the boat lived on a mooring six months of the year.
I replaced and upgraded some of the rigging. One curiosity uncovered was that the pivot bolt in the mast tabernacle had acquired a significant bend! Since much of PocketShip's sailing loads get converted into mast compression, this is a testament to how much power the rig is producing. It's not easy to bend a well-supported 5/16" stainless bolt. Doesn't pose any danger to the assembly. I bent it straight again and reinstalled it.
Another one to file under "This is a Powerful Sailboat." While I had the mast off, I inspected the sail track. At the point where the yard gooseneck sits when the mainsail is at full hoist, and also where it sits when reefed, the #6 stainless screws were sheered right off and the track was no longer fastened to the mast! Again, that takes some horsepower, though I note that PocketShip #1 has often been pushed to the limit in strong winds. I drilled fresh holes in the track, and doubled up the number of screws in the area where the yard pushes against the track at full hoist and when reefed.
When I get a chance, more notes and photos on the teak-veneered transom, new ultralight gaff, and single-line reefing upgrade.