Andrew Cross and his family have restored a Quartermaster 8 sailing/rowing dinghy, which was quite un-seaworthy when they began. Despite the size of the boat, the project was a big one and took 6 months to complete.
"I've spent the past 6 months restoring an old 8-foot sailing/rowing dinghy that was leaking and half full of water when we got her. In that time I've fixed the leaks, repaired a waterlogged transom, replaced wood trim, patched and repaired fiberglass and gel coat dings, built a new rudder and tiller, and refurbished the daggerboard. The final project was to apply two coats of epoxy primer, three coats of Interlux Perfection paint that we colored grey and paint a red stripe on each side. She's a completely different boat!"
Before restorations began.
Before and after, Rudder and Tiller.
Much of the dinghy repair work was done over the Christmas and New Years holiday at a friend's house and shop in the mountains outside Seattle. The dinghy now lives on the foredeck of their Grand Soleil 39 'Yahtzee', and is often launched, with Andrew, his wife and their two boys enjoying many fine adventures with her on the water. Andrew is looking forward to teaching his sons, 3-year-old Porter, and 17-month-old Magnus to sail and row the now completely restored dinghy.
The dinghy's new home.
The Cross Family live and cruise full-time aboard 'Yahtzee' and are spending their summer circumnavigating Vancouver Island. Andrew expects they'll be celebrating Summer Sailstice somewhere on the east side of the island. If you'd like to know more about this foursome's sailing adventures, take a look at their blog, Rollin' With Yahtzee.
"This is how we got the dinghy from Friday Harbor to the mainland."
Achors aweigh and a-sailing we go...