Tag Archives: Tim Botimer

International 110 sailboat restored

Rebuilding an International 110

By Tim Botimer

Above: Tim’s International 110 sailboat. After winning the National championships, he gave her a new coat of paint.

I first got into International 110 sailing 15 years ago and soon bought an old fixer-upper boat. After sailing it for a couple of years in a decrepit state, I made the decision to fix it right. I had worked with WEST SYSTEM® products before, and I was pretty familiar with the product line. I had done significant repairs on a 1965 plywood Thunderbird and a 1950s vintage Flying Dutchman, which incidentally was one of the original test boats when Jan and Meade Gougeon first came out with the product. I had never tackled anything on the scale of the 110 project, and at the time it was the only boat I had. Continue reading →

Liner Repair on SHARP CHEDDAR

by C. Joe Parker

SHARP CHEDDAR needed her liner repaired. This San Juan 24 was badly damaged in a storm  blew her out of the Saginaw River. The boat bounced on the bottom of her slip for about 18 hours. When SHARP CHEDDAR was removed from the water a couple of days later, the keel actually wiggled back and forth. The keel to keel boss joint looked fine, with absolutely no sign of cracking or damage. There was little indication of the severity of the damage, but when the keel wiggled, the bottom of the boat flexed in and out. My friend John, who has owned the boat for about 15 years, was pretty upset. He was afraid it could not be repaired. Continue reading →