Sabre 28 Aft Lazzarette

[warefuller]

I have a 1978 Sabre 28. The following is only somewhat related to the Atomic 4, but I hope someone can perhaps point me to where I might get more info.

While I was repairing the engine exhaust blower hoses, I found the plywood pieces in the aft lazzarette (that make a box to cover the steering pulley, and thru which the hoses are routed) needed repair. AND, more importantly, the angle-iron bracket that serves as a rudder stop had come loose (which can cause the steering to jamb).

I found working in the aft lazzarette VERY difficult, but did finally complete the repairs. Does anyone have any tips for the next time I need to work in there?

Thanks, Ware

[ILikeRust]

I found working in the aft lazzarette VERY difficult, but did finally complete the repairs. Does anyone have any tips for the next time I need to work in there?

Hire a very small mechanic.

But seriously, I have just found that to be part of the never-ending joy of owning and fixing up an old sailboat. I think I bruised a rib when I pulled out, cleaned up and re-installed my shifter cable a few months ago. I had to slide head-first back into an aft quarterberth, so that my head ended up nearly in the aft lazarette, and my upper torso was hanging off the end of the berth.

There just was no other way to get the job done. Sometimes you just have to make yourself as skinny as possible and contort into whatever space is available to work in.

Maybe Moyer could sell little bottles of potion that say "drink me"...

[JOHN COOKSON]

I have a 1978 Sabre 28. I hope someone can perhaps point me to where I might get more info.
I found working in the aft lazzarette VERY difficult, but did finally complete the repairs. Does anyone have any tips for the next time I need to work in there?Thanks, Ware

Here's an elementary classification of boat dings:
Boat hickies: Burses
Boat bites: The ones that bleed
Sore muscles: Best treated by carbonated alcoholic beverages
These are the purple hearts of a do it yourself boat owner. You can't avoid them.

TRUE GRIT

[Mo]

I hear ya

You can only fix it as you find it. Last spring I lubricated all my steering gear and had a look at the idler plate. Sprayed that with Rust Check also. It looked to be about 1/4 inch thick and pretty crusty. I planned on fixing it this spring. Half way through the summer it failed. I found out that it was 1/8 inch thick originally and had corroded so much that it looked heavier...sometimes it IS better to take a smack at some of the things we see.

[msmith10]

Until you've stepped from the cabintop into a lazarette that you thought was closed and landed with the edge of the lazarette dead center between the legs, I have no sympathy. Two years later I still feel the pain.

[dvd]

I do know howyou all feel. Ive spent many an hour inside my lazzarette trying to position myself as comfortably as possible. The best bit of advice I can offer is if you have to go in there to repair or replace something do right the first time so you don't have to do it again.

In regard to stepping into the open lazarette from the cabin top. Yikes!! I cant even imagine what sort of hospitalization that would require.

DVD

[Mo]

Ooooohh....Mike, that had to hurt. I imagine you had the bag of frozen peas on the lads for a few days after that. No help from a depth of the lazarette on the C&C 30 either...they are deep and the crotch will bring up solid before your foot hits the bottom. My toes are curled up just thinking about it.

[msmith10]

A whole freezer full of mixed vegetables didn't do it. I followed the urologists's advice: buy a 6 pack of your favorite beverage. Put 5 between the legs and drink the 6th.

[Bigeye]

It helps to be short!

Warefuller,

Yes, it's literally a pain! My Sabre 28 has a tiller so I don't have to worry about steering gear. I'm 5'-6" but it was still so difficult getting to work on the Whale pump at the back end of the lazarette, I put an access hatch in the aft end of the starboard cockpit bench.

I try to stretch first and then place towels or cushions in strategic places to take my weight while I work. My next challenge will be getting to the stuffing box under the fuel tank!

You don't happen to have access to a smart 10 year old, do you? I hear they work for software!

Good luck,

Big Eye

[tartansailboat]

sabre 28

I has looked at a Sabre 28 before I bought my Tartan 30. I come from New England so I knew Sabres were good boats. However, when I asked the owner to show me the engine access, he pulled off a panel but when I asked to pull the dipstick, he objected saying that it takes 20 mins to get it back in the hole. The next boat I saw was my T30 with the engine mounted just aft the mast, great access all around. That sold me. But I agree Sabres are fine boats.

[Jimmy]

Thats nasty!

Mike
Spent a few hours in the starboard lazzarette of my C&C. Unless your over 6 1/2 ft tall you probably wish that fiberglass edge had a better finish
Your tale has just created another commandment , for use on KTS

Cheers

[msmith10]

Mo's exactly right. I ran out of leg before I ran out of lazarette depth.

[ILikeRust]

It always makes me wonder what the designers were thinking, the way some of these boats are laid out. I guess they either didn't think that far ahead to the day, years down the road, when some deep maintenance might need to be done - or just didn't care, as it was not their problem.

On my boat, the stuffing box is tricky to get at. In theory, it seems you should be able to get at it by lying head-first in the aft quarterberths, but in reality, two things prevent you from getting at it that way: (1) it's farther away from you than you think it should be, so unless you've got orangutan arms, you're not going to reach it, unless you can bend your body down in there and get yourself closer to it, and (2) the cockpit drains prevent you from bending your body down in there and getting closer to it.

So the only way to reach the stuffing box is by lying across the top of the engine and reaching through the hole in the aft bulkhead and stretching as hard as you can - and even then, it's tough to do. It's really interesting doing it with the engine running and the prop shaft spinning. Last time I did that, I accidentally pushed the big, fat battery wire onto the spinning alternator sheave and suddenly heard a loud crackling sound as it cut through the insulation.

And then there's the waterlift muffler. I plan on replacing the old Vetus with something better - probably a Centek. I still have very little idea how the hell I'm actually going to do it. I can't figure out how the person who installed the Vetus did it - but I presume they did it when they installed the new engine back in 1983. And I now realize I should have replaced the damn thing while I had the engine out - it would have been way, way, much, much, far, far easier to do. Now it's gonna be like a game of Twister from hell.

[JOHN COOKSON]

If you want to know what it is like to do marine engine M&R (maintenance & repair) down a gun barrel try a Catalina 27.

TRUE GRIT

[Hiker_00]

Ware

I have the same boat with the same issues. There's no magic here and I find myself head-first, feet in the air, one-handed-wrench flailing each spring.

This year is a little different in that the gas tank is out and things are oh so much easier. Shaft coupler beware.

Good Spring Boat maintenance to you all here.

Tim
S28 - Maine