Maintenance
With even boats over 30 years old often still very competitive, it is unsurprising that the revival of the Europe class in the UK has seen plenty of maintenance and refurbishment, often carried out by sailors themselves. The majority of repairs to a Europe are fairly simple (unlike the full rebuild seen in the photo above!) and several sailors have documented and shared their methods for many common fixes!
Repairing Old Europes - George Cormack
George Cormack shares his knowledge and experience from several extensive Europe refurbishment projects, tackling many issues commonly seen in 1970s & '80s Europes
“A response to Steve Whitby’s request to describe what I’ve been up to during lockdown. He said two pictures and a couple of paragraphs but I got carried away… I hope it helps someone!” - George Cormack
Soft Side Deck Repair - Malcolm Morley
Soft side decks are common issue in many slightly older fibreglass Europes, with the fibreglass cracking at the point where you sit. With some fibreglass and resin accompanied with some knowledge of boat repairs, this is a fairly simple fix.
Make a fibreglass patch on the outside of the damaged area but use something like clingfilm to stop it sticking to the boat.
Cut the patch down to fit so you can pass it through the hatch in the side tank.
Drill two small holes through the damaged area with matching holes in the patch.
Make “peanut butter” consistency filler with epoxy and microfibres.
Butter filler onto patch and pull the strings into place.
It’s now rock solid and just needs a gelcoat repair.
Mast Deck Ring Reinforcement - Olly Harris
One common issue, particularly with older Winner Europes, is that the plywood around the mast deck ring begins to rot, which can cause structural failure if not repaired. In this case, the wood was still sound, other than around the bolt holes and edge (which had also elongated), so needed to be reinforced rather than fully replaced.
The loose wood around the edge of the hole was scraped out, with the boat stored indoors to ensure all wood could completely dry.
A piece of new 9mm plywood was cut to the correct shape to fit below the existing wood, with a 85mm hole saw used to cut the hole for the mast. This gives a strong backing for the bolts. (Note that deck ring sizes can vary a little between builders and ages)
This new plywood was cut into two pieces to allow it to fit through the inspection hatch, and coated in epoxy resin to ensure it does not rot in the future. This was then glued to the underside of the foredeck, with two small screws (and some clamps) to hold it in place whilst the glue dried
A packing piece was cut to fill the gap caused by the elongation of the hole.
The deck ring was wrapped tightly in thin polyethene and sprayed with silicone spray to prevent it from sticking to any resin.
The deck ring hole was coated in epoxy resin, thickened with silica, with the mast ring then pushed into place while the resin dried.
Once the resin was dried, the deck ring could be removed, leaving a tight fitting hole for the deck ring to be bolted into place.
Mast Deck Ring Replacement - Malcolm Morley
If the wood has rotted more extensively it may be necessary to fully replace the plywood around the mast ring. This is a more complex process but is achievable following these steps...
Cross sectional sketch showing how this area of the boat is built
Shows how the lower piece of plywood had completely rotted away
Cutting away the thin foredeck aft of the plywood underneath
This piece of the foredeck can then be lifted off
Shows the rotted plywood and original screws
The overlap at the edges is key for strength in this area
After removing the screws, the old timber was removed
The top layer of plywood was still sound and remained attached to the deck
A new piece of 9mm marine-ply was cut to fit
Use the deck piece to mark out the hole in the new 9mm plywood
The 80mm hole saw was very slightly too small for the deck ring to fit
Use a half-round file to make the hole the right size for the deck ring
The new marine-ply was coated in epoxy to give it resistance to future rotting
The new marine-ply is screwed and glued into place using thickened epoxy
Deck glued back down, with the join just needing to be faired and re-painted
Carbon Fibre Rudder Stock - George Cormack
George's handy guide simplifies the process to allow even those unfamiliar with working with composites to build their own carbon fibre rudder stock.
This is particularly for anyone with an older Europe, where pintle spacing or rudder blade width may not match more modern boats.
Do you currently use an older aluminium rudder stock? Why not take on this rewarding project?
Dyneema Halyard Locking Line - Ben Harris
Purchase a length of 4mm D12 Dyneema rope from any chandlery
Splice a loop around the shackle (see photo), ensuring the loop is as tight against the shackle as possible
Tie a knot in the rope to lock in the halyard lock. Ensure this locks when the shackle is at the top of the mast to hold the sail as high as possible
Splice a fairly long loop in the other end of the rope to ensure it fits through the mast head when hoisting the sail (see photo)
Tie the end of the halyard rope to the long spliced loop, allowing you to pull the mainsail up
Foil Repairs - Jon Tweedle
Small chips in the tips and trailing edge of your foils is something all sailors will have experienced, but is not too difficult to fix!
With some spare time and these helpful tutorial videos, your foils will be back in perfect condition very soon!
Slot Gasket - Jon Tweedle
Former UK Europe Class Association chairman, Jon Tweedle, shared two helpful tutorial videos covering how to replace slot gasket on your Europe...