DISTANT BLUE - Ohlson 38

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Copyright © 2012 Charles McGrory ‘Modern’ Hull Design Ohlson 38 and Contessa 32 designs are with a long fin keel, skeg and rudder with long V overhanging bow and ‘wineglass’ hull sitting deep in the water. I was really pleased with the Contessa 32 performance in all weathers especially in the steep seas of the Great Lakes but I wanted more space inside. A year before I bought Distant Blue, I had sailed a Beneteau in Toronto and a Bavaria 32 in Scotland’s Firth of Clyde. Both boats are ‘modern’ design with low weight sandwich construction which allows high topsides, large volume hulls, fat bows and spade rudders; they sit up on the water and with high windage and wide bows have poor upwind performance in choppy seas; they are tiresome to steer with the spade rudders. So that is part of the background why I searched for and bought an Ohlson 38. Any upgrade work was a valid investment on a known vessel of pedigree. Distant Blue Underbody Renovation The boat had been out of the water from spring 2010; the survey was in October 2010 so to that extent the hull may have dried a little. I followed the surveyor’s recommendation to provide ventilation and heat. There was only the small companionway louvre available which I left open; I set up a dehumidifier and a tube heater in the main cabin I removed all the cushions and removed the access wooden panels from the bunks etc. The boat was sandblasted in approximately March 2011; there had been years of antifouling which needed to come off; I was assured by Joshua of Suffolk Yacht Harbour that the light-touch blasting would not affect the gel coat. The hull underbody appeared quite sound with no blistering and was smooth other than damage to the keel which had been observed by the surveyor; it was worse than we thought and was repaired. The rudder showed signs of having been bored and drained of water at some time. After blasting 3
Copyright © 2012 Charles McGrory The original Gelshield was much lower than the current waterline and somewhere the boat had become heavier than the designer’s marks. We think this is perhaps due to the heavy cabinetry or that the designer made a mistake or the hull layup was heavier than spec. Still a mystery… You can see the original LWL and original dark Gelshield. And the massive oversize boot-top limit. Now the LWL is about 6cm above the tip of the aft tip of the rudder. Rudder with signs of prior maintenance drainage of water 4
Page 1 and 2: Copyright © 2012 Charles McGrory D
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DISTANT BLUE - Ohlson 38

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