I purchased the boat in 2012 at Brewer’s yard in Warwick, RI to renovate and to eventually race. I saw Kalisa as an ideal platform, as she needed a complete refit- hence a blank canvas. The hull and decks are solid fiberglass, so no core damage to replace. The interior is stick built with plywood in lieu of having molded fiberglass interior tubs, as the later boats had. Having no interior tub, meant the entire hull and deck were accessible. Moreover, the replacement of the interior (tabbing) would ensure a stiff, light hull. My personal situation at the time allowed ample time to make progress month by month. Unfortunately, that has changed and the project has stalled.
Kalisa was in tough shape when I first looked at her- sitting open to the elements, filled with leaves, water and snow. Despite the a little voice in my head saying “Run away!, I decided to move forward with the purchase and I purchased a trailer to bring the boat down to NJ a few weeks later. Initially my focus was on cleaning up the interior as there was lots of peeling paint and rotten plywood.All the interior paint was ground off to leave a very smooth surface that will look great, when painted. I then removed the port side interior. In doing so, I found the chainplates were saturated with water, so I removed them and fitted new chainplates- both port and starboard. They were reglassed using carbon fiber cloth to improve strength. As you know many of the older SS23’s has issues with the mast support deck beams failing. Kalisa had no issue here, the beams that were molded into the deck lay-up were still in-tact with no deterioration. However, for good measure, I also added a layer of carbon fiber cloth lamination around the deck beams. Moving back to the cabin interior, the plywood pieces that were removed served as templates to fabricate new pieces to be glassed in. At this point in time, virtually all the interior components have been cut and stored (port and starboard) and are ready to be glassed in.I also removed the cabin sole, which also suffered from rot. A new cabin sole was cut in plywood and new mahogany sole support beams were fabricated. They are arranged to enable additional ballast found under the floor of Kalisa to be reset. The floor was planned to be mechanically fastened to enable its removal should the additional ballast not be desired in the future.The original operating head was removed along with the thru-hulls. The space the head occupied will accommodate a port potty to simplify the installation (and lighten the boat). The floor support beams in the head area were fabricated to enable a compression support post to be fitted (as per Dejan’s design). With the boat having new chainplates, carbon wrapped/stiffened deck support beams, and a new removable compression post set up, the rig will be very rigid, with no flex/sag (and very fast).Another innovation is designed into the port icebox “module”. The original ice box was removed and the module is designed to accommodate an igloo cooler (purchased and supplied with the boat). The top of the module will be hinged to enable the cooler to be packed at home, brought to the boat, and then actually have a place for storage. Further outboard of the cooler in the same module will accommodate a PWC sized battery and the electrical panel will fit just above the battery. The starboard sink module has not been removed at the present time as it serves as a reference until its removal is essential. The sink is out and has been stored for reinstallation. The original water tank was removed and discarded. I had no intention of installing a replacement and just bring bottled water aboard, when needed. A new set of operating port lights were purchased and will be provided with the boat.The gel coat on the deck was failing, so it has been ground off (completely). At this point, it’s ready for filling and fairing. All the cockpit brightwork is teak and can be refinished and reinstalled (and I have a second set of used brightwork for an SS23 in mahogany). The original rudder head/tiller strap arrangement was a mix of bronze and stainless steel that did not work well. In addition, the hollow rudder had picked up moisture at some point in the past and split at the bottom. As a result the rudder was completely removed and repaired. A new bronze rudder head was purchased and a new keyway was cut into the rudder shaft, which in now ready for reinstallation. This will be a very nice set up for the future.
No work has been done to the topsides or bottom. They remain as they were in 2012, when the boat was acquired. Both the topsides and bottom will need to be stripped and repainted. I had envisioned rolling and tipping the topsides with a two-part epoxy urethane product such as Perfection, as others have done.
In terms of spars, Kalisa has an original tapered mast with internal genoa and spinnaker halyards and an external main halyard. There is also a boom and spinnaker pole to complete the package. A fairly new set of standing rigging is included. Running rigging would need to be purchased, as would all deck hardware (cleats, chocks, tracks, cars, etc.). The boat has several sets of sails, including a set of newer Sobstad sails that was purchased subsequent to buying the boat. The main and 130% hank-on genoa are in excellent condition. There is no outboard and no outboard well. My plan was to purchase a side mount bracket, offered by Ballantine Boatworks, to enable an outboard to be fitted and to avoid the ugliness that a transom mounted unit creates. Again, Kalisa is a nice platform since there’s no outboard well. This enables the installation of a proper traveler across the aft end of the cockpit. As you can see, Kalisa has a lot of potential for the right individual that has the time to bring her back to life.
Photos
Here is an IMGUR link to a few photos.
Contact
My contact details are:
jbrinks15@gmail.com or 917 825 8492