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Capri 25 - Jack
Jack Modifications
The list is really pretty extensive. I totally acknowledge that the parts of Capri 25 build quality is less than stellar. I stated in an earlier post that I would not sail a stock Capri 25 in the Transpac, although in years past one did race and placed quite well despite sailing the last three days with a wrapped chute. The hull laminate is strong and, as attested to by the core sections I removed while installing a transducer for the SHTP, holding up quite well. It rates well, sails well, and has a great deal of reserve buoyancy (a gentle way of saying it is fat). I have owned the boat for almost two decades and these modifications have taken place over that time span.
I got the boat really cheap after it had hit a submerged cement ramp at 6 kn. in SD Bay. The keel was bent back into the boat by about 30 deg. I promised my dear and wonderful wife I would have it off the front yard in 3 weeks. I removed the keel, cut a 6' x 4' hole in the bottom, laminated a solid 6"x5"x5' fiberglass plank that spanned the distance from under the compression post to the aft floor of the liner (at the aft end of the cabin). I then laminated in 1" thick oak floors at athwartships every 8" that notched into the center glass plank and extended out 24' to either side of the center plank. The gaps between these floors were filled with more foam core, the bottom was faired in, glassed, and faired in again. The keel was refitted to through the fiberglass plank. As the experience with the other Capri 25 in the race proves, the stock keel mounting is a bit light. In the 20 years since I did this I have yet to see even a gelcoat stress crack.
The cabin top and the storm hood flexed with my weight (250 lbs.). I put in a network of 2" thick foam stringers glassed into the underside of the cabin top and made it quite stiff. The stringers extend down the inside of the cabin trunk to the deck level. I put a vertical bridge on the back edge of the storm hood to stiffen it and integrated it into a group of Harken cam cleats for the running rigging. The boat actually left the front lawn eight months after it arrived, yet I am still married to the same wonderful woman (sound familiar guys?).
Other than the keel, my biggest concern was the fact that the bulkheads in the boat were free floating. The rig was held up by the fact that the bulkheads were to small to pull through the deck. The primary bulkhead was held to the liner by six sheet metal screws, and the bulkheads were not integrated across the hull, but rather were two separate pieces of plywood on either side of the compression post, but not tied into it. To fix this problem I cut through the liner on both sides of the boat exposing the inside surface of the sandwich hull. I made a much thicker bulkhead (1/2" 9 ply marine plywood laminated to 1/4" teak plywood)and laminated it to the hull,the compression strut, the liner, and the floor that extends under the compression strut. It now forms a continuous ring bulkhead around interior. I put two 1/2" strips of teak that extend from the overhead to the bunk port and starboard that the upper chain plates are bolted through. It is quite stiff now.
I did the same process to the two bulkheads port and starboard aft where the quarter berths end and the aft lockers start. I plan to put an additional ring bulkhead about half way forward between the compression strut and the bow (Barry already did that on his Capri 30).
The forward hatch on the stock Capri 25 leaks and there is little to be done about that. I cut out that section of the fore cabin rebuilt it with a cored glass laminate to accept a quality Bomar foredeck hatch. The portlights also leaked and I glassed in the cabin sides with cored laminate and then installed a single Lewmar port light port and starboard that I found at Minnies in Long Beach. They make the boat look racier and more modern, and they do not leak.
The boat tended to flex a bit at the cabin/cockpit joint and when I installed and additional plywood stiffiner in this area below deck that also served as the mounting surface for my electrical panels, chart plotter etc.
I know that there is good deal of concern about the cockpit sizes on a number of boats (the Capri's included). I think that the issue to be addressed is not how big the cockpit is, but rather how long it takes to drain. A look at a great many modern performance boats demonstrate that they have large cockpits (J80, etc.) but most also have an open transom so there seems to be no concern about those boats. The Capri 25 does have a larger sized cockpit and it was a concern. I calculated the volume of the cockpit, went online to get fluid flow data for various sized pipe, and calculated that two 4" PVC drains through the transom in combination with the two stock 1" drains would dry the cockpit in close to a minute. Putting in the two drains was really easy. I put them in 3" above the stock ones to drain the vast majority of the water out but to still be high enough to avoid flooding the cockpit down wind. This modification was tested a few times during the TransPac when cresting waves flooded the cockpit (once while I was sitting in it at 2 am) and the cockpit drained just as it had been designed. Barry did something similar to his boat. I would argue that this is a really important modification, and fortunately a very easy one.
Thank you for your interest. This got long and I apologize. Those were the structural modifications that come to mind.
The list is really pretty extensive. I totally acknowledge that the parts of Capri 25 build quality is less than stellar. I stated in an earlier post that I would not sail a stock Capri 25 in the Transpac, although in years past one did race and placed quite well despite sailing the last three days with a wrapped chute. The hull laminate is strong and, as attested to by the core sections I removed while installing a transducer for the SHTP, holding up quite well. It rates well, sails well, and has a great deal of reserve buoyancy (a gentle way of saying it is fat). I have owned the boat for almost two decades and these modifications have taken place over that time span.
I got the boat really cheap after it had hit a submerged cement ramp at 6 kn. in SD Bay. The keel was bent back into the boat by about 30 deg. I promised my dear and wonderful wife I would have it off the front yard in 3 weeks. I removed the keel, cut a 6' x 4' hole in the bottom, laminated a solid 6"x5"x5' fiberglass plank that spanned the distance from under the compression post to the aft floor of the liner (at the aft end of the cabin). I then laminated in 1" thick oak floors at athwartships every 8" that notched into the center glass plank and extended out 24' to either side of the center plank. The gaps between these floors were filled with more foam core, the bottom was faired in, glassed, and faired in again. The keel was refitted to through the fiberglass plank. As the experience with the other Capri 25 in the race proves, the stock keel mounting is a bit light. In the 20 years since I did this I have yet to see even a gelcoat stress crack.
The cabin top and the storm hood flexed with my weight (250 lbs.). I put in a network of 2" thick foam stringers glassed into the underside of the cabin top and made it quite stiff. The stringers extend down the inside of the cabin trunk to the deck level. I put a vertical bridge on the back edge of the storm hood to stiffen it and integrated it into a group of Harken cam cleats for the running rigging. The boat actually left the front lawn eight months after it arrived, yet I am still married to the same wonderful woman (sound familiar guys?).
Other than the keel, my biggest concern was the fact that the bulkheads in the boat were free floating. The rig was held up by the fact that the bulkheads were to small to pull through the deck. The primary bulkhead was held to the liner by six sheet metal screws, and the bulkheads were not integrated across the hull, but rather were two separate pieces of plywood on either side of the compression post, but not tied into it. To fix this problem I cut through the liner on both sides of the boat exposing the inside surface of the sandwich hull. I made a much thicker bulkhead (1/2" 9 ply marine plywood laminated to 1/4" teak plywood)and laminated it to the hull,the compression strut, the liner, and the floor that extends under the compression strut. It now forms a continuous ring bulkhead around interior. I put two 1/2" strips of teak that extend from the overhead to the bunk port and starboard that the upper chain plates are bolted through. It is quite stiff now.
I did the same process to the two bulkheads port and starboard aft where the quarter berths end and the aft lockers start. I plan to put an additional ring bulkhead about half way forward between the compression strut and the bow (Barry already did that on his Capri 30).
The forward hatch on the stock Capri 25 leaks and there is little to be done about that. I cut out that section of the fore cabin rebuilt it with a cored glass laminate to accept a quality Bomar foredeck hatch. The portlights also leaked and I glassed in the cabin sides with cored laminate and then installed a single Lewmar port light port and starboard that I found at Minnies in Long Beach. They make the boat look racier and more modern, and they do not leak.
The boat tended to flex a bit at the cabin/cockpit joint and when I installed and additional plywood stiffiner in this area below deck that also served as the mounting surface for my electrical panels, chart plotter etc.
I know that there is good deal of concern about the cockpit sizes on a number of boats (the Capri's included). I think that the issue to be addressed is not how big the cockpit is, but rather how long it takes to drain. A look at a great many modern performance boats demonstrate that they have large cockpits (J80, etc.) but most also have an open transom so there seems to be no concern about those boats. The Capri 25 does have a larger sized cockpit and it was a concern. I calculated the volume of the cockpit, went online to get fluid flow data for various sized pipe, and calculated that two 4" PVC drains through the transom in combination with the two stock 1" drains would dry the cockpit in close to a minute. Putting in the two drains was really easy. I put them in 3" above the stock ones to drain the vast majority of the water out but to still be high enough to avoid flooding the cockpit down wind. This modification was tested a few times during the TransPac when cresting waves flooded the cockpit (once while I was sitting in it at 2 am) and the cockpit drained just as it had been designed. Barry did something similar to his boat. I would argue that this is a really important modification, and fortunately a very easy one.
Thank you for your interest. This got long and I apologize. Those were the structural modifications that come to mind.
