Express 27 Purchase - Paul Cronin Studios

Kincora purchase and pre-launch work 2014:

I was looking for a Santa Cruz built ULDB. I have always loved the Fast is Fun concept and still think they did a better job then most of the newer boats at a fraction of the cost.

My preferred way to sail is single-handed or double handed with the right person. So the hunt was on for an Olson 30, Express 27 (first choice), Santa Cruz 27, Hobie 33 or Moore 24, was on. These are the boats allowed in our New England shorthanded club.

Early April 2014 I purchased Kincora (ex Rambling Rose), Express 27 (#115 of #117 built) in Blue Hill, Maine.

The boat needed a lot of work just to go sailing, so with two months of work in my friend’s shop and my side yard it was finally safe to use for the season. Finished, no way, but safe to use for the season.

Below is a list to have Kincora ready for launch: Besides the proper ceremony to change her name!

1. Get her back to RI. Might seem easy but the trailer was a mess. No brakes, rusted keel support, rotten tires, rusted axle, dangerous tongue wheel support. This info will be a post all its own.

2. Once back in RI the list increases: New rudder, the old rudder had the skins pop off with water coming in by the shaft. The old owner said to drill holes and put in epoxy. Well not everyone knows how to work on boats. So I went with Water Rat rudder from Larry Tuttle. Larry makes some of the finest rudders around and had already made one for and Express 27 that went double handed to Hawaii.

3. Repair the rotten core at the mast step due to a block cutting through the outer skin into the core. Replace core either side at the chainplates. Again poor bedding on both jib tracks and chainplates. Both of these repairs were a lot of deck area, you can see by the pictures linked below.

4. Remove all the keel fairing that had popped off due to water getting between resin cast and lead then freezing. Re-fair keel to my foil shape with properly bonded fairing, barrier coats, then bottom paint. Nasty job but do it right ones and move on.

5. Needed to add electronics for auto pilot and sailing at night. I went with Raymarine Evoloution Pilot and Inst package. In the past I have used NKE but the cost is 4 times Raymarine and I did not feel it was worth the extra price based on having NKE on my last two boats. Also added two 50 watt panels from Bruce Schwab to keep me powered and LED tricolor.

6. Purchased new main from Kame Richards of Pineapple sails. Kame is the best sailmaker I have ever used, and I have used all of them. Kame listens to my needs and ideas and produces some of the nicest finished sails you can buy. And the sails are built in San Francisco not China. This year (2015) I just ordered two more sails from Kame. On top of that Kame is at the top of my list for people I will sail with offshore. We sailed the Pacific Cup 2012 on Class 40 California Condor. And I just sailed the Three Bridge Fiasco in San Francisco double handed with Kame on his Express 37, Jan 2015. 358 boats started and only 57 finished. Yes, we finished and were third in our 50 boat class.

Here is a link to pictures of the work to have Kincora ready for launch.

So in late June after coming back from the first Got Bait shoot Kincora went in the water at Brewer Wickford Cove Marina. Next post will be summer miles getting to know her with my buddy John Manderson (another New England Single Handed Club Member) sailing his Olson 30 also single-handed. Let the fun begin.