SHETLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Hi all,

Thought I would break the ice and introduce myself.

I'm Jon and have recently bought my first boat. Delivery to a local yard is imminent as I plan on a winter refurb prior to launch. I have bought a MK4 Family 4 with full canopy and 50hp Mariner outboard on a nice Snipe trailer. She is called "Only Joking"

I'm a Paramedic working in London so the shift work will offer plenty of time to get stuck in and I'm very sure there will be questions forthcoming once the project gets underway.

I have donated £5 to the forum but I am unable to view any pictures as yet is there a delay before access is granted?

Looking forward to being part of the Shetland community.

Regards

Jon

Hello and welcome. I have elevated your account so you should now be able to access everything. Let me know if you have problems

Sue

Hows it going?

Well i have taken delivery of a rather tired looking F4 mk4 1983 and over the last week I have stripped her down to a fibre glass shell. I just have a few more fixture to remove as the nuts have rusted on the inside deck area.

I plan to rewire her and upgrade to 240v power hook up with 12v day power for a stereo and such. New carpets and wooden centre section to be remade plus I might remake both the side units as I want to fit a SMEV combined sink/burner. New vynyl for the ceiling. Outdoor cushions are being cleaned with CIF and have come up very well. Canopy has been cleaned but has some mould staining so will give the Rust-Oleum spray a go as reviews are very positive.

I have a leaking hatch seal so have removed it and will look for a generic seal to replace as I'm not paying £33 for a metre of rubber!! Deck will be a mix of marine carpet on the floor and have not decided yet wether to paint the GRP or line it with marine self adhesive carpet.

New windows will be fitted and I will try and restore the splash screen rather than buy another at £300 The bodywork will get a complete make over with a machine cut and polish and hull will have antifoul removed and repainted.

Got enough to do to keep me busy over the winter

Jon

Hi Jon

Welcome to the forum.

We have a 1989 Mk5 Family Four and have also been renovating her over the years that we have had her - details are on our blog at http://shetlandf4.wordpress.com/ under the Refurbishment menu if you are interested. Although yours is a different year, you might find some of the problems we found and how we dealt with them relevant to yours nevertheless.

The only thing I would say is not to take on too much at once if you want to go boating with her in the summer, as boaty jobs invariably take longer than you think, as addressing one problem generally uncovers a few more that need attending to before you complete the original one. We tried just to do one thing at a time and tried to complete it before moving on to the next thing. It worked most years, but one year relining the cabin and cockpit took much longer than we thought and we ended up not doing any boating that year.

But each to his own, and I am sure you will have a lot of fun with her. They are great little boats.

Robin.

Hi Robin and thanks for the link, I will go and have a read through now.

I'm hoping to be on the water in the spring and as I work shift work I'm able to have good runs of days working on her. I've now ordered the carpet to re - line the interior and I'm going to replace what little wiring there is (navigation lights) and upgrade so I have shore power hook up and 12v for usb's and charging points.

I'm going to look at a two battery system so one for the engine and a leisure for the internal bits and bobs and I have a small solar panel to trickle charge.

Rear deck seats are cleaning up well with CIF and good old mum will make new cabin cushion covers. I'm remaking the middle wooden seat support and I'm thinking of recovering the cabinets in a more modern formica covering giving it a lift.

Lots to do but all good fun..... so far!!

Jon