Hello to everyone,

Last October I become the owner of a Seal 22 named Bethany which was in need of a quite a bit of work, all the exterior teak wood work had to be striped down and re varnished as it was it was not looking the best. I also re varnished all the interior wood, repainted the interior in the bow of the boat and keel housing after getting rid of a lot of old flacking paint, re painted the floor boards, removed the old leatherette headlining in the center cabin as the foam backing had completely deteriorated and it was not salvageable so I replaced it with carpet. All the stations and cleats were using mild steel bolts and nuts and were leaking badly in places so I had to drill them out which was a big job and took a long time and so decided to use new stainless steel bolts instead to avoid having to do the job again. My boat is completely enclosed with a fire glass molding at the entrance to the cabin, instead of the usual wash boards and spray hood so I think this was probably an addition and so it had a ply hatch which needed replacing also. Finally the boat had to be anti fouled before launching which was done last Friday on the 13th of May.
I'm not quite sure of the model number or marque as Iv looked and cant seem to find one. She has an outboard well and the last owner said she was probably built in the 70s. As for the history all I know is that she was originally in Liverpool and then in the Lake district where the previous owner bought her and then brought her to Lough Derg in Ireland and this is also where I keep her now. I'll probably post some photos later on of the boat if anyone's interested in seeing them? And also does anyone know of any other seals on Lough Derg or the Shannon.

Many Thanks
Daniel Levie

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Hi Daniel - welcome to our happy band!

Bethany should be sail number 70 and that makes her a Mark II. She was originally(?) called Zaza (or possibly Zara) and our records show she has sailed on Ullswater and Lough Derg under previous owners.

Other seals in Ireland are in Strangford Lough and Clifden Co Galway.

Geoff Harwood P21/30 Cygnus

Thanks Geoff thats good to know,

Here's a picture of her with the mast down and before I did any work on her back in November.
[img][/img]

Here's the hatch you can see that it wasn't in great condition as the ply had de laminated.


Here's some of the interior,
you can see that aluminium sheet had come away from the ceiling which hides the ends of the bolts holding in the cleats, a winch and the mast.


The leatherette headlining had pealed off the walls and ceiling as the foam had completely broken down

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Hi Daniel,

Welcome to the forum, well it looks like you had your work cut out for you! Though I have the feeling she looks worse than she was, that foam backed lining is perishing awful stuff in my opinion, I think the carpet will serve you better, be nice to see some pics of her now that the work has been done?

Cheers, Ray.

Seal 22 MK3 "Morveren" Number 384
(the last one built by John Baker)

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Hi Ray,

Yes the foam was terrible stuff and it created a huge amount of dust when removed, were most of the seal's fitted with that kind of leatherette foam backed headlining? Of course, I'll defiantly upload some photos of how she looks now either today or tomorrow.

Daniel Levie.

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Hi Daniel,

To be honest, I don't know, Mine is a MK3 and she has a double skin on the cabin sides and top, with a smooth gloss gelcoat finish. She is the first Seal I have owned, so I am a bit of a new boy really, I expect that there are other folks on the forum that will be able to tell you.

Cheers, Ray.

Seal 22 MK3 "Morveren" Number 384
(the last one built by John Baker)

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Hi Daniel
Just having a second go at a reply! So if you receive 2 from me sorry!
I keep seal22 'Mia' no93 on lough derg, if you'd like to make contact my details are in the handbook
All the best
Tony

Hi Tony,
Thats great to know there's another seal on the lake. I dont actually have the handbook but you could email me at drlevie@hotmail.com

Daniel

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So here's some more pictures, this is her basically finished other than a few small bits that I still have to do.


You can see all the wood work has been restored and varnished and I also made up a new hatch and slotting door panels out of marine ply.


Here's some of the inside with the new carpet on the ceiling and walls which I think is a big improvement on the old leatherette.



I was able to re use the 2 pieces of wood on either side of the ceiling and the wood covered by the leatherette which now securely holds up the aluminium sheet covered by the carpet on the ceiling.



The table now looks nice and shiny after several coats of varnish.


Daniel Levie

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Hi Dan,

I realise that it's a while since you posted your comments but you might like to know that the Seal 22 (Keri) reported as being in Clifden is now in Baltimore, West Cork. Still a long way from you but if we ever trail her up your way we'll look out for you.
Mike

Hi Mike,
Thats great to hear, we actually have a house in Roches Point. Problem is I dont actually have a trailer for her so i'd either have to build one or buy one and we also dont have a four wheel drive car. I dont know If I'v mentioned it on the forum before but I'm actually 17 years old, doesnt stop me from going out sailing tho. [:D]
Daniel

Seal 22 Mark II 1972 'Bethany' Sail number 70

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Dan you don't need a 4 wheel drive, any 2 litre ish family car should tow your boat ok, I have towed mine with my Hyundai Sonata with no probes at all, didn't know it was behind me half the time.

Ray.

PS. I am thinking of getting rid of my trailer, as actually I don't really have a need for it.

Seal 22 MK3 "Morveren" Number 384
(the last one built by John Baker)

http://groups.yahoo.com/.../Seal22andSinbadSailors/ 

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Alright that's good to know. A 1.9 VW Passat TDI should have no problem then.

The thing is I live in Ireland so I dont know how easy it would be getting a trailer over from England. It would probably be easier getting a trailer in Ireland.

Daniel

Seal 22 Mark II 1972 'Bethany' Sail number 70

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Your VW should be ok, just check on it's braked trailer towing capacity, should be in the handbook, or have a dig on the internet, or local dealer?

Ray.

Seal 22 MK3 "Morveren" Number 384
(the last one built by John Baker)

http://groups.yahoo.com/.../Seal22andSinbadSailors/ 

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Dan,
All your work has been worth it. she looks new from the photos.

I have Sail No 68 (Sealia) and wasintresterd to the the extended cabin. this is something I have done on mine. although I still have my Engine on a braket on the back.

Referance towing a good rule is that the Gross weight of the boat and trailer should be less than 80% of the car unladended weight.

It a guide given to caravaners by the caravan club but not a legal requirment in Britain. Not sure of the law in Ireland (Eire)

P.S. how did you hold the carpet on the roof of your boat. as I thinking of pinching your idear.

Ray

Dan,
All your work has been worth it. she looks new from the photos.

I have Sail No 68 (Sealia) and wasintresterd to the the extended cabin. this is something I have done on mine. although I still have my Engine on a braket on the back.

Referance towing a good rule is that the Gross weight of the boat and trailer should be less than 80% of the car unladended weight.

It a guide given to caravaners by the caravan club but not a legal requirment in Britain. Not sure of the law in Ireland (Eire)

P.S. how did you hold the carpet on the roof of your boat. as I thinking of pinching your idear.

Ray

Ya it's been quite satisfying and a lot of fun doing her up.
I think it was just some strong spray on carpet adhesive, I got the carpet put on by a professional since I wanted it to be a good job.

Daniel

Seal 22 Mark II 1972 'Bethany' Sail number 70

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Hi Dan i have a seal sinbad in wexford sail no 354 have it on apolloduck for sale if you want to see photos . you did a good job of doing up your boat enjoy it[:)]

Thanks Mike, glad you think so.
Ya I saw the pictures, she's nice.

Daniel

Seal 22 Mark II 1972 'Bethany' Sail number 70

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