14/119 Crackers
14/119 originally "Syawesra" renamed in 2019 to "Crackers" was built in 1977 in Malahide, Dublin by Delcraft. The boat doesn't appear to have been raced in the class and after going to Tipperary and Waterford through various owners she ended up in Courtmacsherry, Cork being used as a fishing boat.
Bought by Orla Doogue in 2019 who relaunched later that year after some blood, sweat and tears !
Built in 1977 as one of the early IDRA 14 GRP hulls that was then ‘lost’ from the class with an unknown whereabouts for several years until it resurfaced online advertised as a Redwing dinghy in Cork but eagle-eyed stalwarts of the IDRA class had recognised it as an IDRA 14. It had been advertised for a number of months and at the time Orla was not really confident to make the commitment to being a boatowner. Having only taken up sailing 3 years previous, she had thought that one day maybe she would become a boatowner. Orla says "I felt like I was still learning and even with all my boat repair knowledge freshly gained from the 14/142 Cheeky Gin group in Clontarf I just did not think I was ready at that time but after some encouragement I was convinced to take the trip to Cork to ‘have a look’. Almost four hours later after driving from Dublin, I had put a deposit down and had some of the fittings and accessories in my boot and two exceptionally long oars tied onto my roof rack! I had to then ask my uncle for a favour to tow the boat back to Dublin because I didn’t have a tow bar – the first of many things I had to add to my belongings followed by a toolbox, some tools and then of course some raw materials for repairs".
Once the boat arrived in Dublin the following week, it was hosed down and advice was sought on what needed to be done. The goal was to get the boat back on the water looking as best as Orla could get it in the time and limited budget in order to race the winter series. A long list of jobs was made highlighting some integral areas that needed repairs prior to launch and others that could be more long term upgrades to be made in the future.
On inspection the wooden deck was in reasonable condition, it could be tidied up to get another year or so out of it before it needed to be replaced fully. The rubbing strake looked as if it was splitting in some areas however it turned out that it was actually the top veneer of the plywood that was lifting in spots. There was an area of bad rot at the corner at the transom where the ply had de-laminated so that was an area that needed immediate attention. Orla explains, "to solve the lifting veneer I carefully lifted it using a mixing stick, injected epoxy and weighted down the damaged areas while they cured. Next in the rear corner, I cut out this area and replaced it with a new piece of marine ply using epoxy and filler. While the patch is a different colour to the rest of the deck, I had the opportunity to stain it prior to resin application but I chose to leave it as was and I was considering painting the corner of the deck with a bright colour to make it a feature but I changed my mind on this and left the new piece natural." While sanding the old yellow peeling layers of varnish off the deck in preparation for the new varnish, the natural grain of the wood began to appear. Orla decided to seal the deck with epoxy giving it a deep shine and highlighting the beautiful grain. Applying four thin coats of epoxy over a day waiting until each one had gone tacky before doing the next, when everything was fully cured the resin was sanded flat and a clear Poly-Urethane varnish was applied to protect it from UV light. Using the epoxy resin it really strengthened the deck and to date what is believed to be the original deck is still is use on Crackers for hopefully many more years.
As the boat was being used as a fishing boat the hull was sound overall with just some minor bangs and scuffs in the gelcoat that needed some attention. These were cleaned, grinded out and cleaned again before being filled. Orla is not shy to admit that she hated this part of the renovation, it was definitely the most frustrating for her. She didnt uncover a hidden skillset at fairing and filling, losing her patience many times with it. "It seemed like every time I went to fair the filler I dragged half of it off again but I eventually got the hang of it and used two squeegee’s in an up and across motion and got it done".
The original wooden mast step that came in the boat was badly cracked and not fit for purpose so had to be replaced before the boat launched. As this needed to be replaced I had the opportunity to place a coin in the mast step as is tradition in ship building which is still recognised in some locations today. On the day the boat arrived in Dublin, Orla was given a coin by her uncle for good luck, "I felt that this coin would be the most appropriate to use in ‘stepping the mast’. "
The boat originally had one very large wooden transom flap on the rear of the boat that I needed to upgrade as it did not seal closed. Using fibreglass sheets layered upon each other and bound with resin, a firm sheet was made which could be used to cut to size as transom flaps.
This boat renovation project was completed in just over a month and in the final push saw many evenings after work spent getting IDRA 14/119 Crackers ready for launch. Since launching in November 2019, Orla has continued to tick away at the original list for maintenance upgrades including new floorboards, rebuilding the transom, resealing the joint on the buoyancy tanks and strengthening some other key areas on the hull.
