My Careel 18

[johmarq]

Hi All,

I'm John and I live near Goulburn NSW

I like to tell you a story about my Careel 18

Many Many years ago (1974)I desperately wanted a Careel, but as a poor apprentice they were out of my reach financially.

So I settled on a series of dingies, Moth, Mirror, VJ, NS14, Rainbow eventually moving into yachts (Bluebird, Hood 23) and Dancer 19 Trailer sailer.

Then Marraige and kids and other things happened.

Now I'm retired I wanted another project so I thought I'd buy a Compass Careel.

I saw a very cheap fixerupper close by so off I went to have a look.

Wow what a mess, I mean really bad. But after a good look she was really quite sound, just filthy and very neglected.

The trailer was so bad the wheels were rusted off and locked tight.

I thought yes it's cheap but really it's probably overpriced , so I decided to pass and find a better one.

The seller was off digging through his enormous pile of rubbish trying to find the sails, Boom and Rudder.

After a couple of hours he returned with the sails, and yes they looked just like the boat,

But when he unrolled the Mainsail and I saw the Compass Careel 18 emblem and the Number "1" I knew I had to buy this boat.

She deserves a better ending than rotting away in a paddock.

So the deal was done and 6 hours of loading her onto my car trailer ( another nightmare story) off home we went.

I started searching on the net re early Careels and there is very little information,

I found this wonderful site Careel.com and found a little more.

I also found some contact phone numbers, so I called some great people ( Many thanks Kim, Max, Don, Vern, Seaton and most of all Pam and Merinda)

I Introduced myself and told my story.

All were really helpful, but also most told me they thought it was a Duncanson 18 and not a Compass Careel 18,

Apparently all Compass Careel 18s had Fibreglass internal fitout and mine is all Marine Ply.

So I started to dig further, after weeks of searching and calling anyone who might know I was convinced it was indeed Careel 18 number one

It has too many Careel inovations not to be a Careel 18, Glass Cockpit Coamings, Insulated cabin roof, Cockpit Ice box, etc etc but the clincher for me
is the way the deck is bonded to the hull, Compass Careel flange, Totally different to the Duncansons fold over.

So how do I prove it? I need to find a previous owner.

Pam helped with a list of ex owners,

There were 3 names and the towns where they lived 48 years ago, so I started to call everyone with the same surname in those towns.

I didn't hold out much hope, I mean it's 48 years ago

On the second call a lady answered and I asked if she knew a Mr Ted Burns who owned a Careel 18 many years ago.

She answered , Oh yes I know Ted, He's my neighbor, I said is he a relative? No No was the reply, We just have the same surname, I'll get you his
number.

Seconds later I'm Talking to Ted, I Introduce myself and ask him if he ever owned a Compass Careel 18? as I believe I have your old boat.

He answered Yes Ive had two, which one have you got Number one or number 476?

We had a great conversation all about the Careel, how he purchased it new in June 1970 as just a hull and bonded deck, ( the interior mold was still

being made at the time) and how he built the interior in Marine ply,. Also how he had to get the sails made in Adelaide by Hugh Quinn because he was the only one who had the Duncanson/Careel sail patterns.

Ted told me he named the boat "Scotch Mist" and very kindly sent me a few old photos of Careel 18 #1 on Myall Lakes Christmas 1970



As you can see time has not been kind but nothing a bit of work and money cant fix.


















Note the built in flotation, Just sitting there, the floor wasn't even screwed down, I'll rectify that.






Here she is rigged, I had to replace the mast as the original was broken in half, The sails came up ok with a good scrubbing with Oxallic Acid.
They will be ok for a few sails but realistically they are 48 years old and need replacing.

The pressure wash certainly helped, but the gel coat is really chalked everywhere, I'll worry about that later!

Also, you can see I've started removing the anti fouling paint, F*#@ what a job. It's killing me!! It is so old and hard nothing will shift it bar elbow grease and wet and dry sandpaper.

Well I hope you have enjoyed my little tale,

I will be posting update as I progress with the restoration.

My intention is to restore her back exactly as she was back in 1970

If any one has any information, memories or photos I'd love to hear from you.

HooRoo, John

[paul trotter]

Wonderful story John! I’ve owned an early 26 and now 472. I look forward to the fully reconditioned photos! Well done

[Rocky]

John,
Looking forward to see photos of your restoration.

[Mark III Amigo]

Unbelievable. Great to see the old girl being restored. Keep going, the whole careel community is behind you..

[johmarq]

Ok, I've been hard at it for 3 some weeks,
The bloody stinking anti foul paint is gone..Yipee!!http://www.careel.com/forum/posting.php?mode=reply&f=9&t=5189#
It took me weeks lying on my back with a scraper and wet and dry sandpaper, slowly slowly it came off, what a job, never again!!
Then it was easy, cutting back the old faded and chalked gel coat with my power sander/polisher, then polish and polish again.
I'm pretty happy with the results, she looks pretty good for a 49 year old.

I also had a bit of a spend up, purchased a New Bimini and found an outboard on ebay,
I was looking for a 6 or 8hp 4 stroke.
I was watching a 9.9hp 4 Stroke Mariner on ebay,
It was only $300 first bid so I placed my bid, then sort of forgot about it
Then a week later I get an email saying you are the winner of the Auction.
No one else placed a bid.
So off I trot to Sydney to collect the Motor.
It's in good shape and runs perfectly.
I know it's a bit big for the Careel but at that price it will do nicely.
Just waiting for a new Stainless steel transom protector to be made at my local engineering company
so I can fit the motor.

HooRoo, John

Here are some pics of my progress.

[johmarq]

Fitted the Transom Protector and Mounted the Outboard today,
Runs Great

[johmarq]

I've had a few productive days working on number one
Stripped out the floors and all the flotation foam,
Pressure washed the inside, and the foam flotation blocks, 49 years of built up grime and crud, found a few treasures like an old bottle of Sea and Ski and 74 cents in coins, the latest date was on a two bob coin 1979.
Scrubbed it down everywhere with gumption
Sanded back all the marine ply and varnished it all.
Came out pretty good

[Swerve]

Mate, what a great story and thanks for sharing.

[fritzelhund]

John, I don't know how familiar you are with the Mariner/Mercury range. Being a small 4 stroke it is probably a TOHATSU underneath with small variations like the engine cowl and the tiller handle. The Mercury/Mariner has a gear selector that is a function of the throttle while the Tohatsu retains the separate side mounted gear lever. Different tilt methods too.
The small 4 strokes are all basically the same two cylinder engine family whether it is an 8HP or a 9.9HP...they are the same size engine ( capacity and weight ) the only real difference is probably the jets in the carburettor, the bigger output expected to rev higher. 6 HP engines are single cylinder.
My 8HP Mariner ( and I chose the silver lid on the Mariner instead of the black painted Mercury as I often lean on the engine cover as a backrest ... black gets too hot ) is a bit of a squeeze mounted next to the rudder but the 4 stroke's power output is different from a lighter 2 stroke .. torque at lower revs and therefore quieter and less fuel usage. Worth the extra weight I think.
As your C18 is ... " experienced" I recommend you replace ALL the U bolts. Sidestays and winch point. Stainless steel degrades in oxygen starved environments. Don't be afraid to upgrade the centreboard lifting cable. Modern synthetic rope ( Spectra/Dyneema ) is far superior to the old galvanised steel wire and has the advantage of being "threadable"... the swaged steel lifting strop needs disassembly of the captive pulley in the plate to replace.... not a readily achieved thing to do, even when on the hard or trailer.

[Lucky]

Hi John great story can't wait to see you on the water.
Regards
Richard

[IanLee]

As the former owner of Careel 18 Clockwork 403, I can maybe spread a little light or perhaps more confusion on the origin of Careel 18 No1.

Quite a few years ago, David Rose used to to display a new 18 and a new 22 at the Annual Sydney Boat Show and he always put out a call for volunteers to help him staff his display.

One quiet afternoon he and I were idly chatting when he mentioned he was trying to track down Careel 18/2. He wanted to restore it and donate it to the Maritime Museum as he considered it was the real start of family trailer sailers in Australia.

I asked him why not number 1? His answer was that he considered number 2 to be the first real Careel as it was the first boat sold in a completely assembled, ready to sail package.

He said number 1, the prototype, was sold as a bare hull and deck with no interior fit out, mast, sails or equipment, in other words a kit set to be completed by its buyer.

In my opinion, there can be only one number 1 and you have got it. How fortunate it is that you found it and are resurrecting this wonderful piece of Careel history. You must be very proud.

Your post prompted me to stop being a lurker and get back on this site. I no longer have a Careel but the longing to get back on Pittwater prompted me to buy a battered old Savage tinny with a 15 hp Suzuki on the back.

Good luck with your restoration. Hope to see pictures of it sailing soon.