Greetings from Sydney

Hi All,

I discovered this forum about a week ago and have been quietly lurking in the shadows since then.

I have an early Clipper 34 Europa which has been receiving some sorely needed love and attention in the past year. The hull, decks and superstructure have now been professionally painted and it's beginning to look like a new boat again.

Sadly, it has been very seldom used for the past few years and I regret to say I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy it. Fortunately my enthusiasm has been improving as each dollar rolled out the door!

I'm currently in the middle of sanding & varnishing the gunwales. The holidays are the perfect time to knock a job like this over as I have a good number of consecutive days to build my layers up. Luckily, I still find the work to be very therapeutic!

Anyway, I don't have much else to say except that I've enjoyed reading this forum so far and thought I should introduce myself before I participate in discussions.

Hi, Michael, welcome aboard the board. I have a similar vessel, but even an earlier model than yours, before the hard top extended flybridge, in fact. So when the old raggedy handkerchief of cockpit canopy attached only from the back edge of the flybridge died, we replaced it with a frame and Sunbrella canvas version of the hard-top now enjoyed by later models like yours and of course all the new ones are like that also. We must compare notes over time as to what has been done to our respective vessels, although best not at once - it would sound too daunting. However, when one considers the new models are going for about $400k, then it is not really so painful to add up what one has spent.

Hello Michael, welcome on board. Varnishing is rewarding, the finish improves with each coat, it will be the final detail to complement the fresh paint. Maybe you are getting back to boating with more time available.
Where do you keep the boat? The buyer of my previous boat took her to Port Hacking.

Yes, welcome indeed, the members are a civilized lot (well, most anyway ) and have a great knowledge base. Post and enjoy.

Welcome! Nothing like firing up the powerplant, slipping the lines and setting off for adventure....or taking time to renew varnish, complete boat chores, and then sit down with a tall cool one to enjoy the waning rays of the sun!

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Peter, these are a fantastic boat. Even as a school boy I was impressed by them. It will be interesting to compare notes on work and upgrades done, although I know my brother would call it competitive suffering... lol

Bruce, I am on the Port Hacking! It would be a small world indeed if my boat was your's. We bought the boat about 15 years ago. The previous owner had it berthed at the RPAYC. As far as I'm aware, there are two 34' europas and a couple of IG36's down here.

I'm very much looking forward to finishing the varnish. Everything in sight will be gleaming and I've already warned my friends that there will probably be a dress code next time they're invited aboard!

I may have misled, the world is larger. Previous boat was a Masters 34, which I think a better sea boat than my IG, but not as accommodating. The Masters went to Port Hacking, the new owner was kind enough to later notify me he was changing the name to Gunnamatta.
Your Clipper 34 looks good, at some point non slip replaced the troublesome teak deck. Your varnishing looks good, just one thing left not done (as with detailing a car) affects appearance, so the varnish will complete it.

Yes, just looking at how nice that capping rail in all nice shiny varnished teak can look I even had a fleeting thought about stripping off the paint the PO used to lessen maintenance by painting them white on Lotus...but it was just fleeting.....

Peter B said:

Yes, just looking at how nice that capping rail in all nice shiny varnished teak can look I even had a fleeting thought about stripping off the paint the PO used to lessen maintenance by painting them white on Lotus...but it was just fleeting.....

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Stay with the paint, you`d struggle fully removing it anyway. My Deks Olje (1 & 2) might need recoating annually but involves no massive sanding.
We looked at the new Integrity 380 sedan a few days back. Its white cappings look good, zero exposed teak. Nice looking boat, more reminiscent of old Halvos than IGs, simple, modern, nice design touches, and a 220hp John Deere.

Saw one on Pittwater the other day, not a great fan of the style in profile, the aft section doesn't seem to compliment the forward bow and cabin topsides. Still all in all a pretty good looking boat from the three quarter view.

I went over one at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show back in May - very nice, but I'm not a fan of the galley taking up nearly the whole port side of the saloon, or the dedicated dinette type of seating...

BruceK said:

Stay with the paint, you`d struggle fully removing it anyway. My Deks Olje (1 & 2) might need recoating annually but involves no massive sanding.
We looked at the new Integrity 380 sedan a few days back. Its white cappings look good, zero exposed teak. Nice looking boat, more reminiscent of old Halvos than IGs, simple, modern, nice design touches, and a 220hp John Deere.

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I LOVE the integrity 380's. that's what I am basing my boat build on.

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