My Post 42 (Kinda Long...Sorry)

Hello All,

Read some comments about getting more members involved so I thought I would introduce my 1976 Post 42. She's hull number 38 and I have been restoring and improving her for over 4 years. I am in the marine trades so I have access to materials and resources that have made this somewhat "cost-effective" (my delusion. My wife has another opinion.) and I have done all work myself as time and money have allowed.

I replaced the original steel fuel tanks with .250 aluminum tanks and did so without cutting up the cockpit sole or any other "major surgery". I'll spare you the details of just how but it worked out slick and the boat stayed in the water at the dock the entire time. I replaced the entire fuel system from the deck fills to the new Aeroquip fuel lines to the J & T 6-71Ts.

When the tanks were out I fabricated all new decking surfaces in the engine room using 3/4" marine plywood glassed on all sides in 6oz cloth set in WEST epoxy. I removed all electrical wiring, plumbing and air conditioning compressors. I removed all the old fiberglass insulation and screening and installed 2" Soundown accoustical foam with lead barrier and covered it with Soundown perforated aluminum sheet.

I replaced the original wood support posts with custom aluminum pipe supports (just because I wanted to) and now have 2 new 16KBTU Cruisair compressors stacked, new battery chargers, added internal sea strainers (2- 1/2" Groco), Fireboy extinguisher, and Isotemp hot water heater.

I replaced all the hoses, clamps, and piping on the 6-71Ts, tore down the heat exchangers and rebuilt, installed new turbos and new blankets and converted to closed crankcase system (Walker Airseps.)

I removed the original 12VDC and 120VAC panels under the steps to the galley and converted the wet bar/ice maker in the salon by the cockpit door to the new power distribution panel. New 12VDC and 120 VAC panels by Blue Seas Systems. Over 1000 feet of Ancor marine grade tinned wire and over 600 Ancor waterproof (heat shrink type) terminals later...... new wiring system to ABYC standards. I even relocated all battery switches to a custom panel by the cockpit door. I stayed with a dual 30AMP system mostly because I didn't want to lug a 50AMP shorepower cord and couldn't afford a Glendinning Cablemaster. I am using 2 Charles isolation transformers in the shorepower system.

New plumbing system nearly complete. New windlass - Lewmar V-3. I shortened the ridiculously long original bow platform (looked like a swordfish boat) and mounted a sturdy bow roller and Delta anchor with 60' of 3/8" hi-test and 400' of 5/8" 3-strand.

I removed the helm from the flybridge as well as the fore and aft seat on the port side. There was extensive rot on the balsa core on the flybridge and I had to remove quite a bit of it. I removed all the original cleat stock and fasteners, including the shroud. I replaced the balsa core with new balsa core (I have my reasons) and built up the deck with alternate layers of knitted glass cloth/balsa all saturated and set in WEST epoxy. Much time spent in fairing this out. Not fun. I completely stripped the helm and repainted it and then installed all new guages, new wiring and new throttle and gear levers. I added pyrometers to watch the exhaust gas temps. I glassed in the hatch covers in the front seat and side seat and installed watertight Bomar hatches so as to eliminate the water intrusion that would get inside the helm. The side seat, the helm and the shroud were reinstalled using biaxial cloth and WEST epoxy. There are NO fasteners penetrating the flybridge deck except the new helm seat pedestal which is throughbolted through a thickened epoxy annulus.

I have a full tower (original Pipewelders) so I replaced the helm top and the throttle/gear levers and I replaced all the cables from tower to helm and helm to engines/gears. I also replaced the cables for the emergency shutoffs (air box dampers). I replaced the lexan venturi (windscreen) on the helm with new smoked lexan and sealed all joints for watertightness.

New fridge and stove in the galley. New ceiling in the salon and master stateroom. Deck hatches were removed, stripped, new lenses, gaskets and hardware. Aft cockpit bulkhead on port side was water damaged and was replaced (sounds simple on paper.)

New shelves were fabricated and installed for the new rudder upper bearing blocks (under the aft cockpit.) New Tides dripless shaft seals were installed on both rudders (upper bearing blocks also by Tides.) New shelf was also fabricated for the hydraulic steering cylinder. All new steering system - Hynautic cylinder, relief valves, reservoir, oil lines and HD helms.

I hauled out about a year and a half ago and replaced one shaft and coupling and installed Tides dripless shaft seals on both shafts. While out I also replaced ALL existing "seacocks" with proper through-bolted seacocks. There were a few gate valves that looked scary and not a real seacock on the boat - alot of ball valves screwed onto mushroom thru-hulls.

I removed the bow railing and the aft flybridge railing along with a few other handrails. When the budget allows I intend to have new aluminium railings fabricated and installed. I would also like to replace the ladder to the flybridge. I fabricated a hatch over the opening to the flybridge and modified the old ladder to suit and it's working for now. But I'm afraid one day one of those teak steps will break when a big guy climbs up there.

New canvas and new cushions of course. New underwater lights on transom. New blue LED courtesy lights cockpit and flybridge. Still working on the some of the interior finishes and I'm saving up for a new genset so I still have work to do. I figure I'm about 90% done (if a boat owner is ever really done....)

Sorry this is so long - it's hard to quickly describe over 4 years of work in a few lines. I've got lots of pictures but I will start with just a few of the more interesting ones.

Sorry about the wide photos - won't happen again.

Beau - The house is all glass except for the aft bulkhead between the salon and the cockpit. I believe Post started with a glass hull and wood house and tooled up for the glass house a year or two prior to '76.

Here's a few more photos for those interested.

Thanks for the kind words. I need to take some fresh exterior shots and pass them along. I can describe what I've done and how she's strayed from original.

The teak covering boards were pretty well worn out when I got her and new ones are low on the list of priorities so for now I faired them out and sealed them with epoxy and applied a one part linear polyurethane paint that matches the color of the boat (Hatteras Off White). The wood toe rail was already painted by the previous owner but I repainted it when I removed the bow railing. The teak eyebrow is finished bright as is the teak mullion on the side windows - the only brightwork on the boat. I'm willing to put in the effort to keep that bit of exterior teak up, although I confess sometimes I let it go too long before doing the varnish routine. I also had to remove the aft section of the eyebrow over the cockpit due to deteriorated wood and haven't replaced it yet.

The previous owner removed the large hullside vents, glassed in the holes and faired it out prior to painting the boat. To provide ventilation to the engine room there are two large louvered vents in the cockpit in the area near the shorepower inlets and fuel fills. This seems to provide enough air to the 6-71s but I've never actually done the calculations to determine if there is really proper airflow. I run both blowers while underway to try to draw as much air as possible into the engine room and the engines seem happy enough. I'm glad I don't have the big clamshell vents on the hullsides but there are some drawbacks to the venting I do have, including a minor nonconformity to ABYC standards (venting too close to fuel fill.)

I'm not particularly fond of exterior teak maintenance on my boats but it seems a small amount is manageable. If I run out of things to do (ha) and have a pile of cash lying around (ha ha) I will replace the teak covering boards in the cockpit and keep them natural.

What attracted me to the older Post models was their rugged simplicity. I have tried to be careful not to turn this into an over-restored custom sportfish but instead keep it simple and straightforward. That's why I have a Pompanette bar stool seat at the helm ($200) and not a glossy teak and leather Murray Bros. seat. (Well, that and I don't have 5 grand to spend on a helm seat...) But I have put a lot of effort in correcting the issues that cause problems - water intrusion, inadequate wiring, suspicious tankage, etc.

I'll try to take a few exterior photos tomorrow and post them on this thread.

More 42 Post Photos

For those who are still interested here are a few more photos of my 1976 42, hull #38. These are some exterior shots.

The boat had the spray rails when I got it so I can't offer a comparison of what it would be like without them. They are teak and require maintenance at haulout so I wouldn't choose to have them unless I thought they were necessary. And maybe they're not really necessary, I don't know. I would be interested to hear from other older 42 owners with and without spray rails.

The cockpit had no built-in cabinets. There was a free standing tackle rigging station that was old, wooden and riddled with insect and wtaer damage. It was broken up and thrown out. I would love to have built-in cabinets for tackle storage, rigging, cleaning stuff, docklines, etc. but the engine room air intakes make that a challenge. I have a large cooler I put in the cockpit against the starboard bulkhead and otherwise the cockpit is clean.

No actually it's a typical off-the-shelf Broan you can probably find at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.

I wish I had a SS fridge but the white one was brand new and installed just before I bought the boat. Hard to justify changing out a perfectly good new fridge just because it's not SS. I put in the SS panel on the wall between the stove and fridge. Looks nice and adds a measure of fire protection.

Beau - The 50 is a beautiful boat and the storage expands exponentially. Even the newer 43 and the current 42 has way more storage than I do. But that's one of the trade-offs for having an older boat. Actually I kinda enjoy the challenge of coming up with ways to solve these problems. They're the good kind of problems to have! (as opposed to blown gears, dead gensets, etc...) Your dock box idea is a good one.

There's a dealer down here for Post with a new 42 in stock. I saw it on the water the other day and the look is unmistakable Post. There's a strong family resemblance between it and mine despite the difference of over 30 years.

mwwhit1 - thanks for the comment and for passing along your experience regarding spray rails. I wasn't planning on removing them anytime soon but I ran the boat this afternoon and noticed some developing paint adhesion issues on the starboard rail when I was hosing her off. Again. (Sigh) I have a copper bootstripe and I think that color is just dark enough in our tropical sun to get too hot for the teak spray rail. Too much expansion and contraction and the paint starts to crack. That lets in water (the universal solvent) and I'll be graving in, filling, fairing and painting at the next haul out this summer.

I don't run above 20 kts for very long. With a clean bottom, clean running gear, light load, etc. I can top out around 23 kts but she seems happy to cruise along at 18.5 - 19 kts at around 1900 - 1950 rpm. So the spray rails will have to stay. I figured they must have been put there for a reason.

Thanks for the kind words. Compliments from fellow Post owners mean the most.

The front was glassed in already when I bought the boat so I can't take credit for that. It was done very well and the fairing work on the outside is perfect. You cannot tell from outside there were ever any windows so kudos to whomever did the work.

It has been fashionable for some time now to not have any forward glass but that may be changing. The new Bertram 511 and 540 both have forward glass windows. The new Tiara 3900 covertible has a single window in the center of the house front. What goes around comes around and forward windows may be coming back so maybe you want to step back and think if you really want to go to the trouble and expense of filling in the windows. Not sure from your comments what issues you are facing with your windows - leaks and water damage?

I'm sure there are competent, even excellent, aluminum fabricators in your area that could make whatever you want. My experience has been that the FG top itself is a BIG part of the cost. Oftentimes builders outsource the towers and tops to a local fabricator and perhaps Post does that too. If so, I would contact their fabricator directly and go from there, especially of you like the product they supply to Post. Someone should have a mold already for the FG top and they should be able to pop out another top for less than another fabricator who might have to make the mold, etc. Good aluminum fabricators are expensive and worth every penny in my book. There is a great deal of artistry in bending pipe and getting the lines of railings, towers, ladders, etc. to look right and be in harmony with the lines of the boat. Regardless I think you have to find a local fabricator that can come to your local boatyard or where you can take the boat to have it done. As you probably realize, this isn't something you can order and have delivered and bolted on.

You could save a lot of money with a canvas top and save some weight too. My old Pipewelders tower has canvas tops and they do a good job keeping the rain and spray out and are easy to replace when the time comes. I would guess a FG hartop alone (no pipe, just the top) would cost at least 4 or 5 grand to have made. The whole hardtop project could be in the $10K - $15K range if you have molded in electronics box, lighting, nav lights, radar pad, etc. incorporated into the hardtop. Don't forget the cost of an enclosure - a few more grand at least, depending on the weight of the canvas, Stratglass or EZ2CY, U-zips and other features. Then there's the aft railing, rod holders...... You could spend $20K here. I've been quoted $2,500 for just an aft railing with rod holders and $3,000 for a new ladder. I haven't had the courage to get a quote yet on a new bow railing....

I prefer a hardtop and would love to have one instead of the full tower I do have. My aluminium was not well cared for over the years and the pipes under the tops are badly pitted from salt spray that was allowed to sit there and eat the aluminum. But the tower is solid, strong (and paid for) and sometimes I like to drive from up top so I'll be keeping it.