Patrick Gifford makes the case for the older GRP Dragons built between 1973 and about 2000 (roughly GBR 463 to 650), whose strong scantlings keep them competitive far longer than their falling second-hand prices suggest. Using the 1986 Borresen Basilisk (GBR 515), which he and Mike Hayles have owned twice, he explains that a boat must have been well built and down to weight when new, and that an up-to-date sail wardrobe is the main cost. He lists the updates made – bulkheads and pumps, a ram, windward genoa sheeting, an electric pump, a GRP bridge deck and modern runners – notes the weight they add, and says similar boats can be bought for £7,000 to £12,000. […]
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Katie Cole’s end-of-season checklist for laying up a Dragon. Start with a thorough freshwater wash of cleats, cars, blocks, hatches, bilges and spars, and clean the electric pump. Then check the trailer (tyres lose about 10 psi over a season), the hull, every block and sheave (lubricated with McLube or Holt Prolube, not oil), runners, tiller extension joint, furling line, mast-step pin, battery and pump connections. On the spars she lists the usual failure points – rigging end fittings, the halyard locking ball, corrosion at the lower rivet hole, cracking at the mast ram fitting and debris in the mast foot – and recommends replacing an internal forestay every 2 years. […]
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A checklist for bringing an older GRP Dragon (built roughly 1973–2000) up to competitive standard, organised by hull, rig, equipment and cockpit layout. It covers smoothing the hull, weighing the boat to see whether correctors can be removed, the trade-offs of retro-fitting bulkheads to pre-March-1991 boats, and why raising the cockpit floor is not worth it. On the rig it recommends fixed jumpers (or simultaneous adjustment at about 8:1), enlarging the mast gate to the 50 mm movement allowed since 1991 with a mast ram, and moving runners to the stern. It also gives the purchase needed for genoa fine tune (8:1) and runners (12:1, as 2:1 coarse plus 6:1 fine) and suggests where each control line should lead. […]
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Maintenance tips gathered by the IDA from Dragon experts at Petticrows, North Sails, Fritz Segel and Kate Cole, in three parts: checks during the season, boat handling while racing, and winter maintenance ashore. In season, rinse everything with fresh water, check the forestay at the masthead, the gooseneck, ram area and boom fittings, keep the battery charged and its connections greased, clean the pump impeller, and lubricate blocks and cleats with a non-oil lubricant. Since most mast breakages happen at the ram, it gives the safe order: going downwind, release the ram before the runners; going upwind, ease the genoa tension, pull the mast back with runners and backstay and only then pull the ram back. For winter it covers washing the hull, supporting the mast on at least three supports, storing sails flat with battens slackened, and four trailer checks. […]
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