# New to Sailnet



## SUPgirl (5 mo ago)

No stranger to sailing but took time away and now back. Used to have an old John Alden. Work too much to do much sailing but have a sunfish. Thinking of buying a used Saroca. Need to connect with others who have or have had this unique little boat. It needs tlc. Anyone out there with one? Send a message my way. Have some questions! Thanks!


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## PatrickCossette (5 mo ago)

I had a lot of fun with it, and I used it for canoeing and rowing.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Welcome to SailNet 😊 

Mark


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## SUPgirl (5 mo ago)

PatrickCossette said:


> I had a lot of fun with it, and I used it for canoeing and rowing.





PatrickCossette said:


> I had a lot of fun with it, and I used it for canoeing and rowing.


Hi Patrick, did you ever sail with it? That’s what I’m mainly looking for if I buy it just due to where I am the low draft is very appealing. do youhave any experience with how to care for the hull. The one that I found has quite a few scratches in it and unfortunately the lady showing is are not who actually used it so I have many questions which she cannot answer. It doesn’t appear that any of the scratches are deep of course you know it’s more cosmetic just wondering how I could smooth it without ruining it. can you actually paint this type of hull? It’s missing the daggerboard and oar locks. Overall it’s decent but they listed as like new and is far from it. Sorry for all of the ?’s. You are the only one to respond and after reviewing old threads there prob won’t be any others. Doesn’t seem like there are many owners out there on sailnet. Do you by chance have an owner manual? not much info out there


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## SUPgirl (5 mo ago)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Welcome to SailNet 😊
> 
> Mark


Thanks! Hope to find some nuggets of wisdom here😃


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## PatrickCossette (5 mo ago)

SUPgirl said:


> Hi Patrick, did you ever sail with it? That’s what I’m mainly looking for if I buy it just due to where I am the low draft is very appealing. do youhave any experience with how to care for the hull. The one that I found has quite a few scratches in it and unfortunately the lady showing is are not who actually used it so I have many questions which she cannot answer. It doesn’t appear that any of the scratches are deep of course you know it’s more cosmetic just wondering how I could smooth it without ruining it. can you actually paint this type of hull? It’s missing the daggerboard and oar locks. Overall it’s decent but they listed as like new and is far from it. Sorry for all of the ?’s. You are the only one to respond and after reviewing old threads there prob won’t be any others. Doesn’t seem like there are many owners out there on sailnet. Do you by chance have an owner manual? not much info out there


I did just a little sailing with it(


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## mstern (May 26, 2002)

Hi and welcome. You aren't the first person to ask for help with a unique boat. It looks like the company is still in business, so you can certainly ask them. Saroca.com.

Your questions about the addressing the scratches will depend greatly on the material used to build the boat. It looks like they started off making the boat in fiberglass, then switched to thermoplastic, then switched back to fiberglass. I had a kayak made from thermoplastic many years ago. We called it the Tupperware boat. Others can chime in, but I would think it very difficult to impossible to fix or paint that soft kind of plastic. But then again, one of the primary benefits of thermoplastic is how incredibly durable it is, and how it never dinged like aluminum or fiberglass. I would drag that thing up rocky beaches when my friends with fiberglass canoes and kayaks would carefully lift their boats up to avoid the rocks and scratching their hulls.

On the other hand, fixing dings in fiberglass is a very well-established process. If the dings are small enough, you won't have to reglass the area after grinding out the problem. Grind out the offending ding, fill to fair, sand, fair again, sand again, repeat until you can't take it any more. Then paint. The painting can be as excruciating as you like. Color matching is the big issue. There are some wizards who can mix paint to match any hull. Or, you can go with a stock color and have the repair be somewhat to majorly obvious. Or you can just repaint the entire boat. It all depends on how much the cosmetics matter to you. There are about a bazillion YouTube videos that can show you how to do this kind of repair, step by step. 

Looks like a sporty boat. A fun, wet ride! Hope it works out for you.


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## SUPgirl (5 mo ago)

mstern said:


> Hi and welcome. You aren't the first person to ask for help with a unique boat. It looks like the company is still in business, so you can certainly ask them. Saroca.com.
> 
> Your questions about the addressing the scratches will depend greatly on the material used to build the boat. It looks like they started off making the boat in fiberglass, then switched to thermoplastic, then switched back to fiberglass. I had a kayak made from thermoplastic many years ago. We called it the Tupperware boat. Others can chime in, but I would think it very difficult to impossible to fix or paint that soft kind of plastic. But then again, one of the primary benefits of thermoplastic is how incredibly durable it is, and how it never dinged like aluminum or fiberglass. I would drag that thing up rocky beaches when my friends with fiberglass canoes and kayaks would carefully lift their boats up to avoid the rocks and scratching their hulls.
> 
> ...


Thanks. Haven’t decided just yet. Still thinking. Sent message to the company. Their message mentioned they are a part time company so be patient. Thanks for info


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