I also completed some basic speaker boxes with a bit of teak trim and installed them on the bulkheads.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
New Electrical Panel
New electrical panel installed! Its nice to have all the electronics in one spot for a change. The panel is a little crowded maybe, but it works. I removed the door under the sink on the port side of the companionway and installed the panel there. There isn't much loss in storage access since the sink and icebox take up most of the space behind the panel anyways. It also meant I didn't have to cut a hole in the headliner or build a whole separate box. Furthermore, I can reach the VHF and switch panel easily from the cockpit.
I also completed some basic speaker boxes with a bit of teak trim and installed them on the bulkheads.
I also completed some basic speaker boxes with a bit of teak trim and installed them on the bulkheads.
2011 Projects
Haven't posted here in a while but thought I would provide an update on projects undertaken during 2011. Most of these were related to the fact that I actually lived aboard from May to August on the hook off the East Beach of Santa Barbara. It was an interesting experience, to say the least, with kayak-commuting each day to work, a mugging aboard the boat next to me, boats breaking free or dragging during spring wind storms, and battling sea lions wishing to haul-out and befoul the boat and kayak. Here is a list of of 2011 projects completed:
1) Stern anchor hawse pipe, storage, fairlead and associated remounting of stern danforth anchor.
2) VHF Antenna install.
3) Solar panel and charge regulator installed.
4) Mast gate fabrication and install.
5) Remove, inspect, re-install starboard chain plate with oak backing plate, add on-deck epoxy riser around chain plate hole, and re-seal with butyl tape, as was done for port side in 2010.
1) Stern anchor hawse pipe, storage, fairlead and associated remounting of stern danforth anchor.
2) VHF Antenna install.
3) Solar panel and charge regulator installed.
4) Mast gate fabrication and install.
5) Remove, inspect, re-install starboard chain plate with oak backing plate, add on-deck epoxy riser around chain plate hole, and re-seal with butyl tape, as was done for port side in 2010.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Hatch Dogs
Well, a project I've long put off finally made it to the top of my list. The forward deck hatch had obviously been replaced by a previous owner. In order to secure the hatch down, he used a small brass hook and eye latch. One time when I let the hatch slam shut, the hook jammed against the frame and snapped off. Since this didn't seem like the strongest or most practical way to secure the hatch, I had been just tying it down with the remnant latch eyes over the last year. Finally, a solution came to me...hatch dogs. Plus, the hatch looked really ugly and needed some attention!
Ugly Old Hatch!
This turned out to be a really easy project (nice for once!). First, I tied the hatch down tight. Then I drilled two 5/16 inch holes, at both forward corners of the hatch opening, through the solid fiberglass hatch coaming and completely through the hatch frame.
I removed the hatch and sanded off all the old varnish. While the hatch appears well constructed from a joinery standpoint, the builder used 2 x 1 inch pine boards which are not holding up too well to the weather. Really, the whole hatch could sand to be rebuilt, but since I don't have the inclination to take this on currently, I decided just to paint the thing over to weather seal it and try and get another couple years of life out of it.
Stripped and ready to paint.
After the paint was dry, I drilled out the previously drilled 5/16 inch holes with a larger 3/8 inch bit, starting on the inside, and only going about 1/3 inch deep, into which I pounded a pair of 5/16 inch t-nuts. From the outside of the hatch, I inserted pair of 3/4 inch long 5/16 inch hex bolts with washers such that the bolts threaded just barely into the back end of the t-nuts thereby holding the t-nuts securely in the hatch frame.
These photos show the t-nut with the hex bolt mounted from behind laid out on top of the hatch lip just as it will look once installed through the lip and a view of the hardware installed where you can see the bolt from the outside threading into the t-nut back just a bit.
I re-attached the frame, then attached some star knobs to a pair of 2 inch long 5/16 inch hex bolts. These then become the dogs which insert through the holes inside the hatch coaming and tighten into the t-nuts. The result is very, very secure, non intrusive into the v-berth, and looks pretty sharp too!
Its still a beast of a hatch but at least its slightly less of an eye sore now!
Ugly Old Hatch!
This turned out to be a really easy project (nice for once!). First, I tied the hatch down tight. Then I drilled two 5/16 inch holes, at both forward corners of the hatch opening, through the solid fiberglass hatch coaming and completely through the hatch frame.
I removed the hatch and sanded off all the old varnish. While the hatch appears well constructed from a joinery standpoint, the builder used 2 x 1 inch pine boards which are not holding up too well to the weather. Really, the whole hatch could sand to be rebuilt, but since I don't have the inclination to take this on currently, I decided just to paint the thing over to weather seal it and try and get another couple years of life out of it.
Stripped and ready to paint.
After the paint was dry, I drilled out the previously drilled 5/16 inch holes with a larger 3/8 inch bit, starting on the inside, and only going about 1/3 inch deep, into which I pounded a pair of 5/16 inch t-nuts. From the outside of the hatch, I inserted pair of 3/4 inch long 5/16 inch hex bolts with washers such that the bolts threaded just barely into the back end of the t-nuts thereby holding the t-nuts securely in the hatch frame.
These photos show the t-nut with the hex bolt mounted from behind laid out on top of the hatch lip just as it will look once installed through the lip and a view of the hardware installed where you can see the bolt from the outside threading into the t-nut back just a bit.
I re-attached the frame, then attached some star knobs to a pair of 2 inch long 5/16 inch hex bolts. These then become the dogs which insert through the holes inside the hatch coaming and tighten into the t-nuts. The result is very, very secure, non intrusive into the v-berth, and looks pretty sharp too!
Its still a beast of a hatch but at least its slightly less of an eye sore now!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
New Portlights
As with most fiberglass boats the quality and age of mine, the portlights leaked like a sieve. After doing many hours of internet and book research, I settled on the technique described here:http://www.thecoastalpassage.com/windows.html
This method uses no fasteners or frames and instead relies solely on the adhesive to hold the portlight on. The adhesive I used was Dow Corning 795 silicone building sealant,
which was recommended on several boating forums. This stuff is water and UV resistant, has a high tensile strength, and has an elongation factor of 50% so it should easily stretch with the expansion and contraction of the acrylic in response to temperature. Evidently, this is what's used to hold windows into skyscrapers, with no fasteners, so that seems pretty strong. Here is the info on the sealant:http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/search/default.aspx?R=264EN
The reasons I went with this method are:
1) Replacing the acrylic and reinstalling in the stock aluminum frames looked
a) time consuming since cleaning and bringing the frames back to good condition required removal of lots of old sealant and deck paint.
b) low strength due to weak attachment of frame to cabin
2) Cost effective since purchasing new retail boat windows was prohibitively expensive and would likely require fiberglassing in the old portlight holes then cutting new holes to accommodate the new windows. Alternatively, Corona Plastics in southern CA makes exact replacements of the Col 26 mk2 complete with nice vinyl frames, but this option was way out of my price range.
3) Easy and quick installation.
4) Strong with allowance for acrylic expansion/ contraction, as discussed above.
I didn't take many picture during this process so I will describe what I did as accurately as possible. First I removed the old portlights be unscrewing the inner frame piece then carefully pried and cut the window free with a metal paint scraper and razor blade. I then detached the outer frame from the acrylic pame and scraped all the old sealant from one of the panes.
I took the old pane to the local plastic store and ad them replicate two new panes from it, only with each 2 inches wider all the way around. I used 1/4 inch, dark tinted acrylic.
To install, I scraped and cleaned around the portlight holes thoroughly. I followed this by painting 3 coats of epoxy onto the exposed portlight cutout's plywood inner core all around the opening to seal the open plywood grain. Once the epoxy was dry, I held the new panes (left the backing paper that comes on the acrylic on) onto the outside of the cabin such that the window extended beyond the cutout 1.5 inches all the way around. A second person then traced the window in pencil around the outside of the pane onto the cabin, then traced the outline of the portlight cutout from the inside with a sharp razor blade. This allowed the removal of the backing paper around the perimeter of the inside of the pane.
I sanded this exposed perimeter with 400 grit sandpaper and then sprayed it with black all-purpose, high bond, Rustoleum primer. I removed the rest of the backing paper from the inside face of the acrylic before the paint dried. The purpose of the primer is mostly aesthetic to make sure you cant see the tape and sealant around the edge of the portlight, through the acrylic, when finished. The primer also adds UV protection to slow the degradation of the sealant.
When the primer had dried. I applied 3M VHB 4991 double-sided tape, leaving the backing paper on the tape, around the perimeter lined up right next to the inside primer border.
Using a scraper and razor, I stripped the old topside paint down to just past the pencil outline on the outside of the cabin, though I left a few spots of pencil in place so I could realign the window, retrace it onto the now exposed cabin gel-coat, the go back and remove the remaining paint at the realignment marks.
I cleaned the frame opening thoroughly with acetone. With assistance from another person, we removed the tape backing paper, held the new pane up to the hole, carefully aligned the tape edge to the cutout edge and the pane edge to the pencil trace, then pressed it into place on the cabin. This left a nice 1/8 high by 1/2 inch wide gap all around the pane edge due to the double-sided tape acting as a gasket. I then taped off the outside of the cabin around the acrylic outline leaving the tape edge 1/4 inch outside perimeter so that a nice bead of sealant would be left along the pane edge in the final product.
With the
sealant tube in a caulking gun, I squirted this gap full of sealant all the way around, then pressed the excess into the gap with my finger and smoothed a nice edge all around. I removed all the tape immediately and then removed the acrylic backing paper from both sides and voila, it was finished!The finished product looks pretty good I think. The larger portlight size gives the boat a much different look. Just need to finish the inside of the portlight cutout with some sort of frame or or trim t o dress it up in the cabin.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Chainplate and Bulkhead
Upon purchasing the boat and reviewing the survey, it was clear that the chainplates needed to be pulled, inspected, replaced if necessary, reinstalled, and sealed. Evidence of water intrusion through the chainplates was obvious and I was very worried that there might be substatial wood rot on the port bulkhead (which is 3/4 inch marine plywood with a horribly ugly fake-wood laminate on the outside) based on the water stains and mildew in the chainplate area.
Don't want to lose the stick in ah heavy blow. The starboard bulkhead is less of a concern because it is glassed into the cabin liner and is therefore much stronger.
Last month I finally got around to tackling the port chainplate and bulkhead. First I disconnected the shrouds after marking the turnbuckle positions so I could re-tighten accurately. Then I removed the chainplate and inspected it for pitting. Only a few, very small pits were noted and no cracks were evident, so I deemed the chainplate still structurally sound and decided not to replace it. I then inspected the bulkhead and found it to be very solid, with very little actual rot. Just to be safe, I cleaned it thoroughly around the chainplate area and applied a boric acid based stop-rot product, allowing it to saturate the end grain of the plywood bulkhead and then dry completely.
The bad news was the discovery of substantial core-rot around the chainplate opening in the deck. I decided to make a riser around the chainplate to allow water to be directed away form the chainplate opening as is described in Don Casey's This Old Boat, an excellent book on boat repair. So I proceeded to cut away the top deck glass with a 3 1/2 inch hole saw. I then chiseled out the rotten balsa core, leaving the inner deck glass intact. I also, using a grinder, removed core material about 1/4 inch back from around the hole saw cut-tout to allow epoxy to flow in between the glass deck sandwich. I then taped up the chainplate and loosely reinstalled it. I used a plastic cup (this is the reason I chose the 3 1/2 inch hole saw since it was the same diameter as the cup) & cut off the rim to the desired height of the riser, smeared the inside with vaseline, and taped it to the deck around the hole.
Next I filled the entire hole and cup riser with thickened epoxy. About 10 minutes later...disaster! I used West 205 fast hardener and it was probably 75-80 F on deck at that time. The epoxy kicked off much to fast and the result was a volcano! Frustrated, there was nothing I could do but let it cure up and then return the next day. Thankfully, the riser is not structural so all the little air bubbles trapped in the epoxy shouldn't hurt anything.
After sawing off the volcanic epoxy mess to the desired height of the riser, I was able to sand it flat and taper the edges somewhat before applying several coats of filler epoxy, then sanding in betwen each coat until I had the riser looking pretty good. Just a bit of extra elbow grease (next time I will use the slow hardener and only fill 1/2 the hole at a time!). A final coat of topside paint and the riser was complete.
Back to the bulkhead inside, I decided to mount a backing plate for the chainplate bolts. I used a piece of 1/2 inch red oak because that's what was available a the hardware store and it was cheap. Marine plywood may have been preferable, but its a 30 minute drive to obtain it in Oxnard. I marked the outline of the backing plate on the bulkhead, taped it off, mixed up some thickened epoxy, buttered up the backing plate, and wedged a couple pieces of thin plywood in place to hold the backing plate securely to the bulkhead until the epoxy set up. I removed the tape just as the epoxy started to firm up.
After the backing plate had fully set, I drilled out oversize holes for the chainplate bolts, throught he bulkhead and backing plate, and filled these with thickened epoxy. After curing, I redrilled out the holes for the bolt diameter.
Finally, I filled all the little holes and nicks in the bulkhead with wood filler, sanded the entire bulkhead thoroughly, taped it all off, and painted the bulkhead glossy white, front and back. I used Rustoleum all purpose spray paint, so we will see how it holds up. I don't think I would use spray paint again because it was very difficult to keep the mist from settling all over the interior of the boat leaving everything with a coat of white and making me scamper around with a wet cloth trying to clean the paint off all the woodwork before it dried!
Finally, I reinstalled the chainplate, jammed lots of butyl tape around the plate through the deck, and installed the chainplate covers with lots more butyl tape (after polishing up all the chainplate and cover steel 'till nice and shiny!).
All in all it was a pretty easy and cheap, though time consuming project. The cabin looks much brighter and updated without the ugly fake wood laminate bulkhead. Now I just need to do the starboard side riser and chainplate inspection....someday!
Don't want to lose the stick in ah heavy blow. The starboard bulkhead is less of a concern because it is glassed into the cabin liner and is therefore much stronger.
Last month I finally got around to tackling the port chainplate and bulkhead. First I disconnected the shrouds after marking the turnbuckle positions so I could re-tighten accurately. Then I removed the chainplate and inspected it for pitting. Only a few, very small pits were noted and no cracks were evident, so I deemed the chainplate still structurally sound and decided not to replace it. I then inspected the bulkhead and found it to be very solid, with very little actual rot. Just to be safe, I cleaned it thoroughly around the chainplate area and applied a boric acid based stop-rot product, allowing it to saturate the end grain of the plywood bulkhead and then dry completely.
The bad news was the discovery of substantial core-rot around the chainplate opening in the deck. I decided to make a riser around the chainplate to allow water to be directed away form the chainplate opening as is described in Don Casey's This Old Boat, an excellent book on boat repair. So I proceeded to cut away the top deck glass with a 3 1/2 inch hole saw. I then chiseled out the rotten balsa core, leaving the inner deck glass intact. I also, using a grinder, removed core material about 1/4 inch back from around the hole saw cut-tout to allow epoxy to flow in between the glass deck sandwich. I then taped up the chainplate and loosely reinstalled it. I used a plastic cup (this is the reason I chose the 3 1/2 inch hole saw since it was the same diameter as the cup) & cut off the rim to the desired height of the riser, smeared the inside with vaseline, and taped it to the deck around the hole.
Next I filled the entire hole and cup riser with thickened epoxy. About 10 minutes later...disaster! I used West 205 fast hardener and it was probably 75-80 F on deck at that time. The epoxy kicked off much to fast and the result was a volcano! Frustrated, there was nothing I could do but let it cure up and then return the next day. Thankfully, the riser is not structural so all the little air bubbles trapped in the epoxy shouldn't hurt anything.
After sawing off the volcanic epoxy mess to the desired height of the riser, I was able to sand it flat and taper the edges somewhat before applying several coats of filler epoxy, then sanding in betwen each coat until I had the riser looking pretty good. Just a bit of extra elbow grease (next time I will use the slow hardener and only fill 1/2 the hole at a time!). A final coat of topside paint and the riser was complete.
Back to the bulkhead inside, I decided to mount a backing plate for the chainplate bolts. I used a piece of 1/2 inch red oak because that's what was available a the hardware store and it was cheap. Marine plywood may have been preferable, but its a 30 minute drive to obtain it in Oxnard. I marked the outline of the backing plate on the bulkhead, taped it off, mixed up some thickened epoxy, buttered up the backing plate, and wedged a couple pieces of thin plywood in place to hold the backing plate securely to the bulkhead until the epoxy set up. I removed the tape just as the epoxy started to firm up.
After the backing plate had fully set, I drilled out oversize holes for the chainplate bolts, throught he bulkhead and backing plate, and filled these with thickened epoxy. After curing, I redrilled out the holes for the bolt diameter.
Finally, I filled all the little holes and nicks in the bulkhead with wood filler, sanded the entire bulkhead thoroughly, taped it all off, and painted the bulkhead glossy white, front and back. I used Rustoleum all purpose spray paint, so we will see how it holds up. I don't think I would use spray paint again because it was very difficult to keep the mist from settling all over the interior of the boat leaving everything with a coat of white and making me scamper around with a wet cloth trying to clean the paint off all the woodwork before it dried!
Finally, I reinstalled the chainplate, jammed lots of butyl tape around the plate through the deck, and installed the chainplate covers with lots more butyl tape (after polishing up all the chainplate and cover steel 'till nice and shiny!).
All in all it was a pretty easy and cheap, though time consuming project. The cabin looks much brighter and updated without the ugly fake wood laminate bulkhead. Now I just need to do the starboard side riser and chainplate inspection....someday!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Lines Led Aft
In order to make single handing and general operation of the boat easier, one of my first projects was to run all the control lines aft to the cockpit.
This pic shows the mast base and cabin top before modification.
To do this, I first thru-bolted two strap-eyes to the base of the mast to attach some blocks to in order to turn the lines back towards the cockpit.
I then incorporated a stack of two Ronstan series 40 single cheek blocks into the forward end of the grab rail/hatch slide assembly which was refurbished/installed concurrently.
I also installed a Spinlok Double Mini Jammer on either side of the bubble top for easy line cleating. Finally, I installed a second hand single speed winch on the port bubble top aft of the jammer to assist raising the mainsail and tightening the 1st reef clew. Run to the starboard side is the topping lift and the 1st reef tack. My mainsail currently has only one set of reef points. If I add a second set, or upgrade to a new sail, I'll have to figure out how to run two more lines back.
After one and a half years of use I am very satisfied with this set-up and have found it works smoothly and flawlessly except when the mainsail slugs get hung up in the mast slot, especially near the slot plate. Thankfully, keeping the slot clean and lubed seems to minimize this. Also, the jammers work great but the handles do stick up a bit above the bubble top and its easy to kick or snag them so that they flip open thereby loosening the line, so I do have to be somewhat careful of that.
Here's the finished assembly
A view of the winch, jammer and turning blocks. Also note the new boom vang.
This pic shows the mast base and cabin top before modification.
To do this, I first thru-bolted two strap-eyes to the base of the mast to attach some blocks to in order to turn the lines back towards the cockpit.
I then incorporated a stack of two Ronstan series 40 single cheek blocks into the forward end of the grab rail/hatch slide assembly which was refurbished/installed concurrently.
I also installed a Spinlok Double Mini Jammer on either side of the bubble top for easy line cleating. Finally, I installed a second hand single speed winch on the port bubble top aft of the jammer to assist raising the mainsail and tightening the 1st reef clew. Run to the starboard side is the topping lift and the 1st reef tack. My mainsail currently has only one set of reef points. If I add a second set, or upgrade to a new sail, I'll have to figure out how to run two more lines back.
After one and a half years of use I am very satisfied with this set-up and have found it works smoothly and flawlessly except when the mainsail slugs get hung up in the mast slot, especially near the slot plate. Thankfully, keeping the slot clean and lubed seems to minimize this. Also, the jammers work great but the handles do stick up a bit above the bubble top and its easy to kick or snag them so that they flip open thereby loosening the line, so I do have to be somewhat careful of that.
Here's the finished assembly
A view of the winch, jammer and turning blocks. Also note the new boom vang.
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