Mango Madness J30 Sailboat

Stern Ladder Project

2009-08-10T12:50:00.007-10:00

Rail seats and ladder mounted

draggin a rail in Kaneohe Bay

Painted aluminum awlgrip gray

Finished, painted, assembled ladder and rail seats with 3M nonskid.

Awlgrip gray on ladder steps and rail seats

sanded and etched ready for paint

Dry fit after cut and sanding ends

Old ladder and new aluminum rods next to it.

I just like building stuff. Even If it isn't that cost effective, there is satisfaction in knowing "I did That". This project is my stern ladder. My old one was hollow stainless tubing. It bent under the weight of heavy guests. I decided to rebuild it better with solid aluminum rod. I ordered two 6 foot long aluminum rods from Mc Master -Carr. They are 7068 aluminum alloy. They are the strongest grade of aluminum you can buy. Which validates the $101 a piece price. With shipping $244. http://www.mcmaster.com/#9047k136/=34sojq I went to the hardware store and bought a 1/4" tap, (2 )#7 drill bits and stainless 1/4" pan head screws for assembly. I'm using left over G10 for the steps. They will be painted gray Awlgrip and have non-skid tread on them to help when you climb in and out of the water. The old one hurt your feet due to the narrow rungs. The new ladder will be 8 inchs longer. The old one was a touch too short when in the water. I'm also fabricating "legs" to protect the fiberglass and keep it oriented sraight up and down. I'm using my toolshop to cut and drill and tap and sand everything. Without it, I would've never been able to drill and tap the ends of the rungs correctly. Can't wait till its done.

LED Navigation lights

2009-06-23T15:17:00.003-10:00

I ordered Hella 1NM LED navigation lights to replace my old shitty ones. Unfortunetly they were on back oreder everywhere on the web. I finally recieved them and put them on the bow last night. They look clean and are bright! Worth the $60 a piece price.

I am now going to replace the old mildued trim in the cabin with blue LED rope light I bought from somewhere. It plugs into my cigarette lighter and looks cooler then the old white lights.

Orcas Cleat, G10 reinforced sliding hatch track

2009-06-02T20:02:00.004-10:00

Rub rail for anchor rode

316 Orcas cleat. $425

It is a 10" pop-up cleat

316 SS handrails.

G10 epoxied to top of track for strength. I'll paint them later.

Lifelines, Handrails, Stern seats

2009-06-01T12:19:00.004-10:00

Current look before the hull is painted

G10 stern rail seat not painted yet. I will also make cushions for them.

Parking sail is complete. I made those lifeline cushions out of sunbrella.

Lifelines are amsteel blue, Stanchion base plates G10

HERE IS WHAT ONE OF THE MANY HOLES IN MY DECK LOOK LIKE. FILLED AND DRILLED WITH THICKENED EPOXY.

The handrails are on. The stanchions are made from solid G10 rod, and they are mounted. The bases have G10 backing plates above and below deck. The stern rail seats are made from G10(overkill) and are a great addition. I mounted my Spin pole chocks, my new cam cleats for the twings, and I reenforced the companionway sliding hatch rails by epoxying G10 over them. More pics to follow. I am getting ready to race the summer circuit here at Kaneohe Bay Yacht Club.

Making an Anchor or "parking" sail

2009-04-09T16:51:00.003-10:00

Materials consist of old sail, bungie cord and hooks to hold sail taught down and forward, jiffy grommets to reinforce sail where halyard and hooks attach, and finally four ronstan snap shackles to hold sail to backstay. I will sew black sunbrella around trim since I have some left over from lifeline cushions. I ordered everything from Sailrite.

I have all my materials except for the sewing machine. I got a singer on ebay for $40. Should be here in a year since they shipped it to hawaii via boat. Thanks for that.

rebuilding sliding hatch

2009-04-08T11:06:00.006-10:00

Finished

old and new comparison

Shiny, awlgripped, light gray, G10 base plates for my pulpits and stanchions. I'll shape and bevel them later. Small squares will be round and rectangles will be rounded rectangles for the stanchion bases.

Back of hatch

Front of hatch Painted. Couple of bubbles but not a bad job for the hatch.

Faired, ready for primer

filet mix with west system and micro ballons

glassed over filet for reinforcement

Putting old traveler back on

2008-09-18T12:16:00.006-10:00

I reinstalled everything and added two big offshore camcleats spread a little wider than their original positions on the deck. I also added new jamcleats near the primaries. I still need new jamcleats near secondaries, Both pulpits and all stanchions and bases reinstalled, however I need to make backing plates first so it might be awhile. Here's some more pics.

More hardware on

2008-09-09T10:11:00.002-10:00

Alot of holes to mark, over-drill, tape, fill, remark, chamfer, re-drill, re-tape, clean, seal, and mount. This is a time consuming process and it sucks. In order to do it right, it takes a lot of time and patience. It's no wonder people cut corners when re-bedding hardware. I'm also doing it myself so I'm constantly running topsides and then down below decks to tighten each bolt with the help of vicegrips wedged against something, to hold the nut while I tighten it.I've got both Genoa tracks, clutches, deck organizers, backstay adjustment eye pad, foreguy eye pad and bullet fairleads, and the port side spin block eyepad properly re-mounted. I still need to mount the camcleats (3) for double-ended foreguy, and topping lift, the starboard eyepad for spin block, and a stand-up block that I originally bought to replace a blown halyard mast block that I decided to not mount, instead I will mount it up close to the Bow for a tack line to fly an asymmetrical spinnaker. Overall I'm pleased with my new deck layout. I have new cordage en route. I plan to eventually run a reefing line to the cockpit via the port organizer( i bought two (4) sheave models so I have an unused sheave). I also plan to rig a lazy jack system that I can control from the cockpit as well.

I also bought a trick throttle cable and mounting brackets to replace my choke/kill cable for the Yanmar. My old one required two hands and a lot of strength to pull. I remounted it in a new location as you can see in the picture. I also used an unused Spinlock bulls-eye fairlead as a handle for the cable and when my new cordage comes in I'll tie a monkey fist knot to it, and it will look sweet. Pics to follow. Mango out.

Transom work

2008-09-08T13:57:00.003-10:00

I removed the chainplates, swim ladder, from the back of the boat. The transom is thicker than I thought (about 2 inches). The chainplate holes were mostly dry. The fasteners for everything were rusting.

I overdrilled every hole and sealed with very thick epoxy. I will redrill and remount the chainplates/backstay this evening. The ladder needs to be cleaned up or replaced.
I'm mostly concerned with waterproofing the core with the epoxy fill method.

I may also add backing plates to the chainplates at that time.

Winches and Jib tracks finally on.

2008-08-20T16:22:00.002-10:00

I properly mounted the primaries and secondaries so I got clean, rebuilt winches finally. I mounted the jib tracks and I'm getting ready to drill/fill the genny track holes. I plan on going sailing on both sat and sun. I'm also going to fly my spinnaker if I can mount my blocks by the weekend.

Mounting Primary

2008-08-08T19:25:00.004-10:00

Measured and marked holes with base of winch. Masked whole area with 3M tape to contain mess. Drilled holes oversize with 3/4 inch forstner bit. Mixed west system and pre-filled holes with unthickened epoxy. Went below and drained each hole back into mixing cup. Mixed in colloidal silica thickener until mayo consistency. Injected thickened epoxy into holes with syringe. Only filled up to 1/8 inch below surface due to the fact that the epoxy rises a bit. Here's the hardened result. Spent all night cleaning/re greasing, and building primary winch.
Ground the hardened epoxy down to the surface. Acetoned, then put base of other winch down and centered the holes over the enlarged, filled holes, and marked with a marker. Removed winch base and predrilled a pilot hole with a small bit on low at a slow speed in order to prevent the epoxy from cracking. I then drilled a 3/8 inch hole through the pilot hole in order to facilitate the 5/16 bolt of the primary. I recessed the holes with a 3/4 inch recess bit(chamfer). This will allow more sealant to collect around each bolt and form an o-ring of sealant. I then acetoned the holes, the base of the primary, and the bolts. I put down a generous amount of 3M 4000UV sealant around each hole and the perimeter of the base. I then installed the base of the winch. I went below and installed the fender washers and lock nuts. I tightened everything down with an impact driver. I went topsides and cleaned the excess sealant from the edge of the base. Removed the tape surrounding the base. Acetoned everything until satisfied. and then put the winch drum back on the base.
Here is the final result and I only have three more to go. (I'm not reinstalling my halyard winches, I'm only mounting my secondaries which will double as halyard winches. I'll just need to buy locking snatch blocks in order to free up my secondaries for raising the spin halyard, and just change the genny sheet on my primaries to spin sheet, and vice versa.

After pics

2008-08-04T11:28:00.003-10:00

Notice the flattened nonskid has more contrast with the shiny coat, due to flattening agent mixed with the paint.
It's good... now on to mounting hardware. Primaries first. I'm not in a hurry to remount stanchions and pulpits because I still need to fabricate backing plates and epoxy them to the underside of the deck. I'm going to take my time and do it right. Besides ,I'm not going open water at the present time and the lack of lifelines is more convienient.

Another coat of non-skid (before pics)

2008-08-01T16:53:00.005-10:00

Taped but not trimmed.
Notice the uneven brush/roller marks in the unflattened first coat picture of the deck below.

rolled.

I already have so much time invested in this deck rebuild, whats another two days worth of work. I scrubbed the deck with TSP on tuesday, Taped the non skid areas on wednesday, Sanded the bow and deck on thursday, AndI got up at 530 and started sanding the nonskid on last time with a longboard and small block for the tape line. I awlprepped it, alcohol wiped it, and put one last coat of flattened awlgrip with a conservative amount of course griptex particles. (I guess thats more than two days). I mixed up too much. I was worried about running out so I didn't plan on recoating the cockpit. I wish I had, I had about a quart of mix left over. I'm glad i bought so much paint but I probably only needed half. Overall I'm happier with the result. I kept a wet edge and went more carefully this time, we'll see if it looks good once its dry. It might take me a while to remount everything cause I'm out of cash and I need roughly $1300 for all my new things I want. I'm getting a harken windward sheeting traveller system, new t-tracks for my blocks, new fasteners for everything, and a new halyard block and clutch for my main halyard, and G10 frp for backing plates. Then if I win the lottery which might be difficult since I don't play, I'm getting a harken MKIV roller furling for the front, that'll be another $3300 with a sail. I'll stop rambling now.

Cabin interior complete for now

2008-07-29T12:37:00.006-10:00

Cabin ceiling and deck was scrubbed with artificial steel wool pads and TSP, Awlprepped, sanded with random orbital 60 grit, primed with Awlgrip 545 primer, then lightly scuffed. The ceiling was painted with BEHR exterior enamel(alpine snow white). I rolled it. The cabin floor was painted with AWLGRIP light grey topside paint, flattened and mixed with course griptex additive for a non-skid surface. I also cleaned /primed and nonskid painted the teak cover to the bilge. I didn't like the slimy feeling under foot when the wood was wet. Mahogany trim pieces were installed in the companionway with 3M 4000UV sealant. No need for screws, this shit is tenacious. I will eventually repaint the original yellow FRP surfaces with left over awlgrip, I just don't feel like it right now. Priority is on remounting hardware.

Cabin is sanded

2008-07-21T20:46:00.003-10:00

I hate sanding.

Color

2008-07-17T15:37:00.004-10:00

I like this color scheme , and it's more practical for the weather here.

Fairing Inside

2008-07-17T08:11:00.005-10:00

I ground down the fiberglassed instrument holes from the inside. I 50 grit sanded (orbital) all of my holes and depressions from the fender washers securing my old cabintop hardware. I alcohol wiped everything clean. Mixed up some epoxy, added silica for thickener ( can't let it run or sag from above), added microballons and spread the mixture onto the depressions. It's important to spread the mixture out onto a paint tray or something similar in order to extend your working time with epoxy. If you skip this step and leave it in a container it will kick off and harden 5 times as fast( with a fast hardener). I then scraped the remaining mixture in the pan with a popsicle stick and spot filled alot of small holes and imperfections. It will take three or more fairing evolutions ( sand, clean, epoxy) to get the smoothness I want. My last sanding will be with a small longboard by hand.

Old interior

2008-07-10T13:11:00.004-10:00

Here's some before pics of what I'm working with. I know I'm going to grind, fill, fair, prime and paint the ceiling and instrument bulkhead. I'm also quite certain I'm going to paint and nonskid the cabin floor with leftover light gray awlgrip. I just don't know about removing all of the interior woodwork. Although I'm sure it will come to that.

Sandbar fourth of july

2008-07-09T19:07:00.007-10:00

I put a block on my chainplate and one on my rear cleat and flew my #3 to the sandbar (broad reach), motored back.

My companionway trim smells of rich mahogany

2008-07-09T08:27:00.004-10:00

I had to make new trim due to 3M 5200 holding my old teak ones on. Needless to say they came off in pieces. So, I went with mahogany, stained ebony, and 4 coats of marine spar satin lacquer. I can't remember the brand names. The bottom trim is teak refinished with the same products. I'm reduing the interior next so the little interior trim pieces aren't on yet.

AWLGRIP Non Skid

2008-07-03T08:02:00.002-10:00

I finally finished up the painting process. It took several days to complete. 3 coats of 545 primer, sanded 220, awlprepped + alcohol wiped. 2 to 3 coats of reduced awlgrip light gray topcoat paint. Ready for the nonskid. I mean how hard can it be? I spent countless hours mixing and thickening epoxy for the repairs. Hours mixing the fairing compound. Hours mixing and brushing/rolling primer and paint. Non skid upon internet research, looks to be an easy process but, If you want it to be spreadable on the deck after you apply it (good thing), follow the awlgrip instructions and don't mix it thick. In fact 3/4 of a quart of griptex mixed into two+ quarts of paint mixture is plenty. Bottom line, I scraped and sanded the nonskid off the bow section twice. Lesson learned, also keep a wet edge with the nonskid, and if you want a uniform color/glare in the sun, mix enough to do the whole deck at once.

That being said, the paint/nonskid is done. The tape is removed. The hatches are bedded and fastened (new lexan $212). The chocks and cleats and cowl vents are properly bedded and fatened with new 316 stainless fasteners. The hinges for the cockpit compartment lids, and anchor locker are new 316 stainless and properly installed. My stained and varnished mahogany trim for the companionway and hatch are finished and about to be installed this evening. My wife says she's going to clean the cabin. I still have to clean up paint drips on the hull, clean up the transom, and I want to put a bead of 3m 4000uv around the inside of the toerails to seal the paint edge.

Overall the boat looks good, but until I have my hardware reinstalled and new lifelines/ color, the boat topsides looks kind of plain.

First top coat (shiny areas)

2008-06-25T07:13:00.001-10:00

I've sanded the primer with 220 grit random orbital. I alcohol wiped everything with the two rag method. I mixed up some awlgrip light gray paint with brush converter. I let it kick for 30 minutes, then added about 35 percent reducer. I started at the bow along the toe rails and moved quickly with a 3" foam roller and a 2" china bristle brush. I made it around the toe rail quickly and then painted around the hatches and mast. I then moved to the vertical surface of the cabin top, around the seahood and down the other side of the cabin top (portlights). I finished up with the cockpit area, with alot of painting in there. I reduced the paint that was sitting as I moved along. I mixed about twice the amount of paint that I needed, and I was putting it on slightly heavy. I will sand everything with 400 grit tonight, prep, then put on another coat on the same areas. Hopefully I will do a better job. Its hard to tell from the pics, because the paint looks good from 10 feet, but I'm not happy with the results. Also the drops are rain not paint defects. I also skipped the flattening agent additive for the first coat, so its really bright and shiny. I need to fill some holes with thickened epoxy over lunch, I replaced my rear cleats with bigger ones and the holes won't line up.

Primed

2008-06-23T07:53:00.000-10:00

Awl Grip 545 gray primer is on. 3 coats. Used about a half gallon for everything. I still need another coat on the seahood and lids. I learned alot about the roll and tip process during this adventure. I understand the "add more reducer as the paint sits" tip. I also should've taken the advise of other online painters and not used my $25 a piece badger hair brushes for the primer. Now I need to buy two more for the topcoat. Just to clarify, the dark gray paint is actually primer, the color I'm going with for topcoat and non-skid is light gray.

Almost

2008-06-16T17:02:00.000-10:00

I've sanded everything, cleared a clogged anchor locker, wire brushed and scrubed the deck and toerails, and finally taped evreything off. The tape will last throughout the prime/paint/nonskid process so I took my time doing it. I've found a couple of areas I can fill but I'm going to roll my first coat of primer on first. I feel like I've been looking at the same level of acomplishment for a long time. The color/contrast change will do me good. It's hard to not rush jobs when you are working by yourself and are this close to completion. Wish me luck.

Chainplates O.K.

2008-06-09T13:18:00.000-10:00

I've been busy with several small areas of the deck for the last few weeks. I've had people visit and made a couple trips to the sandbar in "repairs". The time is at hand. Everything is faired to my standards as far as I can tell, before priming, and I've just cut away some balsa from the chainplate area whilst removing and inspecting the chainplates. I don't think they've ever been removed and they were'nt sealed very well. The protective cover looks like it has been removed but the owner resealed it with silicone. The port side was dry, the starboard side was wet but not destroyed. I routed out some wood, acetoned the site, and filled the hole with thickened epoxy. I don't know if I'm going to pull the plates after the epoxy cures. I might just leave them glued to the sides. I waxed the chainplates so the epoxy shouldn't stick to them. I'm going to sand the epoxy flush tonight, and start to sand the entire hull from bow to stern. Only thing left to do is sand, degrease again, tape the toe rails, and start the priming/painting job.

Pics for web uploading

2008-06-04T07:34:00.007-10:00

Almost Ready to Prime

2008-05-29T15:25:00.000-10:00

I've faired, and sanded. I've removed everything from the deck including the hatches and portlights. I've filled everything that needs it. I'm going to try to prime on sunday. This is a more difficult job than normal because i'm in the water tied to the dock. I need to relocated all of my lines to the mast. I just hope the winds don't pick up. I still need to remove, inspect and replace the chainplates; fair the traveller rail; coat the faired areas with unthickened epoxy; wash, scrub, then degrease the deck again; sand the entire deck again; tape off the portlights, hatches, toerails, and cockpit lockers; and wake up early on sunday to degrease the deck and prime, using the roll and tip method. pics to follow. I also decided not to paint the hull super jet black when I pull her. I think I'm going to stick with light gray for the entire boat. Black would just be entirely too hot down below in 82 degree year round weather. Damn it.

The Act Of Fairing Sucks

2008-05-13T09:35:00.000-10:00

I've faired my big repairs about 4 times now and I am not happy with the process. I need to mix more epoxy and just build the whole damn thing up an longboard sand it down.
I took off my seahood. It has cracks all along the edges. Luckily the lip that the seahood attaches to isn't beat up. I am going to remove my chocks, cleat and waste fill cap up on the bow. I ordered new ones. The cleats I ordered are the attwood pull up flush cleats. I'm going to mount two of them up front, and to the side of where the original one is located. I found a website where they are cheap. http://www.firstchoicemarine.com/p-575-neat-cleat-stainless-steel-retractable-flush-6.aspx. I also ordered new high speed flush hinges for my lids in the cockpit and anchor locker. That website has free ups ground shipping also. I'm going to fill cracks in my seahood and fair the deck some more tonight.

Faired repairs, cleaned deck

2008-05-10T06:32:00.000-10:00

I have every other Friday off work, due to a very lenient federal job system. I took the opportunity to work on the boat. I plan on priming the topsides soon in an effort to distinguish minor imperfections in my spot repair and fairing. I will then correct all the imperfections and prime again. Because I'm so close to painting and I'm not removing my toe rails, I need to tape them off. I want them spotless first so I scrubbed the hell out of my toe rails with a scrub brush and it took about two hours. I then began cleaning my interior since I'm motoring to the sandbar on Saturday and the cabin is trashed. I can't believe how much crap was in there. It took about six hours before I was ready to actually work on anything topsides. When I did get to work, I faired the starboard and bow repair, ground out and acetoned many cracks in the gel coat, and attempted to spot fill the small imperfections with 3M high strength marine repair filler. It is a two part system, turns blue when mixed and unfortunately kicks in about 7 minutes. I was not used to the speed since I've been working with 209 tropical hardener from west system.
Saturday I'm going to head out to the marina(6 minutes away) and dewax the topsides with awl-prep before the sun gets too hot, and sand the whole deck down with a random orbital. I don't want anyone cutting their feet on filler, when they're drunk on board, at the sandbar. I'll post picks when I get back. I bought a new camera from the navy exchange at pearl harbor.

Glassed starboard

2008-05-08T14:38:00.000-10:00

Glassed the starboard side and faired the port side. I also found a "void" from the factory in a delaminated spot up on the bow. It made a hollow sound when i hit it and upon further investigation (grinding) i found the balsa sheets must have married up here and there was a 1/3 inch drop from one sheet to the other. This resulted in a void where the skin was not attached to the core. There was also some wood putty in there. Original gelcoat and no evidence of prior repair. I just ground it out and glassed it with a few more layers than needed. I also had a 8 foot hammerhead shark banging up against the side of my hull where the fenders are in the picture. It was chasing something in between the boat and the pier and must have gotten caught for a sec. Wish I had a pic of that.

Starboard delamination

2008-04-25T19:27:00.001-10:00

I had a crackling sound when I walked on deck, around the right side of the cabin top, behind the chainplate. I researched how to fix it and I came up with the only complete solution. Cut the top skin off, recore if needed, then glass the top back on. I drilled some holes to check the core. The wood came out dry. I assumed it would be a pretty straught forward job. It had to be easier than recoring the primary. Wrong.

I marked the dull drum sound areas and had a perimeter. I then used my angle grinder with a cut-off wheel and make my cuts of the top skin. I made an extra cut along the bottom to use as a sacrifical piece, so I could more easily pry up the skin and save it. I figured delamination meant easier skin removal. The skin was a pain to get off and I quickly realized there was no top skin to core delamination. I then assumed I had bottom skin delamination, because when the skin was removed and I put pressure on the core, I could still hear the sound. Damn, somehow the bottom skin has delaminated. I then did some core removal with the intent of just replacing the whole section with new balsa and glassing it all in.The bottom skin wound up being securly laminated. What the hell is making that flexing, crackling sound? Turns out it was a slight flexing of the deck core putting pressure on a piece of molding in the cabin. I went below and pryed the peice of moulding off and the sound stopped. No problem I figured, I'll just clean up the core, replace the areas I removed, and glass the skins back on. When it cures I'll glass the seams properly. I mixed up the west system, thickened it, prepped the balsa, prepped the site, and properly recored the area. I topped the site with release fabric. I placed thin plywood over the site and topped the repair off with heavy trash bags filled with sand.

Glassed primary

2008-04-23T17:03:00.001-10:00

Used biaxal tape, two layers and tropical 209 hardener. Good thing it didn't rain because it took 24 hrs to harden.

Wet Core Under Primary

2008-04-22T08:46:00.001-10:00

I faired the instrument holes a few times. With a full day off to work on the boat, I arrived early and anticipated a long day. I was correct. The plan was to rip up the skin and old core from under the left primary. I knew it was wet and had to be replaced. I read and studied all about the subject. It was still pretty difficult to take a cut-off wheel to a seemingly good outer skin.
I thought I could save the skin, clean it and then rebond it. That way I would only have to reglass the beveled edge. That plan did not work. The skin was still pretty well attached to the dry areas of balsa. I wish I would have taken picture of what everything looked like when I ripped it up, but I was too envolved. After 8 hours of pulling and grinding and cutting. I had a clean slate. I cut a new piece of plywood and glassed it in. I then cut the balsa to fit, I acetoned everything and mixed up alot of thickened resin. I attempted to fill the void areas first, then paint the resin onto the core before I pressed it in. I placed the new balsa in and cover the site with release fabric, I then placed two huge trash bags full with sand over the core to compress it while it kicked. It only took 2 hours in the 85 degree sun. I then removed the bags and mixed up more thickened resin and spackled all the remaining voids. This ate up a half gallon of west system. I really just needed a waterproof seal to finish the day. I'm going to honolulu during lunch and spending a fortune on another gallon of resin. I already have the slower"tropical" hardener unopened. I should have used that instead of the slow hardener for the core. Tonight I bevel, grind, fill and glass over the repaired core. More pics to follow.

Dirt and holes

2008-04-15T19:23:00.001-10:00

I removed the instruments from the bulkhead as well as the compass. The compass wasn't even sealed with anything. As a result the balsa was compromised. I included a couple pics. The pic of the odd shaped hole is where the compass used to be. I probed that hole after drilling it oversized from the inside, and I can't find bugs or sign. After I fill and rebed everything it should be fine. If anyone(J30 forum) wants these old instruments just ask and I could ship them for the cost of shipping. I'l never use them again. Boat is a mess inside.

The shot of the transom shows the rust area where some extra mounts were installed to hang an emergency rudder.

Filling and Glassing

2008-04-15T19:13:00.001-10:00

I've filled every hole that remained after removing all the deck hardware. I used west system 105 resin/206 slow hardener mixed with coloda silica. I overdrilled some of the holes and just countersink drilled some. I think I'm going to redrill oversize all of the holes that hardware will be re affixed too. It will just happen at a later date. I'm more concerned with keeping the whole operation dry while I work. Here are some pics finally.

Bugs in the handrails

2008-04-06T13:48:00.001-10:00

I brought all the equipment to the boat. It was raining today so I figure I'd do something productive and work from the inside. I tried to remove the handrails because water is leaking from a couple of screws holding it. I first attempted to do the screw-through-the-bung drill trick in order to gain access to the screws. I then remembered I don't plan on keeping any wood handrails so I just broke out the angle grinder and used the cut-off wheel to cut into the rail from the topsides and just cut through the screw. I then popped the top rail off and went below to remove the inside rails. Thats when i noticed a few small bugs around one of the screws. I thought they might be termites but upon further investigation, they weren't. Camera is coming soon.

Topsides Prep

2008-03-31T17:13:00.001-10:00

I removed the boom, mainsheet, and started to fill the cabin with all the materials I need to complete my topsides rebuild. I plan on removing all deck hardware, except for the toe rails, cleats and chocks(I'm still in the water). I have a soft spot in front of my port side primary winch( due to faulty bedding job of a cam cleat and the Genoa track). I am going to remove the skin, replace the balsa and put the old skin back on. Bevel, glass, fair, and prime. I also have delamination on the starboard side behind my chainplates. I plan on removing the skin and rebuilding the same way. I don't like my instruments on the bulkhead forward of the cockpit, so I'm removing them and filling, fairing, painting over those two areas so their smooth. I then plan on filling/fairing every crack, chip and hole, oversize drilling every fastener hole for stantions/hardware/etc. and reinforcing with epoxy/filler. Then priming/ painting/ nonskidding everything with Awl-grip light gray. Using the Awl-grip nonskid additive(maybe 407 silica). I'll take pics soon. I want to thank Jason"Rattle and Hum" for the inspiration and support. http://sailrattleandhum.blogspot.com/