Sunday, May 17, 2009

2009 Season

2009 Boat Improvement Notes and Pictures



Rub Rails
The old rails needed to be replaced, the rubber had broken down over the years and was leaving white streaks down the hull of the boat each year.
The rail came in one section 60 feet long , in black. The white was almost double the cost. Im going to wrap it around the front on the outside and then tie it off in the rear right corner so there is just one piece all around. In order to do this I had to reset the bow and stern plates and reseal it all.



Stern Rail Entry
I needed a better entry into the boat, so i split the stern rails. Cut out the upper and lower rails ,and later used them as two extra stations. The other parts came off an old boat and all got tied into the rear platform . Now its easer to get into the boat again. It turned out quite nice for as you go design work. There needs to be some rope work done on the rails to make them look nice. I started it with about 30 feet of 1/8 line but that did not even get me half way . It takes a lot of line and time to do the job.




Hull Repairs
Some minor scrapes in the fiberglass from last summer needed to be repaired . Since the hull is blue , a color die added to the jell coat to match the color as best i could. Problem solved ,and the hull looks ok for a boat that is 30 years old . It got a coat of penitrol and some some wax and we will be all set for another year. The bottom got a follow up coat of bottom paint .


Safety Lines and Rail Posts
The rail posts were always in the way because of the way the rails were set. I tried to bend one post about 10 degree and it did not work ,all i did was dimple it in an arbor press, after putting on about 2000k of force on it. I also lost the bids on ebay for the replacement one in case i damaged this one now i am out a stanchion, it can still be used but i am not happy about it. I took the stern rail cutouts and manufactured 2 new posts. We set an extra one on the center of the deck because i wanted more walking room. All were removed and reseated in 3M 4200 to stop the deck leaks, it worked .No more problems. The live lines are out to the max at this point because of the extra post, and should be replaced. They are showing some wear, this is for next year.


Chain Plates
Serviced all the Chain plates attach points. inspected and cleaned out the fitting holes ,filled with foam and prepped the plate covers for installation The covers were sealed with 3M 4200 and re beaded with longer ss deck screws this stopped any more water intrusion.




Mast Spreader Brackets
We took the mast off the boat with a forklift, because the spreader bracket had broken last fall. I was given some new brackets form my best fiend Jim's Catalina 25 and modified them to work on my mast. The mast fittings were removed from the spreader plates. To match the hole patterns. Then the outer plate was removed by cutting off the welds to accommodate my original plates which are much heavier. The tubing was cut in half after drilling the holes larger to put the old spreader insert into the new bracket, one is round ,the other flat. The mast spreader bars are also repaired and rewired because the wire routing is different and had to be moved also. It was a lot of work and fitting especially for the wiring which needed to be re routed . It looks good ,the new halyard is on its way and the new extra lines i picked up for 9 bucks looks cleaner. The one item that was a bit of a concern was that the spreader bars did not have enough flex. In some older ships they were actually hinged. I believe because the upper stanchion cable is not tightly secured into the spreaders and does move this should not be an issue, but still a close eye should be kept on it this year.


Lawrence Electronics
A new depth sounder is installed in billage. We are going to try and see if the radio waves will go through the hull when installed to bottom of billage electric pump. The speed ,temp sensor was installed through one of the old overboard hull drains. The brass fitting had to be modified just like the one I did last year for one of the new intakes on the other side. A collar had to be cut off and a larger hole made, same as the last time. I forgot how much of a mess it makes. I fits well and looks good.




The New Hatch Doors
The New Hatch Doors got their final of 6 coats of varnish . The hardware was costly but i can remove the doors without a problem now. The plastic glass was cut and screens still need to be manufactured w with this pattern. The door opening did not fit well and needed a small adjustment for everything to line up. A slow process and some refinishing had to be done ,but they turned out great.







The Hatch Cover
I decided to replace the top laminate with cedar. This is working out well, it just takes forever to glue up the laminates one section at a time. The wood is also soft so my finish will have to be a bit different, epoxy under 6 coats of varnish It looks good but time will tell.







Engine Service
I needed to repair the intake hose again this year. This time i installed a water strainer . This will help to save the water impeller from getting damaged. The impeller is hard to install and very expensive.


A new Overboard Drain System
The ob drain system for the manual billage pump needed to be retired . The old one leaked and was oil soaked. The new one is in with black pipe and has a large check valve to stop back flow. It works great but it was a dirty job to replace. The electric system is also rerouted to a new OB drain above the waterline to stop back flow . It no longer runs out of the sink drain which is below the water line.


A New Water Strainer
The sink then got a new water strainer system for filtering the drinking water. All new pipes and fittings were installed. This will keep the drinking water clean and the sink water can now be run through the original lines without violation the new pollution laws in effect this year.









The Bimany Top
The old Bimany top got destroyed during a wind storm this spring ,so I took the old pattern and re cut one on Joy's new dinning room table. It looks ok ,but definitely not professional. While at it i also made a new canopy cover. I liked the way the old one worked before the wind took care of that one also. The project was made out of painters tarp so time will tell how well it does.



Teak Cockpit Flooring
The teak cockpit flooring looks good . I took 10 square feet of it just to do the front cockpit , I need another box for rear section. BJ picked one up when he went to Burlington. This project is costing a lot. The 10 sq ft of teak flooring is almost $40 .00 and i needed 2 boxes to finish the project. It fits fine and looks good. I had to make a half inch adjustment on the one side to make it fit better . Now to do the back half.



Carpet
A new carpet purchased for the floor. It was cut from the original pattern and fits perfect. Seems they only last about 2 years.

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