Oxnard - Day 29

Alright. This was my victory on 0.25" thick stainless steel backing plates.

The yard manager took pity on me, or maybe he was just bored of the noise I was making failing to drill through.

Secret is : push hard and go slowly. If the metal heats up, it goes so hard you are screwed.

Drilling the pilot holes. 1/8" drill bit, it is usually easy.

Now we are talking. 5/8" drill bit.

With the correct technique and some patience, it is actually do-able.

8 holes. 4 hours for the first 2.
20 minutes for the 6 remaining.

I learned a good skill today. Not sure if that will help me at work

Clamps for the bilge....

You always want to double clamp any hose (not sure, why, but this is one of the few constant in the marine industry). Look below and look for the error :)

Clamps for the hoses....

Closing on the plumbing. It is all about clamping hoses. Not hard, but takes time.
Believe me , it really looks neat (for a boat).(ok, for an old boat).
I am kind of auto-satisfied :)
Now, will that hold ?
Answer next week, when - if - we - eventually - manage to put the damn think back on the water.

Oxnard - Day 28

There is days like that. Days you should forget. I had high hopes to be sailing on the holiday week-end we have in US, "Labor Day". The yard was overloaded with boats wanted to go in the water for this occasion, and I was on the waiting list to put back my prop, shaft, coupling, etc... I cannot really complain, so far, they do not make me pay for all those "Lay Day" as we are waiting for parts.

Usually a day on the "Hard" is around 80$. Note that I would prefer to be on the water, as now, most of my remaining repairs I can do them in the Marina.

Anyway, I started early, I still need to fix my bilge pump if we want to put the boat back in the water, specially if I screwed up my Through-Hulls. Just kidding, no pump can keep up with  hole in your boat.

Or not for long.

Heat Shrink connections for the bilge

They are really expensive, but the work is super neat.

Not sure If you remember but they used Household connectors for the bilge, which is really humid. Corrosion at its most. Correct connections are made with waterproof butt connectors like those. And the water switch was broken too. Hop, a new one.

Cleanup, and ordered.

Reorganized the electrical and hoses in it too. Neat.

3 Holes, 5 broken Drills
Backing Plate: 1, Me : 0

I said last time I wanted to reinforce the transom. Got the plates, now, I need some holes. For my stern backing plates, I asked a shop to do it. 5$ the hole. But at that time, I did not have my real drill. I brought it from home last time. 

Now, I can  try it myself.

Obviously, it started pretty bad. Burned drill, noise and pain. I am getting nowhere. 7 Holes to go and already 20$ in drills.

I give up for now.

4.25", Right ?

Now the fun part of the day.
The yard finally decide to work on my boat. They get ready. And pretty fast, we all realize the coupler does not fit. WTF ? How a metal shop can do a mistake of 1" for a diameter ?

3.25", Right ?

I cried, and finally laugh a bit. Another lesson learned the hard way. Double check everything, all the time.
Isn't a rule of sailing ? Redundancy ?

Best Movie Ever ?
Excluding Star Wars which is from another galaxy.

I could not help to think about Spinal tap and their "stones edges" of 15" of height.
At least my coupler was not 5' of diameter.
In any case, I will be grounded for this week-end.
Again.

Oxnard - Day 27

While at it....
An old boat can be deceiving. As soon as you start to look closely somewhere, you realize you should/could/would  clean/replace/upgrade bits/parts/system.
Choose your combination.

While at it, I dived under the sink to replace on hose.

While I am at it, it looked I could replace those sink hoses and tubes as well. And I knew there was a leak anyway.
Alright, I have a new projects in hands...

It was actually very cheap plumbing there

Except that, most of the bronze fittings are done and ready to go. I am missing some parts and a couple of feet of hose, but it looks great.

Bilge plumbing. Engine Intake and Sink.

It is a pleasure to see it all back together, with new parts and clean bronze.

The head in the head .. fittings.

On a boat, everything is temporary, that's why new boats as so deceiving. Not sure how many years or months they will keep looking like this. Clean, new and no corrosion at all.
Something is certain, I will never forgot to work the handle every now and then.

Big test is coming. When in the water, hopefully there will no leaks. Obviously, a leak at this stage will be catastrophic. It certainly means to put back the boat out of the water, back on the yard, until you fix it. And try again.
With plumbing under the water line, there is no room for error.

Oxnard - Day 26

Believe it or not, but I am close to the last **hardware** purchases.
I still needed a full ground tackle (30' feet chain, 200' feet 5/8" line) and the heavy part of my Jordan Suite of drogue lines (200' of 5/8" double braided line).
Even at one tenth of price from West Marine, the bill ended up in the 400$ range.

lots of big lines ...

On my way, I asked around and found a closer place to get my remaining backing plates. Tons of metal over-there, by the foot. It was a little ridiculous to ask for 2 plates of 4" x 6".
But eh, I have a small boat :)

Metal Militia. This is the small sheets.
The big ones are in the back.

On the repair front, things are slowing down during the week (real life work takes precedence) and I am running out of sizable items. Now we are back on the small stuff. Finally.

Quote of the day:

"Relax, it ain't the mainland". Maui, HI.

Oxnard - Day 25

Relief.
Following a check from our loved boat yard manager (I still like him, he did not bring the bill yet), my Through hulls are fine and good to go. Yeah !
We are closing on the other stuff as well.
After the back cleats, the last big one is the Eye Pads at the transom for the Jordan drogues.

Another Hole in the Wall

At this point, I am cruising on this kind of work.

Shiny Stainless

Obviously, I hate doing holes in the boat.

Starboard side, it matches with the transom  LED light.

The eye pads came with a small backing plate. I am thinking about doubling it though, because I find my transom to be actually quite think glass. I would not like it to be teared apart in a big swell.
In doubt, let's err on the caution side.

After this, a big round will be on plumbing, and great news, we are planning to be on the water before the end of the week. Just in time for the 3 day week-end.


Quote of the day:

"When I leave for work (On Monday morning), I feel like I am going on Vacation".

Oxnard - Day 24

While other get ready for the mass (if you get ready for the mass at 7AM), I jump into my engine room and decided to prepare everything for those worker of the yard, if they decide - finally- to start to work on my shaft. ( hopefully, next week).

I decided to cut a bit of the wood to get better access to the backing plate of the shaft strut. It will be easier to install, to check later on and to clean now.

You cannot say, but it is clean.
You should have seen before.

I took a note to redo this full arrangement later on. I might try to replace this big wood plank that is getting rotten a bit. Actually, I had some epoxy left from my stern cleat job, I did a pass of coating it. Cannot be bad.

With the Through-hull job in stand-by of the divine judgment, I decided to hold-off on plumbing for now, I did already enough damage so far. I started one or my 2 biggest projects remaining. Putting back the stern cleats, but with a backing plate, to sustain higher loads. ( more on this later). 

Another epoxy job

Looking at my cleats, I realized they were hollow.
I decided to fill them with Epoxy. It should be stronger, right ? In any case, Cannot be worst.
(After the case, I thought it might actually cause issue of corrosion through the lack of oxygenation of the metal, like coated life-line. Anyway, I am not sure, then I will assume it will not be the case).

Another messy job for sir 5200.

The hard part over (It was actually aligning the holes of 3 layers of metal (the cleat, the support and the backing plate), drilling through half inch of stainless steel is always very fun. (This time I brought from Hawaii my real drill, not the funny "screwdriver" as the worker on the yard called it, on batteries, which helps).

I realized that having the proper tools makes all the difference. I don't have the tool : I screw up. I do have the tool. It is a breeze.

Don't you think it looks like a birthday cake ?

Top side.

Except the impossible position to screw this thing in (you have to go Inside the transom, laying on top of the rudder - I always find it is a miracle I can fit in there, and even more amazing , I can get out of there eventually), everything went way better than expected.

Stainless steel backing plate.

All this for this little plate (half inch stainless steel on 4"x5"). Now I can trust the stern of the boat to be able to withstand an hurricane. (More on this later).

Overall, a good day, even I was stressed all day at the idea of redoing all through-hulls.
Crossing fingers.

Oxnard - Day 23

The week end is usually sign of leisure and time-off. For me, on the opposite, I start racing against the clock.

How much will I be able to do before Monday ?

No surprises, the plan is to finish the Through-Hulls.

Inside. New flange, New Elbow. Isn't it clean ?

Inside - Outside.

Another job for the 3M 5200

This is the messier product I ever saw. it goes everywhere. Stick everywhere. And old buddy of mine who was helping me on my previous boat ended up to have some in his hair and mouth.
Unbelievable.

After cleaning up the mess. It looks alright, doesn't it ??

Now, I have 5 through-hulls to be redone, sealed and tightened. It took the full day. Roughly.
Here is the catch. I might have screwed up.
I did not realize but the use of the sealant made almost impossible to tight them. Obviously, Alone, I could not be outside and inside the boat to hold the "screw" and the "bolt". Plus you need a special tool - that I did not have -  to hold the Through-Hull from the outside.(it goes inside and hold the "ears").
Great.
I used all my imagination and find some interesting way to stop the full part to turn and turn. But eventually, I had to admit, I won't be able to tight them that "hard". (except the one with the strainer - and screws - this one was a breeze).
Now, it was the week-end, nobody - almost - on the yard, I could not call for help.
Monday, that will be the good or bad news game. I might have to pull them all 4 out, with 5200 sealant - permanent bond -  that will be a real nightmare. Add to that a full day lost.
I ask a neighbor of the yard : "if that was my boat, I would pull them out, and redo it the proper way".
*** Sic ***.
Let's wait to see what our Yard manager thinks of all this.
They look strong to me.
But well, I am a perfectionist.
If I have to pull them out, I will.
No matter the cost.

As my neighbor "Cal" told me : " I already did everything twice on my boat, and sometime more.".
I guess this is how we learn. As a child. Painfully.

Why a Good Old Boat ?

I was digging under the sink to replug some already damaged hosing, when I saw this fine art. Another sculpture of corrosion, certainly been there since the early days of the boat.

Quite depressing and always costly.

Another fine piece of corroded stuff

A couple of comments around me : Is the boat safe ? It looks you are fixing it all the time ... Isn't it too old ? Everything is falling a part. Where is the fun in sleeping in your bilge ?
Etc...

After all those years, I begin to really believe that the pleasure you get back of doing something is proportional of the effort it costed you to achieve it. And I am not talking from a monetary standpoint. Actually, money diminish the value of things by making them too easily accessible. buying a brand new boat does not take any effort, barely. Nowadays, walk down any marina and any dock and you will find a broker ready to give you a boat hand-on-key. Having the money or getting into debt does not really change much, except if it really cost you to spend money. I mean, cost you psychologically and **almost** physically.

But of course, in this case, you should not get a boat at all.  Because that will hurt - a lot.
No Pain, No gain. In short.

Obviously, the price of a used boat is not the same than a new one.
To buy a new Tartan 3700 in 2014, you are looking a t roughly 10x the price of mine, which overall costed less than a brand new New Beetle Volkswagen. For ten times the price, unfortunately, the sailing pleasure will be roughly the same. And I will less worried to abandon the boat in a crisis, if I know I can afford to lose the boat and will not pay 50 years for a sunken boat.
But this is not the point.

Working on your boat, makes you know your boat, In and Out.
Makes you think about the systems you want on your boat. You can feel the burden of installing and maintaining them. Do you really want this watermaker now ? Really ?
You see how materials age. You begin to be aware when they will fail.
Overall, it makes you a better cruiser, if not a sailor.


Would I have bought a brand new boat if I could afford it ?
No.
Would I be the same person if I could afford it ? Certainly not, which make this whole post totally irrelevant.
Let's go back to work on the boat and change this hose.

Oxnard - Day 22

Another busy day at work, ( I mean the real work), I had only few hours on the boat actually. But...
Now, I am using super strong putty epoxy and I found the actual **almost perfect** technique for applying it top down.

Finishing Tool Set. Colorful.

Before even wet sanding. Super clean.

With a slow motion, using the spreader at the right angle, you can achieve a perfectly flat surface without even sanding. You finish with fine grain wet sanding, and Voila !

Cutting some slack

Everything was ready to go on the hull side, but when simulating the plumbing re-installation I realized some Through-hulls did not fit inside the hull. Working at night, I cut one and rebuild the thread.
I do believe my rebuild was alright, but eventually, I ad to find a close machine shop with real tools to re-thread one part of the assembly. And make a clean cut on the other one.
There is some stuff you cannot improvise without the right tool. Re-threading 1.5" bolt is not for everybody.

Now, everything is ready for the final firework of the week-end, which will be the actual installation and sealing onto the hull..

Oxnard - Day 21

Not much done, but took a decision after discussing with the yard manager. Those blisters are not structural and benign. If the yard tell you, you do not have to fix it, believe me, you do not have to fix it.

Blisters shine in the morning fusing light

Almost there.

He inspected my work and found it almost good to go. Almost !!!
I need another layer and more polish, but overall, I just saved a tons of money there. Each of those Through-hulls is worth several hundred of $$$ in man-hours.
And I know they are well-done. ..., Almost :)
They look bullet proof to me...

Oxnard - Day 20

Through-Hulls marathon continuing. Getting up at 6:30AM, until late night. The only stops are to run to Lowes to by more stuff. More pads. More sanding paper. More. You get the idea.

Extenuating.

Abstract sculptures in the morning.

Getting better.

After polishing, I can see that my epoxy was mixed to thin. It is still very irregular. It will another pass.
With 8 hours of drying time between each pass.

Duck tape construct.

Still fighting with my not-thick-enough glass, I am trying new ideas to to it vertically. At that point, I did not think yet to add more Silica. I know.

Adding some fiberglass mat.

This one, from the top, was in the good direction, using gravity. This looks like a surf-board repair.

Hard to see, but the connector is blue of corrosion.
No worries, this is only for the Bilge pump (???!?!!??!?!)

While it dries, I do some other smaller jobs. On the side. Like If I need a bilge pump ever.

Sculpting.

Now it is getting easier, with more Silica, I have some kind of Putty and I playing at the artist. This through-hull has to be flat.

This is not what you think it is.

A bleeding blister. This is my day. Staring at the hull.
Well, this is discouraging.

Almost there !!!

But eventually, one by one, it starts to look better. I cannot help myself. I put it, remove it. Put it back.
It looks so nice, I don't think I will paint it :)

Oxnard - Day 19

Get ready for a couple of very boring posts.
My week-end has been as boring as those too.
Through-Hulls, Through Hulls, ... 5 of them.

After extraction, it is not pretty.

You can notice : 3 layers of paint, One layer of gelcoat and like 10 layers of fiberglass.
The original through-hulls were flush-mounted. Which is nice for a racing boat (which mine is not, at least by modern considerations) but means they are mounted as a cavity inside the Hull itself.
I quickly realised I will have to fill that cavity with a glass job.

Weapons of mass destruction

Epoxy job that I wanted to avoid. I did my surfboard repairs, of course, the last couple of years.

Toxic stuff

I mean, a boat is like a giant surfboard. That should be as easy, right ?

After sanding

Except everything is bigger. Takes a good couple of hours to get the hole sanded and cleaned in a contortionist position (Under the hull, like 1 meter high).

Rubbing the hole in Wax

Getting ready to fill. I try to cover the hole to avoid to re-drill it afterward :)

Mixing Epoxy and Filler

I will know after 2 days that my initial dosage of the filler was way to light. I guess I do not know what 'Peanut butter like' means. No worries, it does not impact the strength of the setup. It takes just more time, more glass and stick less in a vertical setup.

After Filling, 1st pass

Told you, it is pretty ugly. Way to liquid. It eventually pan out, with a lot of --more-- sanding.

a glassed one

The last through-hull is an interesting story. Not sure why, but this one was glassed through all the way down with a 5 inches reinforcement to make it flat (which I get , because it is for the depth sounder). However, it made it impossible to remove by standard techniques.

Only solution, force my way to drill around and literally tear from the hull. You have no idea how this setup is strong. Took me hours at night.

Told you, boring. And this was only the first day.