Fibreglass repairs

When I arrived at the marina on Monday morning New Morning was afloat so the first thing that I did was switch on the echo sounder and low and behold it works giving a steady depth reading below the keel even if it is zero I checked it again at high water and the reading had gone up so I am quite happy with that.

Echo sounder works

The next job was to repair the tabbing between the interior moulding and the engine space bulkhead in the centre locker under the quarter berth. I cut the old tabbing away with the multi tool this was followed by a good sanding and clean with acetone I then laid up several layers of CSM and left the whole lot to cure.

Defective tabbing before removal

Tabbing repairs

I have added tabbing to the vertical flange on the internal moulding but there was no evidence of this part being secured to the bulkhead I don't know if this is by design or error but there are a couple of other areas where this is evident.

On Wednesday I replaced the missing bolt to the port bow fairlead this entailed hauling the anchor chain up onto the deck so that I could lay in the cable locker and fit the nut and washer for the bolt. Once that was done I returned to the forward cabin sole and opened out the old holes with a countersink and filled them with some thickened epoxy there were several holes in the heads sole which I filled at the same time I also opened out the cracks in the corners of the bilge opening in the forward cabin and filled them with some thickened epoxy that now completes the remedial work which was listed in the survey report. I finished up the day by removing some of the stuff from the aft cabin which is no longer required mainly a bag of hardwood trim pieces I shall probably use some more of it in the future as I complete the internal fit out but for the time being I want to get the boat tidied up so that I can go sailing.

Today I started by sanding back the forward cabin sole where I had previously filled all the redundant screw holes once this was done I spent some time going through a locker full of rope and disposing of some of it which was not fit for further service. Whilst doing this I found the tackle for the kicking strap and fitted it to the boom. There is a bit of a puzzle here as the mainsail still has the original roller reefing system but the kicking strap connects to an eye under the boom which means that unless it is disconnected the boom will not revolve to reduce sail there was normally a cast aluminium horseshoe with a restraining cable to hold it in the correct position along the boom however I have found no sign of the horseshoe anywhere but I have found the restraining cable there are also some lazy jacks on the mast which also are not compatible with a roller reefing system. The ultimate aim is to go for slab reefing but until I have had the mainsail up to asses its condition I can't decide whether to have the existing sail modified or order a new one I know the sail is quite old and will probably need replacing.

Echo sounder

The first job on Monday morning was to temporarily set up the new NASA echo sounder there was already a spare mounting tube for the transducer so I poured in a small amount of oil inserted the transducer and connected a power supply to the unit and voila it seems to work I couldn't tell for certain as the tide was out and the boat sitting in the mud but it looked promising once the tide started to rise but unfortunately I had to leave before the boat was properly afloat.

The next job was to screw and glue the timber support for the forward cabin sole into place this was a little tricky as the bilge is rather shallow in this area and the timber had to be well anointed with epoxy and then put in sideways before turning it upright and screwing it into place. Once this was completed I cut out some pieces of CSM ready for Wednesday when the epoxy would be cured. I found some odd pieces of CSM which would be ideal for reinforcing the corners before applying more CSM underneath the sole to reinforce the opening. I planned to reinforce all four corners although the worst cracks are in the after end of the opening which is at the bottom of the photograph below

Forward cabin sole showing cracks in the corners of the bilge access

CSM to reinforce corners of access opening

On Wednesday I began by reinforcing the underside of the forward cabin sole first with the corner reinforcement and then followed by several layers of CSM around the opening this was all applied from underneath which was a bit tricky and I had a bit of a problem persuading the CSM to stay in place at times.

I finished up on Wednesday by making up some additional restraining pieces for the fuel tank, the Tek Tank supplied nylon straps seem to stretch a bit,leaving the tank a little loose, I have left them in place and added a timber cross member, at each end of the tank, secured with 8mm studding down through the tank support platform.

Fuel tank showing additional restraining device at the forward end

I started off today by cutting out the openings in the blank laminate panel for the chart plotter and the new echo sounder the NASA unit would not fit the opening previously used for the old Stowe unit. After drilling holes in the corners of each opening I cut out the laminate with my new toy a Bosch cordless multi tool which made short work of the job.

Openings for chart plotter and echo sounder

The old Stowe instrument can be seen next to the panel for the time being it will serve to fill in the hole in the bulkhead the aim will be to make good sometime in the future. The plotter and the echo sounder were then installed in their respective openings I have purposely installed the echo sounder to one side in order to leave space for a possible further instrument I don't know what it will be but there is a space for it. Once the echo sounder was in place I ran the transducer cable through its intended route using mostly existing holes in the bulkheads i ran the cable clear of all other power cables where possible to reduce the possibility of any interference.

Plotter and echo sounder installed

I think the 'out' display on the echo sounder is due to the boat sitting in the mud next week I shall be able to check the operation as high water will be at a suitable time of day. 

To finish up today I used the multi tool to clean up round the opening in the forward cabin sole its such a useful tool can't think why I never bought one before. Next week the plan is to finish the fibreglass work by replacing the tabbing in the locker under the quarter berth and then to replace a missing bolt in the port forward fairlead which will then see the completion of the surveyors recommendations.

Mainsail

On Monday I began by clearing some more rubbish from the boat it's amazing how much stuff collects during a refit. I then gave the fitting on the end of the boom a good dose of WD40 and after some gentle attention from a hammer the boom began to turn  and after a further application of WD40 it turns freely. I then got the mainsail out and bent it on, there was a collection of battens some of which appear to be the correct length but there are some longer ones which must have be used in a previous sail one of the long ones will be cut down to fit the lowest pocket. After giving the sail cover a bit of a scrub I put it on the bungee cord could do with replacing in due course.

After receiving the CSM and polyester resin from East Coast Fibreglass Supplies I set to on Wednesday and glassed in the repair to the starboard rudder stop I used three layers of CSM starting with a narrow one first and although the crack only extended for about half the length of the stop I laid up the glass all the way round the stop.

Repair to starboard rudder stop

I then moved on to the forward cabin sole which requires some remedial work although the tabbing to the bulkhead is secure it does not extend the full width of the sole which makes the whole after end a bit flexible and it has cracked in the aft corners of the access opening the crack on the left hand corner can just be seen in the photograph below, also the original layup would appear to a bit on the lightweight side. The after cabin sole layup also appears to be somewhat lightweight as some additional support has been installed sometime in the past the sole in the heads seems to be a little more robust although there is some evidence of flexing especially around the access opening.

Forward cabin sole

It would appear from the holes that have been drilled in the sole that at sometime it had been reinforced probably with timber but this has obviously been removed at some time. As the tabbing is secure I have cut a piece if hardwood which I intend to screw and epoxy to the bulkhead to support the left and right ends of the sole. The edge of the tabbing has been rolled possibly to make it a bit more rigid so I have cut a recess to clear it. There is a bit of a gap between the after end of the cabin sole and the bulkhead which can just be seen in the above photograph which I will fill a timber trim piece I am not quite sure what has happened here but the moulding for the port side of the berth moulding displays no evidence that it has ever been attached to the adjacent bulkhead there is a good half inch gap between them which can be made out in the above photograph.

Timber support for forward cabin sole

Once the epoxy has cured I will attempt to lay up several layers of CSM under the sole to reinforce it this may not be so easy as the bilge is quite shallow in this area if it is possible I would like to perhaps put in some wooden ribs which would then be glassed over we shall see next week. Finally the new NASA Clipper echo sounder arrived today which will be another job for next week. 

Back in Conyer

After the rather hectic recent weeks this week has been intentionally rather quiet I started off by connecting the remaining mast wiring namely the wind instruments and the steaming/deck light using Scanstrut watertight cable seals as with the VHF aerial cable which incidentally worked fine when arranging for the Kingsferry Bridge to be lifted on the way to Conyer last weekend. The internal cables will be concealed above the headlining.

Inside view of cables

Cable seals

The steaming/deck light are now in working order but the wind instruments are a different matter all three are totally dead the anemometer cups are spinning and the wind vane moves with the wind but the dials are not giving any readings, this is not a particularly high priority at the moment I may investigate further in the fullness of time although I suspect that the problem is in the masthead unit. On the trip to Conyer I tried the echo sounder and although the readout seems to operate it would not give a depth reading I tried some grease on the transducer but this made no difference just get a flashing 0.0, I tried the transducer in a bucket of water and it seems to work and placing a screwdriver against the transducer and the other end in my ear I can hear the clicking sound which would indicate that it is working. The echo sounder is a Stowe Navsounder and on consulting the manual it is possible that the GRP on the bottom of the boat is too thick, the transducer is a through hull type but apparently it will work if mounted internally with GRP up to 1/2" thick I have tried the transducer in other positions on the bottom but to no avail. The Stowe unit came with the boat and I had assumed that it must have worked at some time but who knows, it looks as though a replacement from NASA is on the cards. 

Today I started by sanding back the base of the starboard rudder stop ready for the GRP repairs once I have some CSM to hand probably next week. I finished up today by trying to free the end fitting on the boom which was seized probably through lack of use, I tried to remove the screws retaining the end cap but they are suffering from the usual problem of stainless steel screws into aluminium, I did manage to get the end fitting moving but it probably needs an application of some WD40.

Boom end fitting

Just a note to end on I took the following pictures this afternoon just one of the reasons I like to keep my boat at Conyer.

Launch day

The first job this week was to fill the engine cooling system and make certain that it would start ready for the big splash on starting the engine a couple of hose connections which I had removed to drain the cooling water back in the winter and not replaced came to light once these had been re connected the engine was all ready to go. I had received the replacement threaded forks for the rigging screws, see previous post, these were then attached to the shrouds.

The crane had been booked for Wednesday to lift the mast into place so first thing the fore stay was replaced, the standing and running rigging sorted into some semblance of order and the masthead fitting for the wind instruments replaced the mast was then lifted into place and the standing rigging tightened up.

Mast up

To finish up the day I gave the deck a bit of a scrub now looks a bit more respectable but it still needs some more work and the non slip areas need painting.

The crane was booked for the big lift at HW on Friday afternoon the morning was spent completing the VHF aerial connection by drilling the hole through the deck fitting the cable gland and then fitting the plug on the end of the cable the VHF radio was switched on and all seemed to be working it would be fully tested on approaching the Kingsferry Bridge calling up the operator for a bridge lift. Before the big lift I had time to bend on the genoa and furl it away. The boat was then lifted into the waters of Queenborough Creek.

Lift in (photo credited to Jo)

After a good check round and there being no leaks the slings were released and the engine started we headed for the all tide landing for the night with the intention of sailing round the Swale to Conyer Creek the next day, Saturday.

Tied up on Queenborough all tide landing

There was a bit of an electrical problem when the negative terminal on the battery overheated and melting causing a loss of power and that pungent smell of burning electrical installation we headed for the all tide landing before investigating the cause I did not want to stop the engine in case it could not be restarted. The cause was the engine key switch jamming in the pre heat position possibly causing a short circuit which damaged the negative terminal leading to damage to the alternator diodes but the alternator was charging the battery quite happily the next day and the engine started with no problems further investigation is required.

On Saturday morning we left the all tide landing and passed through the Kingsferry Bridge heading for Conyer Creek and once through the bridge with a following breeze the Genoa was unfurled and the engine turned off and we sailed round to South Deep to pick up a buoy and wait for the tide to allow us to proceed up the creek to Swale Marina.

Under way

Arrived Conyer

There is still some work to do on the internal fit out and some external cosmetic work as well as the items listed in the recent survey but I have moved a big step forward this week.