Archives Under "Sailing" (RSS)
Bilge Cleanout
8 July 2010 | Pearson 28-1 Restoration, Sailing | 2 Responses
For the past month my boat work has primarily been focused on cleaning and preparing the bilge area for planned layup of fiberglass and epoxy. This work has involved lots of grinding, sanding and fiberglass irritated skin. When I haven’t felt like putting on the protective gear and getting into the bilge work I have taken care of some other small tasks like installing LED lights throughout the boat and setting up and learning to use my sewing machine.
If you read some of my early reports about this boat you may recall that there were some cracks in the hull and that the tabbing and floors in the bilge were all delaminated from the hull. Those early discoveries opened the way for the largest projects that I have to tackle before the boat is ready to sail again. Experts have looked the boat over and confirmed that she can again be solid, but I have to repair and reinforce the hull in the bilge/keel stub area before that is true. My recent tasks towards this end have been to clean the bilge thoroughly in preparation for laying up 5 layers of 18oz biaxial cloth and epoxy.
Cleaning started with degreasers and water since the bilge was coated with oil from the engine. After the bulk of the oil was gone I cut, chiseled and pryed the floors and tabbing out of the bilge. With the floors out of the way, grinding, sanding and degreasing continued. I ended up grinding down all of surfaces in the bilge to help ensure that the new layers of glass/epoxy would have every chance of adhering well. Here are photos of the bilge from the beginning to the end of this cleanup process.
I remember thinking that the bilge was pretty clean at the time that each of those photos was taken but there was always a bit more cleaning to be done.
I used sandpaper, dremel, chisel and other cleaning tools but the sidegrinder was again the most important cleanup tool for this job both with sandpaper and a grinding disc.
Here are the floors and tabbing after being removed.
After the cleaning was mostly done I ground out some small voids and applied some small patches.
Beyond bilge work I’ve played around with some other projects around the boat.
Sailboat windows and hatches
20 May 2010 | Pearson 28-1 Restoration, Sailing | 2 Responses
Recent hard rains have proven that the big leaks are now gone. I haven’t been able to find small leaks either but I’m still rebedding the remaining deck hardware, ports, windows and other possible sources for future leaks. In the last few days I’ve rebedded a few more lifeline stanchions and have rebuilt/sealed the small windows or portlights in the forward cabin of the Pearson 28.
Fortunately the small window uses the same seals that the larger cabin windows do and due to it’s small size cleaning and resealing it was easy after doing the larger windows. The small, opening portlight was made by Bomar and I was able to find the proper seal for it too. Beyond installing new seals, screens and fasteners it’s a lot of fun to polish up the soft alumimum frames of these portlights. I’m not expecting the shine to last too long so have taken a few photos to remind me of how good they can look. Maybe these photos will motivate me to polish the aluminum again sometime in the future.
Pearson Fore Hatch Restoration
17 May 2010 | Pearson 28-1 Restoration, Sailing | No Responses
Another small victory has been won towards the restoration of my Pearson 28-1 in the form of a clean, functional and shiny forward hatch.
The forward hatches on many Pearson sailboats are layed up without gelcoat on the top and bottom surfaces to allow some light to pass into the boats cabin. Since the polyester resin that is used to lay up the hatch isn’t UV resistant the polyester erodes leaving a dried out looking hatch with fiberglass strands exposed. I considered cutting this section out for replacement with a sheet Lexan but I decided I didn’t want to spend the extra time on this just to have a scratched up forward hatch after a few months of use. I may still make this change in the future but for now I have kept the hatch in it’s stock setup.
Restoration of the hatch included replacing most of the hardware, fixing the most of the fasteners which were stripped and loose, and adding a coat of polyester to the top and bottom of the hatch. The results look great and now that it is warming up I’m glad to be able to open up the forward hatch to catch the breeze. I still need to add a screen to the hatch, and I may need to beef up the seal in the future but for now the hatch is done.
Pearson 28-1 window resealing and cleanup
1 May 2010 | Pearson 28-1 Restoration, Sailing | 2 Responses
My recent boat work has been focused on repairing deck leaks since it will be easier to do the interior and hull work that is needed if the interior of the boat stays dry when it rains. For the last month I’ve been away from the boatyard but I wanted to share a little about the recent window resealing project before I get back to Bock to start on new projects.
The cabin windows on my Pearson 28-1 were the largest remaining source of top-side leaks and they were looking dull with their oxidized aluminum frames and crumbled seals.
Finding the proper seals for the windows was a challenge since I wasn’t able to find the seals that go in between the glass and frame at any local sources. Fortunately other Peason 28 owners on the Yahoo hosted P28 Forum pointed me in the right direction and I ended up finding the proper glass-to-frame and frame-to-cabin seals at GordonGlassUsa.com.
The parts and prices for the seals that I ordered are:
| D752C | CRL Glazing Vinyl; 11/32″ Channel Depth 9/32″ Metal Opening for 3/16″ Glass – 100 ft Roll | $40.58 | |||
| 98814X12BL | CRL 1/4″ x 1/2″ Black Double Sided Glazing Tape | $21.52 |
This provides you with extra but I couldn’t find a way to order smaller quantities. If you are planning to take this project on you may also want to order some grey butyl putty for sealing the frame seams as you reassemble the frames. These seals are also common to a number of boats out there. I know that other Pearsons used the same frames on some boats and I think other manufacturers like Catalina did to some extent as well.
Removing the windows is pretty straightforward as was disassembly and cleanup of the frames. It did take a lot of scraping and acetone to get the old adhesive residue off of the frames but that was the worst of it.
In order to clean the exterior surface of the frames up and to polish them I started by wet-sanding with 360 grit sandpaper. A small block helped get into the few contours of the frame. After the 360 I wet-sanded again with 1500 grit though this didn’t require as much sanding time. After the 1500 grit I went over the frames with aluminum polish and was really pleased with the final appearance of the aluminum. The visual difference made by cleanup and polish on these 35+ year old frames was huge. I’m sure different grits and approaches will work, but I found that something more aggressive than polish, or even 1500 grit was needed if I was going to get the frames cleaned up in a reasonable amount of time.
After all of the prep and cleanup all that was left was reassembly and installation. I thought a bit of Windex and a little elbow grease would pop the window assemblies back together easily. After more than an hour on the first attempt at reassembly I had to step away for a little while. I eventually got the hang of reassembling the windows and the second window went together in a few minutes. I’m not sure what I started doing differently and can’t share any assembly secrets here beyond use lots of Windex and don’t hesitate to take a break if you start getting frustrated with it.
When reinstalling the windows in the boat it helped to spray both the cabin surface and foam seal on the underside of the window frame with Windex for positioning. The foam seal that goes in between the windows and the cabin is adhesive on both sides so initial positioning of the window would damage the seals without plenty of Windex. Another helpful tip is to use an electric screwdriver for all of the little screws. I used my drill and set the clutch to a low or weak setting to reduce the chance of stripping the screws. I started them all by hand but finished things up with the drill.
Back at the boatyard
13 March 2010 | Pearson 28-1 Restoration, Sailing | 3 Responses
Three months, three thousand miles and some cold weather have passed and I’m again in Beaufort North Carolina working on my boat at Bock Marine. The past months of visiting family and friends, celebrating the holidays, and all of the many other adventures have been great but it may be even better to be back on the NC coast.
While away I continued my steady research on sailboat restoration and accomplished a lot towards getting the Pearson 28-1 that I am restoring back into shape.
Sourcing new foam and fabric for the interior cushions was one of the bigger tasks that I accomplished. I worked with Meredith Tollison of Keep it Casual in Tupelo Mississippi to pick new foam and a sunbrella fabric (cork canvas). Meredith was a big help and didn’t seem to mind all of my questions and my trying out many of her in-store cushions and foam pieces and in the end her prices were as good or better than all of the others that I checked. The new foam and fabric will be for the cushions in the main cabin but I decided to turn a barely used futon that I have had in storage for years into my new v-berth mattress. The resulting mattress is a great fit and couldn’t be any more comfortable. Time will tell if this was a good idea but I couldn’t resist trying it.
Beyond all of the furniture work one of the best finds was for connecting to wireless networks from the boat. Since I am an information technology contractor by trade being connected to the internet is a constant necessity for me. Online reading led me to the devices made by Ubiquiti Networks. I now have a NanoStation2 (NS2) with an 9dbi omni antennae at the top of my mast, and more importantly I now have a fast, reliable internet connection all around my boat. The NS2 can be mounted anywhere and it only needs one cat5/ethernet wire to function. This cable provides your connection to the device and supplies the NS2′s power through POE. I setup the NS2 to connect to a wireless router so that the internet connection from the NS2 can be shared with any computer within range of this on-boat wireless network. For a great guide on setting up one of these devices yourself check this page.
I’ve also found a new source for led lights and am pleased with the lights from them that I am currently testing in my camper. The lights are brighter and much warmer color than the slightly blue leds that I have purchased in the past. From the selection of different bulbs that I am trying the most impressive are the “LT series SMD LED Light Tubes” which can be found on this page. If they prove to be reliable I will probably by more for use as the primary lights for the boat interior.
Now that I’m back at the boatyard I’m spending more time working on the boat than researching online. My current project is to rebed all deck hardware. This project includes removing all deck hardware, sealing up the deck’s core with epoxy and then reinstalling the hardware in a bed of new sealant. The boats decks are solid except for a few small spots so this is a fairly straightforward project. I’m optimistic that I’ll have the biggest leaks sealed up before the next heavy rains come in.
Here are a few photos of the deck hardware work, and one of spring on the coast.
Photos from around Bock Marine and Beaufort NC
12 December 2009 | Coastal Living, Sailing | 2 Responses
Here are a few photos that I have taken recently that aren’t related to my sailboat restoration project.
The only photo that may need explanation is the one of the bunk-bed with soldiers playing checkers. This bed is an accurate replica of the bunks used by soldiers stationed at Fort Macon during the civil war period. I found it interesting that they slept 4 soldiers per each narrow bunk. There were many other details of living conditions there that make me appreciate my own. If you have the chance I recommend a visit to Fort Macon.
No more old bottom paint
10 December 2009 | Pearson 28-1 Restoration, Sailing | No Responses
A few days ago I finished removing the old layers of bottom paint from my boat, finally. This process turned out to be as much about my learning how to remove bottom paint as it was about actually removing the paint. I spent a lot of extra time and effort in use of slow, shoulder burning techniques. In the right circumstances these techniques work great but on my boat with all of it’s layers of old paint they weren’t cutting it.
For instance the chemical strippers that work so well for many didn’t do what I had hoped. I primarily used aircraft stripper for fiberglass that is a gel consistency solvent which is very strong. I tried it in frequent short applications, thick applications that were left on for a long time and I also tried covering it in saran wrap etc.. After letting the solvent do it’s work the first 3 or 4 layers of paint would come off pretty easily but it seemed to make the last few stick to the hull even more tenaciously. With a very sharp scraper and a lot of effort I could get the last layers off for the most part after recovering the paint in solvent but this was a lot of work on many patches. In the end I wasted time, money and brain cells trying this approach.
In conjunction with the stripper and also without I tried scraping with a variety of scrapers. All of these were sharpened and forcefully handled. These were instrumental in getting the softened paint off after the stripper softened it but didn’t do much on the dry paint before or after the stripper was applied. A good selection of scrapers is indespensible for this type of work though. My favorite ended up being my semi-flexible bladed scraper that had a narrow blade of a little over an inch wide. I kept this scraper very sharp and close at hand throughout this paint removal process.
Another technique that I used was wet sanding with a palm orbital sander. This worked really well in that it was nice and slow and prevented me from doing much damage to the gel-coat. It ate up a lot of sanding discs though and was too slow to be a practical technique for removing all of the gel-coat. In the end wet-sanding with the orbital sander became my finishing technique. I followed up after stripping, scraping and sanding with this and was able to clean off dust, scratches and other inconsistencies pretty easily. I think that the 80 grit discs that I used resulted in a surface that my barrier coat will stick to tenaciously.
After spending most of my work time trying these techniques and getting half of the bottom paint off in the process the answer to removal of old bottom paint turned out to be a variable speed side grinder with a sanding pad attached. I had purchased a side grinder at the beginning of the process for sanding use but it was a high rpm unit (11,000) and was way too fast for use over gelcoat in my hands. What I needed was a slower, variable speed unit. These are sold as sander/buffers and often cost $200 to $300 or more which is more than I wanted to pay. I was pointed to harbor freight where I found one for $50 or so that would spin from a few hundred to 3500 or so rpm. I tried a few different diameter sanding pads and a variety of disc grits. I found that 60 or 80 grit worked great for most of the bottom paint. With a little care this thing would remove most of the bottom paint without too much damage to the underlying gel-coat. In good hands I am sure that even less gelcoat damage would ensue. If I had started the paint removal work with this tool I could have had all of the paint off in a matter of days instead of the weeks that it took me. I was working slowly but still this tool was multiple times faster and easier than anything else that I tried.
Even with good techniques and proper tools removing all of the bottom paint is a big, nasty and toxic job. Few tasks in my life, if any, have caused me to get so filthy. First I would get covered in sanding dust or stripper drippings (that burn unless rinsed off quicly) and then spray and splatter from follow up wet sanding. I wore a bunny suit (full tivek suit), goggles, respirator, ear plugs and protective shoes and gloves but still probably absorbed more than a lifetimes worth of heavy metals and other chemicals.
Next time around I’ll probably just pay the yard guys to do this job but I’m glad that I did it at least this once and that I figured out removal techniques that now seems obvious.
Up next, among other things, is rebedding deck hardware and sealing leaks so that the bilge doesn’t fill up with water while I am away for a month or two.
Sailboat cleaning
16 November 2009 | Pearson 28-1 Restoration, Sailing | 5 Responses
In preparation for the many repair tasks that need to be performed on my Pearson 28-1 I have been spending my boat-work time cleaning the boat.
My primary cleanup tasks focused on washing out the entire interior of the boat so that it will be easier to keep the bilge clean when I do my keel stub repairs. After hundreds of gallons of water, lots of scrubbing and plenty of degreaser the bilge on my boat no longer harbors the layers of oily, dirty residue that it once had.
My next cleanup task was to get the bottom paint off of the hull and get her ground down to solid gelcoat or glass as needed. I got a bit distracted from bottom paint removal and have cleaned from the hull deck joint down to the waterline while letting my shoulders recover from bottom scraping. Fortunately most of the stains have come out of the gelcoat. The real trick to getting the gelcoat clean was using “sno-bol” toilet cleaner as recommended by some of my yard neighbors. Sno-Bol worked amazingly well at removing the ugly stains from the hull. Getting the layers of bottom paint off is much more of a chore and my shoulders are sure to be stronger after it is all done.
Here are some photos of the current state of my hull cleaning with some pre-cleaning references.
Boats on a foggy morning
9 November 2009 | Coastal Living, Sailing | No Responses
A few days ago I awoke sometime before dawn. Instead of trying to go back to sleep I waited for the first signs of light and then headed out for a walk. It was a very foggy morning and so I took some photos of boats currently at Bock Marine.
A great variety of boats stop by Bock for hauling and maintenance or repair work and a walk through the yard is similar to walking through an art gallery though the art is all under some sort of construction. There are many different boats with hulls from sleek to stout, fair to foul. There are boats made of steel, aluminum, wood and of course fiberglass. Powered by a variety of sailing rigs, or engines the boats are built for pleasure, work, open water voyaging or maybe simply to give someone something to work on (my boats current purpose).
Tabbing pulled in the bilge
24 October 2009 | Pearson 28-1 Restoration, Sailing | 1 Response
Most of the tabbing on the floors in the bilge of my P28-1 has pulled up from the hull. Some stress cracking and distortion of the keel stub on the bottom of the hull has also occured. It appears that all of the keel bolts are tight and that they haven’t stretched but that the gap at the front of the keel hull joint is the result of the hull’s keel stub sagging/distorting.
I wasn’t able to show the fact that the keel/hull are still held together tightly by the forward most keel bolt but the movement that caused the enlarged gap between keel and hull were allowed by distortion of the keel stub around the front keel bolt.
Any observations or suggestions that may help me understand or create a repair plan for these problems are appreciated.
Click on the thumbnails to see the images full size.
