Breaking All the Rules ...

[homeless]

I told the yard I wanted to launch on Thursday, so the race is on to finish everything before then.

Yesterday morning was spent shopping for food and hardware to get me through a 4 day weekend of work, including EPIRB number 4. The afternoon was spent sanding the floor in the galley and saloon.

Today I finished off the floor sanding, swept, vacuumed, and wiped the floor with a damp cloth, then put down one coat of varnish. When the weather was hot and dry I could put down 3 coats of varnish in a day, but now that it is cool and I need to close up the boat because of frequent rain showers it takes a full day for one coat to dry

The stainless steel fabricator dropped off the new pilothouse roof hand rails yesterday, so today in between rain showers today I drilled 16 holes through the aluminium plate, then tapped 1/4 inch threads and mounted the rails. A big improvement over the old teak hand rails.

I finished off the day by taking another gamble on the rain and painting the last pilothouse hatch. It is a large hatch and I had to remove the seal for the painting, so if another rain shower comes now I am in trouble. The fan heater is going full blast in an attempt to cure the paint in time ...

Below the waterline the only thing left is to drill holes in the zinc anodes and mount them.
Above the waterline there is some paint to touch-up.
Above deck the riggers still need to tune the rigging. They came on the boat on Thursday but then the rain came and chased them away ... so no photos for you !

[homeless]

Got lots done over the long weekend.

Applied another coat of varnish to the salon and galley floor but then ran out of varnish on Saturday, and the hardware stores were closed Sunday and Monday. Bought another 4 litres today so won't run again out soon

Monday was spent tidying up wiring left in a mess after all the work. I moved the autopilot control head from the pilothouse out to the cockpit pedestal and ran wiring out to it, and also ran wiring for the new sonar sensor, and for the wind sensor.

Today the riggers were back on the boat and poured the Chockfast Orange around the mast base, and the Spartite around the deck gate, so if the weather stays warm it should be hard enough tomorrow to tune the rig.

I spent the afternoon today sanding and varnishing the galley and saloon floor again, and finally got around to varnishing the port side of the master cabin where I sleep. I had the fan heater blasting all afternoon to try to dry the varnish so I can sleep there tonight, and currently have just the fan blasting to try to evacuate the fumes. Not much wind tonight, and I killed 9 mosquitos while writing this post, but if I close the hatches I may not wake up in the morning ...

[Nauticatarcher]

to stop water coming down mast put a balloon in through lowest hole and inflate then push it down a bit and then inject some spray foam

[homeless]

Originally Posted by Nauticatarcher

to stop water coming down mast put a balloon in through lowest hole and inflate then push it down a bit and then inject some spray foam

I had thought of this option, but there are currently cables running down the mast almost to the borrom which would probably mean water would get past the foam, and with hard foam up in the mast section it would be a nightmare to remove it to replace any cables, or run new ones in future.

The mast base is now set in resin, so should be watertight. I am planning to drill a drain hole just above the resin and fit a hose directly to the sump which will avoid the water sitting in the bilges.

[captlloyd]

Are we ever going to get some pictures?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Are we ever going to get some pictures?

[homeless]

The boat was launched at about 14:30pm today. No leaks were obvious at launch, so I motored to the pontoon where I planned to spend a few days testing engine, plumbing etc and cleaning the boat.

After about 15 minutes on the pontoon I noticed a small trickle of water in the bilges, and started tracking it back to the source. I thought maybe there had been some rain water sitting in the bilges from an old deck leak, and now that the boat was floating maybe the angle had changed, causing the water to move. The water tasted fresh and not salty, so I was relieved, but then I went outside and tasted the river water, and it was also fresh, so although I am in a tidal river I am far enough up that the water is not salty. After an hour I had filled a bucket with water from the bilges, which was too much to just be old rainwater. The water was coming from under the V-berth, so I got out the power drill and jigsaw, and started cutting through the plywood, and cutting out the foam down to the hull plate. I found another pin-hole in the aluminium plate under the v-berth, so I will need to pull the boat back out of the water and get it welded. As with previous corrosion, this hole was directly beneath wood that had been touching the hull plate and which had been wet for a long time from an old deck leak.

The travel-lift is fully booked for the next week, but the yard has managed to clear a 1 hour slot tomorrow from 9:30am to 10:30am, which is not enough to put the boat back on the hard stand, but if I can arrange a welder to be ready when the boat is hauled it may be enough to put a spot of weld on the hole and then re-launch.

My nightmare continues ....

[Reefmagnet]

The joys of boat ownership. Keep smiling ☺

Sent from my SGP521 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[monte]

I think it was suggested pretty early on that the best practice would have been to blast the hull to bare aluminium to assess and repair any corrosion. I believe that although a more expensive approach it would have been the more sensible option. Not trying to rain on the parade. You've done a lot of work since you had her and that's commendable, but it seems to be a lot of patch up and cosmetic work. I think you need to commit to spending more dollars to make her seaworthy, especially given the low purchase price and anticipated resale value. There's a large gap to allow you to bring her up to as good as new condition structurally, which in my opinion is the most important factor. Maybe the corrosion visible inside isn't visible from the outside, in which case the hull should be stripped of all linings and furniture and blasted inside as well. Sure it will cost a few dollars and some time but we are talking about a yacht that will be taking your family and others into open ocean, far from land. So you missed one pinhole and will haul and weld it. How many others have you missed. How many others are about to surface?
I don't know, I just can't see the point in doing half a job

[LakeSuperior]

I'm with Monte on this one!

[homeless]

I decided I didn't want to rush the welding and possibly go back into the water with a mess, so the one hour lift and drop didn't happen. I got lucky and the yard was able to reschedule some planned lifts to allow for my boat to go back on the hard stand. On the bright side they give a 50% discount for a second lift within 24 hours of a drop due to emergency, so all up this second lift onto hard stand will probably only cost around $500.

When the boat came out, water ran out of the pin hole in the hull, so was obvious from the outside. The welder turned up an hour later, drilled out the hole and welded it, taking all of 10 minutes. I have now primed it, and will antifoul tomorrow ready to go back in the water Monday if there is a slot available on the travel lift.

I have been making the most of being back on the hard stand with large industrial rubbish bins and had a major cleanout. The boat was converted from in-mast furling to battened mainsail at least 15 years ago, but for some reason the previous owners have kept the unusable furling mainsail. That has now been dumped, along with heaps of canvas covers and sun shades that someone in the past paid for, but which have never been used. Good to get all that storage back.

Now that the hole in the hull is fixed I have gone back to cleaning and varnishing. By Monday the boat should look as good as it ever will for photos.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by homeless

I decided I didn't want to rush the welding and possibly go back into the water with a mess, so the one hour lift and drop didn't happen. I got lucky and the yard was able to reschedule some planned lifts to allow for my boat to go back on the hard stand. On the bright side they give a 50% discount for a second lift within 24 hours of a drop due to emergency, so all up this second lift onto hard stand will probably only cost around $500.

When the boat came out, water ran out of the pin hole in the hull, so was obvious from the outside. The welder turned up an hour later, drilled out the hole and welded it, taking all of 10 minutes. I have now primed it, and will antifoul tomorrow ready to go back in the water Monday if there is a slot available on the travel lift.

I have been making the most of being back on the hard stand with large industrial rubbish bins and had a major cleanout. The boat was converted from in-mast furling to battened mainsail at least 15 years ago, but for some reason the previous owners have kept the unusable furling mainsail. That has now been dumped, along with heaps of canvas covers and sun shades that someone in the past paid for, but which have never been used. Good to get all that storage back.

Now that the hole in the hull is fixed I have gone back to cleaning and varnishing. By Monday the boat should look as good as it ever will for photos.

As I am sure you know, a no. of us are looking forward to photos.

Good luck getting back in the water as planned.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

While it is hauled out is the opportune time to hire a certified marine surveyor...

How will you locate any other pinholes?

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

Instead of polishing stuff, I would be looking for all the holes you have not yet found. Sandblasting the hull, below the waterline, would be the prudent thing to do.

Originally Posted by europaflyer

+100000.... Full assessment of the corrosion state of the hull below the waterline. More than anything, find the source of the stray current which is eating your hull away! Think through the whole electrical system. Aluminium hulls don't just corrode themselves...

Originally Posted by homeless

The boat was launched...After about 15 minutes on the pontoon I noticed a small trickle of water in the bilges...
My nightmare continues ....

How are you going to find all the other weak spots you missed? Simply waiting for water to start filling the boat worked OK for you this time, while you were on the boat, with a lift nearby.

[JPA Cate]

homeless,

I'm also not wanting to rain on the parade, but I feel a great deal of disquiet, as it seems your hull is really almost lacy with corrosion. I hope you take a moment to consider the good advice from monte, europaflyer, and Terra Nova.

With a hull weakened by corrosion, the boat will have less resistance to flexing at sea, and that could easily open up and tear the weakened alloy.

So, I have two concerns, one is for your own well being on your trip to Singapore, and the other if for whoever you might sell the boat to. A prospective buyer deserves a sound boat, more than just a can of paint, if you get what I mean.

You've worked really hard, and that is laudable, and it would be better if you do a proper job on it.

Ann

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

homeless,

I'm also not wanting to rain on the parade, but I feel a great deal of disquiet, as it seems your hull is really almost lacy with corrosion. I hope you take a moment to consider the good advice from monte, europaflyer, and Terra Nova.

With a hull weakened by corrosion, the boat will have less resistance to flexing at sea, and that could easily open up and tear the weakened alloy.

So, I have two concerns, one is for your own well being on your trip to Singapore, and the other if for whoever you might sell the boat to. A prospective buyer deserves a sound boat, more than just a can of paint, if you get what I mean.

You've worked really hard, and that is laudable, and it would be better if you do a proper job on it.

Ann

His work ethic is admirable. I believe he started out saying he had no prior experience and unfortunately it is showing. When he puts it on the market, which seemed to be the plan, it is buyer be where. Something tells me it will be wrapped in red ribbons. I feel sorry for him or the chump he may find to buy her, it. I think the only winner will be the one who unloaded it on him.