Part 2 - Columbia 29 refit, in the Rocky Mountains

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Finally getting a little more work done on mine yesterday, racing to meet summer! I also made the cut in the cabin sole to open up the bilge access to store my chain... I drilled and poked to make sure there was NO chance I'd accidentally cut into the hull, and STILL I was nervous about making the cuts! It's all good and it was like opening up Kint Tut's tomb! We found some shavings and a piece of wood left in there from the day she was built. My son now has that piece of wood preserved in a special container as a memento and to add to the provenance. The wood down there was bone dry, no water ingress or rot of anything, it all looked brand new.
It sure is fun to change dusty corners into glossy white storage areas, eh?

Also, something I discovered, and I wonder if yours had this too, there are two steel rings embedded in the top of the ballast, and I am wondering now if they molded the lead to fit inside the keel and lowered it down in? Would be interesting to hear from anyone who worked at Glas Laminates in the early days.

Yes they are lifting eyes to set the led in the keel slurry when built . Real common for encapsulated lead keels .

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Yes they are lifting eyes to set the led in the keel slurry when built . Real common for encapsulated lead keels .

So now, am I wrong? I thought Pearson and Alberg set lead ingots down into the slurry.

In doing more of the exploration I am still impressed with the amount of strength built into the boat relative to its waterline length.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Don C L

So now, am I wrong? I thought Pearson and Alberg set lead ingots down into the slurry.

In doing more of the exploration I am still impressed with the amount of strength built into the boat relative to its waterline length.

Remember Pearson and Albert are actually a real small set of the overall on encapsulated keel boats . I have owned 3 different makes myself . Islander columbia and Spencer. All have lifting eyes on their lead . Many builders used a screw in lifting eye and remove it after the ingots or the casting is in place and reuse it .

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Finally getting a little more work done on mine yesterday, racing to meet summer! I also made the cut in the cabin sole to open up the bilge access to store my chain... I drilled and poked to make sure there was NO chance I'd accidentally cut into the hull, and STILL I was nervous about making the cuts! It's all good and it was like opening up Kint Tut's tomb! We found some shavings and a piece of wood left in there from the day she was built. My son now has that piece of wood preserved in a special container as a memento and to add to the provenance. The wood down there was bone dry, no water ingress or rot of anything, it all looked brand new.
It sure is fun to change dusty corners into glossy white storage areas, eh?

Also, something I discovered, and I wonder if yours had this too, there are two steel rings embedded in the top of the ballast, and I am wondering now if they molded the lead to fit inside the keel and lowered it down in? Would be interesting to hear from anyone who worked at Glas Laminates in the early days.

Don, cant wait to see your boat! Lots of extra storage in that, more than enough for anchor chain. Glad it worked out for you, you have a beautiful boat and we cannot wait to come and see you in ours one day.



Regarding the steel rings, yes I had the same. I ended up grinding them off and laying up some glass over the spot. You know it's amazing the quality of these old boats. Ours certainly inst perfect but geez after tearing into some Beneteau and Hunter boats there is no comparison in build quality.

[406Columbia]

Portlights in, Aironly vents and compass. Many here recommend be-it tape for Butyl tape. Question, do you folks double it up or fold it? It had been too thin and too narrow for each application I have used. I have now used it on the Lewmar size 4 portlights, 60 and 30 ocean hatches and it has been less than ideal.

The formula is wonderful, very rubbery and more elastic than Ruban Butyl which is wider and thicker and much easier to work with. I think the perfect combo for me would be wider be-it tape that was about 30 to 50% thicker. The bed it tape did work well however for the Aironly vents.

316 stainless tubing inbound for the anchor platform/extension I need to build. Retrofit stay arm for the 60 partially installed, gotta say the lens is thick on the Ocean series. The smart plug is a piece of art, so nicely made and polished. Came with a rubber gasket of its own, curious to see how that works.

Now I need to figure out the toe rail cap thing. Haven't yet found anything synthetic and while wood is beautiful it requires more work to maintain.

[406Columbia]

Didn't get to everything I had planned today, boat work right. Anyway, got one of the Oceanair sky screens installed on the Lewmar Ocean 60. Also, got the hatch support mounted to it, which it's not made for but it came out perfectly. James Baldwin gave me the idea and I'm sure glad we installed it.

Got the chain plates bolted on, got the covers installed. Used 4200 for the covers, hopefully it holds up and doesn't leak.

What are you guys using for backing blocks on your winch mounts? Wood, Trex, G10, or something else?

I was thinking initially I would use a piece of Trex but have been thinking marine ply glassed in might work too and maybe a bit stronger.

[406Columbia]

Kind of struggling with what to do with the toe rail cap thing. Still trying to avoid wood for maintenance reasons. Have been unable to find any Trex thin enough or the right width.

This coming week may end up contacting a custom plastic extrusion company. Have not found any appropriate sized aluminum extrusion. If anyone else has ideas let me know.

[SV Siren]

406, so nice to see a fellow Columbia owner restoring their "Baby". Doing the same here, just a little bit larger scale to work with. Yours looks like it is coming along quite nicely!! I am impressed!!

We did a little painting yesterday ourselves..it was a long road to get to this point on this project item.

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[Orion Jim]

What purpose would a toe rail cap serve, as opposed to just just leaving it as is? Is it ornamental only or are you looking for abrasion resistance? Anodized aluminum is available from https://www.mcmaster.com/metals/alum...eets-and-bars/ and many other more local sources if you want a durable cap. T-track could also be used with the benefit of allowing the use of various attachments as the needs present themselves.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by 406Columbia

Kind of struggling with what to do with the toe rail cap thing. Still trying to avoid wood for maintenance reasons. Have been unable to find any Trex thin enough or the right width.

This coming week may end up contacting a custom plastic extrusion company. Have not found any appropriate sized aluminum extrusion. If anyone else has ideas let me know.

Know what you mean. Kinda glad I am not there yet with mine. I had assumed I’d get strips teak to clamp and glue on the joint and the thru- bolt them. I think Trex may suffer from a lot of expansion in the sun, at least I did read that somewhere. Starboard would work I think but pretty pricey.

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by SV Siren

406, so nice to see a fellow Columbia owner restoring their "Baby". Doing the same here, just a little bit larger scale to work with. Yours looks like it is coming along quite nicely!! I am impressed!!

We did a little painting yesterday ourselves..it was a long road to get to this point on this project item.

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Well the boat looks great! Is that copper coat for bottom paint? If so we have a few gallons sitting in the garage waiting to use on our bottom too. Do you have a refit thread? We saw two Columbia 50's down in San Diego a couple months ago. Absolutely beautiful boats, worth the effort to refit.

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

What purpose would a toe rail cap serve, as opposed to just just leaving it as is? Is it ornamental only or are you looking for abrasion resistance? Anodized aluminum is available from https://www.mcmaster.com/metals/alum...eets-and-bars/ and many other more local sources if you want a durable cap. T-track could also be used with the benefit of allowing the use of various attachments as the needs present themselves.

The idea is to protect the joint between the hull and deck and provide some additional abrasion resistance. Honestly, I think they look nice too when done well.

I will take a look at the link you provided for some channel that might fit this application. Thanks!

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Know what you mean. Kinda glad I am not there yet with mine. I had assumed I’d get strips teak to clamp and glue on the joint and the thru- bolt them. I think Trex may suffer from a lot of expansion in the sun, at least I did read that somewhere. Starboard would work I think but pretty pricey.

Hey Don, Yeah I think that strips of teak or mahogany is my back up and really looks nice. I have heard that about Trex, I had it on my deck and cant ever say it performed any different than traditional lumber but I don't really know for certain.

One idea I had on the potential dissimilar expansion and contraction rates between Trex and the fiberglass of the boat was to put larger holes in the Trex where I thru-bolt. So if it does expand and contract it wont really create any issue as the means of fastening is mechanical and no adhesive would be used. All of that is assuming I could even find Trex in the right shape and size.

Starboard would be awesome but way to expensive for me.

[Orion Jim]

Brass half oval is frequently used in these applications also. My teak rub rails are protected with brass half oval. It’s easy to shape, takes a gradual bend readily, and you just drill wherever needed and attach with brass screws. It’s used as chafe protection on many cruisers in shorter lengths. Very reasonably priced also.

https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/brass-half-oval.

[406Columbia]

Thanks Jim, great suggestion. On another note and far more daunting with limited time and knowledge is the construction of the anchor platform. Here is my inspiration and what I would like to have this project end up like.

I got in the stainless tube in 316 already went with one inch, wall thickness is .095 and from my research life lines are normally .065 so I went a couple sizes thicker for added strength but still on the light side so weight is reduced as much as seems prudent. https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/...e-316-seamless


We don't have a mandrel small enough for this tubing so while I like the look of the nice rounded bent version I will need to weld it up. Unless I can find a shop that works with such small tube.

Will copy the roller size and shape layout of the Mantus bow roller I already purchased and will just use that on the Whaler 17 instead of the sailboat. Will steal the anchorguard off that piece and incorporate it into the anchor platform I will build.

From my research it seems best If I go a bit below my bulwark/deck hull joint and drop this low enough to get backing blocks into the chain locker. Also for the bobstay to support this contraption I hear going as close to the waterline as possible. Been cruising the local marina and peaking at everyone's factory setups, some are almost in the water. It seems prudent to maybe keep mine six to eight inches above the waterline?

If you have been following this thread long I'm sure by now you know I will make some oversized backing blocks, likely out of G10 and glass it to the hull for strength. The deck for this will be something durable but thin like 1/4'' starboard or maybe some teak I have lying around the garage.

OKAY, so I would like some input of anyone thinks I'm overlooking anything or missing some element that might be helpful. I have considered add a small but powerful waterproof LED on the bottom of this anchor platform to light it up in low light. Cant really think of anything else as i don't know to much about anchoring so those with experience please chime in.