Its No Longer a Rusty Hunk of Scrap

[Matt sachs]

Its been a long haul (2 years this July) and a long way left to go. I hit a mile stone this weekend. The aux fuel tanks in the keel ,complete with fuel polisher plumbing, are sorta-kinda finished. The aft tank holds air pressure. I still have to pressure test the forward tank. I put a hatch between each baffel so when its time to clean the tanks, it wont be such a nightmare.

So far the deck, keel tankage, wheel house and inside hull painting is done. when the weather permits its time to blast the outside of the hull and paint. Then spray in foam and framing.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Good stuff!

It's nice when you can see the progress

[nitpik]

Well, I for one, am really impressed! A lot of work, and you obviously plan to do it right. Absolutely certain there will come a time when you are out on the deep blue, at the helm, with a disgusting big grin on your face! Wish I could be there to hear you say: "It was all worth it!"
I have a steel schooner, 50' LOA, built in 1983. She could use some of that same TLC. .................. What are you doing with your spare time after you finish the re-fit?

[hpeer]

God bless you man, that's a lotta work.

Good luck, and stop a minute here and there to enjoy your progress.

[shorebird]

Tanks look good. What pressure do you test at? What kind of blast and paint are you going to use? Inquiring minds want to know. Also, more pics of your project???

[Matt sachs]

When I'm done???Are you ever really done? LOL.

I tested the tanks at 20 psi. I would go higher but the tanks are tall and skinny and tend to bulge out if I go higher. I put soapy water in a garden sprayer and checked all my welds and seams for bubbles. None so far and the pressure is holding. I did have a couple of leaks, but the welds were from the ship yard, not my welds

I blasted with sand, (I wore an old scuba unit to breathe from to avoid silicosis issues). Then made a few repairs, washed and applied three coated of Amercoat 240 24 hours apart.

[Cheechako]

wow... looks nice...

[Matt sachs]

This is what I bought on ebay....really. The stainless toe rail was worth the $1000 I paid for the whole thing. Never mind the haul bill from Newhampshire to Tennessee....