Just adding an update to my thread for posterity.
Ann, I’m thrilled to say my previous owner was kind enough not to leave a legacy of 5200-bonded components. Whatever they used (probably the owner prior to my seller by the looks of things) had long since degraded into a somewhat chalky/clay-like putty with very little adhesion remaining (if it ever had it). The
deck hardware all came off very easily and cleanup was surprisingly easy as well. I took your
advice and let the
epoxy cure 24 hours before rebedding, and I’m happy to report my teaky is no longer leaky. In fact, I was onboard today while we were getting some effects from Tropical Storm Eta and not a drop of
water found its way below.
With that
project done, I’ve been free to tackle some more. I’ve been striking a balance between cosmetics and mechanical
repairs and upgrades. The cosmetic improvements have given me the motivation to press on with the nitty gritty mechanical items.
The 16,000 BTU Dometic unit is in- just in time for the oppressive heat to give way to fall temps, but it’s still a VERY welcome upgrade as the old unit gave up the ghost (I’m guessing) during the Bush administration.
I’ve painted the
bilge with a beautiful coat of white Bilgecote and decided to do all of the spaces under the sinks, bunks, and settees with it as well. That not only made the
boat feel fundamentally cleaner but it eliminated a great deal of the musty “old boat” smell. I also installed the Froli sleep system and memory foam mattresses (with the cool gel topper- important for Florida).
I tackled the brightwork on the
deck with a new coat of Gloss Cetol, and spent a few days tackling the
bronze and brass fittings down below. The result of all that hard
work has the
boat looking like the Wanderer from
Captain Ron mid-movie. I cannot wait to get the
hull professionally painted with Awlgrip in a few months.
On the mechanical side, my
engine guy flaked out on me (the
marine industry down here is white hot right now and it’s nearly impossible to get a
service scheduled, BUT I was pleased to see that the previous owner gave the
engine and
transmission a
service before I bought it.
Oil is clear and full,
coolant is good, zincs and belts are all new- so I’m able to take that one off the list. I also topped off the
batteries to complete the routine
maintenance items, then went through the ac
wiring and replaced a bunch of corroded and charred terminals (picture of some included)
My
current, ongoing
project is reinstalling the pressure
water system which has been easy enough so far.
Next on the list is going to be replacing the
exhaust hoses- which I expect to be a bit of a pain. I have some cabinets that need the insides rebuilt, and my shipwright flaked out on me too, so that’s going to be mine to tackle now. I expect that’s going to be a pain as well. I’m also going to replace the composting
head with a traditional
marine head (ideally
electric if not Vacuflush- we’ll see). While the composting
head has absolutely eliminated the head
odor, the seat is far too high as it’s mounted on a platform and difficult to use. Fortunately all of the old head
plumbing is gone so I have a blank
canvas to
work with, just like the pressure water
plumbing.
The BIG project coming up is going to be painting the deck. I’m thinking
single part
polyurethane and Kiwigrip for the nonskid.
And while I’ve been getting a lot of work done on it, I’ve been taking it out regularly and am now comfortable
single handing it (docking and close quarters maneuvering being the more challenging part of that given that it’s a
full keel, heavy
displacement hull). I miss the days where I had twin screws, but I’m having fun mastering the art of warping my way into and out of right spots.
After the
haul out, I’m going to take a couple weeks and run it down to
Key West then the Dry Turtugas for a proper shakedown.
My thanks to all for the
advice in this and my other threads. I look forward to seeing everyone on the water.
A couple pictures of the progress included.
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