[Passport] removing Passport 40 trim ballast under water tank

[katchep]

Trial Run: The steel punchings that were installed under the water
tank under the starboard bed and under the nav station, have been
rusting. The floor under the nav station has been bowed up wards about
an inch and the bunk sides are separated from the floor. . Does any
one have a suggestion for removing this ballast without disassembling
most of the bunk, and nav station? Thanks Chuck Johnson

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[John Baudendistel]

Hi Chuck,

 

Get in touch with Don Fife.  He is also a bit of a wood craftsman.  He removed two planks near the nav station.  Then chipped out the ballast.  Then replaced the teak and holley same cabin sole.  I believe his cut was on the holley so minimal wood was lost.  He then replaced it back where it went.  His boat name is Bugler. 

 

Hope this helps.  I can find his number if you do not have it or a way to contact him.

 

John

[Don Fife]

Hi Chuck   Sounds like your nav station is like mine. Five years ago my floor raised 1.5 inches just in front of the nav station and along to the first quarter of the water tank. I cut the 1"x1" teak board that runs along the bilge pull up boards. These 1X1's are the only boards that are screwed down to the hull. Next. take out the teak boards that run along the water tank/nav area. I took out about five feet. The teak is glued to 1/2" plywood. If all goes well you can reuse the teak. This is where that German instrument called Fein(expensive as gold) comes in handy. Once the teak is removed cut the plywood so you have an inch protruding out to glue and screw a new piece of plywood in. You can now chisel on this rusty/expanded pop metal. Some will come out easy but the rest is hard as a rock. I could only chisel back four inches but gave three inches of clearance from hull to floor. I still have the encapsulated pop outs under the water tank. Hopefully that will not be a problem.    Putting the floor back together just takes patience. Cut new 1/2 inch plywood strips 2" wide by the length you need. Slip 1" under the old plywood, glue and screw this together for a 1" lip to lay a new piece of 1/2 " plywood base for the teak. Hopefully you can use your old teak, if not just mill down a new piece to size. I only destroyed a long piece of the 1/4" Holly and milled a piece of Poplar that looks exactly like the original. Sand the old glue off your teak and glue it back together. I like Gorilla glue due to it's tenacity to stick in all conditions. Once it has curred water will not break the bond.     This worked well for five years. My return trip from Mexico via the Baja Bash was very wet with mucho saltwater finding it's way into the boat. Well the boat dried out and pop goes the floor boards in front of the water tank, under the nav station. A very small section about 18"X18".  (This sounds like the problem area you have) The original cosmetic fix is still holding.    I started work on the new problem area last week and have removed the teak, plywood and metal.  Took measurements and lots of pictures home and am ready to re-install the teak and new plywood. This fix will last due to total access and removal of  all the metal.   Time spent on the first fix was four man days due to a lot of thinking about the unknown of what I would find and how to rebuild once metal removed. The new fix was very straight forward and will only take one man day to fix. I have not downloaded any pics yet but if you request I will send them out to your E mail address.   My decision not to take out the water tank and remove all the metal was due to $$$$. My tank is not leaking. Salt/rain water will find a way to enter those #$%^*encapsulated metal pop outs and expand. Removeing the water tank looks impossible unless you cut it up for access to the floor. (sawzall) Once the tank is removed you have total access to the floor leaving the teak surround in place. No cosmetics to worry about. Remove tank, floor and metal, replace floor, new tank and maybe a watermaker or storage area. That would be the best fix. Anyone know how to remove the watertank without total destruction?       Don Fife S.V. Bugler P40 Hull 25 1982         From: katchep <kat...@pacbell.net> To: Passport Owners <Passpor...@googlegroups.com> Cc: crj...@pacbell.net Sent: Sat, April 24, 2010 10:48:24 AM Subject: [Passport] removing Passport 40 trim ballast under water tank

Trial Run: The steel punchings that were installed under the water tank under the starboard bed and under the nav station, have been rusting. The floor under the nav station has been bowed up wards about an inch and the bunk sides are separated from the floor. . Does any one have a suggestion for removing this ballast without disassembling most of the bunk, and nav station? Thanks Chuck Johnson -- Passport Owners Association http://passportyachts.org To post to the group, use "reply all" or send email to Passpor...@googlegroups.com To reply to just the author, just use "reply: For more options, go to http://groups.google.com/group/PassportOwners?hl=en

[William Ennis]

At long last, we are moving toward replacing the OEM welding cable that Passport used to wire high-current runs in our boat. Coupled with the replacement of our old flooded batteries with new Lifeline AGMs (and thanks to those of you who helped with that decision), we should live in a new electrical world with POWER TO SPARE!

I know many of you bought boats on which this crucial replacement had already been accomplished, but I suspect that some of you have seen it done or had to do it yourselves. What size wire should we use to replace the welding cable? We will use Ancor marine grade wire, of course, with proper Ancor crimp treminals, and properly installed. For example, the main ground from the house bank to the engine block carries everything. What kind of current would that carry? 50 A? 100 A?

I suppose that I can turn on everything in the boat and sit with a meter, but a simple answer from experience will be more helpful and considerably less time consuming.

Thanks.

Bill Ennis
S/V Wings
P 40 # 78

[svladycybil]

Several years ago I removed the steel punchings without taking up the
floor.

I cut the large vertical support that can be seen when the deck plates
are removed and removed it. Looking forward it is to ones' right

I found that this fore and aft beam was not solid all the way to the
hull. There was a large section that did not reach to the hull and
this had been filled in with some type of foam. All was covered in F/
G. This made it very easy to remove 3-4 feet of the beam parallel to
the water tank. This opened up access for removing the steel
punchings.

Unfortunately I didn't understand the purpose of the steel punchings
and why they were causing the floor to raise. I didn't take them all
out as I wanted support for the underside of the water tank. I should
have removed them all and replaced them with a more suitable material.

I found a large piece of wood and used it to replace the section of
beam removed. It was fitted to the hull and glassed in place. I did
not used a foam fill under the beam. I was in Trinidad and it was a
good piece of wood fit for marine use.

Alternatively, I could have replaced the old beam as it was not
severly damaged.

Dick
s/v Lady Cybil

[ChinaDoll]

Not too many amps unless you need to use your housebank to start your
engine. Size the same as your start bank to engine cable. Depending on
the run length of the positive cable it could be smaller but not by
much.

[Jon Heidelberger]

And go to genuinedealz.com for fair prices on cable.
Jon Heidelberger
Whitehawk P41

[P. Sherwood]

Am looking ahead at tasks such as stripping and lightly sanding the
exterior teak, sanding and refinishing some of the woodwork in the
head, and polishing the interior port window frames. Does anyone have
any experience with or recommendations about multi-tools (Fein
Multimaster, Rockwell Sonicrafter, others)?

The Fein is breathtakingly expensive, and everyone gripes about how
much replacement blades, etc., cost. Do you really get what you pay
for? TIA for any advice. Cheers,

Phil
s/v Cynosure
Bahia de Caraquez

[Ernie Reuter]

We've got a Fein Multi and its worth what you pay for it. Yes the blades are expensive but if you use your head and don't run it full speed all the time, they will last. The old rule, keep the heat down on harder materials will pay big dividends...slow the darn thing down. 

I can honestly say that it has saved us countless hours in the rebuild of Iemanja. If you take the cost of the blades and compare to labor per hour.....it doesn't take too much math to justify.   Really gets us in the tight spaces. 

Ernie

S/V Iemanja

Burlington VT

--
Ernie Reuter

www.clothncanvas.com
Tel: 802-658-6826

[George Louis]

The Fein tool is worth every penny. It will last and the quality of the
accessories is great. If you are going to redo the caulking on the deck
there is no better tool. I use it for hard to reach spots when sanding, ie.
corners, edging, etc. A regular finishing sander with 80-100 grit aluminum
oxide was what I used for my decks.

Good luck,

George
s/v Wind Thief
Richmond, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: passpor...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:passpor...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of P. Sherwood
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:51 AM
To: Passport Owners

[Robert C Young]

speaking of tools, late last season I stripped the stern toe rail using the orange stripper found at home depot and conventional Sandvik scrapers. two coats of stripper worked well and I think it was faster than a Fein which I have. For finishing, I used penetrating epoxy (2 coats) as a base and 5 coats of Bristol Finish- looked perfect.

 

The boat is back in the water and, sigh, the stern toe rail has orange peeled after lots of effort.

 

I think the problem is water is getting under the toe rail. Thus, ideally, the toe rail should be removed, dried and rebedded. Given the curvatures of the toe rail, I have been reluctant to do this in case the rail is damaged in the removal process. Has anyone tackled this?

 

Regards,

 

Bob

[William Ennis]

We love the teak, but is it ever a chore to maintain! The only material that I have ever had survive more than a season is Sikkens Cetol with a final coat of their Marine Gloss. I prepped by sanding/stripping down to bare wood, then built up layer on layer making sure that there was a suitable drying time between coats. My first attempt at multi-season coatings failed by trying to apply too many coats and not allowing sufficient drying time.

As you say, the Cetol fails more frequently at the chock seams. The Cetol does provide very strong coats, but water seeps under the Cetol and lifts it from the wood. I have been experimenting with different methods of combatting this effect and a promising one is a light coating of silicone sealant at the chock/wood seam. After the Cetol is cured, I finger-apply a small amount in the seam and I've experienced fewer repairs.

Regards,

Bill

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." Benjamin Franklin

[John Baudendistel]

Hello,

 

If you have movement of the cap rail and the fiberglass you usually will get water in under the varnish film.  I had this issue on Dream Keeper my P42.  Although our caprail is more squarish than on the 40 the issue is I think the same.  What we did which was recommended by Collie Island Boat Works was to put a small black bead of caulking on the outside of the rail where it meets up with the fiberglass.  This allows some movement between the cap rail and the varnish film.  You varnish down to the black line.  The water can sit on the fiberglass and caulk bead.  We used a sharp tool to grove out some of the old caulking to have about a 1/8" line.  Then carefully taped the cap rail and the fiberglass, leaving a 1/8" space.  Filled with Sikaflex 200 I think.  It is more flexible.  Wipe off with your finger leaving a very small bead about 1/8".  Then pull the tape.  Don't let the tape dry overnight as the tape will be sealed into the caulk.  This was like 8 years ago and still holding up well.  I discontinued to have the breaks every foot or so on the varnish film. 

 

Hope this helps. 

 

John Baudendistel

Dream Keeper

P42.

[rhp...@verizon.net]

Agreed.  The Fein and a Dremel have proven their worth time and time again.  With the advent of Fein-like multitools, you can now by non-Fein blades at less cost.

 

Bob Peahl

Anthem P40-70.

May 6, 2010 12:54:57 PM, wine...@sbcglobal.net wrote:

The Fein tool is worth every penny. It will last and the quality of the
accessories is great. If you are going to redo the caulking on the deck
there is no better tool. I use it for hard to reach spots when sanding, ie.
corners, edging, etc. A regular finishing sander with 80-100 grit aluminum
oxide was what I used for my decks.

Good luck,

George
s/v Wind Thief
Richmond, CA


-----Original Message-----

From: passpor...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:passpor...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of P. Sherwood
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:51 AM
To: Passport Owners
Subject: [Passport] multi tools

Am looking ahead at tasks such as stripping and lightly sanding the
exterior teak, sanding and refinishing some of the woodwork in the
head, and polishing the interior port window frames. Does anyone have
any experience with or recommendations about multi-tools (Fein
Multimaster, Rockwell Sonicrafter, others)?

The Fein is breathtakingly expensive, and everyone gripes about how
much replacement blades, etc., cost. Do you really get what you pay
for? TIA for any advice. Cheers,

Phil
s/v Cynosure
Bahia de Caraquez


--
Passport Owners Association http://passportyachts.org
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Passpor...@googlegroups.com
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--

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