RE: Digest for diysailboatmeetup@googlegroups.com - 4 Messages in 1 Topic

[Erik Fahlstrom]

maybe you should just get used to "the damp life".  it's like "salt life"  .... only wetter.  when life gives you dampness .... make damp-onade.


i love you morgan,

erik

---

To: diysailb...@googlegroups.com
From: diysailb...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Digest for diysailb...@googlegroups.com - 4 Messages in 1 Topic
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2013 07:52:34 +0000

  Today's Topic Summary

Group: http://groups.google.com/group/diysailboatmeetup/topics

• quick and dirty deck-hull "repair" [4 Updates]

 quick and dirty deck-hull "repair"

morgan <na...@riseup.net> Mar 04 06:08PM -0500  

Hello all, (and sorry for cross-posting)
 
Prudent Mariners, I am told, do something called a "shakeout cruise"
before setting off into the sunset. I, however, don't know any prudent
mariners, only a small flotilla of truly amazing and inspiring wingnut
boat punks who are pounding to weather to make it to the dominican
republic in time to see some fucking whales... so I loaded up my little
new-to-me 1979 souther cross 28 with a couple of friends, shittons of
indian food spacebags and jars of peanutbutter, scrambled to stick a
little one-lugger into the thing, and pounded east from miami too,
trying to keep up.
 
So now I find myself in Georgetown, the cruiser "mecca" (explorer
charts' words...) of the southern part of the exumas, bahamas in one
soggy little piece of plastic. Donna even warned me about the deck hull
joint on these boats, but too late... The joint leaks. Not
"dangerously," more "damply" or perhaps "demoralizingly"... enough to
make the under seatee storage hard to use (making life a cluttered mess
for three on 28') and making me think that the prudent mariner should,
perhaps, not continue to weather for another couple hundred miles but
rather stay here and somehow "fix" the thing.
 
So, collective wisdom of punx on boats and diy sailors of all stripes,
anyone have thoughts or suggestions on a quick and dirty ~600nm "repair"
to a outward flange type deck hull joint? It has hex bolts and nuts
about every 4", and additionally, the track for the jib blocks is on top
of the flange with more bolts parallel and outside of the smaller deck
hull bolts.
 
I guess my goal is to keep sailing for another few months and then get
the thing back to NY/ New England and there spend the time to do a
proper undo the fasteners, open, clean, rebed job.
 
Now and in the short term, two paths that I can think of are to remove
whats left of the rub-rail, sand the glass of the flange, and then
either (a) 5200 the outside of exposed joint, or (b) glass over the
outside of the exposed joint.
 
Donna, I know you did pretty much this exact repair both for the short
term and long haul, right?
 
Also, I know some of you are wizards with glass and ply, so I'd love
your thoughts.
 
up the punx, we'll be sailing,
-Morgan
 
ps- the tiller broke some islands north. We replaced it with wood from a
shipping palette I grabbed on a whim and carried through the alleyways
back in south beach... we've gotten so much use from that random scrap
wood, highly recommended.
 

Donna Lange <do...@oceanswatch.org> Mar 04 08:57PM -0500  

Hey Morgan...
God, this is one of those times you wish you were wrong...Yes...there
are fixes.
 
In Ireland...I cut the liner out along the deck hull joint inside the
boat. It was a bugger behind the bulkheads, but possible. I used
epoxy/adhesive filler and biaxial cloth and filled in the space
between the deck and hull, laying the biaxial cloth from the aft
scupper to the anchor locker. This kept the water out of the boat.
 
Before sailing around the world, I actually separated the deck and
hull and by a miracle of engineering, we fiberglassed the joint
together using a 3 part rail cap to clamp the joint, screwing through
the whole rail cap. Huge job..tricky. Took some fancy clamping and
tropical slow hardener...but worked. But, that was to do the Southern
Ocean. I have to say. I pounded to weather a couple years ago to get
to Haiti...She held just fine. But there is a great book "Gentleman
Never Sail to Weather". This is probably a better solution. The
problem with fiberglassing the outside joint is that fiberglass just
doesn't like to make all those complex curves...that is why we had to
have the fancy 3 part rail and clamping set up.
 
I had tried recaulking the joint and a new cap rail...wasn't done very
well. It may have worked if it was done better....I would think that
this would work. At the yard in RI, there was a fellow who worked in
the yard where they built the SC28. He suggested rebuilding the deck
and hull and rejoining them. I didn't do that for my trip, but may
work for the most part.
 
Keep in touch. I do skype : inspiredinsanity
 
I feel your pain. Big hugs
I am here if can be of assistance.
D
 
 
--
Captain Donna Lange
Executive Director
OceansWatch North America
do...@oceanswatch.org
401 323 1484
skype: inspiredinsanity
 

Donna Lange <do...@oceanswatch.org> Mar 04 09:00PM -0500  

Oh about the tiller,
Mine broke too...just used hose clamps during my NA crossing...but
fiberglassed it back together. Have to say I still have the original
tiller. Crazy...should be in a museum. The sailing life..perpetual
creative engineering...we love it.
D
 
 
--
Captain Donna Lange
Executive Director
OceansWatch North America
do...@oceanswatch.org
401 323 1484
skype: inspiredinsanity
 

Meghanmitchell131 <meghanmi...@gmail.com> Mar 04 10:35PM -0500  

Glassing sounds more proper, but not quick at all. What about caulking from the outside with some other sealant besides 5200...UV4000? Or something that will do the job for now, but not be such a pain to undo/redo correctly later?
 
Sent from my iPhone
 
 

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group diysailboatmeetup.
You can post via email.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an empty message.
For more options, visit this group.


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "diysailboatmeetup" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to diysailboatmee...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
 
 

[Darrin F]

Hey Morgan.
If. There is little apparent danger of causing major damage (I.e. tearing the hull or deck)
I'd throw some 4200 (or even 5200, as it does come off with Marine Debond or toluene) into the gap to keep the interior dry and free of mold/rot. Then some time when your not sailing and having fun, fix it properly somewhere that has cheaper materials.

Like I think someone previously mentioned I once had to use a series of blocks and a couple extra lines to trim my genoa when my jib traveler fixing bolts started popping off and could no longer be trusted . It was a bit of a pain in the ass but worked just fine.

The real repair would involve sandwiching some fab mat in the now bolt free h/d joint, then wrapping the joint alternating chopped strand mat and light cloth. Then replace the bolts.
Yada Yada

From what it sounds like it's more of an annoying leak than a real safety concern. Though when I did that crossing I got my ass handed to me because my client didn't want me to wait for a good weather window. But if you wait it can be just fine.

Finish out your season and good luck.
Have fun!
Darrin.

[Donna Lange]

that is cute...all but true.
good luck

[Darrin F]

Oh? Is there something different about the southern cross? The chainplates are fastened either to tabs glasses to the hull, or directly to it, correct?

[Donna Lange]

I guess, the truth is, that despite all the repairs i have made to my
boat, the lockers are still not dry...so c'est la Vie...yes, we learn
to manage the damp. Of course, I tend to sail really really hard,
unlike the gentlemen who only sail to weather. Thaks all. As far as
the chain plates go, yes they are mounted to the bulkheads or a glass
rib inside. I did end up having to take the bowstem out of the bow as
it was cracked. I put a chainplate on the bow for the bowstem to
attach to beneath the bowpulpit. The stainless was in trouble on my
boat. I replaced all the plates early on in refits.
Thanks,
D

[Darrin F]

Interesting. My friend's sc28 has the plates fixed to the hull and a cast bronze stemhead. He could've done that afterwards.  That's what I did.
Anyhoo.
Hope it works out.

[Donna Lange]

So far the plates have worked great. The whole refit I have done over
the 12 years I have had her is pretty crazy. Even the bowcap parted.
In NZ I had to take them apart. I bolted it through, rebuilt it. Next
is to secure the aft lockers from the forward lockers, galley. Doing a
big refit now. full bulkheads and at the chainplates. crazy. I will
get off a photo of the last set of fixes. She is going to be pretty
once more.
Thanks,
D