Gulf Coast 18 Fiberglass Repair and Other Refitt Tasks

[Rumrace]

What do you have for ports for the cabin?

[M.B. Naegle]

Originally Posted by Rumrace

M.B. What do you have for sheet brakes or pulleys. I’m in the process of assembling another printer and this beast will print my new PC Carbon Fibre blend. Feels like nylon but UV resistance way ahead. I have designs for single or double brakes as well as simple sheet grips. If you need a set I’ll print you up some late summer. Each brake need two bearings a bolt with acorn nut.
The line snugger you just pull in and find on each side taper to hold the line pull up to relaxes. If you need them you can pay the post. Will need gauge for either
I have the bolt patterns for both.

Thanks! I might have to take you up on that. I'm still sorting out the rigging and plan to use as much of the old stuff as possible, but only about 3/4 of it is there, and half of what's left will need to be replaced anyway due to sun damage.

I'll post more on it later, but going off of what was on the boat previously, most of the rigging will be 1/4" diameter, except for the down-hauls, anchor and dock lines being 3/8" diameter.

[M.B. Naegle]

Originally Posted by Rumrace

What do you have for ports for the cabin?

for ventilation there's a single 4" round hole in the middle of the front deck with a screw in lid, but I'd like to replace it with a horn style vent so it can stay open with less chance of water splashing in, and then add a couple louvered vents in the cockpit to generate some airflow.

[M.B. Naegle]

Finally got some glass in tonight. Its little stuff, but easier to do it now while there's a gaping hole in the back. Got 75% of the back pick-ax holes covered, the old access port covered, and built up the backs of the stringers (after deciding they weren't rotten and just needed to be sealed up after given a chance to dry out completely).

[Spot]

Originally Posted by M.B. Naegle

[
Finally got some glass in tonight. Its little stuff, but easier to do it now while there's a gaping hole in the back. Got 75% of the back pick-ax holes covered, the old access port covered, and built up the backs of the stringers (after deciding they weren't rotten and just needed to be sealed up after given a chance to dry out completely).

Pick-axe holes, LOL, we got them up here too in the kid's boat too towards the stern, bow appears to be rock or trailer damage. I should have supported that one better during patching to save extra layers. The one that really slays me is the one about a foot from the DRAIN PLUG...
A little montage, scale is used to weigh cloth to estimate resin and figure drops of MEKP:

[Rumrace]

The line brakes are rope size specific. Or I can print twins which adjust to size. They get screwed down in pairs. You add a phosphorus bronze spring or a steel one.
Then traditional line brakes in single or groups. We printed a pulley which outperforms the aluminum brass bearing original using a nylon infused with carbon fibre. My older printer could not print it. Not until July 2022 and I had to wait for it to come from Eastern Europe. The advances in filaments are amazing. Nylon is not so good in the sun. Neither are any of the polyesters. The Vinyl is a lot better. A nylon called PA11 is rarely used cause its hard not to warp in manufacturing any method. The carbon fibre in short cut bonds in a continuous link equal to Epoxy with carbon fibre Matt which costs a fortune in waste material to vacuum bag to satiation.
I sure this and other developments which keep Hanse busy with their printed hulls
I’ll post a few photos of designs you may need to single hand a boat low on winches.
4 brakes a side and two quick line releases and a spare near the transom.

[M.B. Naegle]

Got the transom fitted in tonight. Since the old one was undersized by 1" around the sides and bottom, I figured getting it within 1/4" all around was doing good. I over-cut the top middle area by about 1/2", but I think it will still fill in. After that I got the first layer of glass onto the inside surface.

The old transom had copious ammounts of what looked like fiber reinforced putty, but it wasn't smoothed out well creating some pockets for dirt and water to sit. I hope to fare it a little better, but timing will be a big help to move it around before it hardens. So, I'm looking for some kind of caulking gun applied fiber putty to speed things up, at least to get the transom glued in place, then I can add more putty inside to fare it out. Really I just need something to bed the transom to the hull corner and go between the transom and the new cockpit, and I plan to temporarily pull it together with drywall screws. Then once it's set I can remove the screws, fare the inside corner with regular putty, and reinforce it with cloth and resin.

After the transom is in and the inside is done, I'll taper back the outside corner and start building it up with cloth and resin.

[Spot]

It's starting to look like a boat again Miles, nice work.
I normally do not buy fillers, it's all a home brew of resin, hollow glass spheres, and fumed silica, varying the amounts depending on the job. If I am using it like Bondo then lots of spheres. If I am trying to not to have resin run down a vertical surface, more silica.

I have never done a full transom.
I would consider using a strip of wetted out chopped mat between the hull and transom to avoid having spots of non-reinforced resin between the two. Do the glue and clamp/screw of the transom and then go back and schmooey in a fillet before adding the tabbing.

[M.B. Naegle]

In addition to all the fiberglass, I've also started sanding the top half of the boat in prep for primer. While doing this I'm noting little chips and stuff that I can fill, but I'm not too concerned trying to make things "perfect," just sealed and functional The top side all has that dusted sun-damage effect, but it looks to be just in the paint so a light sanding, wipe with acetone, and coat of primer will get it ready for new paint I think. There are painted grip pads bedded into the fiberglass that look to still have good texture and are not lifting up, so I'm using a wire brush on those to get any flaked paint up before primer.

Also still getting hardware pulled off, and that stuff's getting cleaned up when I have time indoors. Most of it I could replace, but weighing time and money I'm saving what I can. The front signal light for example just needed the chrome polished, clear acrylic to brighten the plastic lens, acid rust removal on the bulb socket, and it's ready to go back on the boat (after the fore deck gets some paint).

The cam cleats are for the jib sail and are the Tufnol or phenolic variety. There are extra holes in the stainless brackets they bolt to, so I think they were an upgrade at some point, but they are complete and seem to work well so that's one less thing to buy. The only issue is the sun has broken down the resin surfaces exposed, so I plan to use some of the fiber glass resin to refresh those surfaces just so they look a little better and are easier to keep clean.

[Spot]

Miles, thanks for the pictures and updates. I can just about smell the polish and feel the old bench in that last picture.

[Lake-Effect]

Great progress! We just came back from towing our microcruiser for a week's sailing on a larger cottage lake, with some other sailing friends. Great fun. You have trips like this to look forward to.

("schmooey in a fillet" - was that in a WEST SYSTEMS tutorial? Perfect term. )

[Spot]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Great progress! We just came back from towing our microcruiser for a week's sailing on a larger cottage lake, with some other sailing friends. Great fun. You have trips like this to look forward to.

("schmooey in a fillet" - was that in a WEST SYSTEMS tutorial? Perfect term. )

Nice, glad for your nice trip.

Apparently 'schmooey' is also the handle of an infamous videogamer...I have no affiliations with him or West Epoxy.


The point I was trying to make was to focus on the transom to hull joint and take measures to insure that is good, without gaps or pockets of plain resin, hence the layer of mat (needs to compatible with the resin, check with mat supplier if using epoxy). Once that is in place, then go back and finish the fillets and tabbing, don't try to get it all in one fell swoop. There may be some other adhesives that would work but I tend to stick with what I have and know.

[M.B. Naegle]

Here's some of the wood-work progress.

The rudder cheeks were moments from turning to dust, but I was able to pull all the needed dimensions to make some cardboard patterns and cut new pieces from the 1/2" marine plywood I cut the transom from. After taking the old rudder apart, all that remains of the old wood is dirt and splinters.



It's loosely bolted together for now. I've polished the bronze hinges and stainless, but need to finish the aluminum rudder blade and do a little more sanding where it fits between the plywood sides. Then I'll take it apart and epoxy coat the individual sides before final assembly with sealant in the bolt holes. I want to keep the natural wood finish with as little maintenance as possible, so I'm thinking epoxy would do the best. I also want to buy a jam cleat of some kind for the rope that pulls the blade up out of the water, both to hold the blade up close to shore, and to keep the rope from falling in the water when the blade is down.


These are the teak handles from the house top, at least I think they are teak, along with the other non-plywood pieces from the boat, because they don't appear to show any rot. They are heavily worn however, almost like they were sand blasted. They are dry too, and if they were in better shape I'd leave them in the natural finish, but rather than trying to oil them up and rely on their teak properties, I want to build up the wear with epoxy and sand it smooth. Essentially use the teak as a wood core for the epoxy.

Jamestown Distributors sells an epoxy coating that I think will do for these wood pieces. I could just replace these pieces too, but since I'll be mixing the epoxy anyway I figure I'll get some more mileage out of them.

Other teak pieces that I'll epoxy include the long grab rails along the gunwales, some little edge pieces in the cabin, and the tracks that the companionway door fits into. Pieces I'll make new and epoxy to keep the wood grain finish include the new gunwale access hole covers, some locker lids in the cabin, and the companionway door.

I haven't made the companionway roof yet, which was plywood cored fiberglass, but I've also been thinking of other solutions like a dodger cover or making the fiberglass roof a pop-up design. There isn't room to have it slide forward. I'm mainly not excited about having to stow the roof and door on a boat this small.

In the same area, I'm considering alternative ways to rig the main and jib halyards. They originally ran down to a couple blocks on the sides of the mast and then back up to a pair of cleats on the mast, but If I run them to winches or jam cleats instead on the housetop, that could effect the companionway roof/door options.

[wyb2]

Originally Posted by M.B. Naegle

I haven't made the companionway roof yet, which was plywood cored fiberglass, but I've also been thinking of other solutions like a dodger cover or making the fiberglass roof a pop-up design. There isn't room to have it slide forward. I'm mainly not excited about having to stow the roof and door on a boat this small.

It looks like The roof top slides forward in some of the pictures of Gulf Coast 18’s I’m seeing. But it looks like your mast might be further aft? Or maybe the companionway opening is just larger.

Wondering if you could do a two piece roof? The forward section would slide forward as much as space allows, and the back section would slide over the top of the forward one.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by M.B. Naegle

I'm mainly not excited about having to stow the roof and door on a boat this small.

Our companionway door is in two pieces. I just slide the pieces into a rear quarterberth. Our roof is a slider.

We have some teak on our boat. Some were too far gone and so I made replacements from teak scraps. The rest was gray. I just sanded'em and finished with a honey-coloured deck Cetol finish. It's not so shiny like varnish, but it looks good and lasts a couple of years.

On our new rudder cheeks, I used runny epoxy, then a two-part Epiphanes finish.