Interior refit 1970's kit sailboat questions

[dfelsent]

I love looking at quality workmanship.
(NOT sarcasm)

[Spot]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

I love looking at quality workmanship.
(NOT sarcasm)

Me too!
Thanks for the comments. I hope people enjoy seeing my not-so-perfect process and I appreciate the feedback and tips given directly and those I glean from other projects on the interwebs.

I decided to clean up the pintel pockets of the rudder cheeks (remove marker lines, sand, and add paint) and then added a z-shaped flange to the mast gates. The angle irons were to keep the internal corner from lifting during the glassing process and the tape is there to help the epoxy release from the molds and angles.

I did some of the trimming while the epoxy was curing, maybe 4 hours after application, just after the parts were no longer sticky. at this stage things are much easier to trim before full cure (picture with the off-cut tied into a knot). I also de-molded the parts before full cure as well but still a few hours after the trimming.

Proof of concept on the gates seems positive, the dummy slugs slid through easily and there is a secondary benefit that the gin pole can be held in place by the bungee on the gates.

Next step will be one more layer of glassing inside the channel for the bungee. While that is curing it is off to paint trim on the house. I might just pretend that the fascia it is a big toerail and that I am doing boat work in an exotic location...

[Spot]

I set up the inside channels before painting on the house.

Fabric is 8 or 9 oz 'mystery' cloth a co-worker got off the internet and sold me for pennies on the dollar. It is a twill weave and more difficult to wet out than the other 4 and 6oz plain weaves I am used to. I figured trying to do multiple layers or a 45 degree layup on the inside curve would be a train wreck of distorted weaves. I tried to chisel scrape and pick out any remaining hot glue and tape from the previous molding process and sanded the inside of the channel to prep it for fresh resin.

I rounded off the other edge of my pusher bars to create a fillet as-molded and taped everything. I then mixed up the epoxy resin and added a drop or two of a pthalo green tint I have. I did a wet-out on each side of the strips and mashed them around and gave them a couple minutes to soak in. It worked best to add a little resin to the inside of the channel, drape the wetted strip over the taped pusher bar, and then send the pusher into the channel.

As before, trimming was a couple hours after layup and de-molding a couple hours after that. It also worked well to let the tape peel from the wood to remove the wood and then go back and peel the tape. Overall I am happy with this little project.

[Spot]

Season is over for us, halyards were pulled last week. I would have liked to have sailed on the refurbed rudder and tried the mast gates but could not pull it all together.

What has been done to Felicity so far:
1. gutted, cleaned, and re-framed interior berths
2. solved cockpit drain issue
3. added solar panel and controller, removed doorbell wire and panel next to fuel tank, all circuits stranded wire, fused, and switched as needed
4. new running rigging and forestay Highfield lever and turnbuckle.
5. new interior foam cushions and covers
6. refurbished rudder, new tiller, and made mast gates, rebuilt nav lights
7. purchased outboard, VHF radio, fish finder with maps and GPS, bulkhead compass
8. Name and numbers painted via stencil, new baby stay mounts.

What is left:
A. Real marine wiring (tinned and heat-sealed connectors) and final panel configuration including mast runs and deck fittings
B. Bulkhead for rear lazarette to keep fuel fumes out of cabin
C. Standing rigging
D. Galley cabinet build-out and Origo stove and fresh water install
E. Better rollers on trailer to replace existing weak keel guide
F. Replace ribs and keel mounting board
G. Keel work (drop, paint, install with sealant)
H. Soft spot on deck, reseal stanchions, install new lifelines
I. Paint interior and replace port lights
J. Gel coat repairs exterior
K. Fix dinghy so I can sail that when Felicity is not ready

When I look at this list, I wish I had a heated shed to knock more of it out over the winter...I also need to work on not overthinking jobs and just getting them done.

I don't think I have posted a picture of the finished rudder or the trailer guide back in position so here they are. Once I figure out pin-striping (I need practice!) I will outline the flames. The trailer guide was heated with a oxy-fuel torch to shrink in the bolt holes and beaten back into shape on an I-beam anvil. It is as it was....My new plan is to come up with something like rollers that will better guide and survive the boat landing process. I also added an up-haul on the rudder blade to bring it back into operating position in case it pivots.

[wingless]

Thanks for all the updates! I am living vicariously through your project...

Just move down here to southern FL, no heated shed required.

Can't wait for more.

[GILow]

Sorry to hear the season is over for now.

Having just spent winter in Tasmania I can relate. I couldn’t do much of anything on the boat over winter, too cold for any of my epoxies to fire. Now I am back in a warmer climate but my car, which is full of all the buildings materials I need, is stuck in another state and I cannot retrieve it due to border closures.

I just revisited your thread to go over the ideas that came out of the cushion covers. As I think I mentioned, I chose a very bad colour and I am about to remake my covers from scratch. There were some very helpful tips from yourself and Wingless that I will be applying.

[Spot]

Originally Posted by wingless

Thanks for all the updates! I am living vicariously through your project...

Just move down here to southern FL, no heated shed required.

Can't wait for more.

Thanks WL. I had a chance to use the angle finder tool on another project about a week ago and I was remembering our conversations about it.

Originally Posted by GILow

Sorry to hear the season is over for now.

Having just spent winter in Tasmania I can relate. I couldn’t do much of anything on the boat over winter, too cold for any of my epoxies to fire. Now I am back in a warmer climate but my car, which is full of all the buildings materials I need, is stuck in another state and I cannot retrieve it due to border closures.

I just revisited your thread to go over the ideas that came out of the cushion covers. As I think I mentioned, I chose a very bad colour and I am about to remake my covers from scratch. There were some very helpful tips from yourself and Wingless that I will be applying.

Thanks GILow, please let us know how it goes. Are you going to use the seam tape before stitching? I just found my roll and some nylon I meant to try earlier this year. I am thinking that might help with slippery fabrics on a non walking-foot machine.

[GILow]

Yes, the seam tape is brilliant!

[Spot]

It's been a while since I have done 'direct' boat work with the cold winter. I did not put the tarp up and it has been repeatedly cold and snowy enough that I have not forced myself into the cabin. The solar panel and controller are still going strong and run a nightlight in the boat for a couple hours a day so I have a light-up driveway ornament. I went through the schematic and learned to use the 'add image' function in KiCad to show the components being wired and to note that the mast wiring and associated lights are not in place.


If we get a warm spell I'd like to go back out and make new templates and start the two galley cabinets, one port for the stove and one starboard for the sink. I also have most of the boat gear in one room so I could clean-sort-pack in storage bins when I need a break from work, interweb, and the TV...

[mike_sco]

Originally Posted by Spot

It's been a while since I have done 'direct' boat work with the cold winter. I did not put the tarp up and it has been repeatedly cold and snowy enough that I have not forced myself into the cabin.

Which is understandable though. Gladly we don’t get much snow up here, you have to go further to the countryside to get snow.

Originally Posted by spot

The solar panel and controller are still going strong and run a nightlight in the boat for a couple hours a day so I have a light-up driveway ornament.

I wish I had a driveway to put my “big” project up there to have an ornament, sadly I don’t have a driveway nor an ornament lol

Originally Posted by spot

I went through the schematic and learned to use the 'add image' function in KiCad to show the components being wired and to note that the mast wiring and associated lights are not in place.

Wondering if you could send me a copy of your schematic so I have a starting point for my project. Still have a schematic from the last Camper van (on paper) somewhere but I think that would be a bit different though.

Michael

[Spot]

Hello Michael,
Here is a PDF that is a little nicer. If you are looking for another file format or an actual schematic database I'll have to learn how to do that.

-14F here right now, heading to 11F later today...

[mike_sco]

Originally Posted by Spot

Hello Michael,
Here is a PDF that is a little nicer. If you are looking for another file format or an actual schematic database I'll have to learn how to do that.

-14F here right now, heading to 11F later today...

Thank you for that Spot. I appreciatte that and will have a look at it. I really think my van schematic would be a wee bit overdone for a small sailing boat. I use KiCad myself btw., I created a traffic advisor with an Arduino board for my Volvo XC70.


Michael

[wingless]

Schematic looks good.

Hope warm returns for you soon. Yesterday got back into the low 80s for me yesterday, that felt nice after our low 40s cold snap.

[Spot]

Originally Posted by wingless

Schematic looks good.

Hope warm returns for you soon. Yesterday got back into the low 80s for me yesterday, that felt nice after our low 40s cold snap.

Happy for you and jealous all at the same time Wingless!
We are supposed to break freezing for a day or two mid-week.
Still some nights below 0 F...


I do have some sailing plans lined up for the summer, hoping to use the various event dates to drive items of forward progress on the boat. Some stuff seems pretty cut and dried, like the wiring and standing rigging, other stuff will take more effort like re-bedding the iron swing keel and addressing soft spots in the deck core. The galley cabinets and some freshwater tanks need to be done as well.

[Spot]

We are having a 'flash in the pan' day here, 45 F (6 C).

I thought I'd venture out to the boat and have a look.
I wrecked a 20-year-old plastic scraper getting into the cabin.
The cockpit sole was a bathtub full of ice from the mainsheet padeye to the drain. Armed with a wrecking bar and some RV antifreeze I spent a couple minutes de-icing. Hopefully I am not rewarded with gel coat chips in the spring. The cockpit drain was only capped with ice and is now running free. None of this took much time but by the end my clothes, gloves, and shoes were soaked with 30-something degree water. Good thing my unfolded clean laundry was at the ready...

Weather looks tough for the next week, something like 7-10 inches of rain/snow mix then snow and back below zero F. I may spend today's sunset hour covering the boat to maintain today's de-icing's forward progress.

Main news boat-wise is that I have confirmed the mainsail is 2 feet (.6m) too long in the luff to hoist properly. Seems odd for a Luger branded sail to be so far off, unless it is from a 26 and they assumed that one could roller reef it into position. Every picture I see online of this boat has the sail unrolled and the boom sitting 2 feet above the deck. The pictures also show different port light and traveler arrangements. Right now the math and past sailing experience show the boom hitting the companionway slider. I would like to get this sorted so I can sail and reef.