Bit breezy for sailing what with my slightly elderly standing rigging, but it was too good a day not to be on the boat, so decided it would be a fettling day... not only that I managed to finish all the jobs I wanted to do as well... amazing..
First job, lower block is now fitted so the kicking strap is now complete - lovely! At some point in time I may beef up the line for this (it's currently 3mm - 4mm might be better, or even 3mm braid on braid as it's less stretchy)... By the way - ignore the rusty mast foot fitting - it'll be done when the mast comes down for the new standing rigging....
By this point I felt I'd done so well that it might be time for a sit down, which logically meant it might be time for food as well, so the Fursty Ferret [clicky] locker was broken open....
Suitably refreshed it was time for the major job of the day, the port side mushroom vent. This was in a poor state; age/UV damage/mould and generally cracked and broken.. note the base which I think is/was the source of one of my leaks when it rains...
First job, lower block is now fitted so the kicking strap is now complete - lovely! At some point in time I may beef up the line for this (it's currently 3mm - 4mm might be better, or even 3mm braid on braid as it's less stretchy)... By the way - ignore the rusty mast foot fitting - it'll be done when the mast comes down for the new standing rigging....
By this point I felt I'd done so well that it might be time for a sit down, which logically meant it might be time for food as well, so the Fursty Ferret [clicky] locker was broken open....
Suitably refreshed it was time for the major job of the day, the port side mushroom vent. This was in a poor state; age/UV damage/mould and generally cracked and broken.. note the base which I think is/was the source of one of my leaks when it rains...
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| Before... |
I'd already done the starboard side at the beginning of the year so I new largely what to expect... previous owner had used stainless steel fixings so no corrosion, and all the bolts came of pretty easily, the dome though was fairly firmly held with the old sealant so I resorted to large screwdriver and hammer to slowly chip the deck flange away until in the end the whole fitting came loose..
Cleaned up the deck area around the hole, removed old sealant with a scraper, brushed off debris and we were ready for the new one. Based on a tip on the Practical Boat Owner web forum I used Frame Sealant last time, no reason to think it didn't work so did the same this time... a good bead around the inner edge of the flange, pressed it home so that sealant began to squeeze out round the edge, put the nuts and bolts in, and then tightened them down... got lucky here as 50% of them I managed to tighten completely without needing outside assistance. For the others I used the trusty mole grips on the nut on the inside of the cabin, and tightened up the bolt from the outside while the mole grips held the bolt stationary... job done...
Cleaned up the deck area around the hole, removed old sealant with a scraper, brushed off debris and we were ready for the new one. Based on a tip on the Practical Boat Owner web forum I used Frame Sealant last time, no reason to think it didn't work so did the same this time... a good bead around the inner edge of the flange, pressed it home so that sealant began to squeeze out round the edge, put the nuts and bolts in, and then tightened them down... got lucky here as 50% of them I managed to tighten completely without needing outside assistance. For the others I used the trusty mole grips on the nut on the inside of the cabin, and tightened up the bolt from the outside while the mole grips held the bolt stationary... job done...
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| After... |
Time for another sit down... sun was lovely... Langstone Cutters were out doing circuits.. pretty breezy so the performance dinghies from the club were howling around...
Time for the last job.... last time I was on the boat, I noticed these (the two tiny holes).... I recognised those from my last boat as being the bolt holes used for some eye straps (since removed), as I had similar, in almost the same spot...
Time for the last job.... last time I was on the boat, I noticed these (the two tiny holes).... I recognised those from my last boat as being the bolt holes used for some eye straps (since removed), as I had similar, in almost the same spot...
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| Before.. |
Nipped to the chandlers in the morning and bought a couple, and then with the balance of an acrobat and a lot of grunting and groaning I managed to get a nut, bolt and washer through to hold them fast - a small win but with significant benefits as I can use them for bungees when I want to use some rudimentary self steering, holding the tiller central when she's moored, etc.
..all in all then, a damn good day and finished off by a visit to a fellow members new to him boat (you can just see it with a tender alongside in the picture above) in order to deliver a bottle of the finest so that he can christen his new boat (third for him, third for the boat, third for Neptune 👍).
..all in all then, a damn good day and finished off by a visit to a fellow members new to him boat (you can just see it with a tender alongside in the picture above) in order to deliver a bottle of the finest so that he can christen his new boat (third for him, third for the boat, third for Neptune 👍).
A swift half later and the tide was disappearing and it was time to bring proceedings to a close....
I do like the way your kicker is "upside down". Means the toggle end is a damn sight easier to reach from the cockpit. might have to do something similar to mine at some stage.
ReplyDeleteHa... intentional as well just for once... :o)
DeleteI sail mostly single handed so I need to be able to get to it fairly easily.. more than that though, if I have it the other way up the hatch cover gets in the way when its fully open...
Joseph, I was going to say the same.. Steve, Also impressed with the rhythm of your work pace... never skips a sitdown :D Alway nice to just sit on the boat and tinker, I used to have a sailing buddy who hated the way I'd always be fiddling with something.. he thought I couldn't relax whereas that is relaxing :)
ReplyDeletePhil - I love it.. doing something, have a sit down, do a little more, sit down, and so on and so on..... anyway 'nuff of my little heap, how's yours - rudder done??
Delete