Job #23 - Halyard diverter - completed

Another one done... 

From this...

...to this...

Much smoother exit with the wire type eye strap...  couple of whacks in a vice with a large hammer to angle the screw holes, and jobs a good'un...  I put a bit of butyl tape under the fitting to stop water ingress to the mast.

Job #6 - Paint the cabin - 30% done

What can I say,  it was a good Sunday...  

I'm using the same paint I used on Papillon (my last boat) for this job as I was pleased with how hard wearing it was, it's a bog standard (Homebase own brand I think) water based bathroom/kitchen paint...  it's formulated to manage in a damp environment, and it has anti-fungal properties as well...  seems purpose made!

Anyway...   having painted the bulkhead the inspection hatch was in I finished the rest of the locker, and then cracked on with the hull and main bulkhead (the one separating the two cabins) in the forward cabin...

Al done with the exception of the roof - which needs some preparation as the old paint is flaking... either way I reckon 30%  of the entire cabin done and I hope to finish off the rest this coming weekend...

From this:

To this:

Job #7 - Fixing the leaks....

I've made a start on eliminating drips..  I suspect this will be a little like painting the Forth Bridge.. never ending... but you have to start somewhere.. 

A couple of months ago, I read a very (very) interesting article on one of the sailing web sites about using butyl tape as a sealing mechanism ...

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/rebedding_hardware [clicky]

In summary, don't use silicon sealants to set deck fittings as the silicon is a major pain to clean at a later date, and is also really messy..  he recommended using butyl tape (used in the glazing industry) so I went and bought myself some from eBay..  £5 got me 12 metres tape, which I can only describe as being like a sticky, extra thick blue tac...

Having read the article a couple of times I thought I'd start with a deck fitting I know is leaking, a cleat on the cabin top...

One layer of tape across the bottom of the fitting, well wrapped around the bolts - pushed into place - screw driver to hold the bolts while I tightened them from the inside... as you tighten it down the butyl squeezes into every hole... 

I know this was working, as the butyl was coming through above the nut..

Cleaned up and we were done...  fairly confidant the job's a good'un...  and the tape is very easy to use..

No mess, no sticky fingers, no smell..  recommended...