More jobs... and the tenders home done...

Only four days to launch so jobs are now getting prioritised... 

First though - the tender is done - I noticed half way through last season that one of the rowlock holders had developed some wet rot round the thwarts where they were attached...  some mid season bodge'ry to try and fix didn't help, so that was first on the list...  the thwarts on the tender are two strips of wood sandwiching the GRP of the hull (old Optimist????) so any fix is in two parts - inner and outer edge

First the damage - and this was after the block holding the rowlock socket was removed - apologies for the blur in the first picture...  outer edge after I had trimmed out the rot..

..and this is the inner edge (other side) - from what I can tell the block of wood holding the rowlock socket had been attached to the two strips of wood comprising the thwart with a couple of screws - over the years water had penetrated, rusted the screws, and caused the rot..

Repair - decided to remove a strip of the outer edge entirely - it had half rotted, and my carpentry is simply not up to scarfing in small patches of new wood...  so first I drilled and bolted through either side of the damaged section - too stabilise and strengthen - and then cut out the damaged section completely, and replaced with a piece from the spares box..  (a bit of little un's old pine bed which continues to give and give! ) Yeah I know its a soft wood, but two coats of wood treatment on all edges should keep it going..

Bolted this though the hull, into good wood on the inner layer/edge, and then bolted the block holding the rowlock socket through the block and both layers of thwart..  the bloody thing now looks like it's armour plated but I've always gone for strength over appearance...

Inner edge showing the bolts for the block holding the rowlock socket (which I cut shoulders into to allow for the washers)..  the block seems to be made of hardwood/teak

Once done - all thwarts/blocks were then given a coat of wood treatment, and I also replaced a few screws that had rusted and were no long holding the two strips of thwart to the hull....

Repair completed and time to do something about the inside of the tender:

Before...

All loose/flaky paint removed, scraped, hoovered, and then given a coat of garage floor paint:

..and after

Tenders done - it could probably do with another coat of floor paint but it'll have to wait...  we'll also see how well it stands up to UV.....  so that's jobs #7, #9 and #15 done....  tender's ready to go back to the compound

Two coats on the new binoculars holder and that's job #14 done - just need to fit them to the cabin shelf just inside the companionway...

Also rubbed down and painted the new cockpit hatches - these have had two coats of epoxy on each surface, and four coats on all edges - they were rubbed down, sanded, washed, and they've now had one coat of exterior gloss...  I'm not planning to paint the inner side (not enough time) but I will put another coat on the outer...

The drips on the edges by the way are epoxy not paint..    No matter how hard I try I always seem to get a drip line on the bottom edge of a board when I'm epoxying...  I tidy up all the edges, walk away, and the damn stuff drips and sets rock hard..  so I can sand it, but then you run the danger of over sanding it and taking it off to the wood layer, and to be honest, I don't care about drips if they are protecting what's underneath!

So what's to do.... in order....

1. Another coat of paint on the hatches - then fit to the boat
2. Windex - attach to mast head
3. Tabernacle - drill out lower bolt holes, and Hammerite
4. Another coat of paint on the washboards
5. Another coat of wood treatment on the outboard pad

...couple of hours work? Call it three...  needs must 4 and 5 could be done on the water....

...and then launch..  be glad to get on the water for a rest!

Mast raising is scheduled for the 9th...

More jobs... and the tenders home...

Doesn't seem like a lot was done yesterday but it was still a long day...

So yesterday was "tender day"...  and not because I was still feeling that way from laying on the gravel most of Wednesday.. 😀

Started off by fitting the racks to the car as I planned to bring the tender home so I could work on her in the garage this week...  a trip down to the club and the eldest daughters boyfriend came down to give me a hand on to the roof bars with the tender..  so first job done..

Bidded goodbye to the boyfriend (after he'd visited Sparrow -  I suspect one day he may be a boat owner but not yet!) and time for the next job, the tender launching trolley, which is in a sad and sorry state...

Said trolley came to me via an eBay advert three or four years ago and was in poor condition then, but it cost me less than £20 so I consider it fully depreciated, and as it's sole purpose is to carry the tender the mere 20 or 30 yards to the water or back it doesn't need to be in road worthy condition...

Having said that over the last few years the wheels have got stiffer and stiffer, and one of the support struts from the axle to the pad the dinghy sits on has rotted/rusted completely away, which means the dinghy slides over and presses down on the wheel, and and and...  you get the picture.. 

First job then was the wheels - did these a couple of years ago and had the foresight to replace the retaining clips with stainless R clips which worked admirably and came out easily..  wheels off and a check of the axle hole on the wheel showed them to be clear of obstruction so it wasn't them, the axle itself however showed a hardened collar of blackened almost carbide deposit..  tap with the screwdriver showed this to be mostly oxidation/hardened grease/mud and whatever - a tap with the end of the screw driver chipped it off to good('ish) metal underneath...  cleared it all and the wheel spun again - did the same to both sides, good spray with white grease, replaced clips and retaining washers, and job done..

Next job was to replace the strut supporting the pad the dinghy rests on which had gone completely..  to do that, bodgery of the highest order was adopted..  

Scrounged a block of wood from the club yard (bit of 2 x 3), cut it to size, then drilled through the trolley from both sides and screwed it in... a liberal spray of Hammerite over all. and also rust spots (ie. most of the trolley!) and the trolley was good to go back to the pen for another season..

No pictures - I am embarrassed at both the state of the trolley, and the heights of bodgery that I have attained! 

Time for a break - pint of Hobgoblin from the boat bar, and then time to finish off the lighting started last weekend - had to re-solder one of the strips, so connected it back in - screwed it to the shelf - tested (working!) and taped over all remaining joints and cable clipped the wires away tidy - that one's completely done now....

Wind was howling, but as it was dry'ish I took the opportunity to put a coat of preservative on the outboard pad, and that was me done for the day....

Must do before launch in priority order...

1. Fit the new cockpit hatches (but they need prep'ing and painting first)
2. Another coat on the outboard pad
3. Another couple of coats on the washboards
4. Tender repair/paint 
5. Windex
6. Boarding ladder

...and if I get time, a coat of something on the tiller..  twelve days and counting - should be good... I'll take another day off if I have to..

More ticks than a mangy dog...

...we always have to have a post with that title once every refit.... and yesterday was one of those mangy dog days....

So with the time to splash down reducing dramatically, and this weekend not looking too good =>

Courtesy WindGuru

...I decided to take a day off to get some serious work done - and what a belter - wall to wall sun for the entire day and eight hours later I had completed all the jobs I wanted to get done except one...

So started off by whipping out the companionway hatches, rubbing them down, and putting a coat of paint on - while they were drying in the sun, I then took the palm sander and rubbed down the hand rails on the cabin roof, the rubbing strakes (both sides in each case), the cockpit board, and the outboard pad.

Once that was done the first coat on the hatches was dry so I slapped a second coat on - then gave the rubbing strakes two coats of the exterior wood stain I tend to use for these jobs - the surface prior to rub down was perfect, so I'm more than happy with the performance and the appearance..  also did the same for the hand rails and the cockpit board.

By which time it was beer o'clock and time for a chat with my club yard neighbour...   beers done it was then time for the main feature - antifoul time...

I loathe this job, but I love the look afterwards as much as I loathe the job so needs must....

Before shots...

...it really was a very nice day!

...and after.....  still wet from the last coats - two coats overall and then I used the last of the can (about a quarter) on all the edges, the keels, waterline and the skeg/rudder...

Next picture - the controlled pandemonium that is a working session on the boat...  bags, tools and boxes everywhere...

Lovely! 

So jobs #18, #19 and #20 done - what I didn't manage to get done was

1. the outboard pad - but that's a quicky...
2. I rubbed down but didn't get round to putting a coat of Hammerite on the tabernacle as I wanted to drill the bottom hole out (making it ever so slightly bigger) before I paint it..

...next time! Delighted with progress today..

This weekend I'm going to collect the tender and bring it home for some much needed TLC...  if the club boat shed is empty I may also do some much needed work on the launching trailer (grease the wheels, and replace one of the supports)..  jobs #7/#8/#9 and #15 on the list

 

Man do I ache today...  getting too old for grovelling on the gravel between the bilge keels of a small boat.....