Plastic Classic Forum

rescuesailor

The dog days of summer are definitely here. It has been above 95 every day for the last month. Despite the heat I have been making progress. The engine is running! It took longer than I thought it would, but that seems to be par for the course. I have a video but can only upload a picture. Note the ...

rescuesailor

Depends on how much of the previous cabin liner is attached but usually all day. 6 to 8 hours. Many people say I am anal retentive. I just like things that go bling!

rescuesailor

The boat is over 70 miles away from my house. Small jobs have to wait until I travel to the boat or they can be done at home. One of the home projects has been to remove the patina from all of the bronze hardware. The boat has 11 bronze portlights, 10 rectangle and one round. The portlights were ins...

rescuesailor

Yesterday was another hot day at the boat. I continued my work on the engine. There was a problem getting to the forward bolts on the rear motor mounts. The oil pan sets below the nuts and you could not get a wrench in to hold the backup. I attempted to bend a Craftman 3/4 combination wrench without...

rescuesailor

Today I got the engine put in the engine room. The heat index was over a 100 degrees today. It made for slow going. I finished the installation of the ingine mounts and wired the dash. I also attached all the wires to the engine before placing it in the engine room. ready for an engine.JPG I next wi...

rescuesailor

I spent two days at the boat last week. I never seem to get done everything I want; however, I am making some progress. I am working on getting my engine into it's rightful place. Currently it is sitting where the galley should be. There seems to be endless small tasks before I can set it back on th...

rescuesailor

It has been my experience with ball or taper type valves that dirt and grit are what causes most of the problems. If the ball or taper is teflon, grit can and will cause grooves in the ball very easily. Bronze will do the same over time. These grooves will allow the valve to leak. Any grease type lu...

rescuesailor

The cardboard was taken from a box that held some gym equipment. Nothing sprecial! Approx. 3/16" thick, paper on the outside with a corrigated piece on the inside is the shape of a wave. I built this thing over 5 years ago. I have used it as the temporary instrument panel for the engine to test...

rescuesailor

I spent two more days sanding. The hull is getting smooth enough I might choose a dark burgundy for paint. Still have a couple more days of sanding ahead of me. I hope the effort pays off. I have also been working on the engine instrument panel. The old panel was made of aluminum and a huge hole was...

rescuesailor

The last two days I sanded over 16 hours on the hull. My hands and arms are numb. Even though it still looks ugly and blochy and desperatly needs paint, but you should see how smooth and fair the hull is. These pictures don't do justice. 1-100_1231.JPG 1-1[attachment=0]1-100_1230.JPG 00_1231.JPG[/at...

rescuesailor

More Sanding on the old boat but we are making progress. I have built out areas for my chainplates on the hull. The old chainplates were through the deck and very weak. I have moved the two rear chainplates on each side to the hull. In order to get them to contour to the hull I had to build out some...

rescuesailor

I got paint on the boat today. Finally I am seeing an end to at least on aspect of this enourmous task! I sprayed the topcoat on both the cabin top and the foot well. I am fairly pleased withthe work, however, before I left I noticed some debris in the bottom of the footwell. Its the best I can do p...

rescuesailor

I also got some primer put on the cabin top and the foot well. I am ready to put the topcaot in these two areas. cabin top primed.jpg cockpit primed.jpg . Next trip I hope to sand and prepare forthe top coat on the cabin top and foor well. I also had the shaft work done for the engine and should be ...

rescuesailor

Just got my chainplates from the machine shop. Theylook pretty good. .[attachment=0]new chainplates.jpg They did not put the holes in the right place on the top however. In order to have them pass through the bulwark I have to raise them a couple on inches. Other wise they top hole would intersect t...

rescuesailor

Passivating or electropolishing simple removes rough surfaces from the stainless. It basically chemically sands and polishes the surface like sandpaper. Search Youtube for some interesting video on the subject. I am having this done to my chainplates at the machine shop. I will post pictures afterwa...

rescuesailor

It has been a long time since my last entry. Many things have happened since last August. I painted the cabin trunk top, but before it dried it rained. Total ruin! I have since sanded it all off, and am waiting for a weather window before I attempt it again. I have had my engine placed in to the boa...

rescuesailor

I would do the core replacement. I believe I read somewhere that the "wood" core actually adds more stiffness than fiberglass and cloth combined. Plywood in my opinion is not the best core but it certainly works. On my boat the orignal core was 1/2 inch plywood cut into 3 inch squares. It ...

rescuesailor

The cracks are hairline. You might be right about the core. I did not replace the core in the cabin top. When I started the work I sounded the entire boat and drilled holes in the bottom skin to look for water. This resulted in a recore of the cabin sides and the deck. I completed the sanding on the...

rescuesailor

I had not really considered moisture. The boat has been on the hard for over six years and is normally kept under a tarp. However, I suppose with the thinning of the gel coat water could be entering and then causing cracks. What do you think can be done? Any suggestions?

rescuesailor

I realize that you are not hip on a wood style liner but maybe you would like a plastic product that resembles wood. i found a plastic product that resembles beaded board. I is approximately 1/4 inch thick and provides a clean and easliy cleanable surface. I use 1/2 inch ply to provide a nailer and ...

rescuesailor

It has been sometime since my last post. I have spent a few days on the boat. Most of them uneventful, sanding, more sanding, and sanding. In early July I convinced my wife into going to the Wooden Boat Show in Mystic Conn. If you have not been you must go. It was three days of boats and boating. Wo...

rescuesailor

Did another day at the boat. Another day of sanding. But also another day of varnishing. I have made the decision to varnish the wood with a couple of coats before painting. My hope is that any overspray, ( i will tape everything off but I have been sanding paint off that teak for months) will come ...

rescuesailor

I use Lime-Away first. Then I use a brass wire wheel. I finish using Prism Polish. I love the stuff. The shine is unbelievable.

rescuesailor

Another day of sanding. Progress is slow but I am making headway. Today I mounted the grab rails. These were painted a hedious purple color that was hard to get off. They look much better now.

: This is the way it looked when we bought it; 000_0025_320x240.JPG (53.1 KiB) Viewed 16429 times

: Same area today

: Looking down the deck

: The wood in the cockpit

: I could not resist placing one of the portlight frames in the hole. It looks pretty good. I can't wait to get them all in.

rescuesailor

I have spent the last two weekends sanding, sanding, and more sanding. When does it end? I decided that I need to see something get finished. I am going to prepare the cabin top and put the finish coats of paint on it. I am drilling holes and chambering out the tops to ensure the sealant has a place...

rescuesailor

I spent three days at the boat this week. mostly sanding, it gets old but is so necessary. I try not to rush things because I want the finish to be as good as it can be. But man am I ready to put things back in order. I did get a couple of things redone. The first was to get the first coat of finish...

rescuesailor

Yes it is a Universal 5434, purchased off ebay, rebuilt by me, and running smoothly. Now I just need to find a crane to lift it the 13 feet to get it into the boat! Sometimes these boat chores always seem to lead to more chores and more money. How does Tim say it, "What the boat wants, the boat...

rescuesailor

Just got back from a full day on the boat. The first few hours were spent sanding the hull. Boring but it is finally coming to an end. One more coat of filler, hopefully the last. Then I sanded parts of the interior. The old varnish is tuff to get off but i am making progress. Then I worked on some ...

rescuesailor

Unfortunately the company seems to be out of business. I found the same info as you but there is no one home. I have found some info on DC shunts, but I can not seem to get a handle on the exact electrical hookups. I have attached some pictures to see if anyone else has a simular panel. The first is...

rescuesailor

Trying to figure out how to wire this panel shown above. There is a shunt on the back. it is prewired to both rows of breakers on one side. The other side had a piece of green wire going to it. Doesn't mean much considering the mess of wire that attached it to the boat. If my research is right the i...

rescuesailor

I spent last weekend sanding, sanding , and more sanding. In order to keep my spirits up I decided to work on my electrical panel installation. I beleive the proper place for it is going to be against the hull in the navigation table area. There is a lift up table top that is located approximately 5...

rescuesailor

Tim, I just read on the original web site you sold your boat. I haven't been to the site for a while and I was refering a friend to it when I saw the update. I know the feeling you went through as it happened to me when i sold my boat Freetime after purchasing my latest project. I am glad you decide...

rescuesailor

Thought I would post some new photos

: This is the old battery switch

rescuesailor

I have a Universal 5432 diesel engine. The intake into the raw water pump is 1/2 inch. My boat currently has 13 thru-hulls. I would like to streamline and eliminate some of these. My question is this. Can I consolidate the raw water intake for the engine, salt water for the sink, and the A/C intake ...

rescuesailor

That's a great idea about swabbing the deadwood with epoxy!

rescuesailor

Sorry it took so long to get a picture uploaded but I had to dig out my camera. I am concerned about leaks and plan on using pipe dope rather than teflon tape on the threads. Dont want stale water between the ss pipe and the deadwood hole. I don't think salt water will cause problems with either but...

rescuesailor

Northstar thanks for the great info. My only reservation is going to be the packing gland on the inside due to fact it will have to be rotated to tighten onto the shaft log. I am thinking of making a beveled edge on the edge of the fiberglass hole of the deadwood to place the sealant in. Maybe this ...

rescuesailor

I am getting ready to reinstall the cutlss bearing and shaft log in my True North 34 cutter. It consists of the cutlass bearing housing, which has four bolts to secure it to the deadwood space in the hull. A three foot stainless steel pipe that screws into the cutlass bearing housing and the end of ...

rescuesailor

I have tiny cracks in the gelcoat of the hull on my boat. I have checked to make sure they are not the result of structural failure. They do not seem to be. However they cover some large areas of the hull and deck. I want to make sure they do not show through the new paint job. i have been sanding a...

rescuesailor

Unfortunately the boat was not in good enough shape to sail when purchased. she did come with an extensive brand new set of sails. Here are some more pictures focusing on the engine area.

rescuesailor

This is my project. I have finally taught myself how to upload pictures. (I am a bit of a computer idiot). The project has actually been going on for several years. I have completely gutted the boat of all mechanical systems and recored the deck, cabin sides, and cabin top. Removed the teak decks, (...

rescuesailor

Don't know if this will help but i can relate my own experience. My last boat which had a very simular electrical set up to what you described had two batteries, one for start, one for house. I had a 110v charger that I left plugged in 24/7. Big mistake! Even though I had a so called smart charger i...

rescuesailor

Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. I was able to purchase a roll of biaxial cloth on ebay. i do not know what weight the cloth is. It is very heavy and when saturated with epoxy it becomes very strong when dry. I swear by CPES. It is amazing stuff. i would take balsa and soak it until un...

rescuesailor

First of all I like to say "I feel for ya". I had the same problem and have already completed my deck recore. Tim has a great section on the recore of his own Triton that you should carefully study. On my boat the core was 3 inch squares of 1/2" plywood. This was common on boats built...

rescuesailor

I am in the process of a complete rebuild. Part of that plan includes replacing the tangs on the mast. i have no way of knowing whether they are stressed or not. I do not want to take the chance since my mast is deck stepped and 53 feet high.

rescuesailor

Progress on the Christina Louise is slow these days but I have a nagging problem that I will have to tackle. The bolts holding the mast tangs are frozen to the spacers located in between the mast walls. The bolts and the spacers turn, but to no avail will they come out. I have used several different...

rescuesailor

I have a large stainless steel water tank located in the bilge of my boat. While removing a steel fuel tank I nicked it with my recipricating saw. The result is a small leak in the corner. I have some welding experience but I am not sure the best method of repair. The tank cannot be removed and gett...

rescuesailor

I think your Sc***ed! seriouslywhat are the dimensions of this lumber? I have a bumkin made of teak that measures 1.5 inches by 5.5 inches. I had a plan to replace it with 2 inch schedule 40 SS pipe. A friend who is a structual engineer told me that the wood is actually better. I have a hard time be...

rescuesailor

That's her! Freetime, we added the teak around the coaming and the small pockets in the sides of the cockpit. Don't know if she survived the hurricane, but I hope so. I though she was very pretty.

rescuesailor

Wow, quite a few comments in just a few short days. I've been out of touch, (a thing called work keeps interfering with my boat hobby). When I painted our boat with Signature Paint we purchased a turn-key kit. It included tape, thinner, rollers, paint components, and all other needed supplies. The o...

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