Plastic Classic Forum

Tallystick

There was another seacock for the head discharge that I removed, unseized, and replaced the corroded drain plug. The sink was directly connected to a fiberglass thru hull with no seacock. The interior is currently gutted and I'm about to start the interior carpentry. Have thought about relocating th...

Tallystick

Well I got the thru hull confusion sorted out. Turns out the thru hull had a piece of broken off pipe inside of it, and the strainer scoop on the hull exterior is also broken. Hamilton marine has a nice little reasonably priced bronze thru hull strainer scoop combo that looks like it will do the job...

Tallystick

Just had a look at the boat and the part in the above pic is way too big for the hole on the port side in front of the motor. The above part looks more like a packing box, which would mean the boat came with an extra. This hole has an intake scoop on the exterior of the hull, so I'm assuming it's fo...

Tallystick

I'm not sure what this part is, or if it's a stock Triton part. Is this the raw water intake thru hull for the motor? If so, what fitting is used to connect the seacock, as the seacock that came with the boat that connects to the strainer doesn't screw into this piece.

Tallystick

Basketball courts are still very slippery when wet. I slipped on sweat spots numerous times when I used to play. That's why they have ball boys to wipe up sweat. Maybe you could sand the coating with a very fine grit to get some extra traction? I still have to install my cabin sole as well. I've con...

Tallystick

Bringing back an old thread to mention a technique that worked well for me. The only area that I recored from below was under the mast support. To hold the plywood in position while the thickened epoxy cured, I used high temp hot glue at the corners of each section of plywood. This was sufficient to...

Tallystick

Penetrating oil may work if there isn't too much corrosion. If the pieces are corroded together you will need either heat or vibration to break it loose. If it comes down to it, you can use vice grips to wrench off the burner. The burners are the easiest part to find replacements. There are probably...

Tallystick

Does the burner unscrew from the base? It may be stuck on there pretty good. You might need to tap on threaded area with something soft like a rubber hose, or heat with a propane torch (make sure much fuel isn't in the lamp first) to get it loose. I use kerosene in similar lamps, but mine have separ...

Tallystick

No compression. Took the head back off, poured kerosene in the cylinders and the head to test for leakage. Cylinders held the kerosene well. Some was still in the bores the next morning, so the rings should be good. All four valves in the head leaked kerosene. So much for the machine shops valve sea...

Tallystick

Sure, I'll post a few pics. I'll take more, but these are already on my camera. Here is a photo of my new Isuzu C201 water pump with the Pisces flange machined and attached. The brake cylinder hone worked well for expanding the ID of the flange. Pisces_C201WaterPump_small.JPG This one is a photo of ...

Tallystick

I used an angle grinder with a metal cutoff wheel to cut the bolts, and then hammered a grade 8 bolt through to push out the stuck bolts. A dremel may work, but you'll probably break a lot of cut-off discs, and it will be slow.

Tallystick

My project is similar to yours. Also bluewater on a budget. The compression beam on my boat was significant rotted along the top interior surfaces directly under the mast step. This wasn't so obvious until the tabbing and beam were removed. I've constructed a new beam from quartersawn 8/4 white oak ...

Tallystick

Sulfuric acid is hygroscopic, so if any battery acid fumes escape, the small amount of acid coating the enclosure could attract moisture.

Tallystick

You can get a lead paint test kit if you want to know for sure. http://www.prolabinc.com/products.asp?kit=leadinpaint

Tallystick

I like the looks of a "mule" sail for a ketch or a yawl. Not sure about performance though.

Tallystick

Well a few of the valves leaked, so I had them reseated at an engine machine shop. Good trick for testing valve sealing is to pour water into the manifold side of the head to see if any liquid leaks out of the valves. The owner thought the old little diesel motor is cool so he only charged $30 to re...

Tallystick

You should be able to make a simple circuit with a relay or power transistor that opens the circuit to the power receptacle not in use. Also, I don't think it would be an issue having two power cords attached to the boat if the inputs are connected in parallel. You would only get 240V if they are co...

Tallystick

The exhaust manifold on my Pisces 27 is aluminum with bronze fittings. The corrosion isn't particularly bad after 30 years.

Tallystick

No bent valves. Just rust from the cylinder head had fallen down and was blocking the valves from fully closing haha. The valve components polished up nicely, so I reassembled and the motor turns fully and smoothly. Waiting for a diesel compression tester to be delivered. I think there's a good chan...

Tallystick

Do you actually have 1/8-1/16 of empty space in the bearing, or can you deflect the shaft by that much at some distance out? How are you measuring this?

Tallystick

So the diesel that came with my Triton turned over, but not all the way I recently discovered. Almost a full rotation but it would seize, almost completing a full rotation. I tore down the motor, removing all the accessories, and just succeeded in removing the head. The bottom end turns freely, pist...

Tallystick

My concern for strength was after reading about Glissando's storm damage. Well I'll probably stick to my original plan of using the teak for the anchor platform, and the white oak for the motor mount platform.

Tallystick

What species of wood is preferable for an anchor platform? I have 8/4 teak, and 8/4 white oak stock on hand, and I could also get some 8/4 or even 12/4 ash inexpensively. I had planned on using the teak, and then started wondering if maybe the white oak would better. Although from this table of prop...

Tallystick

I'm planning on sailing my boat down to the Caribbean, and hopefully across the Atlantic eventually. Would you elaborate on what conditions you experience condensation, and which areas of the boat it tends to occur? I'll be building the lockers and cabinets soon, so I'm trying to determine if I need...

Tallystick

Is condensation an obnoxious enough problem on a Triton to go through the trouble of adding an insulating liner material?

Tallystick

If the hull is cold you can expect that to dramatically slow the cure of the epoxy, since the reaction is temperature dependent. If you are interested in the theory relating to epoxy cure, this paper has some good info: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd...

Tallystick

Hmm, okay you're talking about using multiple layers. I misunderstood and thought one layer was being used. Only a single layer was used on the bulkheads on my boat, and most all of them have delaminated. Using multiple layers as you describe accomplishes the same thing that I had in mind, stiffenin...

Tallystick

True, and good points. Delamination would start at the edge of the wood/fiberglass interface, which is why I propose reinforcing the fillet to reduce flex in that local area. As far as preparing the wood for epoxying the tabs, what would you recommend? I'm planning on sanding it with 36 grit to incr...

Tallystick

Yes, I agree with that for the most part. My theory is that reinforcing the fillet would help resist delamination, but I don't have data to back that up, so merely a suggestion that is easy enough to do, and couldn't hurt.

Tallystick

It would also be advantageous for the strength of the fillet to add chopped glass fibers so that the epoxy performs better under tensile and shear loads. Epoxy thickened with cabosil or similar silica particle reinforcement doesn't add much for tensile and shear strength. You need a reinforcement th...

Tallystick

Would a sheet of packing foam be an acceptable choice? A sharp knife can cut angles into it, or possibly a table saw.

Tallystick

Because the only significant damage to the original teak on my boat was rotting that started at the end grains, and I know wood deterioration generally starts at the end grains. On the other hand, a thin strip could delaminate and expose the end grain, or moisture could possibly get trapped in betwe...

Tallystick

Agreed. Pics or it didn't happen. Ok, so here are all the pieces straight off the table saw and router. Still have to trim up the first slat to fit. Also have to add the contour on the front piece, but I've got a template made for the curvature so that shouldn't be a problem. The last photo is a clo...

Tallystick

I'm working on my sea hood, the front and sides of which are being constructed from 1" solid teak. I have the choice of either covering the end grain on the front board with thin teak strips, or I could use a 1/2" roundover router bit to impart a rounded edge. The first choice would be mor...

Tallystick

A newer material option that could be used as a barrier coating between the plywood and water is polysiloxane. It's a low toxicity material that is used in food grade applications, and it has superior properties over polyurethanes and epoxies in many respects. Ameron sells it under the name PSX-700....

Tallystick

Just speaking to your epoxy mix, for this type of application I think adding chopped glass fibers in addition to the cabosil would be advisable to increase the tensile strength. My concern would be how well the strength would be maintained over time, with flexing, temperature cycling, and vibrations...

Tallystick

Ah ok, I didn't realize we were talking about the ceiling. If weight is a concern, then wouldn't the thickness of the wood be the main consideration? I like the ash idea for a ceiling, but as long as the strips are thin, you could probably use a lot of wood species without problem.

Tallystick

You can try blasting the tacky area with an electric space heater to remove any solvent or water in the coating. Just be careful with the temps not to get too hot. 100-150F should do it.

Tallystick

White oak would work much better than red oak.

Tallystick

Oh sorry for the confusion, I wasn't making the swing bolts. These were the threaded hinge pins that join the part of the port that holds the glass to the frame which is fastened to cabin wall. I set up a jig for cutting the slot in the hinge pins on the drill press as well. I do have a decent syste...

Tallystick

A large chamfer isn't needed using the drill press method. I used a file to remove the flash after cutting the rods, and that tiny bevel is enough to easily seat the rod in the die.

Tallystick

Success! Ok, here's what worked for me. I used my drill press to hold the rod and die, with the die in the vice, and the rod in the chuck. My mold release fluid is around 10% vaseline and 90% mineral spirits, so I used that for lubrication. You don't turn the drill on, just rotate the chuck by hand ...

Tallystick

Nice post Rachel, very true.

Tallystick

Yeah, the labeled side is facing the rod. I tried both ways just to be sure. Maybe my chamfer angle isn't correct. Maybe 544 bronze is a difficult alloy to work with, although the McMaster description says it's "highly machinable". Maybe the die is a piece of junk. It's from an auto parts ...

Tallystick

I'm trying to cut 10-24 threads on a 3/16" 544 high-strength bearing grade bronze rod http://www.mcmaster.com/#red-metals/=ey2o2h to make the little pins that serve as the hinges on the Pearson Triton opening ports. I couldn't find anyplace to buy these so I thought, why not buy a bronze rod, t...

Tallystick

This video shows how to make an arc welder using 3 12v lead acid batteries. This looks like it could be useful for some emergency repairs at sea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tHJ0NSj ... r_embedded

Tallystick

A grill cleaning brush with brass bristles might do the trick.

Tallystick

I ended up bedding the PMMA windows into the outer frame with 5200, and bedding the outer frame to the cabin also with 5200. I used threaded rods with washers and nuts to hold the frames in place and together while the 5200 cured. To prevent the inner frame from sticking to the outer frame, I coated...

Tallystick

Would simply wrapping it in aluminum foil work? That would protect from the sun, and you could leave small gaps in the wrap on the underside to allow water to escape.

Tallystick

Hi Ray, I appreciate the feedback. By the way the motor is a Pisces 27, the marine version of an Isuzu 2AB1, which is the reason for the different geometry. Your suggestions for reinforcing the interior of the existing foundations dovetails with my thinking. I have some nice quartersawn white oak th...

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