Once the dust had settled we started the process of mapping out the repairs. The surveyor we had used didn’t use a moisture meter. He tapped around the deck and cabin with his small ball peen hammer. There were small pockets of de-lamination in the cabin sides he told us. That didn’t seem too bad I remember thinking. But the survey was long done when we started pulling off the deck and house fittings. Off came pad eyes and fairleads, winches and jib tracks. It was clear there was significant moisture in areas, when the port jib track came off we had to catch the drippings in a large pot. “There are wet ones and dry ones” another local surveyor told us. It was pretty clear to me that I had a wet one. I drilled a number of test holes through the inner skin. The side decks were wet, especially to port although most of the cabin top was dry. The forepeak was the worst. The deck had been saturated repeatedly from the gaping unsealed holes for the samson posts (bitts). It wasn’t long before it was apparent that the head and side liner of the interior had to go. We stripped it off and pulled a lot of staples. We marked and stored each piece in turn. The large windows were a total loss. They had leaked and been resealed a number of times judging by the different sealants we encountered. They had funky plastic frames. Out they came. Out came the bronze port-lights forward. Off came the butterfly hatch and it’s frame.. We knew the chainplates and maybe stanchions were leaking. Off came the ceiling strips in the salon and v berth. Now we could see what was going on. Off came the chainplates and to our […]
Went up to see Windsong this weekend to get some of the remaining chores done before we take her down the coast. I was solo, so didn’t get to take her out for a ride unfortunately. I gave up on the electric oil change pump and purchased a manual vacuum pump to replace it. West Marine was having a sale on some other items so I also purchased a few things that I needed before we headed out: a backup handheld VHF, handheld GPS (Garmin Oregon 400c was on sale), new flares and the oil change pump.
When I got to the boat I tried my newly rebuilt manual bilge pump and discovered that it had stopped working for some reason. I just replaced the major parts on it so I had no idea why it wouldn’t work anymore. It takes two people to remove it, so I’ll have to wait for a friend to come to troubleshoot it. Needless to say, I was pretty upset to find it not functioning once more. Last weekend it worked perfectly after we finished installing it. But now…nothing.
I also began to remove bungs and some trim around the boat to take home and begin more wood restoration. I figured that there is a lot of wood that needs to be stripped and varnished, better start now than later.
Then it was onto the engine: oil change and stuffing box tightening.
Pumping out the oil:
The oil change was smooth and uneventful. Getting it finally done was a happy occasion though. After the oil change I focused on the stuffing box. It was still leaking slowly, not as fast as when we stopped the engine a week ago. But still leaking more than it should. The problem is that the locking nut […]
With permission of Jim Mather of S\V Blue Sky we will be pulling some of their adventures from their website and posting them here over the next few months. Keep a sharp eye out for new installments. Enjoy the first one.
Richards Bay, South Africa, October 2009
Whales, dolphins and did I say WHALES! Way too many to count. They were breaching, tail & fin slaping, tombstoning or just crusing.
One crusing boat inbound from Mauritius was struck by one and that’s them pictured being towed in by Sea Rescue.
The photo on the right shows an anchor that was not secured and look at the damage.
The photo below is our first home in Richards Bay. This is the small craft harbor at Tuzi Gazi, where Customs, Immigration and Quarantine cleared us into South Africa.
This is the Sea Rescue base at Richards Bay. They have been very busy this season, to date they have towed in at least seven cruisers. Sea Rescue is made up of volunteers with first class equipment. They do not charge a yacht that gets towed in, but as a courtesy it is nice to give a donation if you are. One yacht offered them $5.00, the captain was very clever and replied “If that is all you can afford, I think you need it more than I.”
The photos below from top to bottom are: Bright yellow weaver birds nesting at Zululand Yacht Club, Phoebe & Drake making their own pizza at Dros Restraunt in the childrens play area. Jim receiving the Zululand Yacht Club Burgee from Commodor, Kirsten and Jim reciprocating with a Port Royal Yacht Club Burgee and Latitudes & Attitudes Burgee.
Pulled from Jasons website http://www.jasonrose.com please visit there to see more about s/v Bodhran and Jason
I love left handed drill bits!!!!!!!!
Engine pulled and rotated to get to the sheared off bolts. Amazingly that’s clean black paint and not oil covering the side. My instrument panel leaks whenever I take of wave in the cockpit so the top of the engine looks like crap, but amazingly the sides and bottom are nice and clean:
Well it’s engine pulling time again on Bodhran. This time without Greg’s help things didn’t go quite as smoothly, but she came out eventually and once again the block is free of pesky sheared off bolts. Two things made this endeavor relatively painless. First I happened across a great used tool store here in Whangarei called Downtown Tools. I spent over an hour just browsing a getting the lay of the store and eventually came away with a 2000lb come-along for NZ$35. Between this and my boom vang rigged via a strap over the boom I was able to alternately apply pressure to the two lift points on the engine to allow it to come off at the angle I needed not to screw up the motor mounts. Of course it turns out that one of the motor mounts was completely stripped anyway. Not to worry, I found a replacement and 2 spares at the used marine store next to the marina. The second amazingly slick event today was the deployment of my new left handed drill bits. The first time I had a motor mount block shear off in the engine was in the Marquesas. Drilling out the hardened steel bolt wasn’t too big of a deal and with the help of an easy out, Greg and I extract the bolt end no […]
We found her in Olympia last year. I drove up in July to take a look. “She sure deserves to be brought back” the broker said, glancing at the floor. I looked her over carefully with all the experience that a three-year owner of a 20 foot day sailor could bring to bear. We could tell she had been neglected, the big port lights were taped over with clear packing tape and there was evidence of water leakage from those areas. The headliner was kind of dingy. It looked like she hadn’t been out in awhile. I told the broker I would think about it and drove back to Portland.
“She sure is going to need a lot of work” said Jean, shaking her head as she thought of the old boat. “But I need a project” I said, “and besides we can get her cheap”.
The surveyor pretty much spent the day on her. He tapped and prodded, poked and pulled. He came with us on the test sail, a short 45 minute motor sail part way out Budd Inlet and back. The motor ran okay or it sure seemed to anyway. The hour meter didn’t work. As we stood in the parking lot after a long day of inspection the surveyor said “Any price reduction you get now will seem very small when considered against the cost of the restoration”. I didn’t know just how right he would be.
“She has bronze port lights, and beautiful teak throughout. That full canvas enclosure sure is nice and how about the single side band, the radar, the life raft and the dingy.” I made them an offer and they took it. The boat was mine.
In August we hold her home, snuggled on the back of a semi truck she […]
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