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Wednesday

When I permanently installed the “new” sheet winches, I’d discovered to my dismay that one of the winches was missing a simple–yet critical–piece, something that had clearly gone missing when the original owner of the winches removed them from the donor boat about 16 years earlier.  I’d had no idea about the missing piece since I’d had the winches in storage ever since I obtained them (as well as the original donor boat, back in the day, but that’s another story –one that I’ve told before),  and for various reasons I’d never had cause to take them apart before now.

The piece in question was a little plastic do-dad that helped hold the self tailer stripper arm in place by locking into the top of the winch shaft, as well as the little teeth on the stripper arm assembly itself.  It’s the circular piece seen inside the chrome body of the winch here.

These winches were long obsolete in that the manufacturer was long gone, but of course good winches really seem to last more or less forever, as long as one can find the occasional replacement part.  I didn’t think finding this piece (I didn’t even know what it was called) was highly likely, but looking at the original, it seemed that I could make a replacement in the shop without too much trouble.  After all, its function, while critical, was quite straightforward, and the original piece was just plastic.

I chose some 3/8″ fiberglass sheeting that I had on hand because ultimately I decided it was the easiest and most logical thing for me to work with.  With a combination of three drill bits, I formed a basic disc that approximated the shape of the original piece.

It took just a little fine-tuning with a portable drill  fitted with a drum sander to fit the new disc to the top of the winch as required, as I had to trim down one of the inside edges till the disc slipped over the winch shaft properly.

The main reason I chose fiberglass for the replacement part was because I couldn’t come up with an easy way to fabricate the part including its various little ears and nubs, all of which were critical for the part to function as needed; with fiberglass, I could easily epoxy little pieces together as needed to make the final shape.  I started with the nubs on the inside of the part, which needed to fit in a slot in the top of the winch shaft.  I cut a little strip of the fiberglass to fit across and through the slots, marking its position clearly on the top of the ring.  I’d leave the crossbar whole during glue-up, and would cut out the center portion later.

For the three nubs on the outside of the disc, which would ultimately fit into the teeth of the stripper assembly, I cut some slightly oversized bits of fiberglass that I could glue on in the correct position, then trim to the correct size and shape later.  Then, I epoxied the various pieces together and set the assembly aside for the epoxy to cure.

Now I turned to the deadlight frames and lenses.  I’d ordered new 3/8″ clear acrylic for the replacement lenses (the originals were 3/16″, and had the plastic shop cut the rectangular blanks a bit oversize so I could do the final cutting in the shop.  After confirming the overall width of the original lenses at 6-1/2″, I trimmed the new blanks to the correct width on the table saw, then used each of the old lenses as a template to cut the new pieces to fit the frames.

After cleaning the raw frames one final time, I prepared for final installation of the lenses.  For each lens, I trimmed the protective paper on the back (inside) side where the frame overlapped, exposing the plastic in the bonding area but leaving the paper in place elsewhere.

In these frames, the lenses relied on a bond between the lens and the frame only.  The original setup had rubber gaskets pressed into grooves inside the frame, but I planned to use modern flexible adhesives for the job.  For each installation, I first applied the sealant–a polyurethane–into the innermost groove of the frame, filling it with sealant.  Then, I applied sealant over the bonding flange, and pressed the new lens firmly into place.  To ensure the lens didn’t move during curing, I added some weight over the lens to hold it in place securely.  I repeated this process for each of the four lenses.  Later on, I’d finish the job by applying more sealant on the outside, filling the second groove and creating an external cosmetic-only bead for improved appearance.

Throughout the day, I applied three coats of gloss white LPU to the anchor windlass and two mast step assemblies, using a little disposable spray gun.

I spent the afternoon working on the Norvane windvane installation.  The first step in the installation was to install a horizontal pipe and support bracket, which the instructions called the “belled pipe” on account of its flared (belled) end configuration.  Reviewing the instructions, along with the anecdotal photo of a sistership’s installation and making some confirming measurements, I installed the bracket for the belled pipe right on top of the wooden block located at the taffrail centerline.  This allowed for two through bolts, which passed through the block, taffrail, and outward hull/deck flange, with two 2″ lag screws for the inner pair of holes, since there was no means of throughbolting here.    Any forces on this particular support pipe would  be sheer in any event, and this pipe mainly spaced the vane out correctly beyond the transom.  The real support for sailing forces came from other means that I’d soon get to.

Following the installation guidelines, I set up the new pipe with a level and by eye as needed, then secured it to the stern pulpit with line to help hold it in its required horizontal attitude for the next steps.

With the belled pipe secured for now, I installed the main body of the windvane, which featured an insert that slipped right into the belled socket at the end of the pipe, with a through bolt to secure it.  This held the vane securely, and now I fine-tuned the supporting lines to ensure the whole thing was plumb and level as required.  I also used this opportunity to confirm yet again that the vane was mounted at the correct height for this boat, and that the servo rudder was positioned as required in the instructions–that is, with 1-3″ of the rudder above the waterline.

With the vane secure, plumb, and level, next I installed the main diagonal vertical support, which led from the vane body down to the transom on centerline.  The length of pipe included was just a bit too long for me to install the bracket above the rudder where it entered the transom, so I made a mark and cut off the pipe accordingly.  Then, satisfied with the length and bracket position, I drilled through the support pipe for the bolt that would secure it to the insert end that fit into the bracket.

I marked, drilled, and tapped the holes through the transom for the 3/8″ bolts required, and secured the bracket with sealant and a good fiberglass backing plate inside.  Then, after checking the level/plumb once more, I tightened the bolts that secured the brace to the transom bracket and vane, firming up the whole installation and locking it in place.

The last part of the supporting structure for this windvane was a U-shaped stainless tube that fit through brackets on the top of the vane and extended towards the hull, where they’d ultimately be secured with additional brackets.  Here, however, I ran into a problem:  the legs of this brace were too short to properly secure to the hull.  At issue here was the fact that the top of the transom from the outside was actually several inches higher than the deck, thanks to the tall molded bulwarks surrounding this deck.  I could make the brace and bracket work (i.e. touch the hull) if I held the bracket right up beneath the overhanging toerail, but this would place the bracket above deck level, not where it should be secured.  Even in this too-high position, the bracket didn’t really touch the hull, as the pipe contacted the edge of the toerail above; even if I thought mounting here was an option, I’d need blocks to build up beneath the brackets.

For the brace and brackets to be positioned properly–that is, with the brackets mounted on the hull somewhere below deck level and where I could access the bolts from inside the hull–I calculated that the legs of the stainless brace needed to be about 5″ longer.   This would place the support brackets in a good position, and better triangulate the forces acting on the windvane in any event.  I couldn’t hold the pieces in this mocked-up configuration and take a picture at the same time, so I haven’t shown where the brackets would end up once I dealt with the extended U-brace.

The brace itself was a simple-enough thing and I hoped to get a new one fabricated locally and quickly.  But for now, this disappointment ended work on the vane installation, for which I’d otherwise been on track this day.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  26°, mostly clear.  Forecast for the day:  Mainly sunny, around 40°

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Tuesday

I was out of the shop much of the morning on other business, but before lunch I installed the two “new” self-tailing winches on the winch islands.  These winches were older Barient model 24-45.

Later, I worked on a few straggling hardware tasks, including installing the two locker latches on the cockpit lockers.

At the poop deck, I marked the hole locations for the deck side of the steering room hatch hinge and prepared the holes for fasteners in the usual way, removing the core material and filling the voids with thickened epoxy.

The windlass I removed earlier, an old but reliable aluminum Simson-Lawrence Hyspeed manual model, still worked well according to the owner, but the finish on the case was worn and in poor condition.  The owner requested that I refinish it to the extent realistically possible.  I’d been walking by the windlass for weeks, ignoring it and hoping it would magically take care of itself, but alas.

It was a happenstance that I ended up working on the windlass on this day.  I’d been looking for something else, unrelated, in the shop and stumbled upon a nearly identical windlass in my parts inventory.  This windlass had some issues–part of the capstan was broken off, and the operation was stiff at best–but might still be valuable as a source of parts, beginning with the gypsy, which was a smaller size than the one off Jasmine, which was sized for 3/8″ BBB chain–a massive size when contemplating an all-chain rode, as was the owner.  The other gypsy hopefully was sized for 5/16″ chain, which would be a good choice going forward.  I used the attic windlass as a test bed, since it didn’t matter so much if I harmed anything, and soon found it was straightforward to remove the gypsy.  One thing led to another, and before I knew it I was well into the windlass painting preparations.

I had no need, desire, nor inclination to disassemble the “real” windlass nor to rebuild anything that didn’t require it, and not wanting to adversely affect the winch’s currently excellent operation, I chose to leave things pretty much as is during my preparations.  However,armed with new confidence after working on the “attic” windlass, I removed the chain gypsy to improve access.  I removed all the paint from the casing by hand, exposing the bare aluminum; it didn’t really take much to remove the old, failed coating.

With adequate preparations, I applied epoxy primer to the windlass with a small disposable sprayer.

While I had the primer going, I also sprayed the two original mast steps, which I’d prepared earlier with light sanding as needed; the original finish was gelcoat over the molded fiberglass steps.

Total time billed on this job today:  5.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  8°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 20s

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Monday

I prepared the bolt holes for the five pieces of poop deck hardware by drilling and tapping for 1/4″ machine screws, after which I installed the hardware with new fasteners and backing plates.

On the coachroof, I dry-fit the sea hood so I could predrill and bevel the fastener holes before installation; I’d pre-marked these hole locations earlier, and the decks were already prepared for the new fasteners.

After cleanup, I applied a heavy bead of sealant to the deck, covering all the fastener holes, and installed the seahood with new fasteners.

Next, I turned to the opening ports.  I prepared the work area by spreading some plastic sheeting over the deck for protection, and laying out all the tools and pieces I’d need.

For each of the four units, I followed the same basic installation, starting with a dry fit and reaming out the bolt holes in the cabin side as needed.  To install the port, I applied a bead of sealant at the juncture between the spigot and the port body flange–but not on the flange itself.  Then, still working from outside,  pulled the port into position, holding it in place while I applied additional sealant inside and around the spigot and hole and over the cabin trunk in way of the bolt holes and trim ring mounting area, ensuring ample coverage everywhere.

Finally, I installed the trim ring from outside, clamping it and the port body in place temporarily while I installed the bolts.  I could reach through the open port and install the nuts for 8 of the 12 fasteners from outside, but I had to install the four along the top edge from inside.  I reused the original machine screws and nuts, replacing them each in the same position from which I’d removed them some weeks earlier.

I repeated this process with each of the remaining three units.

I finished up the day’s work with the two round deadlights in the forward cabin.  I found I could stand through the forward hatch and do both sides of the task as necessary, and with only a minor issue on the first unit aligning the trim ring from within, I soon completed both installations without additional trouble.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:    32°, partly cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, highs in the upper 30s

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Friday

To replace the old 110V shore power plug, which hole I’d sealed over during the deck work, I ordered a new, modern plug and prepared now to install it.  The original receptacle had been located perilously close to the steering room bulkhead hidden behind the cockpit, and this was one reason I’d chosen to fill the old hole.  Back then, I’d noted some reference points so I could determine the new location after the paint was complete, and with this in mind I used the rubber gasket from the new receptacle to lay out the location for the 2-1/2″ hole required.  I wanted the new hole to be outside a line even with the steering room hatch trim, so I used a steel ruler to extend this and position the hole accordingly.

With the hole cut, I installed the new receptacle with its included gasket and machine screws.  There’d be no wiring to the plug for now, but the owner wanted it in place for future use.

By now, I’d familiarized myself enough with the Norvane windvane mounting system to understand that none of its mounting components would impede the hardware placement on the poop deck.    I’d avoided pre-preparing any of the deck locations or fastener holes for the stern hardware because at the time, I didn’t want to commit to any locations that could adversely affect the windvane.

The owner even sent me a photo of a similar installation on a sistership, which was greatly helpful in visualizing the entire arrangement, and this, along with my increasing knowledge of how the setup worked, allowed me finally to proceed with the hardware on the poop deck.

I laid out the stern mooring cleat positions, along with two new padeyes for the mizzen mast running backstays, plus a new padeye on centerline aft of the hatch for the mizzen sheet.  The setup when the boat arrived had included a ridiculous tiny traveler for the mizzen sheet, which seemed not only poorly executed but also entirely unnecessary, so the owner agreed that a simple attachment point would make more sense.

In my habitual way, I cut away the masking tape around each piece of hardware, then marked and drilled out the top skin and core material in way of each fastener location.  Then, I filled all the holes with a thickened epoxy mixture.

In the meantime, I worked to locate and prepare the holes for the cockpit sheet winches.  These winches were new to the boat:  they were some older model self-tailers (Barient 24) that I had on hand from another boat, and that fit the owner’s desires for winch upgrades.  The winch replacement would also, thankfully, avoid the irritations and bolt layout I’d dealt with during removal of the original winches some weeks before.

I didn’t have the correct fasteners on hand to complete the winch installation, but got all the holes prepared and ordered the correct fasteners for next time.  I also figured out any other gaps in my fastener inventory and ordered what I’d need to complete the Norvane installation, as well as the final hardware elsewhere on the boat.

Finally, I installed a length of piano hinge on the aft side of the steering room hatch.  I wouldn’t do the final hatch installation till I’d completed all the work on the aft deck, since access within was much easier without the hatch.

Total time billed on this job today:  6 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  -8°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, mid-20s.

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Thursday

After cleaning up from the latest snowfall, I got back to work with the hardware on the coachroof, starting with the plastic deck plates for the solar vents.  I’d already pre-filled and marked the fastener locations for these fittings, so installation was straightforward.

Next, I installed the forward hatch with its two after hinges.  There was no access to this area from beneath–it was in way of the mast beam and bulkhead–so I installed the hinges with screws alone.  This section of the deck was solid fiberglass now that I’d rebuilt the mast step area earlier.

I waited on the mast step for now, as I’d need to build it up taller than original.  One of the upcoming projects for the riggers was to shorten the mast by a couple inches to remove some corrosion at the base, and accordingly we planned to raise the step to make up the difference.  Meanwhile, I installed two little bronze eyelets that had come off the deck near the vent fittings; I’d prepared these holes during an earlier stage of deck preparation as well.

Other than the sea hood, this completed the hardware installation for the coachroof, so now I moved down to the port sidedeck and worked on the new waste fill deckplate and reinstalled the waste tank vent fitting in the cabin side.  The deck was solid fiberglass around the waste fitting, so all I had to do was drill, tap, and install.

On the foredeck, I installed the round anchor line hawse in its original position to port,  where I’d also filled the surrounding area with solid fiberglass and epoxy to prepare for a simple installation now.

To wrap up work on the foredeck, I reinstalled the two mooring cleats.  I reused the original aluminum backing plate belowdecks.  I also installed the bow chocks which were mounted on the raised overhanging bulwark/toerail and hadn’t really needed to be removed for the deck work, but at dismantling time I’d just been going through my habitual motions and only afterwards realized my mistake.

Back in the cockpit, I installed the hinges for the starboard cockpit locker.

To round out the day, I decided to unpack and inventory the Norvane windvane assembly and begin to acquaint myself with the installation, as I planned to move forward with this soon and wanted to see how this particular vane would hang from the boat.  Plus, I needed to determine what sorts of fasteners and drill bits I’d need for the installation.  I inventoried the included parts, noted any fasteners I’d need to order, and acquainted myself with the installation directions.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  12°, clear, 8″  snow and sleet overnight.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 25°

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Wednesday

Over a disjointed morning rife with various competing distractions, I managed to finish up the stanchion installations, starting with the port amidships stanchion, completing the installation I’d begun earlier now that the epoxy-filled hole for the gate brace had cured.

Later, after stepping out for a bit to attend to other business, I completed the installation of both gate braces at the aftermost stanchions.  The bolt locations for the brace bases fell outside of the cored area on each side of the deck, so all I had to do was mark, drill, tap, and install the bases accordingly.  First the port side…

…then the starboard.

In the afternoon, I decided to tackle the “easy” installation jobs in the cockpit, starting with the old engine instrument panel.  I applied butyl tape sealant to the back of the panel and installed it in its original opening.

Next, I reassembled the gearshift lever and bilge pump bellows that I’d removed before painting.

Then, I installed the circular access port in the cockpit sole.

I reinstalled the starboard cockpit locker lid hinges, using more of the butyl tape to seal these fasteners.

Finally, I installed the new cockpit seat drain fittings, heavily applying sealant around the flanges and necks of each fitting and tightening the nuts from belowdecks.

Total time billed on this job today:  4.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  8°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Snow by noon, heavy snow in the afternoon, about 10″ expected

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Tuesday

I set up the stern pulpit again and dry fit it, securing it temporarily with screws in the outer (solid deck) holes so I could accurately mark and drill the remaining holes in the newly epoxy-filled holes in the other areas.  Once I’d drilled all the holes, I removed the pulpit once more and finished up the work on the new holes, tapping for 1/4″ machine screws and beveling the tops of the holes with a countersink.

With the area cleaned up, I applied sealant and installed the pulpit with machine screws, nuts, washers, and backing plates, reusing some more or less permanently-affixed fiberglass backing plates from the old installation that remained inside the steering room (two centermost stanchion locations).

I temporarily installed the bow pulpit, which was straightforward since its bolting locations were on the outboard side of the toerail flange.  The pulpit looked ridiculous hanging out in mid air beyond the stem, as I had not yet built the new bow platform, but for the moment the installation served its purpose and would allow lifeline measurement whenever the riggers wanted to do it.

The two stanchions amidships featured built-in gate braces, and these required an additional screw.  When I laid out the port side during an earlier phase of the project, for a reason that now escaped me I’d chosen not to pre-mark the hole location for the brace, so on this side I installed the stanchion (more on this in a moment) and marked the hole location, which turned out to be in a cored area of the deck, so I bored out the hole with a 5/8″ bit and filled it with thickened epoxy to prepare the hole for next time.

On the starboard side, I did have a pre-marked, pre-filled fastener location, so I could permanently install the stanchion and its gate brace now.  I had gate braces for the aftermost stanchion pair as well, which formed the other end of the opening gate section, but these were separate pieces and I’d get to their installation shortly.

I had some trouble installing the stanchion tubes, which should have been a simple task, but in almost every case the fit was just a bit too tight–these stanchion bases originally came from another boat, obviously with different tubes, though the ostensible diameter was the same.  In any event, fitting the stanchions required some sanding and cleanup of the tubes and especially within the base sockets before I could install the stanchions properly.  This was an irritating frustration that required much more time than it should have, but eventually I prevailed, as indeed I must.

Total time billed on this job today:  6 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  12°, mainly clear/high clouds.  Forecast for the day:  Mainly sunny, around 30°

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Monday

Now that the paintwork was complete, my first priority going forward was to install the stanchions and pulpits so that the riggers could come and measure for the new lifelines.  So to this end, I spent some time accumulating and preparing installation tools, fasteners, and equipment–including lots of soft towels and sheets to protect the decks–and getting geared up for the new round of work.

During the recore and surface prep work, I’d laid out, epoxy-filled, and marked all the stanchion base locations, so now it was a generally simple matter to install these bases.  To begin, I made up six fiberglass backing plates to fit the bases, using some leftover laminate I had from something or other.

For each of the six bases, I followed the same steps outlined here.  Masking off the deck around the lightly-marked holes from earlier, I placed the bases over the holes and drilled the pilot holes required for 5/16″ machine screws.  With the base still in place, I used a sharp knife to cut the masking tape around the base, after which I could remove the portion beneath the base and finish preparing the fastener holes with a 5/16 tap (threading the holes for the machine screws) and countersink to bevel the very top of each hole for additional sealant retention.

After cleaning up the spoils, I applied sealant–a light polyurethane–to the holes and deck, leaving an abundant bead.   I installed the base tightly with its four fasteners, then proceeded belowdecks to install the backing plate, washers, and nuts.

Back on deck afterwards, I cleaned up the excess sealant and removed the tape, completing the installation.

I repeated this process for each the remaining five bases, working my way forward on the port side, then back aft along the starboard.

This took most of the day, but by mid-afternoon all six bases were complete and I turned to the stern pulpit.  In this area, I’d not pre-prepared any of the fastener locations during the recore, so I’d need to lay out and overbore for epoxy any  fastener holes that fell within the cored area of the poop deck.  I began by applying masking tape over the entire area in question, since I wasn’t sure where the pulpit bases would exactly land, and in any event pulpit bases tend to be brutal to deck paint if precautions aren’t taken first.    Adjusting things hither and yon, I eventually ended up with the pulpit where I wanted it.

Because the outboard edges of the deck were filled with solid epoxy or were otherwise solid, un-cored fiberglass, I could drill and tap one hole at each base location (the forward starboard base on this pulpit had been replaced sometime previously with a different, separate 4-hole base style; the remaining three bases were welded rounds with three holes apiece) and install a temporary screw to hold the pulpit in its proper position and allow me to mark the remaining holes, and trace out the base profiles on the masking tape.

Removing the pulpit again, I removed the circles of masking tape I’d marked, and drilled out all the remaining holes with a 5/8″ bit, passing through the top skin and removing the core, but leaving the bottom skin intact.

After cleaning up, I filled the new holes with a strengthened and thickened epoxy mixture, leaving this overnight to cure so I could continue installation in the morning.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  38°, clouds and fog.  Forecast for the day:  Showers, clearing, temperature dropping through the afternoon