Blogs consolidated

Please redirect your future reading to my new consolidated blog.  I will phase out both of my blogspot blogs in favor of the new site.  Please be patient with the simple structure.  I hope to expend my layout to be much more visually appealing as time goes on.  Thanks for your readership!
New blog

Steve, Ginny and George come to visit

It was a joyous reunion with Steve Ginny and little George.  We invited the members of our small "Sea-You-There" group which is actually an Atlanta contingent of the West Coast Sailors group that meets every year at the Cedar Key Boat Meet on the first weekend in May.
As many of you know, Steve an Ginny have been on an extended tour of Central and South America in there diminutive and highly modified SeaPearl 21 for the last four years. Many of us have enjoy there blog posts and Steve's serialized and well written reports in Small Craft Advisor magazine during this time.
Steve and Ginny spent nearly a year with me while the built the modifications for Thurston.  It has therefore been with a special and fond (and proud) feeling that I have followed there exploits and adventures.
Sadly, those adventures ended rather catastrophically on the north coast of Hispaniola where a rogue wave pitch-poled Thurston, destroying her masts and sails.  At least it was mostly over and importantly, Ginny and George were already home in Bremerton, Washington.
That was in January.  After settling in with his aging mother, Steve, Ginny and George were ready to come back to Georgia and collect their car and trailer.  Steve offered me the trailer as there was no more Thurston to ride on it.  I thought of a better solution and now he is re-purposing Embers Watch, Bill Moffitt's Mikes Boat which I was supposed to rehab long ago. 
I feel confident that Embers Watch has found a good home.  Bill came over today and met with Steve giving him some tips on rigging.

The rigging on Embers Watch is a little tricky.  I'm glad Bill was able to give Steve some tips

Obviously, the family is already bonding. 

Steve is taking advantage of the shop facilities to do some upgrades like strengthen the bow in mount a bow eye to pull the boat on and secure it to the winch post. 

A new rudder from Rudder Craft

The rudder from Rudder Craft is here.  Neater and more secure packing I have not seen!

Lining up the beautiful new tiller handle was a big concern

It is a thing of beauty.  Note how the gas strut holds the rudder up and down!

A

 A detail of the gas strut holding the rudder in the up position

Gas strut holding rudder in the kick-up for obstruction position. Hauling up gently on the pennant can position the rudder for shallow water as in beach starts.  A sharp pull upward brings the rudder in the full upright "not in use" position.

 

A set of oars for a SP 21

I don't know if you have priced a set of Shaw and Tenney 9 foot oars lately.  The price will take you aback.  You can easily spend more than $300 without the shipping.
I found these on Amazon for just under $100.  They are remarkably beautiful and flawless.   I have a set of plastic oar collars coming from CLC.
The rudder from Rudder Craft is coming. Can't wait to see it!

Ready to sail at Cedar Key

Just finished the tonneau cover with snaps.  Not an easy layout.  The batten had to be shorten making the port side sag ever so little.  Not perfect but respectable. 

Motor mount was cut from an old SeaPearl rudder on my bandsaw.  After soda blasting and wire brushing, I applied Matrix System MX-550 etching solution with the gun.  After two coats had dried, I primed it with Awlgrip 545 primer and then finished it with a so called appliance epoxy spray can finish.  Looks pretty good to me.

The new long shaft Honda BF 2.3 came from Cumberland Water Sports at a very attractive price including free shipping overnight. 

Mounting the freshly cleaned and stitched full battened sails from Sailcare.  These sails are absolutely beautiful.  Makes the boat all the better buy!


We have our reservation at Cedar Key Sunset RV campground space 41 for April 27-May 4.  Looking forward to sailing

Winter Projects for the SeaPearl 21 and Shallow-Minded

Painting in the winter is a slow process.   These are the floor boards for the SP 21.  What, no teak and holly, you ask?  Yep, they would cost $360 dollars for the three boards.  I just can't see it!  I am using five-eights marine ply.  Once you go away from teak, you are stuck with needing an anti-skid compound.  Why not just paint them white, I reasoned?  Why not indeed.   I'm using regular Zinzer indoor-outdoor primer and my favorite Benjamin Moore Super Spec polyurethane/alkoid mixed by the good folks at the Benjamin Moore store per the formula for Insignia White from the color chart of Awlgrip.  I used 6 ounces of Intergrip for a quart of paint.  I'll probably add another coat on top. The larger item is the nose door for Shallow-Minded

My Buddy Heater keeping the shop warm and cozy for paint drying.  I used the adapter from my Colman grill to us propane out of the bottle.  I'd apologize for the messy shop bench but it seems to be perennial so I won't even bother-:)
Merry Christmas ya'll

Rescuing a SeaPearl 21

Earlier this year, we got a chance to pick up a SeaPearl 21 that is in need of some serious rehabilitation.  She had been covered but left to accumulate dirt and suffer from various moisture problems.  Luckily, Hull is generally sound and the sails were the vertical batten type which were in pretty good shape.
I thought it might be interesting to document our journey through the cleanup and repair of this 1986 model SeaPearl 21

The first thing I noticed other then the accumulated filth is the massive addition of electrical components apparently for using a trolling motor and pumps for filling and emptying the tanks.  Clearly, a lot of junk needed to be taken out.  I can't even begin to understand the logic employed in the planing of this night-marishly complicated stratagy.  So, one half day later, I had it all removed.

It didn't take much inspection to see the 3/8 inch deep groove in the mast tube worn by the bearing nylon bushings.  Mast steps clearly need to be replaced.  While they are out, a close inspection of the deck joint will likely show water incursion into the core.

Indeed the core was damp and the seal clearly broken.  I burred out the core back to one inch and used a heater to dry out the core as best I could.

Next I used Tyvek tape to seal the bottom and using thickened epoxy (after dowsing the core with unthickened epoxy) was carefully pressed into the core void mounding it up so as to maintain the epoxy to stay up against the edges.
I used an infrared lamp to help it cure since night time temps fall into the 40's.





After the filler is hardened I took a jigsaw and cut out the hole.  The area was cleaned up with a burr head on the drill, a rasp and sandpaper.  Everything looked completely sealed.

Next I turned my attention to cutting out the mast step.  Per Jim Leet's instruction I used a 1 and 1/2 inch hole saw started just bellow the rim drilled at a 90 degree angle.  After smoothing the joint out with a rasp and sandpaper it looked just like the a new one should.  The scalloped opening allows the mast base to help with the mast raising.

The cup base looks like this after being cleaned out.  The foot of the mast tube socket gets glassed in and the drain hole is drilled out again.

After careful measuring and dry fitting the mast tube socket is roughed up with 80 grit sandpaper around the bonding areas and lowered into the hole.  Just before sinking it into the hole a generous layer of 3M-5200 is spread all around the pipe just above the joint and just above the bast.  Then the tube is carefully seated in the hole.  It's a good idea to turn the tube back and forth to assure good coverage of the 5200 in the joint space.  Be sure and carefully align the scallop forward on the mizzen mast and back on the main.  Now allow this to set overnight.

The finished job should look like this after cleaning up the area with mineral spirits.
I later applied a nice finish margin of 3M-5200 around the joint using my gloved finger to smooth.  It all worked out very nicely.






I did the glassing with 2 in fiberglass tape cut half way through at 1 and 1/2 inch intervals the circumference of the mast tube.  After abrading and cleaning the tube and deck with acetone I proceeded to glass the tube in with finish resin (wax added per recommendation).  I let the tabs meet the deck and the floor while the intact cloth was used to wrap around the tube.  I pre-cut all my strips before starting as time is very limited.  When the resin was cured (with heaters)  I sanded everything and wiped with acetone.  I proceeded to add a second layer with tabs staggered for uniform coverage.  I plan to use a layer of mat as glassed over the deck joint. These will be 2x4 inch tabs glassed in all around for added strength.
All in all the job turned out quit nicely.  Following Jim Leet of Marine Concepts wise advice, I believe I was able to perform a professional repair.
I'll continue my report