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29 April 2008

And more projects!

19 June 2007
I have been busy lately and have not got around to updating my latest work from the past couple weekends. I am definitely making progress and I expect to complete my out of water projects this coming weekend.

The weekend before last Dave and I started my new headstay stem fitting project. We took the main and jib halyards and tied them off on the bow cleats. We loosened the lower shrouds and the backstay to relieve some tension off the rig. We then winched the main halyard very tightly to pull the mast forward and to act as a temporary headstay. Now we could remove the original stem fitting. You can see how it was raised up about 1/8":
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We used a dremel to grind a crecent shape in the rub rail in order to remove the front bolt. Then we had to grind a slot through behind the rail for the tang of the new fitting to go down against the hull.
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Once it was removed, we filled in the 4 original holes on the top with epoxy. Remember to place some tape on the inside to prevent it from seeping through. The forward bolt behind the rub rail matches up with the new fitting, so you don't have to worry about that one.
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We marked and drilled the holes through the deck for the new fitting. We bent the tang on the new fitting straight down in order for it to fit through the new slot behind the rub rail. Dave has a vice on his portable work bench which made this a breeze. We clamped it and I simply bent it by hand. Next we used a lot of 5200 sealant under the base of the fitting to provide a more even surface. It is probably hard to see in the photos, but the fiberglass is slightly raised to the shape of the old fitting. The bow roller extends off the starboard side, so we put plenty of 5200 sealant there to fill the gap. We then put in the bolts and hand tightened them. This is the toughest part of the project. It is difficult to reach and see in the forward point of the bow in that anchor locker. You can also only have one hand in there and you have to slide on a washer, lock washer and nut. Some of the bolts interfere with each other or are so close to the side they took many attempts to finally get the nuts on. You definitely need a helper to be on the outside to hold the bolts in place.

That was as far as we got that weekend. This past weekend we completed the project. During the week Dave and I were trying to think of ideas on how to bend the tang to fit against the hull. Dave always comes up with some excellent ideas. Here is his tool he created to give us plenty of leverage to easily make a nice bend. He cut a 2x4 in half, took two pipe nipples that were probably around 1" in diameter and maybe 12" long. Then using the same 3/8" threaded stock rods I have for my swing keel project, bolted the 2x4s and pipes together. Here are two photos to give you a better idea of this great contraption:
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Note, we did place a piece of cardboard between the hull and the pipes to prevent scratching which is not in the photo, don't forget that. We were able to bend it most of the way. Next I used a hammer and hammered away as Dave held the tang in place. After several minutes of hammering and checking the progress, the tang was just about perfectly bent and didn't take much pressure to be pressed against the hull. I drilled holes through the hull into the anchor locker using the tang as a guide. Be careful in making sure you drill both holes as close to perpendicular as possible. Once the holes were drilled through, I went back up to the anchor locker and test fit the metal backing plate. It turned out one screw was slightly off and would not fit. Fortunately it was not off much and we drilled the hole a little more angled and then I was able to fit both bolts through the plate. Earlier I bought one 2 oz. piece of epoxy putty because I knew I would have to build up something behind the metal backing plate in the point of the bow. Well, 2 oz. was not enough, so we drove down to the hardware store and I bought two more. 6 oz. was perfect for my project, so keep that in mind. I applied the epoxy putty in between the bolts and hand tightened the metal plate down to give it a nice fit. Here it is completed inside and you can note how close some of the bolts are:
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Here is the finished product after all the work:
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Thank you so much Dave for your help and excellent ideas!

Another project I worked on was grinding my new bronze keel casting to the correct size. After test fitting them and realizing I was going to have to remove 7/32" off each casting, I was thinking I was going to have to take them to a machine shop to be grounded down. That would take more time, having to first off find a place, then have them do the work, and then more $$$ out of my pocket. I thought about using a hand grinder and doing the work myself and that is just what I did. I marked a line on how much I needed to grind off, then carefully ground away. Here is a photo showing one casting in the process:

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I then used a hand file to finish it up a little, but most of it came out very well with the hand grinder. Here is one casting completed on top of the other to be started for comparison:

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They may not be perfect, but they are close and the part around the pin I made sure was the best. There are two nylon washers that go with each casting on the pin as well. The keel only swings about 50 degrees, so it isn't like something will be spinning around the pin against the castings.

Now all I need is the bushing which I am still waiting for from the Catalina Yachts factory. It should be arriving any day now and this weekend I'll insert it and raise the keel up.

Other projects I completed this weekend were investigating the crack in the hull bottom, touching up my Awlgrip scratches, removing the old faded gold stripe on the port side, and applying my new "Sapphire Breeze" vinyl decals. Here are a few photos.

I used my dremel tool to sand down around the crack just in front of my keel that I was quite shocked to find the previous weekend. The boat was not taking on water last year, so it must not be too severe. Here are photos before and after:

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There was evidence of red bottom paint in the crack, so the crack must be several years old. Fortunately it isn't that severe, but I am having my marina grind down and re-layer the fiberglass in that section.

These are the gouges into my gel coat that I needed to touch up:
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Here they are after touching up:
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Here was my faded gold pin stripe on the port side. To the left you can see where I peeled off the plastic with my heat gun, but it leaves all that residue gunk. To the right is how badly sun damaged it is. Before I brought out the heat gun, I could barely remove the tape. The gun was a big help. Then to remove the reside, I used a lot of Goo Gone, the citrus cleaner and a plastic scraper. Simply removing that stripe was an all day project.
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She is now officially named!
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She is coming along and I am making progress!
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Comments
Vessel Name: Sapphire Breeze
Vessel Make/Model: 1982 Catalina 25 SK/SR
Hailing Port: Mayo, MD
Crew: Justin
Extra: This site is all about my experiences with my first boat; from restoring it, to my sailing adventures. I enjoy hearing from my readers, so feel free to send me an email. I'm also interested in meeting new people in the area, especially people in my age range since I hardly know any that sail.

Who: Justin
Port: Mayo, MD