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Exterior

Requirement: protect the exterior as much as possible to minimise maintenance and cost in the future.

Hull

Underwater

  • Drilled propeller hole

  • Drilled exhaust hole

  • Drilled water filter hole through the hull below waterline

  • Eco sounder - cut a hole in the bottom and make it solid fibreglass & epoxy as the echo sounder does not work well through the wood. Glued the transducer on top of that. 

  • Shaped the stern for the propeller, fibreglass, epoxied etc

  • Added wood to the stem to make it rounded 

  • Measured and raised the waterline 10 cm / 4” (hope it does not disappear when launched) 

  • Epoxy glue waterline with a string

  • Fitted series drogue plates: 10 mm stainless steel plate - 40 cm long,  with 4 mm SS backing plate

Finish

  • Epoxy to the hull at the time of build, sanded

  • 2 coats of epoxy, sanded

  • 2 coats of epoxy primer, sanded 

  • 5 coats of epoxy and copper coat powder mix applied in one day to bond well

  • Sanded before launch to expose copper

Topsides

  • Cut out 2 windows port and starboard and 2 aft

  • Epoxy coated at the time of build and painted to a high standard. This needed no attention at the time. We only needed to paint to our colour scheme. 

  • Two epoxy undercoat paint, plus two polyurethane paint 

Bow and Side Decks

  • Sanded back the paint

  • Epoxy fibreglass  

  • Epoxy undercoat x 2

  • Non slip paint ​​​

Shoe
Decks

  • Steal shoe by design discarded as maintenance issue

  • Measure and dry fit plywood shoe (25 mm), rout edges

  • Fibreglass & epoxy plywood shoe to the bottom of the keel

  • Fit to the keel with epoxy glue 

Side decks

  • Repair damaged plywood in places

  • Fibreglass bow and side decks

  • Filled the stanchions at deck level to stop water collecting

  • Filled gaps near the aft step - to stop the rot

Bulwarks 

  • Repaired plywood

  • Drilled new eye in the bow and made a ring - epoxied

Cabin

  • ​​Repair damaged plywood areas on the cabin top 

  • Made pattern for plywood to fit on cabin sides on original sepilea, cut plywood

  • Epoxied glue plywood to the cabin & screwed

  • Coated plywood with epoxy 

  • Filled the screws & filleted cabin to deck ‘joint’ 

  • Epoxy undercoat x 2 - Painted x 2 

  • Windows - build up window sills to drain overboard

  • Hatch FWD - made frame, replaced the hatch

Hatch

  • Tufnol sliding runners

  • Hatch inspection opening - for maintenance

  • Hatch diamond window closed with polycarbonate

  • New polycarbonate wash board

Cuddy

  • Designed and built a sliding cuddy above the bridge deck

Cabin - topsides​

  • Vents - made ring, fitted

  • Chimneys - made rings, fitted

  • Grab rails - painted 

  • Window shutters - cut diamond window shape and rebate for polycarbonate, paint and glaze​​

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Cockpit

Lockers

  • Inside: Fibreglass cockpit deck inside lockers and cockpit deck edges (joining lockers and bulwarks), epoxy undercoats and epoxy paint finish

  • Series drogue - Cut holes for series drogue access

  • Two air ventilators for saloon

  • Outside: epoxied lockers sides and fibreglass locker base edges to the cockpit deck (5 cm) for water drains channel

  • Lids:  cut new from plywood, epoxy glue Douglas Fir decking veneer down 

Cockpit deck:

  • Belt sand and epoxy glue Douglas Fir decking veneer down (Gougeon brothers method) 

  • Filled corners close to the frames to stop waterlog & help drainage

  • Deck light - drilled holes, glue polycarbonate with UHB tape

Bulwarks:  cut down all round the top sides and reinforce with plywood where cut bullworks

  • Shaved off bottom aft bulwark to fit the rudder & self steering / trim tab

Davits 

  • Fit through aft bulwark / epoxy / paint -  bolt on davits 

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Steering & Self Steering

Rudder

  • Build rudder head 

  • Metal fittings to the hull and rudder

  • Propeller cut-out

  • Fibreglass

  • Dry fitted

  • Added trimtab

  • Trimmed aft bulwark beam to fit trim tab

  • Add end plate to rudder

Tiller

  • Make and fit tiller joint to rudder head

  • Make hinge plate for tiller connection

Self Steering

  • Build Bill Belcher OTG 2

  • Connected to trim tab on the rudder

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Masts

Masts sizes:

Foremast: 9.15 m hight above deck, diameter 180 mm at deck level

Mainmast: 14.10 m (overal length), 12.38 m hight above deck,  diameter 220 mm at deck level

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Masts are reinforced with unidirectional fibreglass:

  • Unidirectional fibreglass - 3 layers, tapered

  • Epoxied with aluminium graphite to strengthen 

  • Fitted heal to mast step ( FWD 11 degrees and main 7 degrees)

  • Mast heal - epoxied 

  • Mast cap- 18 mm plywood, biaxial fibreglass top & bottom, glued and screwed to mast head, filleted & fibreglass under the cap.

Masts Head

  • U bolts, glued and screwed - 3 for rigging

  • Glue leather to protect the wood

  • Mast top Main Mast - 7 degrees  sloping lights base - the light had to point horizontally!

  • Mast top FWD Mast - 11 degrees sloping base for Burgee 

  • Burgee made of plastic ring to plastic swivel, fitted onto fibreglass tube

Masts Step

Forward Mast

  • Base layer with draining hole glued to the hull

  • Make 5 different plywood shapes to fit the curve of the hull at the base of the mast

  • Draining hole at the bottom plate 

  • Fit to base of the mast

Main Mast 

  • Added 2 blocks, glued fibreglass to the keel, draining hole

  • Added 2 plywood ‘braces’ bonded to the hull & keel for lateral support at the base

Masts Step - Stepping

  • Base and through the hull holes adjusted for the rake

  • Difficult to cut the thickness of 5" through the hull at 7 degrees & 11 degrees rake

 

Mast Collars ​

  • Mast collars 2 layers, fibreglass

  • Threaded SS sockets glued into the deck

  • Plywood bolted down with a thin rubber washer underneath

  • Mast lowered down through the hole and wedged into correct position

  • The ring heavily glassed to the mast - biaxial & unidirectional fibreglass epoxy

  • Bolts - 12 x 10 mm 

Centreboard

  • Studied plans, decide on redesign in terms of material and build

  • Cut plywood base, 18 mm

  • Make solid fibreglass hook to fit in the mid layer

  • Make solid fibreglass to fit the control rope

  • Mid layer 12 mm plywood glued on with gaps for the steel ballast weights

  • Solid fibreglass fitted at this stage 

  • Third layer - cut and fit 18 mm plywood to cover the mid layer with metal plates 

  • Added fibreglass to the fibreglass plates made

  • Shape the leading and trailing edges

  • Drill holes for the ropes, line with kevlar, add kevlar to the bottom corner

  • Fibreglass 300 gsm cloth and epoxy

  • Fill the weave with thickened epoxy - sanded 

  • 5 coats of epoxy and copper powder

  • Epoxy / Cooper - 5 coats

  • Turn over 200 kg a couple of times to fibreglass and epoxy...

  • Splice dyneema - main and spare line

  • Make a frame to support the centreboard for moving 

  • Lift the boat  and move the centreboard with JCB to fit into the hole! 

Case

  • Sand - epoxy - paint inside 

  • Fit centreboard ‘stopper’ inside the centreboard case

  • Install blocks to stop centreboard jumping off hinge

  • Add safety block at aft end

  • Cut rope slot and make a winch base, install a winch and turning blocks 

Ballast and Bilges

  • ​Remove drain pipe already in place, fit wooden bung and epoxy, to make ballast sections watertight

  • Built up the floors to screw down the cabin  sole over the ballast

  • Built ballast bulkhead aft to retain ballast and to raise the floor support

  • Sand - epoxy - paint - sand - undercoat - paint 

  • Put rubber matting to protect the hull

  • Bring in 3.3 tons of ballast ingots (with a friends help) and fit into position

  • Add 200 kg of galvanised steel punching to fill the gaps and make up the weight

  • Make plywood blocking to stop ballast moving

  • Screw down cabin sole on bitumen rubber sealant

Bilges​​

  • Build engine bearers 

  • Build diesel tanks support

  • Mast step - see separately

Dinghy & Yuloh

It was important for it to be light, maintenance free, a reasonable size and to row well.  After a prolonged deliberations we were offered the use of Chris Rees design 9 ft dinghy, fibreglass mould.

  • No gelcoat to keep it lighter

  • 2 layers of 300 gsm and 1 layer of 450 gsm

  • pigmented polyester resin

  • Built in buoyancy bow and stern. 

  • Two rowing positions plus fin sculling

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