Companionway hatch improvements....

As you have seen I am attempting to rid TIH of any teak on deck.  I like teak but I don't like maintaining it.   The sliding turtle companionway hatches were is pretty poor shape and need replacing. From previous posts you can see that I came up with a solution and I was pretty happy with it.  Then along came Ebay and provided a SS sliding companionway hatch.  It was too wide but a trip to Samuel the welder took care of that.   If anyone is familiar with Hylas yachts, it is identical to the ones they use.  I'm pretty sure they are made in-house and not available off the shelf.

I took the opportunity to replace and rebed the aluminum side tracks that hold the hatch to the deck.

Once everything is setup I will bed 1/2" Plexiglass to the frame.

I used Plasteak for the front of the drop hatch.

New drop hatch will also be plexiglass.

And yes, the screws will be countersunk and plugged.

Crap by design - die-cast zinc, monkey metal, white metal.........

The biggest sinner in this area, in the marine industry is the ubiquitous Perko.  Even if they coat their zinc products in Chrome, IMHO they are still crap.  On some of their zinc plated products you used to see "for freshwater use only", I haven't seen that for a while.  You will recognize these products by their acne like appearance.   Here are the examples on your standard Whitby/Brewer interior doors.

And these horrendous devices aren't cheap.  The one above has a retail price of $107, even though you can get it online from $65.

I spend a lot of time looking for a replacement and finally found one.  Its also not cheap, the brass version is $120.

Whitechapel Ltd

They fit on my W42 with very minor alterations to the screw holes.  I am happy to support quality products.

 They come with a set of shims.

Workshop area completed.

Large door handles are designed to keep doors level to act as work surfaces.

Securing Lockers.......I believe in BBBs'

Big Bloody Bolts.  This is a quote from the Fastnet Race Disaster of 1979.

"‘Lethal missiles;  Of the 303 yachts that started the ’79 Fastnet, 112 reported knockdowns, 77 of which were B2 knockdowns, ones in which the mast is substantially below horizontal, the yacht inverts or undergoes a full 360-degree roll. The inquiry into the disaster reported: ‘In several boats, cookers and batteries fell out of their mountings. Both items are potentially lethal missiles.’ On his Fastnet ’79 experience, Matt added: ‘Dangers below are frequently ignored. One of the biggest problems aboard Grimalkin during the height of the storm was how objects broke loose. Each time the yacht suffered a knockdown, tins of food and other heavy objects were flying around the saloon. When Grimalkin was recovered, one of the lead acid batteries, which had been secured under the companionway steps, was found wedged in the yacht’s bow. This deadly missile had taken away part of the main bulkhead during one of our pitchpoles.’"

This makes sobering reading/viewing; http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailing-skills/crash-test-boat-capsize-29161

Lockers on TIH have bolts to keep them closed.  "Finger Pulls" do not cut it;

A much younger me during the Fastnet 79, recovery operations with a fellow diver.

Small carpentry projects

While the settee was being constructed by Greg the carpenter I had him do some other small projects.

 Panel in walk-through.  Most W42 have an electrical panel here.  I do not, just storage.

 Lynne is not to enamored with  anything that blocks off the saloon space but I like proper storage.

The back on the plate rack will hold an iPad that can bee seen from the bunk and show data should as AIS targets or wind speed.

 I like proper storage. I may have mentioned that.

Second and final Saloon Settee

 Individually hinged lids.  On most W42 there are drawers on the vertical face.  I hate drawers.

 Front face lifts and will be pinned to give a "lee board" for overnight passages.

Front face lifts lifts up and folds down to give a 36" bunk for guests.  Back cushion will be sized to fill up the space.

Slots to allow the positioning of the boards.

"We do it right, because we do it twice."

I'm back.  I spent the last two months in Portugal and Spain walking the Camino Portuguese from Lisbon (360 miles).  I'm now back in a sweltering Miami, wondering why.

This is just a placeholder for work on the saloon setee/bunk.  The great thing about a looooonnng boat refit is that you get to redo your original work.  My motto for the Marine business is "We do it right because we do it twice."

Cap-Rail final-final-final decision....

And the winner is......................... IPE

Family Name for Ipe Lumber: Tabebuia of family Bignoniaceae

 

The old sealant (origin unknown) was pretty shot.  Some 5200 had been squirted in at some stage to little avail.

 

This made getting the old rail off pretty easy, once the screws were removed.

  

This was a useful tool to remove the bolts holding the genoa track, if they are the old slotted type.

  

I had a local wood-shop use the old cap-rail as a template and make me a new one, including screw holes. 

 Ipe is hard to bend, but it will bend slightly.
 

 

After much research I will use Teakdecking Systems FE-180A to bond the Ipe to the fiberglass.

Full install won't take place until I return from Europe in late July

Sliding companionway hatch.....finally!

Aft sliding companionway hatch design finally completed and ready to be bolted down. The forward cross bar will obviously be removed. I know it's not to everyone's taste but it ties in with my no teak on deck concept. Existing forward hatch shown for comparison. That will also be replaced with a sliding Perspex hatch.

Carpentry, Nautical Flea Markets and Clowns

I haven't been totally idle since I escaped the medics last year. Greg the carpenter has started on the aft bunk and aft heads. I manned a stand at the Pompano flea market and took many of my failed projects to sell. Tragically I seem to have come back with more stuff than I took up. I do think that my $1 boat buck Cruising Chute is a winner. This was its first time out of its bag in 20+ years. Finally, as we have all come to learn to our cost, there are many clowns working in the boat business. Marge from my marina, however, at least is an actual clown and does excellent upholstery on the side.

Hand rails and Granny Bars.....

Rough fit of new SS handrails and Mast pulpits on TIH. If it looks like something from an assisted living facility, that is exactly what it is. I don't know about you spry young sailors but for me moving around the boat in a seaway gets more exciting every year.

Cap Rail decisions........

#nobloodyvarnishingever

Starting to think about the Cap Rail (Toe Rail, gunwale).  It will not be teak.  Two reasons,

a: expense,
b: maintenance.

I know it can be epoxied and painted but at some stage that will have to be redone. That also sort of defects the idea of using teak in the first place.

I've looked at Plasteak lumber and it is promising but then came across this;

Ameriteak Marine Toe Rails - Gunnels

So far it look very good.  I have installed a section and will play with it for  a while