Restoration of 1981 C-22 swing keel #10580

[CloudDiver]

That's actually not far off the mark, lol!

I do enjoy the work, but I really hope to get to the sailing part sooner than later!

Fully tongue-in cheek:

From the looks of this thread you probably enjoy fixing boats more than sailing them...

Beautiful work man. No short cuts and no stone un-turned...

 

[CloudDiver]

All new Running Rigging

Today is the annual 40% off Bulk Rope Sale at West Marine. First of all thanks to Stingy Sailor for his detailed blog post 'All Lines led Aft' which summarizes everything and includes a breakdown of each line and length. As he points out, you can shop many great deals online but the 40% during this annual one day sale at West Marine still beats those prices.

So I pretty much got exactly the same stuff. The New England Ropes VPC hybrid & Stay-Set Yacht Braid are great values and let's face it, for the blistering 6 Knots I'll get in a puff on my C22 there is no need for far more expensive exotic race fibers.

I only made some slight changes from Stingy's list of lines & Lengths;
- I don't need a Headsail Downhaul since I'm using a wire luff headsail with a Harken Small Boat Cruising furler, however I bought the line anyway since I need the same size for the furling line.
- I'm going to do an internal Main Outhaul for 2 reasons, to reduce clutter on the boom and because I had to shorten my boom by roughly 3/4"... The screws in the boom end cap were so corroded they broke off so I had to cut of the old cap and replace it. To make sure I have enough room to pull on the out-haul I am going with the internal set-up. This changed the required line from 5 feet to 25 feet.
- I'm not going to use a topping lift, going with a boom-kicker instead. Further simplifies clutter on the boom, plus having a split back-stay it ends up being in-line with where the topping lift would go.
- I didn't get the line for the tiller lock. If I get a new Tiller Tamer it will come with new line.
- I added some inexpensive 3 strand black nylon line for my mooring lines and fenders, since it was also on sale.
- I didn't get anything for a Cunningham, main Downhaul, or any Spinnaker stuff (since I have no chute anyway). once I get all the other rigging set up I will address these other things.

I kind of went off Stingy's suggestions for a color scheme to break things down but added my own flare based on what colors were available. I decided to buy all solid color lines because, well, white lines get dirty! Lines that are same color & same size were added together and cut in one piece because all lines had enough extra added in for splices and fudge factor... so later as I rig each line I can cut and splice more precisely and have less waste.

Here is a break-down of the lines and the sale prices;

VPC Hybrid 8mm Red (65 feet @ .70/ft) $45.50 - Headsail Halyard
StaSet 5/16" Black (60 feet @ .72/ft) 43.20 - Covers Boom Downhaul, Boom Vang, and Mainsheet Traveler
StaSet 3/8" Green (45 feet @ .89/ft) $40.05 - Main Sheet
StaSet 1/4" Blue (125 feet @ .49/ft) $61.25 - Covers Mainsail Internal Outhaul, Jiffy Reefing, Continuous Furling Line, and I left the 10 feet for the Boom Topping lift in there for extra
3 Strand black Nylon 3/8" (50 feet @ .51/ft) $25.20 - For 2 mooring lines and lanyards for fenders, plenty of length added for fudge factor and splicing

Not Pictured, but ordered because they were not in Stock;

VPC Hybrid 8mm Green (60 feet @ .70/ft) $42 - Mainsail Halyard
StaSet 3/8" Red (70 feet @ .89/ft) $62.30 - Headsail Sheet (enough to cross sheet)

Total with tax = $345.41

I could do the math on the regular prices before the discount, but I think I would have been around the $525 mark had they not been on sale.... so not bad eh?

As pretty as they are they will be staying in the bag until around July before I even get to rigging!

 

[piedpiperIII]

great wish I knew of the sale I paid full price for mine from W M

 

[CloudDiver]

Finish welded the new stainless compression post today, finalized the top bolt that goes through the mast step and deck. I upgraded it from the flimsy 1/4" lag screw to a 3/8" ARP stainless 12 point.
I just have to finalize how the wood bulkhead will be supported by the new post. See third pic. I don't want the two parts permanently welded together. I think I will hand fab some small right angle brackets that will line up with the three 1/4" bolts on the flat stock.

 

[Kestle]

My hull flexes enough, that I wonder if this method would provide sufficient lateral support without the welds breaking over time.

Thoughts?

 

[CloudDiver]

I'm not familiar with the construction of your hull and where the flexing is taking place, but all things being equal in deck-stepped mast sailboats of this size then go by the following;
- Every deck-stepped mast hull has a compression post to keep the cabin roof from collapsing in. The tension of the shrouds and stays are trying to shoot the mast through the hull as if it were an arrow, the hull being the bow, and the shrouds the bow strings. If there is flex in your cabin roof then the compression post may be too short even if only by 1/8 inch. I used a a jack to flex the roof up to place the compression post so it is pre-tensioned when installed. If you have you rigging down on your boat and you try to remove your compression post you should have to use a jack to get it out. If it slides out with no problem, then it is too short.
- The welds in this example will not crack. Steel, even stainless, is much more ductile than other alloys like aluminum. They will flex to a certain degree without cracking. In this application all of the force is in compression, straight up and down on the tube of steel, no lateral stresses are placed on the flanges where the welds are. If it was two tubes welded together in the middle, that would worry me.
- Look at the previous pics in the thread where I extended the chainplates. That is another area where you could do something similar which would take stress off the hull. The extended chainplates tie into the lower hull liner, equalizing the pull of the shrouds to the hull structure rather than just yanking on the floating bulkheads. This is a common upgrade for racers.

My hull flexes enough, that I wonder if this method would provide sufficient lateral support without the welds breaking over time.

Thoughts?

 

[CloudDiver]

It was a lazy Sunday, I fiddle farted all morning and lolly-gagged all afternoon but I managed to finalize the compression post by fabricating two right angle tabs and then weld them into place. These give something for the port floating bulkhead to bolt to where it used to screw to the old wood compression post.
This set up is amazingly solid, if you grab the new post and heave on it the whole hull shakes... exactly as designed. This finishes up the major work on the interior. I will take all this back out and then I can finish up the last bit of polyester filler and shaping and then get my gel-coat repair guy to do the color match and patching. After that I can pretty much put all the teak trim back in and button up the interior!

 

[CloudDiver]

Had to do it... welding selfies;

 

[piedpiperIII]

Luke, I sure hope you take some detailed videos for the maiden voyage!!!!

 

[Snowman80]

That compression post setup is sweeeeeeeeet, i love the look

 

[spartacus99]

Nice cloud, you've got skills man!

 

[Gene Neill]

Had to do it... welding selfies;

So THAT'S the mad genius behind the mask!!

 

[jmczzz]

2 nd mad, and genius, add superman worker. James

 

[CloudDiver]

Need more air-speed!

When an aircraft pitches up too sharply and dumps air-speed the reduction of airflow across the wing surface results in loss of lift = STALL. The same goes for sails I suppose...

I'm trying to avoid stalling right now. Things at work and bills at home have piled on top of each other and it makes it difficult to keep the momentum going, especially on a tight budget.

Less than a month ago I went to a local chandlery to buy 2 small items. Dropped a quarter in the meter which only bought me 15 minutes on Shelter Island. Went into the store, got my two items and came back to find a $40 parking ticket on my truck for an expired meter. The time stamp on the ticket was just 4 minutes before the time stamp on my receipt from the store. I couldn't pay the ticket right away but I remembered to do it Tuesday. They doubled the fine because it was over 21 days.

Went to DMV yesterday to register a used Zodiac I bought locally. $88 in fines because the registration had expired in 2013. I also renewed the annual registration on my Chopper which I have not ridden since October. Registration was due by end of April but I couldn't get an appointment at DMV until yesterday. Normally its about $80 a year for registration, they charged me $170 for being less than 30 days past due on a bike I don't even ride daily.

Its no wonder the average Joe can't get ahead. Between fed taxes, state taxes, county property tax, sales tax, obnoxious fines and fees for everything... 'they' get half of what I make.

Rant over.

 

[jmczzz]

You are right, and real wages have gone stagnant or gone down over the past 2 decades. As a result the middle class has shrunken to its lowest point in US history. Mean while the upper 1% and those that serve them continue to ship US jobs off shore to unsafe sweat shop low wage factories to increase profit margins and the money they at the top make at all our expense. Those of us that do not want to (or cannot) see the reality of the big picture continue to be beguiled by the false happiness of consumerism and the promise of low prices for all the things marketers make us believe we have to have. When an individual speaks out against them, they are dismissed as just arguing politics. Their comments censored by the 1%’s servant allies in control of the means of communication.
I for one will not surrender nor be silent so as to “go along to get along”. I hope some will read this post before it is deleted by the thought police watching for any attempt at pointing out what is happening to the US economy. Welcome to reality. Think and support US manufacturing (what is left of it).

 

[piedpiperIII]

so I am not the only average person here, with 6 vehicles 3 on payments mortgage 2 boat projects ETC. I could go on all night but i'm living the dream LOL now my rant is over..

 

[CloudDiver]

Gelcoat Blues...

Well, rather than hire someone to do it for me I decided to just go ahead and do my own gelcoat repairs on the interior.
On the suggestion of a gelcoat repair guy who just wasn't available to come do the work, I picked up a quart container of Evercoat Gel Paste and their brand of color tints in yellow and brown. All together it was about $60, and there is enough gelcoat in that container to probably cover the entire interior.

To make a long story short, I did an 'OK' job, but created a ton more work for myself in sanding and wet sanding. The good news is I was able to mix the color very, very close to the tan interior. Now the challenge will be to repeat that mix. I made enough in the first batch to do everything I needed to do (no catalyst was added until needed), but I wasn't conservative enough applying it. Now I will gave to mix up one more small batch to do touch ups, and I hope I get the color right.

The other mistake I made was using regular kitchen plastic wrap to cover the spots. That film is too thin and allows very small wrinkles to form = not good. If you can't use a heavy plastic sheet like Mylar then you might as well not use anything.

I'll post some pics when I get my screw ups mostly fixed, but for the rest of this week I am pretty much stuck sanding and wet sanding.

 

[jmczzz]

Your tenacity, drive, energy and courage to tackle that is inspiring. I look forward to pictures. However, I am sure the results will be top rate knowing your standards.
James

 

[Gene Neill]

The other mistake I made was using regular kitchen plastic wrap to cover the spots. That film is too thin and allows very small wrinkles to form = not good. If you can't use a heavy plastic sheet like Mylar then you might as well not use anything.

For whatever it might be worth, the (very) few times I have done gelcoat repair, I used Evercoat's "one step" stuff, which needs no plastic wrap or inhibitors. I really don't know diddly about gelcoat, but I can say this stuff worked 100% for my purposes. I've also succesfully thickened it with Cabosil to fill holes.

 

[CloudDiver]

Slow, but getting there

I've been pretty slack the last 2 weeks, doing work in very small bursts. The gelcoat repairs are almost done. I think I'm going so slow because my very short attention span doesn't mix well with all the sanding involved. I've also made several mistakes which require several touch-ups, but I guess that is what I should expect in the learning process. Now that I have the process worked out I would be quicker if I had to do it again.

I also got going on the Cetol of the interior teak. Looking good so far. I am only doing one coat on the interior teak just for the color followed by a couple coats of varnish. No need to go crazy, I'm not trying for the 'Bristol' finish. What I have is still 1000% better than the way it was.

If I keep the momentum going this week into the weekend I should have the interior put back together over the next 7 days.