Today it gets real:

[pclarksurf]

as usual lads-- you got me thinking:

1) you can google the crap out of epoxy resin and salt/fresh water interactions and read some pretty heavy stuff from real life scientists (Sandia Labs for starters: http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2009/094405.pdf) but in a nutshell I think we can safely say that epoxy resins in general are durable, far more durable for example than Gel Coat as anyone with blisters can attest to.

2) (regardless of what your shoulders and elbows tell you after sanding all day) Epoxy is not bullet proof-- and needs UV protection from the sun and a good barrier coat in the water.

I personally wouldn't think twice about the multitude of the 4 different epoxy based blends I have on the Keel (205 / 410 / 406 / 407) and it will get barrier coated and swath of VC-17 for good measure. Note below that the Resin + Hardener guide alone denotes "sealing and barrier coating".

 

[pclarksurf]

Working on the hatch as it is finally warm enough to epoxy in the garage again-- found a series of pictures from the same view and am enjoying the progress. I'll probably fair over the fiberglass lightly the prime and paint. Very happy with having built up the shattered rails with Colloidal Silica, filled the voids around the shoulder with 405, faired a bit and then two layers of cloth. The new rails are far beefier and should take some serious use.

 

[pclarksurf]

Decided on Harken 8's for primary winches-- after last seasons hole patching it was time to drill again (cringe). Got a good test fit, waiting on new 316 bolts to ship, backing plates made up and modified to fit the odd corner.

Last year's swiss cheese:

New footprint:

Had to put it together for looks:

Backing Plates:

 

[CloudDiver]

4037 for backing plates? Isn't that stuff expensive? I'm guessing you got those from cut-offs bin... I used King Starboard for my backing plates, I get the same stuff but not brand name from a local plastics supplier scrap bin for next to nothing.
Just use delrin washers between the backing plate and stainless washer, you'll corrosion even in those 'protected' cockpit pockets. McMaster Carr has UMHW plastic washers of all sizes pretty cheap. I have bags of small delrin washers to use on all my mast/boom hardware... The mess or corrosion I had to take apart from the rigging has made me hyper-sensitive about isolation everywhere SS hardware touches AL.

 

[AaronD]

...I used King Starboard for my backing plates...

I can't believe I'm trying to make a suggestion to the famous @CloudDiver, but I'd recommend you look at Drew Frye's (@thinwater) tests of backing plate materials. He did a detailed test for Practical Sailor. If you're a subscriber, it's in the Aug 2016 issue - online at http://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...-does-a-backing-plate-need-to-be_12058-1.html. If not, he included a bit on his blog at http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2017/02/stainless-steel-bolt-specifications.html.

In his tests, Starboard was clearly inferior. It doesn't rot, but creeps and eventually cracks under load. FRP or G10 board are better options, especially if bonded to the interior surface.

FYI: I bought a stack of 1/4" G10 from Jamestown - a 6-pack of 12x12 sheets for about $100 IIRC, and it should last me forever. G10 takes threads nicely (although it eats tools). @thinwater also suggested somewhere that if you live close to a boatyard, you might be able to pick up sheets of FRP from someone scrapping a fiberglass boat.

 

[CloudDiver]

I can't believe I'm trying to make a suggestion to the famous @CloudDiver, but I'd recommend you look at Drew Frye's (@thinwater) tests of backing plate materials. He did a detailed test for Practical Sailor. If you're a subscriber, it's in the Aug 2016 issue - online at http://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...-does-a-backing-plate-need-to-be_12058-1.html. If not, he included a bit on his blog at http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2017/02/stainless-steel-bolt-specifications.html.

In his tests, Starboard was clearly inferior. It doesn't rot, but creeps and eventually cracks under load. FRP or G10 board are better options, especially if bonded to the interior surface.

FYI: I bought a stack of 1/4" G10 from Jamestown - a 6-pack of 12x12 sheets for about $100 IIRC, and it should last me forever. G10 takes threads nicely (although it eats tools). @thinwater also suggested somewhere that if you live close to a boatyard, you might be able to pick up sheets of FRP from someone scrapping a fiberglass boat.

Thanks Aaron, and you are correct. King Starboard certainly isn't the best choice in backing material, I was already aware that it can compress significantly under load. That's because most people crank down the torque on the bolts to the max. I'm only using them in mostly low load situations, but I will rethink my choice at least for the main winches and go G10.

 

[Gene Neill]

I can't believe I'm trying to make a suggestion to the famous @CloudDiver, but I'd recommend you look at Drew Frye's (@thinwater) tests of backing plate materials. He did a detailed test for Practical Sailor. If you're a subscriber, it's in the Aug 2016 issue - online at http://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...-does-a-backing-plate-need-to-be_12058-1.html. If not, he included a bit on his blog at http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2017/02/stainless-steel-bolt-specifications.html.

In his tests, Starboard was clearly inferior. It doesn't rot, but creeps and eventually cracks under load. FRP or G10 board are better options, especially if bonded to the interior surface.

FYI: I bought a stack of 1/4" G10 from Jamestown - a 6-pack of 12x12 sheets for about $100 IIRC, and it should last me forever. G10 takes threads nicely (although it eats tools). @thinwater also suggested somewhere that if you live close to a boatyard, you might be able to pick up sheets of FRP from someone scrapping a fiberglass boat.

That's good to hear, since G10 is my backing-plate material of choice. And that's a good deal from Jamestown, better than what I was paying. Thanks for the tip.

 

[AaronD]

That's good to hear, since G10 is my backing-plate material of choice. And that's a good deal from Jamestown, better than what I was paying. Thanks for the tip.

Now that I've hijacked the thread, I'll ask a follow-up of my own - I've been cutting G10 with fine-tooth metal blades on a sabre saw. They're cheap enough to be disposable (if by chance they wear out before I manage to lose them). But if anyone knows of a better (or faster) system for cutting G10, I'd be interested to hear it.

 

[pclarksurf]

Yep-- not necessarily cheap, I think I paid around 45 bucks for a 12"x12" 1/4" sheet of 2024-T351 from online metals-- sadly no access to much metal in my world. I went ahead and got a bigger sheet -- I will use the rest of the material for backing on 4 more cleats and anything else that might come up. My biggest ask of the backing plate was strength.

After 8 years living aboard in the Bay Area I have lived the galvanic corrosion nightmare-- it's good to be paranoid, but in the desert and day sailed in fresh water I don't have nearly as much heartache about corrosion above the water line. Might actually go the washer route, however-- easy enough.

 

[Gene Neill]

Now that I've hijacked the thread, I'll ask a follow-up of my own - I've been cutting G10 with fine-tooth metal blades on a sabre saw. They're cheap enough to be disposable (if by chance they wear out before I manage to lose them). But if anyone knows of a better (or faster) system for cutting G10, I'd be interested to hear it.

A band saw would probably be awesome, but not in the cards for me. So I usually use a saber saw, with "good" blades, or sometimes a hacksaw. I'll cut the plate to a rough shape, then use a bench sander (thanks @CloudDiver) to finish the job. The bench sander eats material off the edges and corners very quickly and easily.

I always bed the backing plate with epoxy, thickened to peanut butter consistency. Seems like a good thing to do. The cool thing is, the plate will remain stuck to an overhead surface while the epoxy cures.

 

[CloudDiver]

I have a 2 local plastics suppliers, both stock G10 board (or their own 'generic' version), and both have cut-off bins where you might be able to find small pieces. My preferred source is in an industrial area, kind of mom and pop style but a bit cheaper than the more organized place, the latter has a website you can order from called eplastics.com for price comparison. For 12x12 inch 1/4" thick is $25.53 each. Hopefully I'll get a few bucks off that of find some cut-offs at the mom and pop place.
BTW, I have a band saw with metal cutting blades although I cannot slow down the blade speed. If I could find a good variable blade speed band saw on Craigslist I would have bought it already, I cut metal way more than anything else.

 

[AaronD]

Yeah, a band saw is probably out for me too, for space if not for cost. Sounds like I'm not missing an obvious improvement on the jigsaw solution. But the bench sander is seeing more use than I ever thought it would. Unfortunately, I slipped the other day and learned that it's also remarkably effective on knuckles. Some of us just can't learn from the experience of others...

 

[pclarksurf]

Trying desperately to get long standing things crossed off the list so I can get the mast in the air and make the last stand on the keel (Interlux 2000E has arrived and is begging to be put on).

My first time playing with Butyl Tape as a bedding compound and I have to say compared to anything out of caulk gun -- I liked it! Especially given the possibility of me having to remove and re-bed in the near distant future as I'm not attempting to paint the deck this season. Happy to say all the topside holes are now complete with the exception of the grouping at the bow... their turn is coming a bit later.

I wasn't a fan of the plastic horn cleats, so I tossed all four and replaced with Schaeffer Aluminum in black-- they play nicely with the recycled silver aluminum versions for the primaries. At some point the Seattle Grey AwlGrip under the cleat will replace the blue over a fresh coat of off white.

In the process of bedding and backing and contorting myself to fasten all the hardware, I found it exceptionally handy to remove the coaming boxes for easy (er) access to the winch bases. Full disclosure-- I knew they were badly adhered and the PO clearly slopped something all over them to try and stave off their imminent demise-- but holy cow what a mess:

Nothing the grinder couldn't get rid of-- but I had to park it in the grass and make quite a mess of it.

last but not least I almost pulled the last remaining "personal" item left over from the PO but thought better of it. Maybe when I'm done and the money throwing has slowed to a occasional upgrade:

 

[pclarksurf]

No more off the boat wood pictures! But of course it's the last coat so I tried to get some definition of the depth after multiple coats of Epifanes: next shot is a boat with all its wood again.

 

[pclarksurf]

Always trying to modify into the next project, but this one bit me a bit in the derrière: I went for 2" marlon cockpit scuppers which are finally set , but my 2 inch to 3/4 is a bit wonky. I thought I had enough bend radius to make it, but clearly not quite. Still massive amounts of drainage compared, and this sets me up for a 2" proper through hull to follow next season. I'll probably get some sweep 90's to tidy it up but I hoped for fewer connections and hose clamps.

And while I wrestled with hose the bow eye is setting up. Next weekend has been slated for keel mounting -- have to get busy this week and finish the prime coat on the hatch and the keel before test fitting

 

[dzl]

Looking good! Your woodwork is coming out awesome. You've definitely got some serious drainage going on there. I think with a larger through hull that's the best solution to the problem. Transom scuppers are ok but only useful in a knockdown or swamping, which is really the only time you'd need them I suppose, because by my figuring the rear of the cockpit sole is about 4-5 inches higher than the front where the drains are when the boat is level.

 

[pclarksurf]

Indeed-- cockpit scuppers are secondary, but since I had to replace the entire sole I wanted to maximize while I was there. I have procured the moeller flanging tool and will be adding dual 1" drains in the transom, but not slated for early this season. She needs to get wet before I tear anything else up.

 

[pclarksurf]

It fits! finally getting traction on putting the keel project to rest: Test fitting taught me a few things about raising that monster by myself, but with the Tranny Jack fore and aft it went up smoothly enough. You might recall my wonky weldment alignment issues-- the machined hangers have accommodated all of it- but as you can see I have a clearance issue on the worst of the 4. I don't have room for the socket clearance-- but nothing I can't modify with the dremel. Got the Keel winch dialed in and tested with new lifting hardware, and the keel is back off and on the bench with a first coat of 2000E -- very pleased with what little fairing I have left. I have some shenanigans left with the dang trailer as it relates to the keel-- but that should make for an interesting next post. I may make it to a shakedown float yet this early summer.

 

[Gene Neill]

BEAUTIFUL!

 

[pclarksurf]

OCD / ADHD/ Multiple personality disorder... whatever:

Dear god I only had one little spot around the eye bolt that I needed to build up and smooth out and I couldn't freaking help myself. I got a hold of myself and have finally comitted to the final coat of unthickened epoxy before the 2000E coats and VC17... done I tell you-- done. maybe........