Repairing Hunter 40 damage from Hurricane Matthew

[JRacer]

Thanks for the update. Sorry for the woes. Would think with experienced pilot ranks being what they are that you guys would have some leverage. Like your solution to the templating for the odd shaped panels. Agree that the recessed panels is much better than proud.

 

[B757Captain]

Thanks for the update. At least you got a bit done with the little time you had. It's looking very good and I like the recessed panels.

Thanks nightowl!

 

[B757Captain]

So when this is all said and done, is your boat still going to be reasonably balanced side to side?

I'm keeping a close eye on that. During the "early years" with the factory interior configuration I constantly fought a starboard list. Every heavy item was built into the starboard side. I finally fixed that when I moved the house batteries from under that aft bunk to to under the port settee. It was then that I discovered the mast wasn't straight either!

I'm not only paying close attention to weight distribution side to side but also trying to keep as much as possible as low as possible too. I figure that in the end I've probably got a few hundred pounds of tools that I can use for balance (and ballast).

Mark

 

[B757Captain]

Thanks for the update. Sorry for the woes. Would think with experienced pilot ranks being what they are that you guys would have some leverage. Like your solution to the templating for the odd shaped panels. Agree that the recessed panels is much better than proud.

Thanks JR. One would think so also (r.e. leverage) but these guys don't always think the way we do. Common complaint from expat pilots here. I am very good though at stating my point, and I do have leverage (and they know it!). One of the biggest stumbling blocks is they call normal days off "holidays". That was a shocker! Lot's of cultural differences but I have learned how to navigate most of them and they are learning - slowly - that the old ways and mindset doesn't cut it anymore. Kinda interesting to see and hear most of the younger generation here are walking away from the older generation attitudes, and the older guys are freaked about it. Someday I'll write a little blurb about it if anyone wants to read it.

 

[B757Captain]

Update from the homefront:

Howdy fellas!

Where to begin? Best probably would be with the big picture - mainly I've been home for 3 weeks now and am just barely feeling human! One week to go then there are going to be big changes. Looks like (as per my previous ranting) starting in November I will have LOTS more time to work on the boat. That's a good thing - I'm considering it semi-retirement (by choice) .

Next - Hurricane Dorian. Close call but no damage - to the boat, the house and very little on the island; just some downed trees and lots of leaves, limbs and debris. The bad part was I got trapped (sort of) in Japan and couldn't get home. Long story there involving a Japanese airline (my employer) who's attitude towards my request to leave one day early to take care of my family was "It's just a typhoon, what's the big deal?" That was when Dorian had reached Cat 5 over the Bahamas. Keep in mind that the typhoon that hit Japan last year was the biggest in Japan in over 30 years and was a mid-Cat 1. To say I was a bit peeved is an understatement! My wife and I had a round-robin trip planned for the first week of vacation to visit family out west - I wound up doing that myself since I couldn't get to SC and she couldn't get out. Story for another day

Ok, enough of the non-boat drama, now to the good stuff!

One thing I have been doing in my limited time off is research. Lately I have been really looking at how much plastic waste we generate and have been doing some deep research on plastics in general, especially how they interact with our bodies. We've all heard about BPAs, microplastics, etc., and the harm they do to us. I had planned to use plastic for the under-floor water tanks and since I was going to use polypropylene, which is supposedly food-grade, I figured it was safe.

Turns out it depends on who you ask as to whether it's safe or not. Seems that heat can alter the chemistry of ANY plastic and there's lots of disagreement as to how much heat and for how long before toxins start leaching from the plastic into whatever is in contact. In my case, potable water. Uh-oh! And the tanks, even though under the floor, will be subject to some heat, even if it's only ambient outside temps. Is that enough long-term to cause issues? Opinions seem to vary wildly!

Another potential problem I have been researching (plastic related) has been the durability and longevity of the welds. Any weld in plastic will alter the base molecular structure of the plastic surrounding the weld and I have been worried about whether the welds will hold up long-term (like 10 or more years). It seems nobody knows! I could not find a single article, reference or write-up on the subject. I definitely do not want these tanks leaking over time so after lots of thought I decided against the plastic tanks. So next up, what material to use for the tanks?

I started ordering tools and materials just before coming home and they started arriving soon after I (finally!) got home. The first to arrive was this:

Since I couldn't use them for their intended purposes until everything else arrived I decided to pose for a pic and some lite reading!

More soon!

Cheers,

Mark

 

[garymalmgren]

Wow. That must be a HOT read. Would like to look over your shoulder, Mark.

Gary

 

[Daveinet]

Another potential problem I have been researching (plastic related) has been the durability and longevity of the welds. Any weld in plastic will alter the base molecular structure of the plastic surrounding the weld and I have been worried about whether the welds will hold up long-term (like 10 or more years). It seems nobody knows! I could not find a single article, reference or write-up on the subject. I definitely do not want these tanks leaking over time so after lots of thought I decided against the plastic tanks. So next up, what material to use for the tanks?


Cheers,

Mark

OK, so I can answer this question, but the answer may not help. If the welds are done correctly, there is no chemical or structural difference in the weld area. The problem is the big IF. Plastic can be melted an indefinite number of times without any chemical change or degradation. The problem lies in the fact that we do not live in a perfect world. During the weld process, it is very easy for the surface temperature to exceed a safe level while waiting for the plastic below the surface to liquefy. If the temperature is too hot, the plastic will burn, thus ruining the structure of some of the plastic. Polypropylene is fairly forgiving as it has a pretty wide working range. Its one of the easiest plastics to weld.
So the definitive answer is who is doing the welding. Company management styles range widely. Some companies do very well on hiring and training, while others have a high turn over rate, so nobody knows what they are doing. Good luck on trying to determine that when choosing a supplier.

Incidentally, I work in technical support for a company that manufactures plastic welders.

 

[B757Captain]

Wow. That must be a HOT read. Would like to look over your shoulder, Mark.

Gary

 

[B757Captain]

OK, so I can answer this question, but the answer may not help. If the welds are done correctly, there is no chemical or structural difference in the weld area. The problem is the big IF. Plastic can be melted an indefinite number of times without any chemical change or degradation. The problem lies in the fact that we do not live in a perfect world. During the weld process, it is very easy for the surface temperature to exceed a safe level while waiting for the plastic below the surface to liquefy. If the temperature is too hot, the plastic will burn, thus ruining the structure of some of the plastic. Polypropylene is fairly forgiving as it has a pretty wide working range. Its one of the easiest plastics to weld.
So the definitive answer is who is doing the welding. Company management styles range widely. Some companies do very well on hiring and training, while others have a high turn over rate, so nobody knows what they are doing. Good luck on trying to determine that when choosing a supplier.

Incidentally, I work in technical support for a company that manufactures plastic welders.

Thanks Dave! That helps, but highlights the welds as the (potential) weak link in the tanks. And the issue of chemical leaching is still there too. My next post will point to the direction I've settled on.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[B757Captain]

Water tanks 101:

Now that I have eliminated plastic as the tank material of choice, now what? Since paper, wood, cloth, etc., just can't hold up long term (although - interesting historical footnote - the USAAF used external fuel drop tanks made of paper on P-51s and P-47s during WWII), glass might be a little too fragile, I'm left with making the tanks from metal. But what flavor?

The choices are steel (regular or stainless) and aluminum (or aluminium for our English-speaking but linguistically challenged brethren ). Regular steel has the benefit of lower cost and workability, and steel tanks have been used in lots of applications. and the welding equipment needed is cheaper and I have tons of experience with it. The downsides are mainly that steel rusts. The steps needed to protect the steel for longevity outweigh any cost savings or other benefits. Next up - aluminum. Slightly higher cost and TIG welder needed (I know there are other ways but - ), specific grade of material is needed. ABYC specifies 5093 for onboard tanks. I don't remember offhand if it's specifically 5093 or 5093 or higher grade.The downsides to aluminum are that I just eliminated Al fuel and water tanks due to external corrosion with the fuel tanks and internal corrosion/calcium buildup in the water tanks. Basically aluminum has a life span and I only want to do these tanks once. That leaves Stainless. The only problem is I have no experience working with stainless.

After several long conversations with my local welder buddy and some time spent watching Youtube vids, I pulled the plug and this showed up:

I have lots of experience with Mig welding, gas welding, brazing and some stick welding but I've never done any TIG. So time to learn! I'm off to turn perfectly good 316 SS into scrap metal! Wish me luck

Cheers,

Mark

 

[B757Captain]

V-berth:

While I'm learning TIG welding and making SS scrap metal I've been using some of the down time to continue some boat work! One thing I've been putting off until getting the anchor locker finished is refinishing and painting the v-berth. Not a big deal but it does take quite a bit of time to get it all done. Basically I have to do it in stages so I can access all areas of the v-berth during the painting process. This allows me to use the recoat window instead of having to sand everything between coats.

So - it's been do one area, minimum 2 paint coats, sometimes 3, minimum 12 hours between, then move on to the next area. First up is the ceiling (overhead?). About 3 hours of glorious, glorious sanding (all overhead so really sore arms and shoulders the next day!. Then vacuuming and wipedown and 2 coats of paint. Here's the outcome:

Next is the upper hull sides. I had already done a preliminary sanding here so not as much time needed for prep:

Next will be the anchor locker area, then the forward v-berth area, then working aft. Sure takes time to get it all done!

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Daveinet]

Should I mention that in my last motorhome, I finally traded my aluminum fuel tanks for plastic ones because the aluminum welds kept breaking, causing it to leak? I had it welded 4 or 5 times, sometimes in the same area, sometimes in different areas. If there is any flex, the aluminum may crack. The only thing that ever broke my plastic holding tanks was a deer I ran over.

 

[B757Captain]

Should I mention that in my last motorhome, I finally traded my aluminum fuel tanks for plastic ones because the aluminum welds kept breaking, causing it to leak? I had it welded 4 or 5 times, sometimes in the same area, sometimes in different areas. If there is any flex, the aluminum may crack. The only thing that ever broke my plastic holding tanks was a deer I ran over.

Interestingly, I never had a weld crack or break on the aluminum tanks - fuel or water - in the boat. What happened to all of them was crevice corrosion on the bottom of the tanks in multiple areas. After chasing down the corrosion points and welding them twice I finally gave up. Eventually the tanks would have been one great big spot weld!

 

[B757Captain]

(Late) Update from September:

Update in two parts today - first to finish the work I got done while on vacation/rehab attempt:

Painting: The next area for paint in the v-berth was the anchor locker, both inside and outside:

The inside of the anchor locker got the Interlux one-part eurethane paint like everything else down below but after finishing this it was up topside to get the outside (inside of the outside? ). I used two-part eurethane left over from painting the hull. Unfortunately it seems I forgot to transfer photos of this to the computer but I did economize my painting efforts by doing the battery box as well:

The next several days consisted of sand, clean, paint, repeat of the remainder of the v-berth until finally:

Well, that's that for my time home in Sept. Next update will be a doozy!

Cheers,

Mark

 

[JRacer]

Looks good, Mark. Carry on!

 

[CYQK]

Ben a while since an update
Good to hear from you

 

[B757Captain]

The DOOZY update:

Ok, fellas, here it is:

I am currently siting in the Delta lounge at Narita airport awaiting my one-way flight home! Next stop freedom and:

Retirement

Not kidding, I finally said enough is enough, it's time to come home and start living life again. There are a bunch of reasons, events, up and downs that led me to pull the plug but the number one main reason is that over the last few months it has become more and more apparent that life is moving on while I have been standing still. So couple that thought with an increasingly difficult and toxic work environment and the decision was surprisingly easy. I toughed it out long enough to capitalize on a sizable bonus (paid on yearly anniversaries) which (hopefully) put my(our) nestegg over the top. Time will tell but for now, here's the plan:

First thing upon arrival at home, sleep! Then rest and sleep some more, and start the mental and physical healing process. I can't begin to describe how far past the edge of the cliff this gig in Japan has pushed me. It took me quite a while to figure it out myself.

Second, we are going to take some time to visit family - we've got quite a task there and both sets of parents are in need of help.

Third, get back on track fixing the boat. As you guys may have deduced my normal work output on the boat has declined severely. That has solely been due to exhaustion and severe fatigue brought on by the workload in Japan. That little problem fixed I'm really jazzed about being able to get back to working on the boat. Good news there is that just about the time I get home we will have wet slips at the marina again! Although I don't need to go back in the water just yet I have a slip reserved for when I want to. Might be sooner rather than later

Stay tuned, it's gonna be fun!


So Sayonara Japan, and May the Schwartz Be With You!

Mark san

 

[mermike]

Welcome back! I stumbled onto this thread a week ago or so and binge-read the whole thing. So impressive, and I can't thank you enough for documenting your trials, tribulations and successes. It gave me some perspective on my boat issues I'm looking forward to seeing you launch, and soon!

 

[LeslieTroyer]

Congratulations on Retirement. For me It was the best move since wedding my bride 35 yrs ago.

 

[HMT2]

The DOOZY update:


So Sayonara Japan, and May the Schwartz Be With You!

Mark san

Good on you sir. My thoughts and prayers are with you for this exciting transition. Enjoy!