Just Bought My First Boat - About to Give it to a Scrapyard
- Thread starter aftica_1
- Start date
Let me take this opportunity to warn you about scope creep, a topic which all boat owners eventually become painfully familiar with...
Obviously, the boat needs to be out of the water. Because you haven't done this previously, I would estimate 60-90 minutes. Decide what components that you plan to replace (thru hull, valve, tailpiece, & hose); should replace all components if they haven't been replaced in past. Also check to determine if there is a wooden "backer plate" between the interior of the hull & thru hull nut; if it is present & rotted, it should also be replaced. Cut off the outside/mushroom surface of the thru hull fitting with a powered grinder & abrasive wheel or disc. Disconnect the hose on the inside of the boat & pull the remainder of the thru hull fitting, valve, & tail piece from inside the boat. (approximately 15 minutes). Clean up the hole in the hull & remove all remaining sealer with sand paper & wipe with acetone. Dry fit new thru hull fitting & valve to ensure the valve handle is oriented in a convenient location. I mask the hull surface surrounding the hole to ease cleanup of excess 3M4200 that I use to seat/seal the thru hull fitting (40 minutes). I use Permatex pipe thread sealant on the remaining thread surfaces. Preferrable to have someone on the outside holding the fitting in position to prevent movement while you are tightening the thru hull nut on the inside of the boat. Install the valve & tailpiece (30 minutes). Allow the entire assembly to set up for at least 24 hours; be sure to read 3M label for ambient temperature setting times. Install the new hose & two clamps on each hose end. (15 minutes) & be sure to check for leaks when the boat is splashed.
This job can be done in 30-40 minutes by an experienced worker. Also, you can do this without a helper if you have the appropriate step wrench; however, I recommend a helper. This procedure is for removal & replacement of bronze fittings. If your Catalina has Marelon fittings, you should consult with a source familiar with those fittings.
Be aware that everyone has their favorite sealants to perform this task, I only mentioned what I prefer; however, there are many sealants to consider.
I was hoping to post a positive update as I went over to the boatyard again, but another boat owner in the yard started grinding out blisters on my hull without asking me. He just walked up with a drill while I was epoxying, wanted to show me how easy it is apparently (I did not know him before, he just walked up with a drill)
Is this normal?
I’ve been set back a week because of this and stressed about what else he might do to my boat.
Since I may really be stuck in the boatyard now, how hard would it be to winterize the boat? Am i just draining the engine and tanks?
Is this normal?
I’ve been set back a week because of this and stressed about what else he might do to my boat.
Since I may really be stuck in the boatyard now, how hard would it be to winterize the boat? Am i just draining the engine and tanks?
Man, your luck just keeps getting worse….i hope the other boat owner was just trying to be helpful. But I am sure if you said, “please don’t touch the boat, I will ask for help when I need it” he won’t.
Winterizing isn’t too hard…here is what I do on Tally Ho…
Before starting, pump out holding tank.
1) Potable water system
If you can bypass the water heater, drain it and bypass it. Pour several gallons of pink RV antifreeze in the water tanks (you need to add some to any water tanks your boat has). Turn on the water pump, and open each hot and cold tap on every faucet (one at a time) until the pink AF runs from the faucets.
2) Toilet
Open the thru-hull for water intake. Open the strainer, suck put water with a shop vac. Remove hose from strainer to toilet pump, and stick end of hose in a gallon jug of AF. Pump toilet until pink AF flows in to the bowl. If you don’t know that the holding tank is empty, add more AF. Pour some AF in the strainer, reattach hose. Leave thru-hull open.
3) Engine
Open thru-hull for water intake. Of you can stick a hose on the thru hull from outside, and suck AF through the engine, that is best. I have do remove the hose between the strainer and engine, and stick it in a gallon jug of AF. Then start the engine and suck 2 gallons of AF through the engine. That should be plenty. I suck the water out of the strainer, and fill with AF. Leave the thru-hull open.
4) Batteries
Make sure batteries are topped up with water and fully charged before hauling out. After haul out and engien is winterized, remove the ground wire from the batteries to prevent any parasitic draws. Batteries should be OK over the winter.p if in decent shape. If you are working ont he boat and have access to power. Leave them hooked up and turn on battery charger while at the marina (so you can use lights, stereo, etc while working).:
Each boat is a little unique, so use these instructions with a little caution. If you have any other system I haven’t mentioned, let us know.
Good luck with this strange odyssey.
Greg
Winterizing isn’t too hard…here is what I do on Tally Ho…
Before starting, pump out holding tank.
1) Potable water system
If you can bypass the water heater, drain it and bypass it. Pour several gallons of pink RV antifreeze in the water tanks (you need to add some to any water tanks your boat has). Turn on the water pump, and open each hot and cold tap on every faucet (one at a time) until the pink AF runs from the faucets.
2) Toilet
Open the thru-hull for water intake. Open the strainer, suck put water with a shop vac. Remove hose from strainer to toilet pump, and stick end of hose in a gallon jug of AF. Pump toilet until pink AF flows in to the bowl. If you don’t know that the holding tank is empty, add more AF. Pour some AF in the strainer, reattach hose. Leave thru-hull open.
3) Engine
Open thru-hull for water intake. Of you can stick a hose on the thru hull from outside, and suck AF through the engine, that is best. I have do remove the hose between the strainer and engine, and stick it in a gallon jug of AF. Then start the engine and suck 2 gallons of AF through the engine. That should be plenty. I suck the water out of the strainer, and fill with AF. Leave the thru-hull open.
4) Batteries
Make sure batteries are topped up with water and fully charged before hauling out. After haul out and engien is winterized, remove the ground wire from the batteries to prevent any parasitic draws. Batteries should be OK over the winter.p if in decent shape. If you are working ont he boat and have access to power. Leave them hooked up and turn on battery charger while at the marina (so you can use lights, stereo, etc while working).:
Each boat is a little unique, so use these instructions with a little caution. If you have any other system I haven’t mentioned, let us know.
Good luck with this strange odyssey.
Greg
Can we say destruction of property? If you have pics and proof, you might be able to take this guy to small claims court. Since you're paying through the nose already, I'd be reporting him to the yard
I think before we go to that kind of extreme, perhaps we should get some pictures of what the guy did. Could be he actually just helped... Might not have done anything that could be deemed "destructive".
dj
Sometimes you meet the weirdest people in a boatyard. Tell him to back off in a firm but cordial manner & if he becomes more of a problem, report to yard manager.
I want to make sure I understand this. You were standing there getting ready to or applying epoxy. A friendly "boat neighbor" comes up with a drill and says something like "Let me show you how easy it is to grind out a blister." You are standing there while he is offering his help. Did you say "STOP" or "DON"T TOUCH MY BOAT" or "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?" or any other such words to stop him? One could argue that when he said "Let me show you" he was asking you if it was okay and if you let him proceed without protesting you were agreeing to let him show you.
We've all been in situations where someone with more experience than us offers to help. Unless you clearly decline the help is he/she now at fault, especially if what he did (grind out the blister) was done correctly? If he wasn't aware that the action of him grinding out the blister was going to cause you a significant time delay and that you were in a hurry to get a "quick and dirty" temporary fix I am not sure your apparent inexperience in this type of work is his fault. You are in for a long and lonely period of boat ownership if when anyone offers to help you, you decline or hold them accountable when things go wrong. Yes, sometimes, they can screw up and you "pay the price" and sometimes they need to be held accountable but without more info I am not sure this is one of those situations.
We've all been in situations where someone with more experience than us offers to help. Unless you clearly decline the help is he/she now at fault, especially if what he did (grind out the blister) was done correctly? If he wasn't aware that the action of him grinding out the blister was going to cause you a significant time delay and that you were in a hurry to get a "quick and dirty" temporary fix I am not sure your apparent inexperience in this type of work is his fault. You are in for a long and lonely period of boat ownership if when anyone offers to help you, you decline or hold them accountable when things go wrong. Yes, sometimes, they can screw up and you "pay the price" and sometimes they need to be held accountable but without more info I am not sure this is one of those situations.
Oh My.
If a stranger observed you kissing your SO, and proceeded to step in plant a series of kisses on him/her/them to show you how to kiss.... would you accept that, too?
I mean, really.... Tell him to get the flock away from your boat/car/spouse/etc, then repair the damage and send him the bill.
(And, no, I have never seen behavior like in 40 years of hanging around boatyards. Unwanted advice is common, but laying hands or tools on another persons property should never happen.)
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 21,868
I am guessing here. I think you have about 18 or so days of nice weather to prep your boat. The weather forecast for the PacificNW shows the presence of a strong Pacific High-pressure cell which will produce mild conditions.
Follow the ideas shared by Greg to safely get through winter. By all means, drain the water out of the boat. The diesel is fine left in the tanks.
A hard freeze (you know, when the winds blow down the Fraser Gap) is what gets most boat water systems. I figure that happens after Mid-November.
Follow the ideas shared by Greg to safely get through winter. By all means, drain the water out of the boat. The diesel is fine left in the tanks.
A hard freeze (you know, when the winds blow down the Fraser Gap) is what gets most boat water systems. I figure that happens after Mid-November.
I think the odd encounter last week with my hull being sanded/ground unexpectedly paid off, many of the blisters have been removed and seemed dry enough, so Ive started painting the hull with a barrier coat! I think the hull may be painted fairly soon!
Since I have torqued the keel bolts (I have the smile) i got the back 4 torqued to spec, but the front three seem to not hold the torque (i can get it up to around 60-80lbs but the torque seems to drop when i stop) no cracking of the gelcoat but i do see a few drips of water coming out of the smile after torquing. Am I looking at another big project, or could I patch this up and wait until spring?
If you mean 'no reports', you might want to change the wording to *"very seldom" ... as there was a time in the 70's when they were using a plywood reinforcement in the the sump. Keel bolts when thru that and a thinner-than-optimal layup. The plywood rotted. Not sure if any keel totally fell off, but fixing them was time and money consuming.
An early -70's - Catalina 30 really needs an informed survey before a purchase. Carefully inspect that (very common) "shoebox" type of hull/deck joint also. Out of a large production run there was a report in the early 80's of one (but only one) that sunk off of SF, in large seas due to that seam opening up when the hull was knocked on its side by the seas; all were rescued safely.
Perspective: many production boats have had areas of weakness that showed up one or more decades later. The 'trick' is to build 'em just strong enough but not one dollar stronger in a market where the mass builders were/are in a constant race to the bottom to maintain a thin profit margin.
* There was also the early-production O'Day 30 that totally lost its keel due to similar build problem, in Texas. Rare occurrences tho, considering how many sailboats were built to capitalize on the gas shortages in the 70's, and good surveyors know what to look for.
Opinion: finding an older sailboat worth restoring is actually easier than locating a good surveyor. Unfortunately.
The C30's, and if I'm not mistaken, other Catalinas, used wood until 86 or 87 when the Mark II came outIf you mean 'no reports', you might want to change the wording to *"very seldom" ... as there was a time in the 70's when they were using a plywood reinforcement in the the sump. Keel bolts when thru that and a thinner-than-optimal layup. The plywood rotted. Not sure if any keel totally fell off, but fixing them was time and money consuming.
An early -70's - Catalina 30 really needs an informed survey before a purchase. Carefully inspect that (very common) "shoebox" type of hull/deck joint also. Out of a large production run there was a report in the early 80's of one (but only one) that sunk off of SF, in large seas due to that seam opening up when the hull was knocked on its side by the seas; all were rescued safely.
Perspective: many production boats have had areas of weakness that showed up one or more decades later. The 'trick' is to build 'em just strong enough but not one dollar stronger in a market where the mass builders were/are in a constant race to the bottom to maintain a thin profit margin.
* There was also the early-production O'Day 30 that totally lost its keel due to similar build problem, in Texas. Rare occurrences tho, considering how many sailboats were built to capitalize on the gas shortages in the 70's, and good surveyors know what to look for.
Opinion: finding an older sailboat worth restoring is actually easier than locating a good surveyor. Unfortunately.
You are correct on both points.
The switch away from plywood in the keel stub did start around 87 give or take a year.
And I agree there are no reports of a Catalina 30 keel falling off due to failure of the keel stub.
O'day had issues with a later production 302 or 320 model where the fiberglass layup was made too thin and failed on a few boats that is well documented.
@aftica_1 Nice progress. Go sailing, enjoy the boat and keep an eye on the keel issue, specifically are the keel bolts sinking into the fiberglass at the bottom of the keel. It may need a repair later when you have the time and funds.
What I don't understand is the torque dropping. That implies that something is moving - it could be the bolt is breaking or the attachment is somehow not stable. Perhaps the hull is compressing or the keel attachment is sliding - neither are good things.
That is not a good sign and one I would definitely want to sort out.
dj