South African "Catalina" 22
- Thread starter greg_m
- Start date
Wish i had a "buck" for every time I been asked that! Seriously though working towards our December/January holidays for launching.
I'm currently stripping the deck down to good surface by belt and random orbital sanders... which ever one works and fits in the spaces. The moulded in non-skid is proving much harder to sand off than imagined... so going is a bit slow and it really eats away at the sanding belts. About a third of the way. Unfortunately the deck shows crazing and cracking all over so looking to put down a layer of CSM and polyester resin similar to what Andy from Boatworks Today did on that deck he did. Then fairing what needs to be faired and applying paint like I did to the hull. Will be using Kiwigrip or similar for new non-skid depending on whats locally available.
At the point where it's get enough done to pass "seaworthy" and get her floating. Then use the boat and enjoy the boat while doing smaller jobs during non-sailing weather. Like: sanding and painting the entire interior (except the deckhead and coach roof inside), making all new bulkheads and wood trim pieces, making new table and seat back rest, making new hatch covers for the storage compartments, recover the cushions, restore the old sliding galley.
Not sure what you mean. A right hand thread remains a right hand thread no matter which way the bolt is oriented.
My boat had no weldments at all. Just a bolt pushed down through a hole in the hull from the inside. Sailing on False Bay can get quite hectic quite rapidly (Wind forecast software/websites are not always accurate and what was a quiet morning going out sailing can turn into 30+ knots and white caps in the afternoon) so the bolts arrangement is not satisfactory in my opinion. I want to upgrade the fastening method but never expected the "bent bolt scenario"!
Wow no weldments..... a couple of steel straps, flatten out (fill) the area over the current holes redrill, nuts and washers to fasten might even be able to leave inspection ports or pin the nuts to keep em from loosening. The one thing I don’t like on the 22 is no good way to inspect the keel hanger bolts. I’ll be really interested in your fix!
Keel slot update: So the time has come to put the top back onto the keel slot (center board casing). I had to cut the top off the "sleeve" I made and installed inside the original slot in order to remove the mold. There was also some space between the original slot and the sleeve which needed to be filled. To do that I made up a runny mix of epoxy laminating resin and silica powder filer material to add body/structure to the resin. I then heated the mix up to thin it out and poured it into the cavity.
Once that had settled and hardened overnight I then shaped the original top portion I cut off. I ground away the joining edge to a taper and cleaned out the gel coat internally. I then epoxy coated it and filled the void space with a mixture of resin/silica filler/chopped glass fibers. Then I put the top in place and pressed it down till the faces along the cut met. There was some squeeze out so I'm happy the void space is full.
This was now allowed to cure for a couple of days.
Once that had settled and hardened overnight I then shaped the original top portion I cut off. I ground away the joining edge to a taper and cleaned out the gel coat internally. I then epoxy coated it and filled the void space with a mixture of resin/silica filler/chopped glass fibers. Then I put the top in place and pressed it down till the faces along the cut met. There was some squeeze out so I'm happy the void space is full.
This was now allowed to cure for a couple of days.
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Keel slot casing update: So after a few days of setting and hardening of the epoxy adhesive for the top portion I ground away the lower joint area to match the taper of the upper part. I had to buy a new angle grinder tool. his is the third angle grinder so far!
The reason for tapering the joint area was to make allowance for a decent thickness of new epoxy/glass cloth layup covering the joint area. I first applied a layer of resin/silica filler/glass chopped fibers to fill in the actual joint area. This was to provide a good solid surface for the tape to wrap around and bond with. I used 3" wide woven glass fiber tape for this job along with the laminating epoxy resin. The photos show the job half way done.
In total I laid up about 8 layers overlapping each other around the entire joint area. I did this over several days to allow the resin to harden without becoming to thick and actually cooking if done all in one go. This top part of the casing will have to absorb all the sideways forces from the keel so I went a little overboard to ensure sufficient surface area and thickness for strength in the joint.
The reason for tapering the joint area was to make allowance for a decent thickness of new epoxy/glass cloth layup covering the joint area. I first applied a layer of resin/silica filler/glass chopped fibers to fill in the actual joint area. This was to provide a good solid surface for the tape to wrap around and bond with. I used 3" wide woven glass fiber tape for this job along with the laminating epoxy resin. The photos show the job half way done.
In total I laid up about 8 layers overlapping each other around the entire joint area. I did this over several days to allow the resin to harden without becoming to thick and actually cooking if done all in one go. This top part of the casing will have to absorb all the sideways forces from the keel so I went a little overboard to ensure sufficient surface area and thickness for strength in the joint.
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I started to sand the deck down as well. Unfortunately the gelcoat shows the same crazing and cracking as every other inch of the bladdy boat! I killed the belt sander so the deck sand has stopped till the new months budget allows to buy a new one
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I am thoroughly impressed with your dedication to fix this boat.....
Rather than sanding through the gelcoat, have you thought about a single layer of CSM?
I have watched every single video from Andy since I got this boat... in fact I think I can blame hime for me actually buying this boat with the notion of fixing it up!
Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do! It is however going to be required to sand back as much of the "rot" as possible so the cracking and crazing does not propagate through the new top layer.
Some sailing fun between restoring my old boat!
Tour de Vlei 2018: I entered this long distance dinghy sailing event. The "lake" is around 6klm long and around 2klm wide. The course sailed is a rectangular course. The weather at Voelvlei (pronounced: fewel-flay) is extreme... ie: eith way strong winds or nothing at all! This weekend it was way strong...
The water gets quiet rough when the wind blows... check out the video I put together of the event.
Tour de Vlei 2018: I entered this long distance dinghy sailing event. The "lake" is around 6klm long and around 2klm wide. The course sailed is a rectangular course. The weather at Voelvlei (pronounced: fewel-flay) is extreme... ie: eith way strong winds or nothing at all! This weekend it was way strong...
The water gets quiet rough when the wind blows... check out the video I put together of the event.
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Greg awesome video!!!! Cherish the time spent with your boy doing something as simple as sailing. I had a big ole smile every time he “who hoo’d” or was hiking out with you.
Can you install a suction bailer in your dinghy? Our lightning had one and made short work of excess water in the boat during a race
Can you install a suction bailer in your dinghy? Our lightning had one and made short work of excess water in the boat during a race
I've done a couple Anderson bailers to replace old worn ones. Should be an easy upgrade with your talent
It's not so much the talent as finding the time. Between actually sailing the dinghy boat, working on my keel boat and trying to maintain a cohesive social family life - never mind actual work - time is "becoming few" as the local saying goes!
Cockpit drains: So ever since the boat has been standing here in my front yard this big ass tree has deposited its leaves into the cockpit sole. The predominant wind, a strong south easterly that can blow for weeks in excess of 20 to 30 knots, makes sure every loose pine stalk and whatever else the tree gives up makes it's way into the cockpit sole.
So since the tree is going nowhere and since this is where the boat will live, between outings to sail that is, I have to make a plan with the puny drains. I originally decided on zero through hull fittings for this boat. It used to have four... yep four! One for the galley drain, one for strbrd cockpit drain, one of port cockpit drain and the keel lifting cable hole. Those, except for the keel cable hole, were all removed and sealed permanently. So effectively I now scoop water out the boat every time it rains!
Enough I tell you... enough!
So since the tree is going nowhere and since this is where the boat will live, between outings to sail that is, I have to make a plan with the puny drains. I originally decided on zero through hull fittings for this boat. It used to have four... yep four! One for the galley drain, one for strbrd cockpit drain, one of port cockpit drain and the keel lifting cable hole. Those, except for the keel cable hole, were all removed and sealed permanently. So effectively I now scoop water out the boat every time it rains!
Enough I tell you... enough!
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Cockpit drains: It has been suggested before and has been on my mind since closing the through hull holes to modify the cockpit sole to drain through the transom! So contemplating that in these next few pictures.
I'm still not done closing up the rear part of the cockpit because this cockpit sole mod has been on my mind anyways. Using the water level gauge I worked out that I need to lower the rear end of the cockpit by around 7cm or 3 inches. This worked out to needing to cut away some of the inner lining running down the strbrd side where the sliding galley ... well, slides. The way the lining is molded it fits underneath the cockpit sole and forms part of the inner lining for the storage compartment under the cockpit sole.
I'm still not done closing up the rear part of the cockpit because this cockpit sole mod has been on my mind anyways. Using the water level gauge I worked out that I need to lower the rear end of the cockpit by around 7cm or 3 inches. This worked out to needing to cut away some of the inner lining running down the strbrd side where the sliding galley ... well, slides. The way the lining is molded it fits underneath the cockpit sole and forms part of the inner lining for the storage compartment under the cockpit sole.
