Creaks and Groans

[vegatern]

The cabinetwork on he Tern talks to me as I sail. Nothing
intelligible of course, mostly just creaks and groans, and I have seen
comments about this somewhere, though I can't remember where. It must
be the hull is flexing and the cabinets are moving with the hull. I
assume this is normal and acceptable, or should I be thinking of
adding stringers or frames? Per Brohal noted somewhere that if the
boat were to be sailed hard, in extreme cases, that additional
strengthening could be added in the bows, and I know some Vegas have
been beefed up. Is this something that I should be thinking about or
is the creaking normal. I have not enough experience on other boats,
Vegas or others, to know. Craig #1519

 

[pjacobs55]

Craig,
All the Vega woodwork is attached to the bulkheads with wood screws.
The bulkheads are attached to the hull flanges with small bolts, nuts,
and washers.

Over the years these may loosen up, and the holes in the wood enlarge.
May I suggest getting a couple of wrenches, or better yet a box-end
wrench and a socket wrench, and tighten every one of those bolts you
can reach, which should be most of them.

Then check around for missing or loose screws, especially where the
settee bottoms and v-berth bottom are attached to the hull flanges.

This should quiet down the 'ship' sounds considerably, with a minimum
of cost. My opinion is that if your boat has survived this long without
added stringers you probably don't need them now.

Hope this helps.

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha' and 'Sin Squeaks'

 

[albinvega1865]

Hi Everyone!

I was working on my boat yesterday (preparing it for our move north), and was using rubbing compound on the transom, when I discovered some raised sections. I was first concerned about this thinking that perhaps these raised areas were caused by stress to the glass or perhaps a past repair that I was not aware of. In any event, I pressed my face against the transom to see if I might get a better assessment of what it was that I was feeling, and to my surprise, i began to see the very feint outline of lettering. I believe that the Letters were :

BITZELI

And her home port was Falmouth Forside, which is where we have our mooring. What are the chances of that?!??! Is there anyone out there that knows the history of this boat, or have any advice on how I might track down her "genealogy" so to speak? She is hull # 1865.

Thanks
Chris