South African "Catalina" 22

greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
The mast step support update:

The original mast step support was also needing attention. Years of water had gotten in through the mast step bolts and rotted the wood inside. I only wanted to cut out the necessary part to replace the wood in way of the mast step support area. I found a rather large cavity between the lining and the actual deck cabin roof and sides. I decided to fill this with urathane foam. You can see previous photos. The area is much more solid now and will offer stronger support I hope. I replaced the actual wood with 12mm waterproof ply wood. Then I added a "contour piece" of 6mm waterproof plywood to try and get back to original size/shape of the inner lining. This was then all heavily bonded in with epoxy adhesive and the filleted, sanded and shaped and then finally covered with two layers of CSM glass matt from one side to the other of the cabin roof.

This job also started way back in September 2017!
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Another job that needed sorting was the cabin ventilation ports in the cabin roof either side of the companionway hatch opening. A really cruddy job was done of trying to seal the joint internally with epoxy putty. These putty filled joints were cracked and had pieces missing exposing the laminate wood core to water ingress.

I used my router to cut out the putty as best I could followed by a simple chisel and hammer exercise. Once the joint was cleaned out I filled it with "peanut butter" filler. This was then sanded to finish off the hole. The "shroud" piece that fits on the outside presumably to stop water flowing down the hole was so badly damaged that I had to use epoxy adhesive to glue it in place which I then reinforced with a layer of CSM glass mat.

This was then all sanded as best and edges radius-ed in preparation for the gel coat.
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Ok... so then there was no more excuses for not getting on with the new gelcoat layer to paint the inside of the cabin roof with. I had to uses cheapo double sided tape to stick the old plexiglass windows back in place to keep the wind and dust out while trying to apply the pristine white gelcoat/topcoat.

I first used a brush to smooth on a thick layer around the window openings and cut into the corners along the rear bulkeads. I then used lots of disposable foam rollers to apply onto all the other surfaces. Its is amazing how much volume of gelcoat is required to cover over an area sufficiently to hide whats underneath as well as have a decent solid layer. I went through 4kg's of gelcoat to complete the job!

I'm happy with the results and am very glad to tick of this deck re-lamination and painting job as completed.

Now to just finish off in the rear compartments along the hull deck joint and the transom that I started so long ago but never fully completed. Then there is the port side hull fairing and coating to complete. So lots more work to do before I can roll the boat back upright. :dancing:
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Okay... so if you are wondering what has happened to the work on the boat, I have been playing around in my new toy... an Extra sailing dinghy of at least 40 years old or more. The dinghy s an old South African design and is made from plywood. I missed the sailing (my C/J22 is taking longer than expected) and a friend wanted to offload this boat. I purchased it from him "as is" with the knowledge that it leaked water and needed a refurb!

I seem to like taking on projects! Sailing the boat proved that there was indeed a water leak to the point of needing to keep the self balers open full time! But it sure was very pleasant being out on the water again... last time I sailed a dinghy was about 30+ years ago!
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
On my last outing everything started out well, the wind was around 14 knots and steady. Man, after about 30 minutes on the water the South Easter just pulled in and ripped through the area upwards of 35 knots! I got capsized in the middle of the lake, the wind drove the boat over and the mast stuck in the mud. While trying to get onto the center board to pull the boat upright I just heard crunch/crack from inside the hull... the center board casing had literally sheared off split in half! I hailed some help from a kayaker who happened to be getting blown past me and eventually with his help got the mast out of the water, drifted to the shallows where I could stand and then hauled the boat upright. I furled the jib and we sailed down wind for the club slipway under the main only, gunwales just barely above the water!

Assessing the damage it was not possible or safe to sail the boat without repairs to the center board casing. Nothing for it but to take the boat home and fix it...

The PO before the guy I bought the boat from had gone and applied CSM glass cloth over the keel area of the boat onto painted surface. He also somehow thought that silicone sealant can stick wet wood parts together! See the pictures with the arrows in red.

I must have spent about 20 back breaking hours with a heat gun and scraper removing the fiberglas cloth and three different colour layers of paint to expose the original wooden structure.

I found the keel log split from the center board casing going forward under the mast step and into the forward watertight compartment.... where the water was coming in. lots of work to do...
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update on the Extra dinghy...
The keel log was split from the centerboard casing going forward. It took me a while to decide on what to do. Jus slapping on fiberglass and resin to completely replacing the keel log wood piece was the range of options.

Eventually I decided to rout out the major portion of the crack and install a new solid piece of wood using the same epoxy adhesive I previously used on my 22 hull deck joint. The routing was tricky because there is not a single straight or level surface to guide the router on but I did manage... sort of. I cut a 12mm groove with a straight edge bit completely through the damaged wood inside the cockpit of the boat and then stepped it up shallower as I worked the router forward.

It all worked out well, the new solid wood is well bonded in place, planed down to level and sand to final shape. Finally I applied a wide strip of fiberglass tape with epoxy laminating resin to the front section of the hull.

New centerboard casing next...
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update on the Extra dinghy:

After sanding down the wooden structures as best as efforts would allow I had a little fairing to join at the old wood joints for side panels as well as on the port forward quarter where the boat was in a previous collision/poor repair job done. I then used fiberglass tape to close all the joints and reinforce the edges along the bottom and side of the hull on the outside. The wood is so old and in places I can scratch it to powder with a thumb nail... so reinforcement is required for extending the life of this old wooden boat.

And then as if I did not get enough punishment with my C/J22 during the hull shething operation I decided to glass cloth and epoxy coat the dinghy as well. Here my neighbour freind and myself are busy laying down the cloth and epoxy coating it. A whole long marathon job into the late dark hours!

It turned out ok and although it added about 2 kg's to the overall weight of the boat I am well happy with the sturdy results.
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update on Extra dinghy:

After the hull covering job was completed it was time to replace the damaged rub rail on the forward port quarter. I had to manufacture a new section from solid wood locally available. The original wood was Mahogany which is beutiful and extremely hard however not easily available at accessible prices! I will have to stain the new piece of wood to mach original.

You will see a section of "pink" colour which is the epoxy based fairing compound I used to repair the damaged plywood side panel. The panel was cracked (from a collision I assume) and I was not interested in replacing the entire side panel. So with fairing and then covering with epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth I am satisfied with the repair, it's waterproof and strong enough!

I'm very happy with the results thus far.
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update Extra dinghy:

After sheathing I decided to coat the hull with epoxy as used to make surfboards. The original colour as purchased was yellow and the general feedback from all who I asked was = yellow. So I duly purchased yellow pigment to add to the epoxy resin. The overall result is that the colour is a little translucent... you can still see the underlying wood texture but I have already added 4 coats. I have called it enough as adding more coats was not making the colour any more solid... just making it a deeper translucent yellow = each coat was 500g!

I am busy measuring up for new bunks on the dolly in these photos.
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update Extra dinghy:

In these photos I am busy making a new center board casing from scratch using the old one as a template. The old casing was just to far rotted in places to reuse. I decided to epoxy/glass cloth and topcoat with white all the internal casing surfaces. Once cured I sanded all to shape and then using left over epoxy adhesive from my C/J22 project I bonded all parts together. Then final cutting to size, shaping and sanding was done. Here is the new casing being test fitted on the boat. I had to cut away some of the old wood in the hull and keel timber to make the slot for the casing wider as my new casing is slightly wider.

Next is to build up the casing's support structure...
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update Extra dinghy:

The casing support structure started with the lower longitudinal battens that bond the casing lower sides to the keel timber. I spent some time measuring and cutting/planing/sanding to shape and fit. There is actually not a single straight line or surface on the boat (except for the centerboard casing sides)! Everything is custom fit! Used paving bricks to weight the battens down while they were being bonded with epoxy adhesive. Very reluctant to drill holes and add screws. I had to make temporary cross member supports to ensure the casing actually lines up vertical with the hull vertical. Don't ask me how I did this but it involved lots of eyeballing, chocking of dolley wheels and various form of alignment tools including a builders line laser!

Left this to cure for a couple of days. During this time I spent an excessively long time planning how I was going to build the support structure and blend in the cross members, the thwart seat, mast step support; tie this into the forward bulkhead and the internal not-so-vertical-and-concave sides of the cockpit in a user friendly yet functional manner.

I am making progress but the plotting and planning is slow...
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update Extra dinghy:

Making a new centerboard as I am unable to straighten the original (not-so-original) aluminium sheet centerboard. 12mm waterproof marine plywood cut and sanded to shape and profile using old one as a template. I then laminated it with a piece of carbon fiber cloth I have had lying around for around five years! The layer you can see is a "peel ply" cloth that I used to prevent the plastic sheet from adhering to the carbon fiber layup during the curing process while clamped between two heavy flat planks to ensure the centerboard does now warp or develop a twist during the initial layup curing.

So far so good but need to build up thickness to fit the centerboard casing. So still a job in progress!
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update Extra dinghy:

So after much deliberation, plotting and planning I have come up with a plan to build a frame structure around the center board casing to support it and supply some more structural integrity without adding to much more weight.

I have tried to recycle as much of the really nice wood left from the tear down of the original structure. Obviously also trying to stick as close to original design but increasing the scantlings a bit to avoid a recurrence of the thing breaking again.

My woodworking skills are being honed for sure and will stand me in good stead when I get back to tackling the C/J22!

Waiting for epoxy adhesive to cure...
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Update Extra dinghy:

So I next made a top cover for the centerboard casing from a solid plank of Meranti wood. Routed out the solid wood piece to fit over the top of the casing with a slot for the actual centerboard. I also extended this top cover through the front bulkhead to get extra support. Probably overkill but at least I will feel better about all the load applied to the keel log from the mast as well as the centerboard.

I also had to plane down the side planks as they worked out to be to thick... wider than the top plank. Then I used a router to round off the edges to soften all the edges.

And yes that is a very neglected South African Catalina 22 project in the background!
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Hi Guys... a little bit of news: My daughter and her husband have made me another grandson richer! It's been a bit chaotic with helping them buy a house, dealing with estate agents/brokers/bankers/lawyers etc etc, and the birth of there second child but I did manage to get some more boat work done, albeit not on the C/J22! The the oldest boy is my first grandson and he will be 5 in June, the baby being his little brother and my second grandson... just two days old!

The work on the boat amounted to adding doublers to the inside of the cockpit sides to reiforce where the seat/center board casing support will go. I have moved the seat further aft so there is no built in support at this part of the cockpit. Then I had to hand sand and shape cleat blocks to support he seat plank onto, glue them in place and then the same with the actual seat plank. Sand a bit, check, sand a bit more, check again routine. Eventually it fitted well and I was happy. Then I glued and screwed the seat plank in place and finished it off with the router and sanding machines.

Next is the forward end cross brace for the center board casing!
 

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greg_m

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May 23, 2017
692
Catalina Jaguar 22 Simons Town
Extra dinghy update:

After doing some work on the front center board casing cross support beam I changed course a bit. I started to tackle scraping off and sanding the entire inside area of the cockpit = side walls and floors. This with a view to add fiber glass tape into all the joints and then sealing the wood with an epoxy coat followed up with a few layers of varnish. A heat gun and scraper proved to be the most effective method of removing all the old varnish, resin and silicone sealant the PO had applied. This took some time, effort and lots of patience but eventually got it all done. Routine was scrape off a small area, vacuum up the waste bits then scrape of some more!

I'm really looking forward to dealing with all the wood work on the 22!
 

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