Editors Ramblings
Dairy Dates
Winter Laying Up
Launching Dolly
Thoughts on Safety
Ventilation Hatches
Tales of “Two Bears”
Coach Roof Repairs
Letters
Wanted
Chairman - Position vacant
Treasurer - Thelma Pack
Newsletter Editor & Secretary - Tim Ball
Well its that time of year when most of us are running through the eternal (or should that be infernal) list making sure that all the important winter tasks are well in hand. You can read about some of our winter jobs and how we got on elsewhere. This issue is mainly maintenance, but we have a holiday cruise report to help keep the enthusiasm going. As always I need articles, no articles no newsletter. You are all likely to receive a respite from my articles for a couple of issues as I will be committed to a new family member for a while. I will still produce the news letters and hope the next will be ready in July.
I have to apologise for the lack of pictures with the coachroof hatch, launching dolly article and also the finished coach roof repair to “Sitting Bull” . The film jumped the winding sprocket in the camera so I was merrily clicking away on the same piece of film, I promise to include them in the next newsletter.
For those of you that haven’t see Jan with the helicopter rig this was printed in a local newspaper back in 1986. This was kindly given to me by Ken from his archives.
This years Round the Island race is on the 20th June, we have a good past history in this race and some very credible lap times. If you are planning on entering, many of the other multihulls entered gather at the Folly Inn on the Friday night before the race and I know that any IOA members would be warmly welcomed.
MOCRA now has a web page at the following address: (superseded - please see link on home page - Webmaster)it contains information on a whole host of multihull related topics and the latest racing news and gossip.
Mike Butterfield is planning to race his Apache Rosie in the RWYC Round Britain and Ireland Race (for those of you that remember you will understand there’s some unsettled business) which starts on the 7th June in Plymouth. I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing him the best of luck and fair winds.
Finally thank you to those of you who have sent in your subscriptions, and another reminder for those who haven’t!
I need to hear from anyone planning to attend the June meet, this is the last newsletter before then and I only know of one or two members who have expressed interest in attending. If I don’t hear anything by the end of April I will assume no one wants to attend. The two south coast venues and dates could be altered by demand if required.
7th and 8th June South coast meet - Bembridge contact Tim Ball - 01962-880353
20th June - The Round the Island race contact The Island Sailing Club - 01983 296621
23rd and 24th August South coast - Chichester contact - Tim Ball 01962-880353
26th and 27th September East Coast - Royal Harwich Yacht Club contact - Bob Hawkins 01480-890376
All boats are, of course, designed to be supported in water and like all amphibians on land lose their grace and become gawky and awkward. The catamaran has the advantage of being as much as a third lighter than a monohull and provide more positive load bearing positions. Sailcraft issued a drawing of support and lifting points but I have not seen one for years. (If you’ve got one please could we copy it for our archives. Tim). (Please see the Autumn 1976 Newsletter - Webmaster)
The straddle hoist has considerably improved lift out. The straps should be distanced between cabin upstand at deck level. If a crane is used it should have a cruciform producing at least 13’16" width lift so as not to pinch the hull at rubbing strake level. Unlike the straddle the crane needs the mast removed and details of this are contained in July 1996 newsletter.
Setting the boat down on hard standing is not a problem. Each of the 4 points will receive a load of about ¾ of a ton but care should be taken that a good level is achieved on at least 4/12"x12" bearings before the load is released. Finally a prop fore and aft and an intermediate support to each hull can be inserted with folding wedges.
Soft ground is not so easy and should be constantly checked. It is possible for the boat to take up only two bearings which then receive 1 ½ tons in a punching load to the hull and produce considerable twisting stresses throughout.
For what it is worth my experience over 20 years on a soft ground at Shoreham was that two simple planks under the boat gave me the easiest method. I started with an aluminium scaffold frame and 4 screw jacked shoes and whilst very impressive needed constant attention and jacking.
I floated the two 13’ planks with polypropylene ropes each end out with the dinghy. From the deck submerged the planks with the boat hook and pulled them into position and secured them with the ropes to the stanchion plates each side. In the chosen position on 2’0” square pads of scaffold ply formed 14" square piles of bricks at the corners of a 10’0” square. On a spring tide floated the boat over. As she settled with the ebb the weight equalled out on the soft bottom. With a 2 ton hydraulic lorry jack the boat could then a raised and levelled off with packing under the planks.
- Ken Pack
During last season we had been looking for a new mooring and winter storage for Jan. After much searching we came across an ad for Southampton Sailing Club in Practical Boat Owner magazine. This seemed to fit the bill and the only problem was that we had to arrange our own recovery. This in the past has been quite expensive, it seems on the south coast the average cost of a one way lift is around £100.
This started me thinking about launching dollies, there were two basic options, bridge deck support or hull support. Much doodling later we chose the bridge deck option, mainly due to logistics, a 13 foot wide 20 foot long dolly would be rather cumbersome!! The only problem with the bridge deck option was finding suitable axles, we wanted to be able to steer the trailer due to the length. For this we needed a pair of van front axles. The only ones that will fit that are generally available are from the Sherpa van. There are several specialist Sherpa van breakers around the country and we tracked down a pair with wheels for £120. You should shop around as there was a large variation in the prices quoted.
We bolted the axles to two 15 foot x 6”x3 ½” Steel RSJ’s, on top of this we put a pair of cross bars with legs down to the RSJ’s made from 4”x4” timber. These then have a pair of 16‘ x 8”x 2” boards for the bridge deck to rest on, and a pair of 4”x2” rails to guide her on bolted to the end of the cross bars.
We used 3 inch steel angle to make up tabs to bolt all the frame and supports to, and a pair of 4”x2” box sections were welded above each axle in between the RSJ’s. This provides the mounting for the draw bar which needs to be around 18 feet long at one end and a short steering bar at the other. I would recommend getting a professional welder to do the welding for you, we have a portable welder but this struggles with the ¼” steel RSJ’s and angle due to lack of power.
The idea is to have the ‘T’ bars line up under the mast support frame and the rear cross beam.
As you can see from the pictures (next issue I promise) it is a fairly large beast and quite heavy to boot. We transported it on a car trailer which was only just long enough. Cost comes in at around £500 and is broken down as follows £120 Axles and wheels, £170 RSJ’s and other steel, £70 Timber, £80 welding and £60 for miscellaneous bits like nuts and bolts and odds and ends for the towing/steering mechanism. Although this may seem quite expensive it pays for itself quickly in craneage costs and for us it also means we can take advantage of the club’s cheaper winter storage, which reduces the pay back time even further.
Since writing the above we put it to the test one Friday in January, and even though I say so myself it worked rather well. The steering was hopeless, too much slack in the linkage, but the backup 6’ steel tube worked with a little stopping and starting and this is all we will use in the future.
The Southampton Sailing club slip has a fairly shallow angle to it which makes it ideal. We started around 3 hours after high water with a gentle breeze. The only concern was the tide and wind were both going the same way, across the slip at 90 degrees. The process of getting Jan on the dolly went along the following lines: starting with rolling the dolly down the slip so that the most seaward end was the same distance clear of the water as the bridge deck clearance height. Next (optional) row out to the boat taking the wrong set of keys, then row back to the shore and fetch the correct set. The ease of the next bit will most likely depend on the tide and weather, but with a small amount of each board down and the rudders partly lifted (its easy with our dagger board style) drive the boat over the dolly. Dad was in the water in his wet suit (5mm Steamer) just to make sure she settled in the right place. The angle of the slip will make the beach end of the dolly fractionally higher than the bridge deck clearance and she needed a gentle blip of the engine to nestle her firmly in place. We opted to let the tide fall completely and scrubbed her bottom while we waited. The towing was fairly uneventful, being able to steer both ends was a real help in the compound as all the other boats were already in and our space was towards the back of the compound. We then just jacked up the dolly and chocked her off in the normal places.
You will need a vehicle with low range gears, crawling pace is as fast as you should go. Although we could climb abroad we were careful not to go to the bows or jump about to much as she was fairly top heavy once the water had gone from under her.
As a note to this article Ken expressed some concern about the loadings imposed by just supporting under the bridgedeck especially cantilever loads from the hulls.. We did give this fairly careful consideration at the outset and our reasons for thinking it would be Ok are as follows.:- The hull bulkheads spread and take much of any cantilever loads, and fore beam and backstays also help, we run a fairly light boat with little more than fixtures and fitting in the hulls . We also feel the boat should be able to stand far greater cantilever type loads than sitting on the dolly ie. beating hard with the leeward board down (not the recommended way but I’m sure we all do it at times) far better she falls apart on the slip than at sea. It should also be understood that she only rests on the dolly for the time it takes to get from the water to her intended lay-up site then she should be blocked up in the normal way.
Tim Ball
So I or the IOA don’t get sued at some later date I must stress that these are only my thoughts and you should make you own decisions as to what your requirements regarding safety are(as I’m sure you do).
When we bought Jan, she had rather a mixed bag of safety gear on board, for example she had an EIRPB but no flares and some extremely old life jackets. We now have what I think is a minimum suitable for the type of sailing we do which is mainly coastal with the odd over night trip. A good source of reference for the type of equipment that would be sensible is the MOCRA safety guidelines and the IMMCA (International Micro Multihull Class Association) safety equipment requirements which are well thought out. Most of what should be carried seems to me to be common sense but I had a few thoughts on some things we have added (or will be) to Jan.
Jackstays: we have a webbing stay fastened to the old Genoa pad eyes which runs outside the cap shrouds and inner forestay. I have also put a large pad eye in the middle bridgedeck bulk head so that when I sail on my own I can clip on to one place and do all the cockpit jobs without having to unclip. It does mean I have to twist around a bit so I don’t tie myself up in knots but it seems to work well. We have one of those new(ish) harness lines with the shock cord in which I like very much.
Although I have no intention of turning Jan over I feel I should be prepared. On this note we have the following planned:- A webbing jackstay under the bridge deck from the rear beam to the anchor locker and some deck grip patches in a bright colour. I have heard and can imagine that it is quite difficult to remain on a upturned bridge deck washed with water without some help. Another idea I like: boats racing under IMMCA rules (not us) are required to have some way of displaying the boat name and number regardless of which way up they maybe. Many boats combine this with the other requirement to have an area of high visibility paint or material, by having the boat name and number on a large bright piece of material which we favoured on our last boat. We are also looking into putting a small screw type hatch in the underside into the small port storage bin and fixing at least some flares, knife, torch and a few other bits in sealed boxes to the sides of the bin so that they can be accessed either way up.
The other thing that we will be putting some thought to is how to keep the anchor locker firmly shut and yet still quick and easy to open. The main reason behind this is to stop the anchor from being unnecessarily deployed if we were to capsize and hamper any recovery attempt.
If you have safety items or ideas that are peculiar to Sailcraft boats that might be of interest to other members please drop me a line.
Tim Ball
Jan has all fixed windows, which seemed to be a plus point at first as many owners seem to moan on about how much the opening ones leak. But things can get a bit hot and there’s no real way to get any useful airflow.
The only practical solution seemed to be to put a couple of small hatches in the coachroof. We didn’t want to go to large so opted for a pair of Lewmar size 20 ‘Trimlines’ (Seateach of Emsworth do very good deals on Lewmar hatches) one above the galley opening outwards and the other on the port side facing forwards between the mast and cap shroud.
They have to be fitted on a flat surface, so to achieve this I cut a panel just slightly larger than the hatch from a piece of chipboard. I then stretched a piece of plastic bin bag over it and stapled it on the other-side, this gave me a flat non-stick panel. Once you’ve chosen a spot for your hatch give it a good clean (soapy water then acitone once it’s dried) then draw around your panel. If you have lovely decks and aren’t going to coat them with a new non-slip coating (unlike us!) then you should mask around the line. Next mix up around a tennis ball size amount of your chosen filler, I used grey polyester filler from my local car accessory shop. Mix as the instructions say and spread evenly around the marked lines about ¼ of an inch inside the line worked for me. You will need to have a small spreader with a radius end we use wooden mixing sticks (medical tongue depressors). Next just lay your board on the filler lining it up with the outline and press evenly until the filler squeezes out. If you are putting the hatch on the coachroof the middle of the board will touch the coach roof. With your spreader remove any excess and fill any voids, then finish with a final drag to leave a fillet edge. With polyester fillers this gets a bit frantic as you will only have a couple of minutes working time and once it starts to ‘go’ then you’ve had it.
If you are mounting on a steep part of the coach roof you may need a couple of screws to hold it steady, but I found the polyester filler to be sticky enough to hold my board steady. After 15 minutes pop the board (the plastic should help) and with a sharp knife or chisel clean any really rough bits. If you find the filler hasn’t spread far enough in towards the centre for your hatch lip just add more filler using the existing edge as a guide, at this point also fill any voids.
To finish, sand using a long block or file which will span the whole area.
Finally mark out where the opening needs to be and cut using jigsaw with a toungston carbid blade. You should seal any exposed balsa core very carefully, if not you better put Andy’s article some where safe! We coated the core with epoxy. A quick lick of paint and you’re ready to fit your new hatch in place. My advice on sealers or beading compounds is buy the best you can afford, Sika Flex is what I swear by, it’s expensive but I have only had problems where I’ve used some other brand.
Tim Ball
In this life not everything goes to plan as we found out in April two days before we were due to set off in the van to travel by road to Greece , Terry went for a hair cut when he returned to the Car park his Van was not there ----- it had been stolen !!! It had been bought only a few months before , a Ford Transit Diesel, five speed gearbox, and a side loading door. These were all to help to make it a good camper van, lined out with carpet & a board across the back for a mattress we were all set. But Terry although very shocked & upset by the theft of his van decided that we should buy a 2nd hand estate car to replace our 14 year old Ford Escort which we had planned to replace in the autumn, just in the unlikely event of his van being recovered, & a tent ---------- just one week later we were on our way! It was very cold camping in the Austrian Alps in April but the snowy mountains were a wonderful sight. Terry was the driver & I was the navigator unfortunately I had a terrible cold & had almost lost my voice which made it quite difficult to hear my directions. We had a route map from the R.A.C. to avoid motorways which meant we were passing through a lot of busy towns in Italy, we had decided we were not in any rush so we camped near Venice and took a sight seeing trip through the canals of the ancient old city. We were taken to a glass making factory where the showrooms were glittering like "Alladins " cave, of course everything was very expensive but it was an interesting experience.
Onward onward south & getting warmer every day, we caught the Ferry from Brindisi to Igoumenitsa on Friday 2nd May and discovered on the ships T.V.s that Tony Blair was our new Prime Minister! We had travelled to Greece through the night so we only had about 50 miles to Preveza where "TWO BEARS" had spent the winter. Unusually the boat was very damp inside , so we opened her up and let the fresh air in. Apparently it had been a mild and dry winter until April when the rains came and it rained for a solid month! We had planned to take our time to do some extra jobs this spring, however we were a week behind schedule so it was the usual rush.
Our first visitors Jack and Nina who have a Prout "Quest” arrived on the 14th May the day we launched, we set off the following day through the Lefkas canal to Lefkas town to provision the boat with fresh food. With a good following breeze we upped anchor at 1400hrs and continued down to Nidri and anchored in Tranquil Bay one of our favourite places! There were seven other cats at anchor, five of them British, of course we got friendly and got invited to a party on "Summer Dawn" a Quest, owned by Veda and Mike Bebb who dropped out a few years ago. We met Robert Verlaan, a Dutchman living in Australia from "Inquest" another Quest which had completed one circumnavigation of the world and was half-way around on the second! His engine was the same ours a 9.9 Yamaha outboard.
We had a hard job to drag ourselves away from such good company but on the forth day we were sailing over to "Voulaki" the Sunsail harbour on the mainland we had left our Main Sail with them for a minor repair, this is just one of the many services they offer to cruising yachts, this is a new idea and one which we are finding very useful!
The weather was really hot and sunny so we decided to visit a small island called Kalamas, we encountered some strong catabatic winds blowing down from the mountains when we had tried to moor in the small fishing harbour and when we found out there was not room for us so went astern the engine unfortunately was not locked back down after having been raised for sailing the lifting cord got jammed in the prop and stopped, Terry with quick thinking averted a collision by dropping the Kedge anchor which fortunately held. He discovered after inspection from the dingy that the cowl on the prop had broken off, luckily the engine started again . After this rather frightening experience so early in the season we decided to moor in the bay of a deserted village Port Leoin which the villagers had abandoned after an earthquake which cut of their water supply, although the wind was still strong we felt quite safe! It is a fascinating place to explore, although rats have taken over the ruined houses!
Next morning onto Is. Ithica and a delightful harbour called Frices, that evening we dined at a small waterside Taverna. The exchange rate was so good for the pound this summer that we were able to afford to eat out much more. Next morning Nina and Jack were up early for a two mile walk to Stavros to look at the cave where Odysseus was supposed to have been found after eleven years, unfortunately a boat was needed to reach the cave so they were disappointed! On our way to Is. Cephalonia the sky became very black and ominous, the sun was eclipsed and surrounded by a rainbow . We hastened to the harbour of Fiskardo, we were lucky and the storm passed us by. Plenty of souvenir shops here and the Tavernas are rather expensive.
This our first cruise of the season, we were now heading back north to Is Leflm and a really sheltered harbour Sivoto, the sea was quiet rough and lumpy and gradually the wind increased so we had a good sail. Next a visit to Is Megannissi , there are some huge caves around the shores where apparently submarines hid during the war! Spartakhori a village high above the harbour is reached by climbing many steps but is so pretty that it is well worth the effort.
Back through the Lefkas canal so Nina and Jack could catch a taxi to the Airport from Lefkas town their two weeks stay with us so quickly over it had been quite an adventurous holiday.
We spent a few weeks getting ourselves sorted out, the weather seemed to be rather more windy than usual, so we anchored in Vlikho a large sheltered bay until we set off to meet Sam, Emma, and Matt. Their flight was into Athens so as they could only manage a weeks holiday we headed for Itea a harbour in the Bay of Corinth. It took us a week to get there but we made it on time. We had decided not to go far as they had such a short time with us, also it was Emma’s first time on a boat. We took a Bus ride to Delphi to see the ruined temples of the Gods, the narrow twisting mountainous roads were an exciting experience. Their short holiday too quickly came to an end, they had to catch the bus for the four hour journey at 5am for Athens. We made an early start too, misty with no wind for the first two hours the sea was rather lumpy looking ahead we could see white water, quickly we battened down the hatches the wind came on the nose gradually increasing up to a force 8. We were well reefed doing short tacks once again we experienced catabatic winds it took us six hours to reach Is Trizonia a beautiful little island without cars so peaceful with just Donkeys. We had visited Trizonia the previous week with the Lads and enjoyed the friendly hospitality of " Lizzies" Yacht Club which offers innumerable services to visitors, run by some Australians. The harbour which is not completed yet was crowded because of the strong winds, we stayed for three days then we had a really good sail to Messalongi an old commercial harbour down a four mile canal bordered by fisherman's houses on stilts. The port police are here and require you to present your ships papers at their office this can take some time as a German in a charter boat discovered after twenty minutes, the mooring fee is around £3. a night. It must have been a gypsy festival as they were sleeping under bushes and trees their horses grazing nearby, they all seemed to find the best fishing place were alongside the moored boats where they sat through the night! There is also a Disco which seems to go on for most of the night, however the people in the town seem very friendly, they told us how to find Byrons house and grave as he died of the fever here, a rather scruffy place to end ones days! We left harbour at 6am on a still misty morning onto Auto helm " Yogi Bear" eats a lot of` juice from the batteries, the sea was like a mill pond so we just kept going arriving back at Nidri Tranquil Bay at 1600hrs. At last we made contact via the radio with our friend Tony Palmer he has been sailing this area of the lonion for ten or more years now keeping his boat "Summer Song at "Joe Charltons" Contract Yacht Services in Levkas. We had arranged to listen on the V.H.F. radio every day at 1800hrs - 1900hrs but because of the mountains reception is usually poor! He lives in Cambridge just 10 miles from Newmarket so we keep in touch during the winter time too, he was moored in the next bay so we arranged to meet the next day and eat in the Taverna "Safe Haven” run by a young Belgium couple the food is good and cheap, so we could catch up on our adventures so far.
Once again our friends Sue and Mike Baily who have joined us each summer for a few weeks holiday in the different countries we have visited were joining us, they could only get a flight to Corfu so we managed to get a lift up to "lgoumenitsa" a ferry port on the mainland about 50 miles north of Lefkas by Brian and Barbara who dropped out a couple of years ago they charter their boat, “Loving Feeling” out , they also have bought a piece of land which they had intended to build a house on but they now have it up for sale, they spend the winters there too! He kindly drove us to pick up our guests. We had also our friends Sylvia and Colin Pupplit arriving in a few days they were going to stay in an apartment in Nidri as Sylvia had been ill. We were going to get together to eat and go out for some day sails together it was great fun and we had some good times together just very gentle sailing from one small island to the next! On one such small island Megganissi in "Aberleake bay" a retired English couple run a Taverna , Brian and Fay they are very hospitable it is very remote, last year a family of wild Fox came to get food, the Dog was lame he had been rescued by a Greek but was released back into the wild and he would actually take food from Fays hand. Sue and Mike decided to find an interesting way back to Corfu for their flight home by ferry Via Cephalonia, and I believe they had to go to Patras in the end which is completely the wrong direction we have yet to hear from them the whole tale. Our last visitors this summer were two young ladies, boats were a new experience for them so we had some gentle sails plenty of swimming and sun bathing . Once again we went to The International Song and Dance Festival in the old ruined castle of Lefkas, different groups were performing this year, and once again the enthusiasm, the gorgeous costumes and energy of the dancers made it a night to remember it made a Grande finale for the girls week with us. Once again it was time to think about getting "TWO BEAR” out of the water and tucked up for the winter. We got rather a nasty surprise when we got the car out of the garage we had rented for the summer, some mice had taken up residence, we had left the camping gear including pots pans and a packet of corn flour a paper kitchen roll m the back of the car for the summer, this had been chewed up and filled two carrier bags! We found a little baby mouse in a chewed up nest of Terry’s thick wool jumper at the bottom of his bag. We purchased some traps, they were trays of a sticky substance with grains of corn in the middle, we caught five mice and luckily they had not chewed the wiring. We once again travelled on the Ferry from Greece to Italy through the night, we had decided not to linger and got home in four days, about 1,700 miles once again Terry did all the driving I was the navigator and we took the motorways this time very fast driving! We had decided to get home a bit earlier as Terry needed to get himself a replacement work van, but that's another story.
We had another rather nice surprise when we got home, that Terry’s eldest son Ian was marrying Ildico in just over a month, it was to be an All-muck-in affair. Sam and Emma have a long planned wedding in May so we shall be starting our summer sailing a month later next year. Still five to go!
Angela & Terry Moody
Dear Tim,
My wife and I have now owned 'Sitting Bull' for 7 months. During this time have regularly worked during evenings and weekends to gradually get her back into a seaworthy condition. At times it has been slow going and although there is probably still a years work to be done we feel that we are now beginning to see visual improvements, which are encouraging.
We have now completed the repair to the coachroof, built a GRP/wood sliding hatch and are now in the process of refurbishing the totally stripped out interior. I hope to detail all the work we carry out and the methods we used as we go along for the newsletter as I find other peoples repairs a valuable source of reference, a source of encouragement, and sometimes a source inspiration. Here is a brief account of how we repaired 'Sitting Bull's' coachroof.
The most serious defect with 'Sitting Bull' was the damaged coachroof. The coachroof is made of a GRP sandwich construction, made by sandwiching end-grained balsa wood squares between two layers of GRP. This structure is very stiff/strong for its weight and is an excellent construction method, even state of the art moden racing boats are still built like this (albeit with slightly more exotic materials). However, like all monocoque structures it relies on all the layers being securely bonded together for its strength. What had happened with 'Sitting Bull' was that water had found its way through the join between the GRP outer layer and the mast step, side shroud attachment points, forward coachroof hand rail and coachroof mounted block attachment points, where the sealant around these items had split and leaked. This had allowed water to soak into the inner balsa wood core causing it to separate from the GRP laminations (debonding) and the balsa to rot. At this point there is little strength left in this type of structure and it becomes 'spongy' underfoot.
With 'Sitting Bull' the extent of the damage was quite evident. When we bought the boat the previous owner had removed the headlining (probably to try and find where the leaks were coming from). Brown water stains were visible where the coachroof joined the cabin sides, just forward of the side windows. From inside, the ceiling would flex when pushed and a trickle of water would run out from where the stains started (a crack in the inner GRP skin). Although I believe the coachroof has no real structural importance in keeping the mast aloft, as it sits on the steel 'W' frame mast step (other than possibly bracing in a horizontal sense), it is an area which is stood on regularly, and required repairing. This is the method which I used to carry out the repair. The tools and materials used are listed below:
Tools:
Wide-bladed chisel
Hammer
12" steel ruler
Notched spreader
Rotary wire brush and electric drill
Bucket/water
Sharp knife
Materials:
Polyester resin 'A' and catalyst
Talc filler
1 1/2oz Chopped Strand Mat (CSM)
3/4"REPF' Score Board
Firstly, the sealant round the mast step and side shroud attachment points was removed and re-sealed. The forward grab rail and the coachroof mounted block attachment points were removed and the holes temporarily sealed with sealant and tape.
The inner GRP laminate was then removed from inside the cabin as far as was required to reach sound/dry inner core. It was removed by using a wide-bladed chisel and a hammer without too much difficulty and a little care. During this process much of the inner core just fell out, was foul smelling and completely saturated with water (quite a wet job). The sound balsa wood core material was white/yellow in colour and is quite firm to the touch. Rotted/wet balsa is dark brown and disintegrated when touched.
The extent to which I had to remove the inner laminate is shown in the above picture. The damage was only prevented from spreading further aft by the wiring channel running laterally across the coachroof which is edged with a filler/fairing compound that acted as a water barrier.
Once the inner laminate had been removed the damaged core required to be removed (the bits that hadn't dropped out already). Most of the wet balsa blocks were removed by using a scrapper, I found that the end of a 12' steel ruler worked well. For the more stubborn blocks it was back to the chisel again, using great care, as I was now working on the inner side of the outer laminate. Once all the damaged core has been removed the edges were neatened up into straight edges, for neatness and for ease of fitting the replacement core.
Before the new replacement core could be bonded into place it was most important that the surface to which it was going to be bonded to was clean, flat, dry, degreased and keyed. GRP, like most materials in contact with air, has a habit of forming a layer over its surface, which prevent a good bond from being achieved. To achieve this a rotary wire brush was run along the GRP surface until it was thoroughly clean, free of any balsa wood bits and resin pieces. The surface then was washed with clean water and washed again, being careful not to wet the balsa edging, and left to dry.
The next stage was to start bonding in the replacement core material. I had decided that the new core would be Rigid Expanded Polyurethane Foam (REPF) score board. Foam was chosen for a number of reasons, it does not absorb water, does not allow water to seep through it and it does not rot. Score board comes in 2’x 2' sheets of 5lbs/cuft density and various thickness. These sheets have been shallowly sawn on each side into small squares of 1½” x 1½” with the uncut centre section retaining the sheet form. They easily flex bi-dimensionally and are ideal for sandwich construction repairs of curved surfaces. The sheets were given a coat of resin so that the resin paste used later to attach the REPF sheets to the laminate would not be absorbed into the foam causing resin starvation (dry areas). The sheets were then cut into the appropriate shape to fit the roof (I started in the forward-port area and found that foam pieces cut to approximately 1’ x 1’ were a convenient size to work with). It was just a matter of shaping the foam piece to size, bonding it in, shaping the next piece, bonding it in etc., like a giant jigsaw puzzle. As the foam pieces are of a relatively small size, are light in weight and conform to the curved shape of the roof easily, and the bonding paste is of such a glutinous/sticky consistency, the foam will remain in place without any further support until the bonding paste sets hard. The bonding paste used was made by mixing up an 8oz quantity of resin (resin and catalyst) and then slowly adding in talc filler until it was of a peanut butter consistency. This was then spread onto the back of the foam using a notched spreader and the foam then pushed firmly into position. If the mixture was of the correct consistency the excess bonding paste squeezed between the scores in the foam and between adjacent foam pieces, totally filling all the small scores and gaps. Bonding paste/resin is messy stuff but it is important to be neat and tidy. The foam must be cut to abut with adjacent pieces of foam as snug as possible, and any excess bonding paste must be removed before it sets (it sets very hard and is difficult to remove by sanding). The foam surface requires to be as smooth as possible (as it is going to be laminated over) so a little patience at this stage is well worth the time and effort.
Incidentally, the areas where the forward grab rail and coachroof block attachment points are mounted had wood pads bonded into position, instead of foam, for additional strength.
Once the foam core had been bonded in place a single coating of resin was applied to the surface of the foam. Onto this went four laminations of 1 1/2 CSM applied again in 12” x 12” pieces generously overlapped so as to fully encapsulate the foam core and merge the new GRP inner laminate with the original roof laminate, at the front, rear and sides.
Once the repair had been completed the area was left alone for a period of 4 weeks to fully cure. The front grab rail and block attachment point holes were then drilled from the outside and these items sealed and screwed back into position.
I have walked/jumped on the repaired area and am pleased with the result. It is as strong as the original structure and I am confident that the repair will last the life of 'Sitting Bull' herself. I appreciate that some people may thinking that a repair of this nature may have been better suited to a marine workshop and I fully understand this sentiment. However, in the end, it all comes down to the relative cost and I am sure that such a repair carried out by a boat yard would be about 1/4 of 'Sitting Bulls' value. I feel this would not have been economically viable and even if it were I could not afford to pay such an amount. I have a good understanding of the materials and the construction method used, and have used similar techniques for repairing composite aircraft structures. I do feel 100% satisfied about the structural integrity of this area (after all my young children will be sailing with me once afloat) and 'Sitting Bull' will be surveyed for insurance purposes at a later date.
I have thoroughly inspected the rest of the sandwich structure and can find not even a hint of further damage to any other part of the boat made in this way and wonder if the damage to 'Sitting Bull's' coachroof is a one-off. Has anyone else experienced this problem?
For the next newsletter I am hoping to detail how we made the sliding hatch, a GRP moulded outer shell with iroko frames and ply panels. It's a vast improvement compared to the 'bit of fence covered in a plastic bag, tied on with a bit of string hatch', which came with 'Sitting Bull'.
I am also contemplating relocating the winches from the coachroof to the cockpit side area. I believe that many Iroquois have their winches fitted in this area and would be grateful if anyone could detail where and how they should be mounted, and any advantages/disadvantages of moving them to this position.
My thanks also to Mr Peter Rohdes. Peter has enabled me to purchase a third electrically operated sheet release (anti capsize device) and provided me with manufacturing fitting instructions. He still has some left if anyone is interested. I feel that they are a very worth while addition to any catamaran - sometime unforeseen things happen and these devices may just be the difference between capsizing or not.
I would also like to ask if there is anyone who sails in the Solent area and who is short of a crew member, I would very much appreciate coming along. I haven't sailed onboard an Iroquois before and am very keen to get a feel for what it is like. As 'Sitting Bull' won’t be afloat until next year I'm starting to get desperate and of course I would be willing to share expenses.
Many Thanks,
Andy & Rocio, “Sitting Bull” MkIIa # 114
I went to have a look at Sitting Bull as she is just around the corner so to speak. Andy and Rocio are doing a great job of bring her back up to spec and she is sure to have one of the smartest and freshest interiors in the fleet, with all new varnish and a most beautiful loo (lots of brass and big handle type) that would put any wooden classic boat to shame! -Tim
I received a letter from Jean Pierre Gestin ‘Sitting Bull’ #287 wishing “Bonne Annei 1998 a l’ IOA” and this picture of him passing the Nab tower last year on his summer cruise. I have translated it with help from Jane.
Dear IOA friends,
Wishing you all good winds and good cruising for 1998. This photo was taken off your Nab Tower on the way to the Netherlands where we went last summer as far as Ameland(up north). On our return we stopped at Maastricht, Paris, Le Harve and St Malo.
Best Wishes to you all
Jean Pierre Gestin, ‘Sitting Bull’ #287
Tim, just received your name from Jerry Lugert. Several (6) months ago I purchased an Apache that is located on Guam. It has been out of the water for 18 months, and just went through the super typhoon PAKA a month ago which moved it off the blocks, even with twelve lines attached, and with chain leaders on most of those. Boat swung around about 11 ft at the stern, breaking off the port rudder skeg, and apparently bouncing around enough to come down on top of one of the blocks hard enough to punch a hole about 12" by 15" in the bottom of the stbd. hull. The doghouse roof was stripped off and ripped in half, the compass disappeared, trampoline was shredded, all lifelines were ripped from their anchor end fastenings, the fwd port hatch hinges were ripped off, and misc. flying debris must have hit the lifeline stanchions in various places as there were numerous bends. Not too bad for 236 mph winds. Mast stayed in place and generally it could have been much worse if it had come completely loose from its line fasteners. As it was, two of four lines going from the bottom cleat to 4 eye bolts set in concrete pulled the eye loops straight, then a section of the concrete pulled right out of the ground as the boat moved. Fortunately, I am a former boat builder, so can handle the repairs. The Apache is really a well built vessel. In the same storm a Wharram cat about 40-45ft that was in the lagoon went airborne several hundred ft landing up-side-down on the road with its mast going through the hull then breaking into sections. A tri in a berth near there also went airborne landing upside down on a motor launch in the next berth. Our boats name is "Cadence". I would like to receive the newsletter, if you would put my name on the list, and advise me of the subscription costs I will send you a check. Looking forward to news and info. on the boats, especially the Apaches.
Thanks, and regards,
George Llewellyn, Apache “Cadence”
Dear George,
Welcome to the IOA. It was by your standards just a little breezy here in England in early January and I had a few restless nights with Jan still on her swinging mooring, but receiving your mail put my concerns into perspective. Tim
Greetings! Repaired my two SS bolts under bridgedeck with some difficulty. Cut two 4" inspection ports on forward side of teak covering of superstructure. So if access is ever needed again it would take minutes instead of hours to complete the task. Under bridgedeck fashioned a 1/4" stainless plate, welded two plates together following the V shape under the bridgedeck. When the bolts were loosened the slight dents in the GRP let go flat, so no need to shape SS to now non-existing dents in GRP. Why they rusted in the first place is a mystery. Second issue: I have just placed order for new mainsail. I am now trying to sell my existing MKII mainsail. It was new in 1993, used 4 seasons, dacron, four partial battens, two reefs, P= 31'5", Foot E=11'8", 3" cutback for roller boom (never used, but works) sail is in very good shape, many years still left in it. Only selling because a friend in the sail making business is making me a full batten duplicate at a price I couldn't refuse. Anybody interested? Price ??
Thanks & regards,
Rick Lowenthal, “Kokamo”
Here's some information on my coach roof sliding hatch project in case it may be of interest for the Newsletter. As I proceed, I wish my camera wasn't broken so that I could document this with some photos.
We went to Manchester NH with that sliding coach roof lid and I had a plastics outfit cut a piece of 1/4" amber smoked Lexan to fit. They also rounded the edges nicely. It cost $86 for the material and $40 for the labour. I think its worth it considering the shop in Vermont wanted more than this just for the material.
I took out all the cross-bars and essentially now have a frame. I left the veneer surrounding the cutout intact on the bottom, lightly sanded and stained this. I've taken off the rollers and have them soaking in a lubricant (two of them are seized). The wood structure of this "frame" is in fair to good condition. The top is uneven and a mess due to the difficulties in removing the old glued veneer. My plan here is to fair it with an epoxy-filler mix. I may use some fiberglass cloth also as I want to build a strong base up to the level of the teak trim. Then I will use No. 10 overhead screws and nylon washers (spaced about 6 inches apart) to hold down the Lexan. I am hoping to get a nice even bead of clear marine grade Silicone down under the edges to make the whole thing water tight. I will either urethane or varnish the bottom side. Any comments or suggestions appreciated.
Regards,
Jeff Dickson, “Freedom” MkII #74
Iroquois Mk IIA WANTED to purchase.Please contact:
BOB SMITH
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