At the beginning of the 2006 season I noticed a bit of wet in one side
of the cabin trunk and one small area of the cabin top was a bit springy
underfoot. The ends of several beams were delaminating. So at the end of the
season the mast came off early as it was due for its bi-annual sand and varnish.
So having got that job out of the way I could apply myself to the repairs as
soon as the boat came out of the water.
I started with the a repair to the cabin side
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| Cabin top removed over the edges to investigate the state of
the cabin sides |
Port cabin trunk during investigation.
The small holes are where I have used a holesaw to see if the
wood is dry.
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I expected the damp to have gone right through the sheet and
was very pleasantly surprised to find out that it was confined to just
this area. I was equally pleased to find that the starboard side was completely
dry.
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| I found how far the damp went, then went a bit further
before marking up. |
I used a router to make a rabbet joint at the bottom before
cutting the old wood away. |
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| The new piece in place. With tube heaters, radiant heater
and a dehumidifier I got everything nice and dry before priming and gluing
with epoxy. |
The joints were filled and faired with epoxy and balloons... |
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| Then primed inside and out. |
With the lid off I could start cleaning up and repairing the
laminated deck beams |
I have to say that there were an awful lot of brass screws holding the
plywood top onto the beams. They were all set into the ply and filled over the
top and took a good while to uncover and clean prior to unscrewing. Thankfully
all but a few came out without breaking.
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| Where the laminations had come apart, I cleaned the joint
then worked in Balcotan (the slower one) using the blade of a putty
knife. |
Several weeks of gluing, sanding, varnishing and painting now go by...!
Working on the basis that interior varnish work doesn't need much attention for
a good long while if done well, I did my best to make a decent job of it.
Then the new (and horribly expensive) ply for the lid was offered up and
trimmed to fit.
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| The ply was stopped half way across the shelf... |
...so that hardwood edges could be glued in place with epoxy |
At the suggestion of some on the Classic Boat forum, the hardwood edges were
rounded off and a shallow rebate formed in the very top of the cabin side so
that the glass cloth could be taken down the side and inch or so to completely
cover the joint.
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| Here the forward end has been primed, glassed and then peel
ply rolled on top to thicken the epoxy |
The whole top glassed and peel ply added |
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| Peeling the peel ply off... |
and then two more coats of resin rolled on for good measure |
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| Hatch slides screwed and glued |
Holes for handrails were counter bored, filled with epoxy
then redrilled. |
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| Inside looking good |
Waiting for the ports to go in |
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| After two coats of primer/undercoat, several layers of deck
paint were added. |
New hardwood trim was shaped for around cabin top. Screwed
down onto non-setting mastic then screw holes plugged. |
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| Hatch renovated and on |
On the hard for tinkering before |
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| Going to Yarmouth Gaffers festival at the beginning of June.
(We are the one with the yellow and orange burgee) |
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