First welding day

As planned, we started the hatch boxes installation as well as various welding projects.  For that purpose, Jean-Pierre came and spent all day at the boat.  The first part went smoothly:  The installation of the salon windows patches.  

First we removed the bad metal with  jigsaw and grinder, then Jean-Pierre welded the patch in with his sweet portable MIG welder. 

About the size of a suitcase, this is one nice piece of equipment.

Then, we turned to the hatch boxes.  Not as easy:  The old ones refuse to be pulled out.  Even though we pull ou the big gun, the 7in. grinder, the first one takes more than an hour to let go of the deck.  Consequently, JF gets started on the central hatch box while Jean-Pierre welds the first hatch box in.  

That 7in. grinder is an impressive tool;  It sends sparks flying and although it is rated at 13A, it trips the 15A breaker of Jean-Pierre’s generator repeatedly.  Once you go back to the 4-1/2 grinder, it really feels like a Dremel.  Nonetheless, it takes JF most of the afternoon to remove the old metal, we’ll only have time to tack the new one in place today.

Returning from a long break

This week marks the return to boatwork after more than 3 weeks.  Travels, family affairs and unforeseen events kept us away for all but a few days since the beginning of august. 

During this time though, we still took the decision to replace most of the hatch boxes, which will be constructed of stainless steel this time.  Grandpa and Jean-François took an afternoon to remove and inspect the boxes.  They will all be replaced except the two smallest aeration hatches behind the dodger.  Measurements were taken; cutting files were made and sent to Jean-Pierre of Alnox, who assembled them in his shop this week-end.  He’s coming to the boat tomorrow and we’re starting the actual replacement work.  We can’t wait to finally improve the boat!  It seems like all we’ve been doing for the last couple of months is tear stuff down.

Shannan and the kids are finally at the cabin and the family is reunited, none too early.  Consequently, JF had to move the cushions to the trailer; They were the last remnants of the boat lying around the cabin.  Ouch… 3D design is fun but in real life, it doesn’t fit!  We’ll have to send some over to Grandpa’s house.  The flip side is that Shannan is now put to work; not that she minds, she’s definitely not the type to watch from the sidelines.  

We had kept all the torn down window frames for future reference and this morning while reorganizing the trailer, we took the executive decision to salvage all that was salvageable: clean, sand, replace the rotten bits.  It’ a wise decision: We’ll be able to use 5 or 6 of the 7 salon frames, and they’ll be quite nice once varnished.  

So we setup a sanding station at the cabin with the added benefice that Shannan will be able to work when the kids are napping.  New goal for this summer:  All major metal work done + all hatch and windows woodwork varnished and ready to go… Famous last words (let’s hope not!).

We’re also spending a bit of time experimenting with the new colors of OneLove on Photoshop, as well as searching for her new name.  If you have any ideas…

Sandblasting tent and swim platform storage boxes

The last two days have been pretty relaxing.  Thursday was a day to prepare for sandblasting.  More specifically, to make a plan.  Decide what we’ll have sandblasted, in what order etc.  In that frame of mind, we needed to dig the rust out in the storage boxes of the swim platform to assess the damages.  We also had to remove the speed and depth transducers because there was rust around them.  

Result:  The hull is sound a very short distance from the transducer’s holes, the problem is localized and if there’s welding to do, the access is easy from the inside.  On the other hand, the swim platform… ouch.  There has been a lot of seawater in there, repeatedly.  Each of the three boxes has holes rusted through, including in the plating between the central box and the aft cabin.  Main problem associated with this:  To remove blown-in insulation from behind a forest of cables and pipes:  Steering hydraulic, bow thruster hydraulic, propane gaz, cockpit shower water, rudderstock, cockpit drain tubes and a bunch of electric cables.  Other than that, it’s just some plates to replace and we’re slowly getting used to the dramatic way in which steel shows when it’s hurting.  We’ll have to rethink the swim platform bottom;  If there’s a way for water to get in, there has to be a drain to let it out.  And there were drains in this case, that was not the problem;  But they were under the platform, and even though they were above the waterline, water probably rose in the boxes regularly since a boat underway will distort its waterline:  It will rise at the bow and stern and drop amidships (especially at hull speed).  Moreover, most sailboats under power will have a tendency to squat because of hull form, to raise the bow and drop the stern.  The effect of this would be to put the bottom of the storage boxes of the swim platform 6 inches underwater every time the boat’s moving.  This repeated dip in seawater rusted the inside of the boxes and the steel plates around the drains.  We’ll probably have to repair and patch the drain holes and weld a false bottom, drained on the transom.

Today was dedicated to the construction of the structure of the sandblasting tent.  We were told it is now illegal to sandblast out in the open; It has to be done in an enclosed space were the residue can be collected and discarded.  So in order to avoid any problems, we’ll build a tent around the transom of the boat with an extension to starboard to accommodate the centerboard.  It will be built with 2x2s and paint tarp for the walls, ceiling and floor.  The structure we built today;  It will double as sun shade after this project but the tarp will go on there early in the morning on D Day and be removed right after.