Roger Clark's renovation of Concerto
Jan 11 2014
Since I completed the purchase of Concerto in early December, not too much has happened. Not only did Christmas get in the way, but I was also seriously ill with food poisoning. After suffering for 5 days, I was admitted to hospital for 4 days. I was suffering from acute dehydration and my blood pressure had dropped to 98 over 41. They pumped in 10 litres of saline, plus antibiotics. Feel fine now.
Last Sunday I went to the Boat Show and spent a fair sum on necessary bits (safety mainly) plus negotiated very keen price on a Raymarine e7 chart plotter with Navionics Gold charts for £1015 (anyone beat that?). All the other electronics will be updated next winter, so will continue using the existing equipment. Other things I also looked at were: folding propellers as it currently has the wrong size fitted, new shaft seal to replace the original greaser, Tek Dek for the cockpit seats and coamings to replace the worn out Treadmaster, Eberspacher unit to fit to the existing ducting (no unit in place) and crockery as none was provided. Also had some interesting chats on many stands including meeting someone I used to race against in Mirrors 45 years ago! Also did not miss the Westerly Owners, even bought a flag.
During the week I ordered a new sprayhood with grab rail and a new Pack-a-Main from C J Marine. Delivery has been promised by mid March. That will be great as I should launch either at the beginning or middle of April.
Today I went over to start work in earnest. Tried removing the propeller using a method recommended by a supplier, slacken the retaining nut and then tapping the boss with a toffee hammer to loosen the taper grip. It did not work. Then tried their alternative of using 2 hammers and hitting either side of the boss together. I think the hammers I used were too light as this did not work either. Think I shall have to buy a puller, if I cannot find the one my late father made. The first main task has been to start removing the antifouling to prepare for epoxy coating. I used an old 1½" chisel as the bond was not too strong. Managed to remove all the starboard side, but my arms ache like mad. I left the boottop for the moment as I have not measured the height to the rubbing straight to ensure a straight waterline. I did use goggles and face mask, plus wore some overalls. Certainly a lot of hull to work on, especially on your own.
Tomorrow I cannot face more scrapping, so it is back to the Boat Show, as I have another ticket, to find so more bits I need. I hate to think how much time I have spent on research to make sure I am spending my money wisely.
This thread will be updated as I make progress. It might even encourage a few of you to start working on your boats.
Jan 12 2014
I have a brand new unused Fein Multimaster, I did not know they made a scraper blade. Guess what I am going to get ordered tomorrow. Anything to make my life easier.
At the show today I was very pleased with the crockery I bought, made in America of toughened glass. Showed the owners on the Westerly stand and they were very impressed (including Bert's friend Mick). Also bought an electronic red flare as this had just been recommended in the latest Yachting Monthly and some bolt croppers to cut 8mm wire (Concerto has previously lost her mast due to a broken bottlescrew). Organised the material for making templates from Tek Dek and finally decided I will be ordering a Gori 2 bladed propellor and Tide Seal gland. Chatted on A.S.A.P. about adding pressurised hot and cold water next winter. The only thing I did not buy was a NASA battery monitor as I need to check what battery charger I want to fit that will be compatible to the solar panel already fitted, then do all this work at the same time in the summer.
Jan 20 2014
Yesterday I tried using the Fein Multimaster to remove the rest of the antifouling. Somehow I did not get on with it and found it kept knicking the gel coat and was very slow to cover an area. So went back to the old chisel and managed to complete the port side in less time than the starboard. I left a strip of antifoulding along the sharp curve above the keel as I need to be very careful here as it seems very well bonded.
The next job is to mark the edges of the boot top before scrapping off. This I shall do by using a triangular needle file to cut a line in the gel coat. Then I can epoxy to include the top line and still see the lower one when antifouling. When it comes to applying the epoxy I shall complete all the paint coats and then get the boat moved in the cradle so I can finish all the missing pad places in a single go - the club only charge £30 to move it so it is worth it.
The next job to tackle are the removal of the gold self adhesive lines and vinyl name. I found on ebay a do nut wheel used by car paint sprayers to remove vinyl stickers. It is like a large eraser in disk shape and supposed to not damage paintwork. The current style line is in red, but that is due to be repainted dark blue. Under the forward starboard stantion is a small area of impact damage with slight delamination, all in the style line. I have been advised to drill 2 small holes near the top in a vertical line, then inject some epoxy in the lower one and seal, then add microspheres to the epoxy to make a putty and fill the top hole. The transom is also painted red, but I am tempted to sand off all the paint and the buff up the gel coat. If it starts taking too long I shall paint it dark blue.
The keel is going to be sanded back to remove the small areas of light rust under the Primocon, then treated with Fertan before 3 or 4 coats of Primocon. This is only a stop gap measure as in a future year I shall get the keel shot blasted.
The topsides are going to be compounded back as they are dull due to oxidisation of the gel. Two types of compound are going to be used and finally an acrylic sealer applied to retain the shine. Then the painted style line and epoxy can be started.
Today I have confirmed the specification of the 2 bladed folding Gori prop and Tides Marine shaft seal. So these are now on order.
The material for patterning the Tek Dek has also arrived. Just need a dry day to do this to get a final quote.
Whilst at the Boat Show I bought 3 bags of rope for £10 from English Braids as I needed some fine rope so I could withdraw the halyards. This has turned out to be an absolute bargain as one bag contained a 4mm rope that I estimate to be about 250 feet long and another bag has two 3mm ropes each about 100 to 150 feet long. Have not looked at the third bag, plus there are plenty of other useful small ropes in shorter sizes.
7 Feb 2014 Last weekend I managed to mark the boot top and waterline in the gel coat. I tried the needle file, but it was very slow and my fingers got very cold. The easy solution was a fine cutting disc in a Dremel, worked a treat and with care I managed to stay in the gel coat. The line was almost straight and will be coated with epoxy, so no long term damage will result. The starboard boot top has been scrapped off, but has left a very strong red colour on the gel, but this will be sanded off so the epoxy has a clean and abraded surface to adhere to.
The propeller has finally been removed using a puller. When I quoted all the dimensions to Glen at Sillette, I got a surprising reply. The prop shaft has a 1:10 taper, but the propeller boss was 1:12! The Gori folding propeller should be delivered next week with a 1:10 taper!
There is a definite leak from the coachroof that is running down over the aft port window. I will have to drop the headling panel and coat the back with some talcum powder if I cannot spot the point of water ingress. I suspect it is either a deck fitting or one of the wood trims, or might even be the hatch box not coping with so much rain or the cable entry point for the solar panel. Will advise what I find.
During the week I took delivery of the new Ebaspacher D4. I was advised to replace the existing ducting, electric loom, control box and exhaust (but not the exhaust outlet. Doing all this work meant I might as well increase the system to include a vent in the forward cabin for extra comfort. As the weather is looking horrible for this weekend I think I shall spend a day getting the bulk of the ducting and electrics fitted. The main unit will have to wait as it is fitted in the transom and access is only from the sail locker in the cockpit.
The transom is currently painted red and I have decided to try paint stripper to remove the bulk of it, with a tape stopping the stripping gel running onto the straight gel. Then a course and fine compounding should bring it back to original gel coat, ir this does not work then I shall paint the transom. The first dry day I get I shall start componding the topsides as I want to see the real colour of the faded gel.
Quite a few club members have stopped for a chat as they are impressed with the progress so far. A few do not think I will get it all finished in time to launch by mid April. My biggest problem is the rain and cold stopping me working outside on the weekends I can get there.
Feb 23 2014 Three weeks on and I thought I would post an update.
The Gori propeller has arrived but will not be fitted until just before launching. The headlining panel has been dropped but no point of water ingress could be seen, so I suspect it was an overload on the hatch.
The boot top has been removed, the final antifouling on the turn of the hull to the keel scrapped off, skin fittings were cleaned externally, and the gap around the rudder was finally cleaned.
A section of the keel was sanded and treated with Fertan, but the disc sander became clogged quicly and I did not have enough disks to continue. More disks on order. The keel will be treated twice with Fertan and then at least 5 coats of Primocon before the antifouling.
A section of the painted transom was covered with paint stripper, but it hardly touched it. So I decided to try sanding it with a disk sander. Careful slow sanding cut through the 5 different reds (multiple coats) and sometimes white or navy sign writing. I tried to leave the final red for a finer sanding grade on a Fein multitool. The Fein worked well using a circular pad and a triangular pad and the transom is now almost completely white. A finer grade of paper will now be used before I start compounding.
The red style line had paint removed when the vinyl lines were removed and this has now been sanded smooth through the 3 colours of red. Feeling for any rough edges should make the surface perfect once the first coat of Pre-Kote has been lightly cut back. I did read that Pre-Kote should be left for 2 weeks before the Toplac is applied.
The final sanding of the underwater profile have been tested ready for the epoxy coating. First the boot top will be cut back with the Fein, then the topsides are going to be compounded and polished, and the varnish of the rubbing strake will be rubbed down and varnished, and the keel prepared. This means all these processes can be done in the minimum number of days. The sanding for the epoxy will then go ahead, immediately by it's application.
If there are any wet days I have the seacocks to service, the new stern gland to fit (but might leave till next winter) and the Ebersparcher hose to replace. The batteries are now being charged, even though they have been topped up with the solar panel, I leave nothing to chance.
Despite the generally wet weather this winter, I have had many fine sunny days working outside at the weekends.
