Unloading Pachuca

I managed to spend some productive time with Pachuca this week.

Bruce is having a difficult time in stripping the lower part of the hull of years of antifouling to expose the original gel coat.  One problem was the layer of hard antifouling that had been used in the USA (because the self ablating soft antifouling was simply not available without a special order).  Below that he found an even tougher layer of "Coppercoat" that had been laid down in the early 2000's, before I purchased the boat.  Coppercoat was extremely effective material, heavily impregnated with copper and very weighty.  Unfortunately it has been a devil to remove.  Bruce has changed tactics, employing a high quality sander in conjunction with the chemical removers.  The result has been good, with none of the pitting of the gelcoat that would have resulted from soda blasting.  But it has required at least on week of effort more than had been planned.

Most of hull and all of keel have been stripped

On a brighter note, the degree of osmosis has been much much less than expected - down to the trivial level, in my opinion.  Bruce can tell the conditions under which a hull's fibreglass was laid by the degree of osmosis.  He stated that Pachuca's hull must have been fibreglassed in very good conditions of temperature and humidity. 

We had a meeting with Greg Hansen to discuss the setup of the boat's radar dome.  I was very well prepared with printouts from my blog that explained in detail (with photos): (a) The reason why the radome was moved 500 mm down from its original position on the mast (Edgar the rigger thought that the initial position brought it too close to the forestay), (b) That the cable failed within a year and was replaced under warranty in Hawaii, (c) That the second cable failed again and was repaired in Argentina, (d) That the Argentina repair failed and the cable was replaced when I was back in Fremantle in 2013.  The failures were caused by the fact that the cable passed from the radome up the mast 500mm then did a sharp bend though the opening in the mast then down the conduit.  That sharp bend through the mast was the source of the problems and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that the mast was down in order to restore the radome to its original position so that the cable could past horizontally into the mast and do a 90 degree turn into the conduit instead of the current 180 degree turn.

Greg looked at the setup and noted that the cable was very loose where it entered the mast, allowing it to move back and forth in rough conditions, and we did see chafing in the cable.  Moving the radome would bring on the risk of problems with the forestay and Greg recommended that a second stainless steel  protective ring be welded onto the radome guard.  However, his preferred option was leave the radome in place, elongate the entry hole and make the cable loop above the hole so that it could make its entry aligned more or less with the conduit.  Below the entry the cable would be strapped down to the mast with stainless steel saddles, eliminating all movement.

After considering my choices I telephoned Greg three days later and asked him to leave the radome in place and take the measures that he had outlined. 

Garage prepared for Pachuca material.  
Note Monitor wind steering raised to rafters.

I was back at the boat at 7AM the next morning and Bruce and I spent 3 hours unloading the boat.  Most of the material went into my trailer that was fitted with the plyboard sides known in the trade as "hungry boards".  We also crammed what we could into the X-Trail.

Bruce and I then went over the accounts.  I had burned through $10,000 in three weeks almost to the day and I agreed to transfer another $10k into his trust account.  I'll have keep my financial guns loaded because once the lower hull is completed the sides and deck of the boat will be repainted, as will the mast.  I'm a synergy man and I figure that given that the mast is off, everything is in the shed, and the trades people are in position and focused then we may as well do the lot.

Unloading trailer full of Pachuca stores

Welcome to boating and the follies of a CUOF.  But the expenditure is not all that outrageous.  I commented to Bruce that somebody was going to get a fine boat someday but I had no regrets because I wanted to do the right thing by the boat that had taken me safely around the world.  Bruce replied that there are other sailors who think like me, although too few of them.

Stripping the Antifouling

I managed to visit Pachuca twice during the week.  

Bruce had wanted to avoid soda blasting the hull in to avoid pitting of the gelcoat and tried using chisels.  But after the slow pace of progress with chisels he reluctantly went to his second option, very caustic and toxic chemical strippers.

Bruce has encountered unexpected difficulty in stripping the antifouling from the lower part of the hull.  The problem is that in Port Townsend USA only hard antifouling was available and I had three coats of hard fouling heavily laden with copper laid on the hull.  This turned out to be very effective, and Bruce showed me the copper that was in the material that he had removed, but it has become a big removal problem. He has purchased yet more caustic remover and expects to finish that work by the middle of the coming week.

After 1.5 hours using a chisel

The requirements placed on me have steadily increased, and I think that I've finally reached the "bottom line". My brief is to remove EVERY bit of equipment from Pachuca.  That means emptying the quarter berths the storage under the quarter berths, the food and consumables in the cabin storage, and probably (to be confirmed) the sails in sail lockers. 

Yesterday morning I got a taste of what will be a very big job.  I spent two hours patiently extricating large plastic boxes heavy with material, ropes, tools, etc, staging them in the cockpit and platform at the top of the steps, then putting my shoes back on (had to be removed to avoid tracking antifouling into the boat), then patiently and deliberately taking each item down the steps and walking it to the trailer.  Care was of utmost importance because on mistake could cost me damage ranging from a sprained ankle all the way to a broken neck or even worse.

Using caustic stripper

Bruce at work well protected

Osmosis Treatment

About 4 weeks ago I had a chance encounter with Bruce of Albatross marine on the jetty.  Bruce had introduced himself months earlier and several times told me of the boat services that he offered.  This time I asked him if he dealt with osmosis (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi-t_aa9PXaAhWBx7wKHX7JADYQFggpMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mysailing.com.au%2Fcruising%2Fthe-scourge-of-fibreglass-tackling-osmosis&usg=AOvVaw3Yc4x25LVpybV_nJ_f2tD4), a potentially serious problem in older fibreglass hulls where water breaches the gecoat (outer coat), works its way into the fiberglass and a chemical reaction ensues and round blisters appear on the hull below the waterline.  Left untreated the osmosis would work deeper into the fibreglass eventually threatening the integrity of the hull. 

I had noticed the bumps on the hull during the last maintenance haulout, photographed them, drawn a rough sketch of them, but did nothing about them immediately because the sailing season was ahead.

Bruce replied that he did deal with osmosis, so I asked him when was the best time to treat it, expecting him to reply that the high summer was the best time because the heat and low humidity would help dry the hull quickly.  To my surprise his reply was "now".  He explained that he could either deal with it now, before the heavy rains of July-Aug arrived, or in the spring.

Given that I had freed up my winter months by postponing my trip to the USA due to my rental property problems I decided to proceed now to get the project out of the way during this winter time of low demand for the club's hardstand services, not to mention the services of marine specialists. 

I did this knowing that it would put a temporary strain on both my time & energy and finances.  However, I knew that I had one thing going for me: this is the best time of the year for me health wise.  In the spring and early summer I am a different person, with low energy & stamina, particularly if I have been through a heavy influenza infection.

Bruce and I had a meeting on Pachuca about a week ago and discussed the scope and time line of the project.  Bruce could not give a firm quotation because he would not know the extent of the problem until the boat was out of the water.  In order to do the work the boat would have to be moved into a paint bay to be fully protected from the weather.  Any money saved by working outdoors would be lost by delays due to adverse wind and rains.  In order to move the boat into the bay the mast would have to be removed (double gulp!). 

"OK, Bruce, do you paint hulls too?"  Indeed he does, showing me the excellent  work that his very experienced painter had done on his own boat, which was on the hardstand.  So given that the boat would be in the paint bay it made sense to paint the hull.  This would help me fulfill a promise that I had made to Pachuca that I would shout her (Australian for "provide her with") a new paint job if she got me back to Australia alive.  (Bruce declared that sentiment "cute" with a tap on my arm.)

Bruce mentioned that the mast could be stored in the paint bay next to Pachuca, sparing me the cost of storing the mast in the hardstand area.  But wait a minute! If Pachuca is in the paint bay and the spray painter is painting her hull, why not also paint her mast while everything was set and geared up?  So  we are going the Full Monte (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Full_Monty) and treating the osmosis, repainting the hull, and repainting the mast.

But Wait, There's More!  Bruce will also repaint the non-skid parts of the foredeck, first removing two redundant spinnaker fittings (I don't do spinnakers any more.) and removing two bolts that formally held the old radar unit and are bleeding rust onto the deck.

Some people call it mission creep.  I call it synergy.

Bruce volunteered that boats of my vintage can expect the advent of osmosis after about 30 years.  Pachuca was built in 1983, about 35 years ago.  "You mean that it was inevitable, not my fault, and I don't have to feel  guilty?" Bruce must have thought that charming because he put his hand on my arm and assured me that no, it was not  my fault. 

We agreed that the job would be done.

At Works Jetty between Trevor's boat and the rocks

The first task was to put the sum of $10,000 into the Albatross Marine trust account (gulp!).  Bruce could not give a firm quotation because he would not know the extent of the problem until the boat was out of the water and the hull scrapped off.  All he could offer was his hourly rate.  In the end, as in many endeavors in Australia, it came down to personal trust.  By then I thought that I had Bruce's measure and I trust him to do the right thing.

On Saturday morning I met Bruce in order to ferry Pachuca to the works jetty in order to put her in position for the removal of her mast.  My task was to head for the rocks lining the shoreline, do a tight left turn, then somehow do a tight right turn and get abreast of the works jetty between Trevor's (owner of the Yacht Grot chandlery) large boat and the rocks.  Trevor had moved his boat back along the jetty to make room for me but I commented that it had not been enough.  As we approached this tricky maneuver Bruce must have heard my fretting and seen the light and at the last moment we tied up at the end of the works jetty the obtained the cooperation and assistance of the workmen on Trevor's boat to manhandle the boat back probably 3 meters in order to make more room for Pachuca. 

Tired as I was from the work at the rental property (another problem) I stayed back and worked several hours isolating the mast cables from the rest of the boat, which turned out to be a more difficult job than I had anticipated for reasons that I will not explain here.

I was back at the boat at 7 AM on Monday morning to tidy up the cabin after my efforts of Saturday and prepare for the removal of items from the deck.  Bruce arrived at 7.30 AM and we off loaded the inflatable dinghy, life raft, and boarding ladder to the works jetty and loaded them into Bruce's van. 

Crane lifting the mast

Then there was the laborious job of dropping the mainsail, releasing about 6 lines, then removing the boom.  After that we went below and spent a difficult 45 minutes threading cables up past the mast stump into the mast itself (I won't go into that here.)  The rigger Steve  arrived at about 9 AM and began his work, which included the application of heat and a special tool to complete the wiring removal job.  At 9.30 AM John arrived with his crane. The crane hoist was lashed to the mast and took some of the load while Steve completed the task of freeing all of the standing rigging.  The removal of a pin to separate the mast from the stump was a particularly challenging job.

Eventually the mast was removed, laid on wheeled supports, then the crane departed.  The crane weighed the hull at 10.8 metric tons and the mast & rigging at 350 kg.  

Liftout

Soon we ferried the boat to the lifting bay.  We had trouble  backing Pachuca out from her cramped location because every time that went into reverse to back the boat out the stern would move back to the jetty and in front of Trevor's boat due to Pachuca's "prop walk" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propeller_walk).  In the end Bruce agreed that instead of pushing the stern off the jetty then trying to back out past Trevor's boat we would push the bow off and allow the gentle breeze to swing the bow around.  In the end we (I, actually) managed to do a 180 degree turn in a tight confine using short bursts forward then short bursts back to let the prop walk swing the boat to the right.

Soon we were in the lifting pen, the boat was lifted out, hull cleaned off with the powerful spray, then placed into the sheltered painting bay.  At the spray bay the man sprayed through some of the "osmosis" bulbs and found that they represented only a separation  of anti fouling from the hull and underneath was solid and undamaged fiberglass.  Bruce stated that there was nevertheless indeed osmosis on the hull but volunteered that it is not very bad.  I will know more once Bruce had stripped the hull clean.

In the shed, mast by her side

But all was not finished on that day.  Before retiring  for some R&R I fulfilled my commitment to lift all of the cabin floorboards to facilitate the drying of the hull (aided by de-humidifiers that Bruce will run), remove all  of  the canvas work, and clear the decks and cockpit of all ropes and gear possible.

Regarding the boat, I think that I am "over the hump" as far as my time and energy is concerned.  Bruce uttered a monologue about how from now on he would do his thing and I would do my thing,  visiting the boat and feeling free to ask questions.  "OK, I get your message.  In fact, Bruce, my style is to back off, allow professionals to do their thing, and not to stand over them scrutinizing everything that they do."  Bruce's response was a warm smile and a firm handshake.

That means that other than the frequent visit to see how things are going I have no "hands on" obligations to the restoration of Pachuca and can focus my efforts to the rental property problem.  In short, I think that I am Over The Hump.  (Sigh!)