Window Replacement Completed

On Monday installed the final two windows and just in time because we got bouts of light rain over the next 24 hours.

New Starboard Windows

Bruce and I lowered the repaired port water tank into position and I then connected the three water lines.  On Tuesday morning I filled up the tank until the water was overflowing from the filler hose then checked the tank and its hose connections very carefully and found no leaks.

This opened the way for Zelko to pay a visit to fit the hold-down restraints that he had designed for  both tanks and adjacent batteries. He came in on Wednesday and did the work and the result was two tanks and batteries firmly secure and guaranteed to remain in place through a knockdown, rollover, pitch pole, or whatever agitation that the sea can throw at the hull. He then did some minor jobs such as cutting a wooden wedge for the base of the engine muffler then securing the muffler with three thru bolts.

View through the new window

Ryan from Sealed Marine Windows at Bibra Lake had produced an aluminum spacer to fit between the mast compression pose and the keel.  Zelko used his jig saw to trim it for a better fit but then we realized that the keel area was lumpy and would have to be neatened up.  Bruce purchased a special drill attachment to do the job but then we saw that the new compression plate did not sit firmly enough on the floor supports.  Bruce removed the fiberglass along the top of one support and discovered that the timber was saturated with water and mold was growing.  This amazed me because the boat had been high and dry for months.  Unfortunately the water was trapped with no ventilation.

Aluminum spacer and perimeter of mast support plate

We had no option but to fix the problem and between Bruce and I we spent hours using a heat gun to dry out the wood so that the space between the wood and the fiberglass could be filled with epoxy glue before the end of the day.

Steve put in several  hours with his assistant and finished the reassembly of the mast, with only a few minor things to be done later.  Greg the marine electrician will visit in the coming week to connect the radar, lights, and instruments.

Bruce did some great work in

Gap filled with Epiglue, support perimeter ready for fiberglassing

organizing the painting of the deck.  After some investigation he set himself up with the proper angle grinder disc for taking off the tops of the roughness molded into the fiberglass and he employed Lucas, a hard working university student to go over the entire deck with a wire brush.  Bruce also inquired on whether there was available a coating that could act as a barrier between the old enamel paint and the planned new 2-part paint and sure enough a new product just came on the market: Norglass brand "No Rust Surface Primer".

  Mike the painter paid a short visit and he and Bruce will do the painting on Thursday after Bruce has complete the deck preparation and laid down a coat of primer..  Mike will roll on the paint, Jotun brand "Hardtop Ultra Base 2" with "Hardtop AS/HB Comp B" hardener, and Bruce will use a sifter to sprinkle the white anti skid paint additive, International brand "Intergrip" that looks like very fine sand but is, I am told, a milled plastic.  On Friday when first coat has dried they will blow off the excess anti skid material then lay down a second coat of paint. The paint will be left to cure over the weekend.

I have been told that the paint has the very useful property of being able to be re coated in the future with no need for sanding.

I made the decision to change the deck color from the light blue that I have always disliked to something a bit more earthy.  The color is "Biscuit", number X42 on the AS2700 color chart.  I am hoping that the color will interact well with the considerable amount  of teak work  on the deck as well as the toe rails that have been powder coated a shade lighter than the "Biscuit".  It appears that the color will also work well with the blue spray dodger and sail cover.  Let's hope that it works out.

Bilge, Tank, Windows

I used my spare time such as when Bruce was helping Stephen with the mast or during a  circuit with suppliers to paint the aft part of the bilge: in the cabin on both sides of the engine compartment and aft of the main cabin bulkhead between the quarter berths. The entire bilge has now been painted except the section  in  the steerage area below the cockpit.

Bilge painted around engine compartment

Bilge painted aft of engine

On Thursday we had the necessary materials and equipment in place to begin installing the new polycarbonate windows.  The firm plan was to take each of Pachuca's battered windows that had been taped around the edges to hold them together, lay it on the polycarbonate material, then use it as a pattern to cut the new window and drill the holes in the exact positions.  The accuracy of the holes was concern to me because being even 1 millimeter out would cause of problems.  The windows came with plastic covering on each side,with the inner side already coated around the edges with a special primer.

The first window took us about 1.5 hours to install.  We had to carefully mask off both sides of the window opening in order to prevent the thick black tar-like sealant from oozing onto the window surrounds.  We had to deal with screw problems where some  of the 3/4" in screws would not grip, forcing us to use 1" which presented a danger of bulging the the lining inside of the cabin.  The sealant came in large "sausages" which was applied by Bruce using an air compressor and a special gun.  The worst was the cleanup of the copious amounts of excess sealant using toilet paper and either mentholated spirits of "Prepwash".

On Friday we managed to install three more windows. leaving the two aft port ones to be installed after the weekend.  Yes, we had been slow but were very satisfied that the windows had been properly installed and confident that they would never leak and be very strong.

Bruce had  picked up the repaired water tank earlier in the week and the last thing that we did on Friday was to carry it up to the cockpit for safekeeping.  It was reported that three leaks had been found in the vertical weld of the leaking corner.  In the coming week we will  lower the tank into position and I will re connect the lines, test for leaks, and hopefully sign off on the complete replacement of the boat's fresh water system.

Only top spreaders in place at this point

Looking from radar support past lower spreader brackets

Bruce spent most of the week assisting Steve in the reassembly of the mast.  By the end of the week the steps had been fitted, along with the masthead light, both sets of spreaders, storm trysail track, and various blocks and sheaves.

Mast Reassembly Begins

By 8.30 AM on Monday Mike Foss the painter, Steve Hartley from Taskers, Bruce and I  began loading the painted mast, stump, boom, and spreaders.  Before setting off with the load for the FSC Works area I gave a final thanks to Mike his outstanding paint work.

Result  of Bruce's filling and sanding corroded areas

Bruce and Steve installing the mast steps

We unloaded the pieces next to the boat and at about 10.30 Steve the rigger from Boating Hardware began the task of reassembling the mast with the assistance of Bruce.

The work went well and by the end of the day all of the mast steps (which had been powder coated) had been pop riveted on (four stainless steel pop rivets per step) and work had begun on the other mast fittings.  During the day I had visited Yacht Grot and purchased a new combination steaming and deck light.

I spent my day finishing the removal of the silicone sealant from around the cabin window openings then sanding the remaining parts of the bilge to be repainted.

We expect to receive the new windows and repaired water tank within the next two day.

Mast Painted

It was a big week centered around the painting of the mast (including the mast stump and boom).

I telephoned Bruce early on Monday morning and told him that I suspected a leak in the port water tank.  With the tank full of water I was getting a slow but steady seepage of water from the aft starboard corner of the tank even though several checks confirmed that all of the hose connections were tight and dry.  Bruce left his work on the mast and paid an early visit to the boat and confirmed the leak.  He telephoned Sheet Metal Fabrication of Willard Street Bibra Lake and at 2 PM we got a visit from two representatives of the company who confirmed that the tank was indeed leaking.  I told Ian, one of the reps, that I thought that both tanks had been pressure tested and he assured me that they had been pressure tested three times at 3 atmospheres.  (So why the leak?  Never mind. The tanks have been well made at a good price and these things happen.) After that visit I drained the tank and disconnected all hoses and the next morning Bruce helped me remove the tank and take it down to his car. 

On Wednesday Roger from Yacht Grot left a message that a part for the manual water pump in the head had arrived and by Friday all plumbing had been completed and it as now a matter of connecting the port tank when it arrived in the coming week and testing the result.

Replacement light at right

I got an unexpected visit from Greg Hansen offering to replace the steerage light with one that he had salvaged from another boat.  He knew that I was not happy with the huge amount of heat produced existing LED light, which was a replacement for the original which had failed after only a few weeks of service.  I was delighted with the "new" light which appears to be superior in every way, and thanked Greg for thinking of me.

At 8 AM on Monday Steve Hartley from Taskers arrived with his mast trailer and the three of us loaded the mast, stump and boom and took them to Mike at nearby premises on Brockman Place for preparation and painting.  Bruce spent much of the next two days finishing working with Mike to finish the sanding and painting the surfaces with epoxy primer. I visited the site at 4.30 PM on Tuesday to see the mast ready for painting and looking very good.

Devcon filler, ready for sanding

Filled area after sanding

On Wednesday morning Bruce telephoned me from Gary Martin's "Boat Paints" to tell me that they were doing a last minute switch to a new Jotun paint that had just become available.   Bruce and I visited Mike at 4 PM after he had laid down the second top coat of gloss and I was amazed at the quality of the result.  Mike said that the paint would get glossier as the thinner dried and it would be even glossier after the third coat.  He spoke highly of new Jotun paint and told me that it was one of the best painting results he had ever had. 

For the record, this is my understanding of the paint process:

1. All surfaces were sand blasted by Bruce, exposing many pits where corrosion  had been dug out as only sand blasting can do.
2. All corrosion pits were filled with Devcon aluminium 2-part epoxy putty, and the filling was sanded to yield smooth surfaces.
3. Three coats of primer were sprayed using four liters of International "Interprotect" 2-pack epoxy high build primer.
4. Three top coats were sprayed using 2.5 liters of the new Jotun "Yachting Extra Gloss", a high gloss acrylic polyurethane paint in the color "Auria White".

Mast  being loaded on trailer

Steve Hartley and Bruce tying down the mast

Mast at Mile's for painting

Thinner No. 10 that is optimized for a temperature of 28C was selected for use in  the expected mild temperatures in the mid-20's.

The first two gloss coats were reduced with 30% thinner, and the final coat was reduced with 40% thinner to yield maximum gloss.

The accompanying photos were taken while the second coat was drying.

We all agreed that the mast looks brand new.   Bruce pointed out that masts as sturdy as Pachuca's - large sections with thick walls - are simply not available any more.  The way I figure it the mast is probably better than new because the new epoxy primers and polyurethane paints are far superior to anything available when the boat was built in 1983. 

And I must comment on the outstanding job that Bruce Diggins of Albatross Marine has done to achieve this result.  Back in December he organized the right people with the right equipment and skills and scheduled it all with the precision of a military operation. ... And the military operation continues.  On Monday at 0830 the mast will be returned to the FSC boat yard and at 0930 Steve the rigger will begin the laborious task of reassembling the mast. 

On Thursday we found time to begin the task of replacing Pachuca's windows.  When I purchased Pachuca she had the original  perspex windows that were so clouded up that looking through them must have been like trying to distinguish forms through heavy eye cataracts - they let the light through but not much else. 

Bruce declared the first window that we removed to be the worst he had ever seen.  After we removed the many small screws around the perimeter we found using a putty knife to slice through the silicone sealant caused the screw line to fall apart and we were forced to tape all of the perimeters before prying the windows loose.  Keeping the windows intact was important because the plan was to clamp each perspex window to the underlying polycarbonate material then make an exact replica by cutting round the perimeter of the old window and drilling through the existing screw holes.

Mast after 2 of 3 coats

Boom, with Mike and Bruce in background

Bruce took the first window to the fabricator who agreed that the plan would work and would order the material as soon as he had all six of the old windows.  The fabricator found it hard to believe that the crumbling windows had not been leaking but it is true that after Arnold, Reg and I re glazed them in Port Lincoln in 2008 I had no leaks through several storms and countless gales.  Having said that,  the forward port window was in particularly bad shape, no doubt badly stressed from that heavy wave off the coast of Brazil that knocked the boat over, bending two of my port stanchions. 

Yesterday we removed the remaining 5 windows and Bruce took them to the shop.  I then spent two hours removing the silicone sealant from around the three starboard window openings and Bruce would clean around the port window openings  today (Saturday).

The existing 3mm perspex material will be replaced with 6mm polycarbonate material and the windows will be beveled.

The interesting thing is that replacing the windows has been little more than an afterthought.  When Bruce presented the new polycarbonate companionway sliding door a month ago he commented that it would be nice to also replace the boat's windows.  One look through at the ocean through the new door convinced me try to find time to replace the windows.

Bruce removing window

Port window in seriously bad condition

We expect to have the new windows early in the coming week and hopefully will have them installed by next Friday.

Mast and Plumbing

Bruce has been focusing on preparing the mast, stump, and boom for painting.  We moved the pieces into a vacant shed over the Christmas holidays and Bruce got to work with his two sand blasters which proved perfect for the job. During the process he removed corrosion that could have been done only by blasting, and he uncovered a crack in one of the small braces of the mast stump.  I am not too worried about that crack because the welding had not been done on both sides of the material and Pachuca probably sailed around the world with that flaw.  However, Bruce plans to have the crack welded up properly.

Worst area of corrosion before filling and fairing

Small crack on brace join

The corrosion was worst wherever there was a stainless steel or other fitting covering the aluminium, and although one section had pits almost 3 mm deep we so little structural compromise because the mast and its accompanying sections have very thick walls by contemporary standards - more than 5mm - and Bruce would be filling all of the corroded sections with an ultra expensive ($140 for 0.5 Kg) aluminium putty called "Devcon" which would go rock hard and probably be stronger than the original. He then completed most of the sanding then handed over the remaining few hours of that work to a colleague and set off for the south coast with his wife for a well earned 5-day break. 

No welding on the inner side of the brace join

I spent an inordinate amount of time plumbing the water tanks. I ran short by about 5 meters of the good quality half-inch potable water hosing that Bruce had purchased at Henderson Hose and Fittings and the replacement that I purchased at a local chandlery was simply not adequate.  The problem was that the reinforcing was too light and the hosing crimped very easily, which is a problem when one is force to make fairly tight bends.  Another chandlery offered the same inferior hose and a third chandlery had no half inch hosing at all. I returned to Henderson Hose after they resumed business after the holidays and they were out of the hosing, so I walked away with half-inch plastic hosing that is rated "food grade" and will hopefully not produce that "hose taste" one will get from a garden hose, particularly since I will be using very little of it.

I worked on New Years Eve and New Years Day then returned on 4 Jan and by midday 5 Jan had most  of the work done, including the siting and connection of the pressure pump - in fact all of the work except that I must replace a section of hose that crimped at  the end.

The next stage will be to partially fill the tanks to test for leaks and the functioning of the tank selector valve, pressure pump, and manual pumps.  If that goes well I will completely fill the tanks and ensure that there are no leaks.  I will then siphon the water out of the tanks and flush fresh water through the system to remove any residue from the fabrication of the tanks.

Plumbing on starboard side.  Tank selector valve at left.  Tank at right.  Battery will sit above the hosing.

Plumbing on port side.  Tee piece supplies water to manual tap and pressure pump

. Tank at left.

Tomorrow, Monday the 7th, we will begin a well-planned operation to move the mast to the painter where the aluminium will be etched with acid the spray painting will begin almost immediately.