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Messages - Dale Stone

#1
Hi Ron,
Using west micro balloons was my initial patch thoughts too. Until I saw the bondo, not sure it is the right  choice now.

Thanks
Dale
#2
Main Message Board / 34 MKII Wing Keel Fairing
May 14, 2019, 02:36:18 PM
Hello All,
Hope you are either sailing or soon to be. I have stripped the paint off my 2001 MKII wing keel. There are a few random dings and some on the leading edge.
There looks to be the beginnings of the infamous smile but further investigation and probing resulted with cracking of the top coat (gel coat or something very hard) which covers what looks to be soft bondo fairing/ filler that was used to fill the stub_keel interface. All the other dings have the same bondo like filler showing as well.

Anyone have a similar experience? I had planned to fix the dings with epoxy but now am considering bondo.

Thanks
Dale
#3
Main Message Board / Re: Where to find Rydlyme?
April 02, 2019, 08:59:29 AM
I have the same challenge. I called them APEX Engineering yesterday and decided to get it from Amazon. That is until I saw the enormous shipping cost. I'm calling them again. The good news is APEX was very responsive and the tech support is very good.
#4
Good idea Ken. The manufacturer had a similar suggestion.

Thanks
#5
Hi Gunner,
Depends on your perspective. Northeast coast season is at best 3 months. Your season may be 9 months.

The peeling old bottom paint is kind of a mess. I'd rather get it down to gel coat and start fresh. That is what I did on the previous boat and the bottom paint maintenance become much easier.

Which Petit do you use? I was using water based (no copper) ablative. It worked well for me.
#6
Ok, I have the exchanger apart and was going to soak it in a bucket before assembling it with new gaskets and o-rings. I could agitate the RydLyme while soaking it. Do you think that will be enough?
#7
Thanks Ken and Ron,
I did see RydLyme on the forum and watched a few YouTubes about it. Amazing stuff that works and one guy was melting shells in his bare palm with it. Don't think I'll try that though!

PPE is Personal Protection Equipment, good practice. Going to a nearby Universal/ Westerbeke dealer tomorrow for gaskets and hoses.

Another 2 to 3 months and I will be sailing again. Hope the same or better for you guys.

Thanks
Dale
#8
Heat exchanger for the C34MK II M35B:
I removed the unit and all the hoses this weekend. With covers off, I did see build up and chunks (of what I don't know). Though the condition looks reasonable and now to change the little bleed valve and cover gaskets/ o-rings. I've seen a few YouTubes about de-scaling it with Barnacle Blaster. Anyone have experience with this or other/ better products?

Also it is time (past time) to change the hoses. A few of them are molded and I will  check on where and how much $$ replacements.
Any experience, comments on this topic is appreciated.

I'll do a search on C34.org next, probably should have done that first.

Thanks
Dale
Dale   
#9
Hi Gunner,
I am just guessing because I've owned her for just 2 years. The first year she was on the hard all year for long over due maintenance and a several nasty deck leaks and a real nasty rotten core below the port winch next to the cockpit seat locker. BTW, if you have a C34 MKII, check that piano hinge. If it is loose, it could cause severe balsa core moisture.
Back to the bottom paint, I put her in last year and didn't paint her, thinking she had more than paint already. I did wash/ scrub the bottom 2X during the season hoping to remove the buildup. I'm sure I got some of it off but not much, relative to the overall thickness. There are some bare spots now due to peeling.
She is 18 years old, the PO didn't use her for the last 5 years of ownership. With that, estimate 2 coats per year X 12 years and with some ablative action and I guessed the bottom paint is 24 - 8 layers to be 16 layers thick. Not very scientific or accurate, I'm sure.

I did try test patches of stripper this weekend. Unfortunately the weather never got above 50F for the 24 hour soak. I used Peel Away #1, Multi Strip and Easy Off Oven Cleaner. After 6 hours all 3 were working however not done to bare Gel Coat. After 24 hours, the Peel Away #1 had got down to the Gel Coat (barely) and the other 2 still had bottom paint.
Looking at the edge created by the stripper to Gel Coat, the paint thickness is about 1/32".
I've decided to use the Peel Away when the temperature gets above 60F and just do the keel and rudder this year.

I've have used the water based ablative by Petit on my last boat and 2 coats were easily removed at fall pull out and spring pre launch.

So I'll patch the old paint where needed and put the water based ablative on the stripped locations. Hoping to avoid build up and easy removal once all the old paint is gone and allow for a barrier coat. I expect that will be in 3 years. Good thing I'm not in hurry!

Never heard of the coal blast, very interesting. I would guess the cost is similar to soda or crushed glass blast.

I have another question about the heat exchanger but will use a separate post.

Thanks
Dale
#10
Thanks for the replies. I understand the comments of difficulty using this and other strippers. But because I used Easy Off Oven Cleaner on a previous boat with not so bad results, I got to give this stuff a spin. The temperature in New England is above 60F for the next 2 days and I will try a few test patches.

I had conversations with 3 blasters so far. Quotes are $2K and above, two of them used crushed glass and the third uses soda. I've seen two blast jobs in the last 3 years and was horrified with the end results. I expect crushed glass was used and not soda or corn.

I'll pass on the results from the test patch next week.

Thanks again for your replies.





#11
Hello C34 owners and others,
This is not a new topic but I am finding just few comments about it with the search engine. Has anyone used Peel Away to strip bottom paint? I have used Peel Away for interior trim and liked the results in the way way past. But not for bottom paint.

The manufacturer has a marine stripper, smart stripper II and several more versions. I just bought a gallon of the older "Peel Away One" for a trial.
More questions:
1) Was it effective for thicker layers? I have a 2001 C34II which looks to have 16 coats of ablative.
2) Any concerns or experience with Peel Away about the gel coat?

I am not crazy about blasting, not only for the rough surface left behind but also the >>>cost. I have used Easy Off Oven Cleaner on a 1988 P27 several years ago with good results. It did not effect the barrier coat. I expect the Peel Away will be similar.

Sorry for this painful topic. Welcome your thoughts.

Thanks
Dale
#12
Hi Scott,
Love the video, saw the whole thing. Nice family and great vacation_sailing area. I have the same boat, furling main and all. I noticed your main outhaul car was more forward than mine. I adjusted mine back to ease the roll out. I think it helped but have only one season on her.

I'm thinking of a drone as well and noticed how you snatched yours. Nice job!

What drone did you get?

Thanks
Dale
#13
Main Message Board / Re: 2002 Mk II Hatch
February 23, 2019, 02:24:40 PM
Hi Robert
Tried a reply earlier but didn't go through. Maybe due to an attachment.

Anyway, I am not a victim of hatch related sougey core. Both forward and main hatch trims removed. Exposed core and interior plywood are sealed with I believe poly resin. Not sure by whom. PO didn't do that type of improvement but the trim kits were cracked before removing them. Maybe he did but maybe Catalina did that prior to 2002. My boat is a 2001.

I need a couple of trim kits now, hope Lewmar has them.

I can sleep better with knowledge of not needing to do a core repair again.

Thanks
Dale
#14
Main Message Board / Re: 2002 Mk II Hatch
February 21, 2019, 10:58:58 AM
Hi Robert
I'll report back after this weekend. I love the boat but have some issues with details like yours and mine of last year. When I fixed the piano hinged locker, I made sure no water would ever again get in that area. I would hope Catalina would have thought to seal exposed balsa around hatches. Thanks to this site and others, our experiences can warn others and we get great information in return. Thanks for sharing.
#15
Main Message Board / Re: 2002 Mk II Hatch
February 20, 2019, 12:22:42 PM
Hi Robert,
Good description of your find and work. I agree that using a wood filler for most of the repair is better than filled resin. I am now concerned I will have the same problem with a second  C34 II owner confirming it. I'll be taking off the inner trim this weekend. So you think the butyl tape had a minor leak?
Another spot to look at is the piano hinged seat cover in the cockpit. I had several loose wood screws that penetrated right into the core and had to replace a large section underneath the port winch and 12" aft. I used a plywood filler with filled resin and attacked it from the underside which is not usually recommended. But is is now fixed and better than new and will never leak again.