Messages

Helpful stuff.  Thank you. Just to make sure I'm clear...  For the Lewmar ports my train of thought is that since there is no visible sign of water around the inside of the port, and if there are no fixing holes anywhere that I can't see, (just the big one I look through!) then the ports are not the source of the leak.  In order to get into the deck the water would have to come under the outer bezel to the inside onto/into the wood that I can see, and work its way down to the chain plates from there.  If I understand you right Ron, there are no holes.  But I'll try the silicone round the edge trick anyway.  In a similar vein, modelling clay round the chain plate is in no way permanent, but it's an easy way to make a temporary seal to try prove or disprove it as a leak point.

Regarding the deck joint, my question is about the joint to the sides of the cabin, not to the hull.  I think the core for the cabin top is plywood, and I know the core for the deck is plywood.  I could imagine that during construction a crack is left where the two join.  This could be a conduit for any water that gets in there, such as from the genoa track.

I have persistent chain plate leaks on the port side of the boat and seem unable to cure them.  I have resealed the passages through the deck several times; I have re-sealed the nearest stanchion; I have removed the "eyebrow" for the last 6 months and sealed the screw holes.  Right now, the forward chain plate, which is the worst leaker, is completely covered at all joining surfaces with modelling clay, and it is still "leaking".  Obviously the water is coming from somewhere else.  Any ideas would be welcome, but the main questions I have are:

The Lewmar ports.  Am I right in thinking that they are clamped into position - there are no bolt holes, screws or other holes into the sides of the cabin top?  If that is the case I feel pretty sure they are not the source of the problem, because the insides of the ports are completely dry.

Does anyone know the construction of the cabin top joint with the deck?  Under the fiber glass is there potentially a crack all the way along between the two?  My fear is that if so it might be acting as a conduit all the way along from the genoa tracks, and that is something I really do not want to undo!

Help!

I have some of the teak off my boat for re-finishing now.  I use Bristol Finish and think it is great.  It is so easy to work with, though I've seen some comments that you have to make sure the surface and the atmosphere is dry, else it goes cloudy.  I've just had no problems.  Paint it on with a foam brush, and apply another coat every hour or so.  Ever so easy to build a thick coat.

For the pieces I can bring home, I mix a little in a yoghurt cup or similar, apply a coat or two in the evening after work.  Put the wood in the furnace room to dry, seal the Bristol Finish in the cup with some sticky tape and put it in the drinks fridge (no body has mistaken it for anything potable so far) and it will keep for a couple of days that way.

It's a two part finish.  Make sure the lid and neck of the hardener bottle is clean when you put the lid on - it can become utterly sealed on.

Good luck whatever your choice.

An alternative: I recently had a slight noise and stiffness of the wheel at a certain position, noticeable only when turning in one direction.  Adjustment was needed of the tightness of the drive band in the autopilot - it was binding slightly.  How to do it is described in the manual.

It would be worth checking the sheave at the top of the mast by taking one part of the main halyard in each hand and pulling it from one hand to the other to make sure it runs freely.  If not, there's your problem.  If it's free, then somewhere in all the other sheaves, or possibly the mast track is your problem.

I wonder whether line size is a part of the issue.  I can't remember what the specified range of sizes is, but it would seem that the largest acceptable size would sit on the drum at a larger radius and therefore have greater power.  It might also "bite" better between the drum flanges.

Ron,

When I replaced the line just over 2 seasons ago, I explored all the web sites for line vendors, and others, and found it not commonly mentioned, and the descriptions I found all had their differences.  Granted, a direct question to the line vendors might elicit a few more descriptions.  Based on what I found I made a splice that lasted a few months.  I searched again, found nothing new, and adapted what I thought was the most likely solution.  It is still giving service, yet I feel it may not be quite as good as it could be.

So I wondered what Hood had to offer.

John

Ted,
Do you  have the Hood instructions to share?
John

I like good old-fashioned brightwork.  I've started using Bristol Finish, and am very pleased so far.  It has been on the boat for one year so far, with no signs of failure except where it has been damaged.  What I like about it is that it is very tolerant of unskilled application, and because you can add another coat as soon as the previous one is tacky, you can build coats very quickly.  (However, I have seen a comment somewhere that the user thought it difficult to use - though it appeared to be a case of use in damp conditions, which is a no-no for this stuff.)  Details at www.bristolfinish.com.

For the cabin sole I successfully used a standard domestic polyurethane floor varnish.  It's designed to be hard wearing, and does not need UV protection.

I keep my boat on the hard for winter, and three years ago I noticed that two of the port chain plates leaked at the end of winter when the snow and ice had gone and the sun began to warm up.  They didn't seem to leak in the rain.  I subsequently dismantled them one at a time (completely - down to the rectangular hole through the deck), and resealed them.  This year I noticed the same thing again.  I did a quick job immediately by taking the rectangular deck plates off and re-installing them with plenty of sealant.  I continued to get water dripping from them on the inside, apparently from residual water forced out of the joint by the heat of the sun.  (It's a bit perverse - no leaks when it rains - only when the weather is dry and sunny during spring!)

I'd prefer not to think so, but I begin to wonder if the water is getting in round the port(s) above the deck fitting, or even where the trim strip is screwed to the deckhouse above the ports.  Anybody got any thoughts on this?

People with water collecting on or in the seats may have a similar problem.

Water below the seats may come from the mast boot.  I used to have water come in there, across the table and to the floor.  Spartite has cured that problem.

My first boat had no thru hull and I installed a depth meter.

My present boat had two leaking through hulls when I bought it - not very surprising since the inside wooden wedge shaped washers were not wedge shaped and, more to the point, the holes in the hull were way over-size.  I took out both thru hulls, used epoxy to reduce the hole sizes, and re-installed them.  A season or so later the depth sensor failed and, like one of the earlier writers said, the replacement required a new design of thru hull.  I took out the obsolete one and put in the new.

I used 4200 every time.  No problems once installed.  Not too difficult to remove when necessary.

Round Bay Sailing Association (Severn River on Chesapeake Bay) tall mast, wing keel, 2 blade prop, 135% genoa, no spinnaker - 153

I remove my halyards every winter and re-install them in spring.  I attach a thin tag line during removal, and then use it to pull the line back in in spring.  I use a clove hitch near the bitter end of the line and then a series of two or three half hitches at intervals of about two inches back along the line.  I have sometimes threaded the line through the weave of the rope, but seem to have given that up now.  The secret as far as I am concerned is to use plenty of tape (usually electrical tape) to "fair" the change of diameter from halyard to small line, and then I also use it on the last half hitch.

Ron,
I replaced mine a couple of years ago.  I'm racking my brain to remember what I did.

I put on a West Marine catalog number 174409.  I don't quite remember what I took off, or how, but I know the holes of the new lamp didn't line up with the existing holes.  I was a bit concerned that after disconnecting the wires from the lamp, I might let them go and lose them down inside the mast.  However, when the lamp was removed, there was a knot in them so they couldn't go back through the hole.

I think I filled the old holes with pop rivets.  The new lamp had to be fitted by drilling two holes.  I used pop rivets to attach it.  Not too difficult really.  My biggest difficulty is usually making sure I have everything I need before going up the mast!

I know nothing about your conditions in the North Channel.  However, the wing keel suits the frequently shallow conditions of the Chesapeake, and the tall mast helps in the light winds which occur here, especially in high summer.  I have both.  Typically I fly my 110% in the spring and autumn, when the winds tend to be stronger, and my 150% in about July, August, September.
I find I tack through about 100 degrees, which is not particularly good.  I am still pleasantly surprised how stable the boat can be when close hauled, once I get the sails set up right, she will hold her course for minutes at a time without input from me.