After
Mast Base (under the step)
This is a project I did not anticipate, once I removed t he step I realized that someone had hidden some damage with good old fashioned Bondo (auto-body putty). Once I ground and hacked all of this out I could see the real problem. My guess is at some point the mast took a hard push side ways. Probably while stepping or un-stepping the mast. It stressed the fiberglass around the base and bent the step a little. I don't know fore sure what caused it, but I do know that Bondo is not the answer. I continued to remove layers until I could see the original design. The four mast step bolts were glassed into the base and drilled through a piece of teak before being glassed in at the top - and then of course the 1/2" of Bondo. So it's a total rebuild. 12/27/17 - As you can see from the after photo the mast base, paint and windows are now complete. I have been busy working while the temperature allowed me to. Today and most of this week the high's are around 17°F (-8.8°C) with the low's around 8° (-12.7°C). I can't heat my shop when its that cold so I am, catching up on the Blog.
Before
After
Before
While the blog isn't finished the boat is. We spent 10 days aboard competing in the Race to Alaska 2018 (R2AK.com). The 30+ knot winds and big seas proved a bit to much for this tough little boat. With a bent the mast and bow sprit which forced us to exit the race without finishing. Still I love and respect this little boat. we consistently took this boat into conditions she was not designed for. We not only survived but had one of the greatest adventures of my life aboard her. We are planning a another run at the R2AK in 2020 aboard a new to me Hobie 33. Whic is in the middle of a major restoration.
Silhouette 17 Progress & Projects
Top Side Paint
Monsta-Liner AKA Truck Bed Liner
As you can imagine the topsides were a mess and the 40 year old hardware was not up the potential stresses of the R2AK. Once the decision was made to replace all of the deck hardware the decision to paint was an easy one. The reality of sanding, sanding, and sanding some more is much more arduous than anticipated. I am going to go a bit un-conventional with my topside paint. I have used many different non skid paints over the years and I don't really like any of them. Three years ago I used some Monsta-Liner on the Morgan 25 as an experiment and I like the results. It's made for truck beds, is naturally non-skid, and extremely tough. So the non-skid areas are going to be slate grey Monsta-Liner with white cabin sides. This is a continuation of my Monsta-Liner experiment as I really like the idea of using this stuff on my 40 footer as well. 12/27/17 the non-skid turned out extremely well and looks great! The White paint is acceptable but could have been better. I was fighting temperature limits and even had to sand the first attempt completely off. It hard to get pics of the paint job but I posted a few. I used Total Boat "Wet Edge" for the white. You can get it form Jamestown Marine.
After
Before
Aft Hatch Lid
12/27/17 This turned out to be a huge project. So much so that I wrote an entire page just about this hatch and what I went through. As of today it is not 100% done It needs a final coat of varnish and the sail battens I am using as a torque hing installed. Here are some before and after photos. Click below for the step by step and additional photos.
Outboard Attachment Replacement
My outboard attachment point was falling apart. I cut it out completely and made a new one. There are some pictures on this page of what it looked like after I cut it out. I used white oak to make the new one. I chose to both glass it in and mechanically attach it to the transom. I epoxied Coosa board to the inside of the hull because I felt it was too thin to offer any support for mechanical fasteners. The pics pretty much tell the story of this project. As I am writing this I am still fairing and sanding so you are not seeing the final product. Three layers of glass plus two 3.5" stainless lag bolts through the side.
Interior Hull Supports
As you can see from the photos mine were completely gone. I made wood patterns, purchased the steel and delivered it to a welding shop for fabrication. This turned out the be the easy part. I anticipated that what I got back would not be a perfect representation of my pattern. This proved to be true and required me to "true them up" using fiberglass. I used a strong mix of glass powder, silica, chopped fibers and glass cloth/matt to create a base. Then I used three to five layers of clothe/matt to wrap it with. My original supports were tabbed in two locations with about 4 inches of cloth width. As you can see I used three tabs per side 6 inches wide. So each support is tabbed in six separate locations. There is a significant increase in hull stiffness now that this project is over. Given the potential stress of the R2AK, in my opinion it was a requirement.