Heidi's Dominatrix, #419, has a rash of low, tiny (3mm) blisters which live only in the gelcoat. We ignore them, and they ignore us. Once, when having the keel slurry-blasted, the operator started to do the hull, too, before discovering the error. This opened the blisters cleanly, revealing the sound laminate below. I filled them with epoxy; a pain.
If I were to go after them, I would have the whole hull slurried, then apply a smear of vinylester filler over the entire surface; rough sand while soft, finish when hard, and cover with vinylester barrier.
We use vinyl bottom paint, which can be removed cleanly with vinyl thinner before hull or keel work is started.
Perhaps there’s no better teacher than experience. Rob wrote us with his own solution:
I had plenty of keel blisters to deal with during my haulout of Hull #62 a couple of weeks ago, but that would probably be another topic.
I had only tiny hull blisters - smaller than pinkie-tip size. The most significant ones were revealed just by sanding the bottom paint in preparation for re-paint. Those I ground out just a little ways with a Dremel tool, and let dry a couple days. I tried cleaning them out with acetone, but that tended to bleed the surrounding bottom-paint into the hole, so I abandoned the acetone.
I tried filling the tiny holes with dedicated, fibered blister-filler from 3M, but it was quite hard to manipulate the fibrous stuff into quarter-inch holes. Instead I used 3M underwater fairing compound.
After sanding the hardened fairing compound, I covered with 3M barrier coating. I found this stuff to be really neat - long working time, thick creamy texture that made it easy to apply and shape with a brush, and easy to sand afterwards (too easy if you are not careful). Some of the fairing compound ended up on top of the surrounding bottom paint which doesn't do much good, but hopefully doesn't do much harm.
Oh, I gave up sanding with an electric sander - the old bottom paint just plugged up my paper quickly. I found that wet sanding by hand with wet-or-dry paper was very effective and made a single sheet of sand paper last a very long time. A great tool for this turned out to be the sanding "block" specifically for sheet-rock mud finish sanding. I bought a plastic one from Orchard Supply. It's long and hard and flat with a foam layer under the sand paper, has a big handle, and gives you lots of options for sanding on the flat face versus sanding a tough spot using the edge. This was a heck of a lot more effective a tool than wood blocks.
I used an industrial-quality chemical breathing mask while preparing and using the chemicals, and a good-quality dust mask when dry-sanding, plus safety goggles. Lungs and eyes are in short supply.
In addition, I talked to Craig Page, Yard Manager at San Francisco Boat Works (next dock to The Ramp) who said that in 14 years he has never seen a S22 with serious blistering. Other Schock boats, such as the Santana 35, are also holding up well--nothing beyond gelcoat blisters.
Craig did mention problems we have grown familiar with (unfortunately)
over the years: mast bridge (compression), iron keel (rust), and rudder post
(corrosion).
In our last issue, Judy English (Kokapeli) wrote us that she has a problem with "play" in her tiller. We put the question out to the fleet and received many very thorough responses:
From Charlie Brochard (Tacky Lady): First of all you have to determine the cause. Sometimes all it takes is tightening the bolt that runs through the shaft or tightening the set screw running perpendicular to it. If that isn’t the cause, then the problem is the shaft has worn the fiber bushings within the tube.
I have found two solutions for tiller play, one temporary and the other permanent. The quickest way was to wrap the tiller shaft with a Teflon impregnated fiberglass material which is commonly used to cover conveyor belts in food processing plants. I have a limited supply left. This works for a couple of seasons, but won’t last forever.
The permanent solution is to replace the bushings within the tube. I did this by cutting the tube out of the boat and replacing it with a solid piece of Delrin (~3" OD X ~6" long) machined to just fit the shaft diameter. I left a couple of inches of the old tube at the connection to the hull and had the Delrin tube machined to fit just inside it. I then wrapped this Delrin sleeve from the hull to the hole to the cockpit with several layers of fiberglass.
This Delrin sleeve has eliminated all the tiller play and has not shown any signs of wear (or leaks for that matter) in over 5 years. Happy to show anyone interested in trying it! It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.
From John Skinner (Phoenix): I've had a lot of structural problems
with my rudder over the years. One major
source of play is the
connection between the tiller and the rudder shaft. This play can be
annoying, but does not directly affect performance. In the past, I have
wedged shims (I've tried leather, metal, and wood) in the tiller/rudder shaft
fitting. This approach lasts for a while, but when you lift the tiller,
the shims often fall out.
I have also had play between the rudder shaft and the tube. On early boats
like mine, the rudder shaft simply enclosed by a fiberglass tube. There
are no bearings, as such, in the assembly. The shaft just bears against
the fiberglass
tube. The tube is thus subject to wear by the
shaft. I used to use a Teflon cloth which I wrapped around the rudder
shaft to shim between the shaft and tube (This is easy to do for dry-sailed
boats). This was a partial solution. The problem is that the tube
wears into an oval shape, so the gap cannot be closed by cloth wrapped around
the shaft.
Around 1990 my rudder shaft broke where the shaft exits the hull. I
believe that corrosion was a contributing factor to the failure. I also
believe that dry sailing may have accelerated the corrosion process because of
the additional exposure to air and the concentration of salts at the top of the
rudder which
would be flushed for boats left in water. At this time I
replaced the rudder (I still have both parts of the old rudder if anyone needs
them). Along with the new rudder, I had Kim Desenberg make a bearing of
sorts out of that hard white
plastic material. This has served very
well, but I still have excessive play in the tiller to rudder connection, which
is even worse in the new rudder fitting....oh well.
From Mark Lowry (Soliton): There have been several instances of rudder
failures at the shaft. Typically
what has happened in these cases is
that the stainless tube that is the rudder shaft has corroded enough to weaken
the shaft so that it eventually breaks under load. The thing to look for
are corrosion/electrolysis "pock-marks". Soliton's rudder shaft has some
right at the point where the shaft emerges from the rudder. I look at
these every so often and they don't appear to be getting any deeper and the
amount of material missing is a very small percentage of the tube
cross-section... so, I don't worry... much.
I think the only real solution to this corrosion problem, if it is severe, is to have a new rudder and shaft built... probably pretty pricey...alternatively buy another TUNA and use it for spare parts... jeez, they're cheap enough these days.
The rudder on my Tuna used to have lots of play. I fixed it by shimming the shaft bearing. The procedure was actually pretty easy and quite successful (I think I got the idea from one of those West Systems books). It went like this:
Haul the boat. Remove the rudder. Purchase approximately one
quart of West system epoxy and catalyst, a couple of application syringes,
approximately a quart of cabosil (a thickener that you can get at TAP plastics,
you could use
micro-balloons but that will probably abrade quicker.
Cabosil is much tougher. Make damn sure that you wear at least a particle
mask when mixing the cabosil-- this stuff has properties very similar to
asbestos, I am told--so don't breath the dust!!!), a few ounces of graphite
powder, and mold
release wax. Drill two opposing holes near the top of
the rudder bearing (that's the housing that sticks up out of the cockpit sole);
I think I made my holes about 1/4 inch diameter. Very thoroughly clean the
inside of the rudder
bearing surface. Use soap and water and a stiff
brush, follow with several rub-downs with an acetone-soaked rag.
Next, very thoroughly apply the mold release wax to the rudder shaft, the
bottom of the cap fixture that the tiller attaches to, and even the top of the
rudder. Make several applications of the mold-release wax (this is
very important if you ever want to be able to change course in the future!!!).
Reassemble the rudder into the boat. Carefully support the rudder so
that it lines up with the keel. Catalyze about a pint of epoxy, add lots
of graphite (I don't remember how much I added... so you might want to
experiment a little first), then add cabosil and mix till the consistency of
this mixture is about that of yogurt, maybe just a little thicker. (You
might want to experiment with the consistency a little also). Then fill
one of the syringes with this glop. Inject it into first one hole, then
the other. You need to keep injecting this stuff, till you see it ooze out
around the top and bottom of the rudder shaft. Let the glop "kick-off" and
pray that you applied enough mold-release wax!!
If everything goes as planned you will have a brand-new rudder bearing that
will be VERY tight. I had to ream mine out a little with some fine
sandpaper. The graphite does actually seem to lubricate the bearing pretty
nicely. I
did this repair probably over ten years ago now, and
Soliton's rudder is still nice and tight... just like I like 'em.
If you have a loose rudder though, and the above sounds like too much work,
maybe it really doesn't affect boat speed worth a damn. I once drove
Lindsay's boat on the final day of a regatta (he couldn't sail that day and was
probably so far ahead on points that he would have won had I come in dead
last in that final race). His boat had an incredible amount of rudder
play...it didn't seem to make it go slow, though.... so, go figure.
Notes on Boat Wiring
by Mark Lowry, Soliton
1) Nav lights on the Tuna. Cabin side lights or bow lights?
I would not install those bug-eyed cabin-side lights. I have them, and we always have trouble with the jib sheet hanging up on those damn things while tacking. I would go either with a bow-mounted setup or more streamlined and less snag-proned side-cabin lights (if you can find something like that). Also, I think most lappers cover the side cabin lights when close-hauled...I think (I haven't sailed the Tuna using those lights for SOOOO long, I can't remember for sure) which is not a good thing. I'm surprised that you can't find green LEDs, traffic lights these days are all LEDs, including the green ones.
2) Speedo vs. GPS.
I don't think GPS is very good for optimizing boatspeed on the bay. Since it measures speed over the ground that includes any current component which will confuse your speed through the water measurement. Ideally, I would use both: the difference will tell you whether you are in good water or bad, current-wise.
3) Temporary 12-volt circuits.
I use those cigarette-light adaptors below on our Pretorien, they seem to work pretty well there. On the Tuna, though, I think it might be a little too wet for those things. You can get marine quality two-prong DC fixtures at Sven's or West Marine, I think that is the way I would go for something that will be exposed to the elements-- they have little screw on covers that you can put in place when not in use, also.
4) VHF -- Hand-held or standard and where to put the antenna
If you're not going to mount the antenna on the top of the mast, I would just use a hand-held. I don't think mounting a whip anywhere but on top of the mast makes any sense... since this is all line-of-site stuff, I think today's hand-helds seem to be powerful enough to transmit to the horizon from few feet off the water. Not only that, but going below to work the radio is pain in the ass. Even on our Pretorien, I tend to use the hand-held more, since we keep it in the cockpit. However, if you intend to do much ocean sailing, where VHF range will be more important, I would put a whip on top of the mast with a standard VHF, and I would also have a handheld.
FAQ Comments
Would you put a hole in the wetted surface for a speedo?
*** I did. I would recommend installing as close to the centerline as possible. You usually see them installed forward of the keel (that's where mine is), I suppose to insure that it is in a laminar flow region, as opposed to turbulent flow.
Would you put holes in the hull below the rub-rail for lights, ala Riff Raff ?
*** Either that or some kind of surface mounted light just behind the forestay. If you can find something that would not be totally obscured by the forestay... seems possible to me. Don't worry about putting holes in the boat. Fiberglass is easy to repair, and it's easy to seal a fitting in so it doesn't leak
I rebuilt a Santana 22, including broken rudder and mast on Guam and
sailed it thousands of miles in the Northern Marianas and Guam waters.
I
had more adventures on that small boat than I did on a host of
larger boats
I have sailed all over the Western Pacific (north and
south). I went through
a typhoon at sea with her and numerous rough
water events. I even used
her to carry cargo to the inhabitants of
Alamagan (6 people)and Agrighan (15
people) after the converted
fishing boat that serviced them was lost at sea.
We loaded until water
started coming in the cockpit drains and then set sail
from Saipan. On
our return runs, I carried betel nut, dried fish and glass
balls. (I
found 135 on one beach.) She drove like an old Toyota truck and
could
take much more than I could stand. Many times when things got too
rough and too tired sailing solo,I have offered my fate to the powers
that be at sea and tied a sheet around my waist and went to sleep. I
always woke up alive and afloat. Good enough for me. A couple
years
after selling her, she got hammered by a typhoon and she now sits at
the bottom of the lagoon near Cocos Island on Guam.—Stonewolf
http://www.stonewolf.com