BCC Elizabeth

On a spereate note, Teresa and I got out for the 24th annual Gloucester Schooner Race this year, and it was fantastic. NW 15-20, clear skies, 1-2′ seas… couldn’t ask for better conditions. Amongst the schooners were two of my alma maters: The Westward, and The Roseway. I’m looking forward to my 10 days aboard the Lewis R. French in a few weeks… and some decent tonnage time always helps with the license renewal.

There were quite a number of smaller schooners racing, but the large schooners represented were: Bluenose II, Virginia, Westward, Lettie G. Howard, Roseway, Alabama, American Eagle, and Liberty Clipper. Virginia won in the end, but not without a good fight from American Eagle who only lost by 26 seconds. All the pics can be seen here.

At $85/week for dry storage at Danversport Yacht Club, I’ve racked up quite a bill. My hopeful “6 week project” has become a solid 16 week project. I have a large ziplock bag full of reciepts for all my Elizabeth related purchases…I’m scared to pull it out and tally it all up… but I also am very curious to see how the numbers play out in the end, including the trips to TX, the tractor trailer delivery, the parts, the paints, the tools etc etc etc… I estimate I’ll be into this boat about $20k by the time I cover her up for winter.

The plan is to launch in October, as soon as I get back from 10 days filling in as Mate aboard the Lewis R. French, and motor the boat down to Martha’s Vineyard. I’ll strap the spars on deck, load her up with all the gear, tools etc and move the operation down to my “home” on The Vineyard. So the bulwarks, the mast, the electronics and other sailing items on the list are taking a back seat to the absolute essentials. I’ve cleaned up some of the work mess below and have brought back some of the gear, like the cushions, sails, radar etc…

The Launch & Motor List:
Fill bow hole left from old bobstay chainplate
Re-install chainplates
Change oil
Replace tranny oil
Change fuel filters
Get alternator up and running
Install bowsprit
Install associated standing rigging
Re-install windlass
Check stuffing box
Check all seacocks
Check siphon loop crack
Replace raw water pump impeller
Modify starting battery box to fit 31

Well progress has really slowed here on Elizabeth! Damn distractions… At least this latest distraction was sailing related I figure. One good thing about this distraction was that it forced me to get the dink all waxed and the oars leathered. So… I have had a launching of sorts, however it wasn’t all that. I must mention, I’m not thrilled with the Fatty Knees 7′ so far. I think my oars are too long and heavy for one, but overall I find the boat a bit tender, a bit wet in a chop and difficult to row with two people. I did tie up next to an 8′ model in South Freeport, and it is substantially larger and boasts significantly more freeboard and cargo capacity. This is the model the Pardey’s rave about.

The Sail to Maine was typically mellow and just like last year, as soon as we got into Maine waters, the fog settled round us… a fine welcome to Muscle Ridge Channel, yet again. The purpose of this trip to Maine was 3 fold, no wait, 4 fold: My good friend and brothers wedding in Lamoine, a Lyle Hess Rendezvouz, some shopping in Freeport and of course the Maiden Voyage for Daphne, Teresa’s new Nor’sea 27. All missions were successful.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, and I’m overwhelmed with work to catch up on, I’ll let the photos do the talking and I’ll refrain from wasting too much time here tapping away. Have a gander at the photo gallery located here. Some teasers…

Watertight Decks
I bedded down the forward dorade receptacle and the mast partner thinghy. I’m using Life Caulk for these jobs. I bed it down and tighten the screws a bit, then leave it about 24hrs. The next day I tighten it down proper. I leave the splooged out caulk another day to fully cure then trim it off with a razor blade. In other words, I just follow the manufacturers directions! It comes out pretty clean and just needs a little extra clean up in a few spots. So far that has worked pretty well for me. This allowed me to remove the wretched blue tarp and I can now wash down the decks, and topsides in preparation for some compound and wax.

Fresh Cotton
While the bowsprit is off the boat I thought it would be a good idea to re-caulk the forward bitts. Both of them seemed to be a little loose and the caulking looked shot. On the port bitt, I removed all the cotton caulking; on the starboard bitt i just removed the old polysulfide and added a single layer of cotton (mainly because I ran out of cotton). I had grabbed some cotton from Myles on The Vineyard and bought a caulking iron from Jamestown Distributors. I had done some caulking on some of the wooden schooners I worked on, so I had a bit of a clue about what I was doing, but it always seems weird to me to be trying to make a watertight seal with a water absorbing substance such as cotton. I came to the conclusion that the cotton just holds the bitts in the right place and keeps them from moving around and the Life Caulk I put on top really does the water-sealing. Perhaps. I love projects that make me feel like I’m working on a wooden boat. I coated the bitts with CPES and plan to fill the checks with G-Flex Epoxy.

Sweet Bottom
Sometimes I just need to do a project that makes me feel like I’m getting close to launching… painting the bottom is one of those projects. Really makes me feel like I’m making progress and it looks kinda sexxy to see her lines. I’m planning to do a blue underlayer followed by a black top layer. But I’m undecided right now if I should do a second coat of blue… for a total of 3 coats of bottom paint. It took me less then a gallon to paint the bottom. I assume when I move the jackstands, I’ll use the full gallon. I’m surprised, I thought I’d need more then a gallon to do this bottom. My Nor’sea 27 used a gallon and certainly the BCC has more underbody surface area… hmm…

Finally got the bobstay chainplates design completed last night. Rosie and I were up until 2am getting this just right. Massive thanks to Rosie for his help with all the measuring and for drawing this out in Vector Works. I dropped the plans off at Ramsay Welding & Fabrication this morning. Here’s what I ended up doing, I think it will be gorgeous, very traditional looking and rather sensible. But, damn, it took a long time to get here; worrying, measuring, re-measuring, going back and forth between casting and machining, bronze and Stainless… hemming and hawwing… rather like Dashey Noyes, from Lincoln Colcord’s story Carrying Sail.

Although I don’t think I’ll meet my August 7th launch ‘deadline’, I’m putting in long days and keeping up the momentum in hopes of being damn close…

The Rig
The Rig is finished, all served up in marlin and a few in wire. I learned from Jeff at Rigging Only and Brion Toss via his forums, that I should have served the wire where it bends around the thimble to prevent the strands from loosening and getting out of position… oh well too late. Serving took me about 10 hrs, roughly 30 minutes each, with set up etc. Both Brion and Jeff agreed that serving isn’t going to promote corrosion to the degree that would cause alarm. I’m going to guess I spent a total of about 70 hrs on the rig. It took a long time. With the additional expenses of a marlin, thimbles, some new toggle jaws, paying Myles for his time, I think my overall cost of the rig is about $2,000. I will do a detailed expense analysis soon… I’m scared.

Time Wasted…
Making a casting pattern for the bobstay. I’ve decided to go back to bronze plates on either side of the hull running parallel to the direction of the bobstay. It seems the most logical to me and to other people I’ve spoken to. I’m going to have a machine shop cut and bend the bronze for me. Not wasting any more time trying to DIY. Rosie came up to help me engineer and measure for these pieces. We mocked up a bowsprit, to get the proper angle of pull, and took some measurements with a digital level for angles etc. He is drawing up a schematic to give to the machine shop.

Varnish
I have few varnish projects going on, little by little I’m building up coats. Epifanes is going on nicely. I use penetrol and thinner to keep it flowing, and lay it down. I worked with a Jamacian guy at G&B last year, who would always tell my “more tinnah mon, it need more tinnah.” I will be switching over to Honey Teak on a few pieces, for comparison of longevity.

Bottom Prep
Both sides of the hull are sanded and barnacles scraped. A Few spots of epoxy applied to the barrier coat as needed. I’m not sure what paint is on there now, nor what I’m going to put on. Zincs are installed.

Tiller Rot & Delamination
The tiller is a mess. I’m probably wasting time trying to get this one back to a reliable state, that I can use this summer/fall. I’ll build a new one this winter. I discovered a bunch of dry rot. I CPES-ed it, and have been filling the gaps with epoxy to try to re-glue it. Most of the glue joints are fine, but like the bowsprit, the UV damaged the glue, and the exposed edges of the joints are shot.

Mast Corrosion
The Forespar mast was bought new in 1999 by Steven. It, like most everything on this boat is unused, ie, never been sailed. However, being in TX has accelerated the decay processes. The mast is bubbled all over. Rosie brought up a good point the other day - The sail track is bubbled and the sail probably wont raise! So add that to the list. I’m planning to touch up the mast as needed for now, see how that goes, then at some point in the future either replace the whole mast or repaint it. Tef-Gel, UVHM tape and Lanolin are on their way… I’ll rebed as much hardware as I can.

Deck Core
I’m finaly getting to fill in the exposed deck core with epoxy. I wanted the CPES to have plenty of time to dry out and the solvents to evaporate. Of course, after I applied the CPES the first time, it rained. So I built a temporary cover for the bow of the boat, drilled out the water-logged CPES, let it dry, and applied it again. It’s been along process. Filling in the cavities is a multi-step process. I want to ensure I don’t have any air voids.

Caulking Sampson Posts
While the bowsprit is off, I’m caulking the sampson posts. I grabbed some cotton from Myles, and ordered a caulking iron. I’ll top it off with some polysulfide.

The Scene
My friend Marc is coming up for a few days to lend a hand, but there’s no room at the Inn, I suppose we’ll have to sleep on deck. Sterling arrived. I hope I bought enough. It sure isn’t cheap.

See All Pics Here

Just the way mom used to make ‘em. Interprime on the ’sprit makes the light at the end of the tunnel brighter. CPES takes a long time to dry, and freaks me out. Vacuum Sanding makes alot more noise, but alot less mess. Shiney Stars will guide me home someday.

See All Todays Pics Here

Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer
Sunny, warm, blue skies… I’ve got some CPES mixed up and it’s going in the swiss cheese, I mean, new holes I drilled at the forward Cowl Vent Deck Hole. I used System Three Rot Fix on these holes originally. But I thought the cure time was rather fast, and had suspicions the penetration wasn’t as thorough as I had hoped. So I decided to give CPES a try… it’s advertised to have superior penetration due to its high content of solvents and a long cure time, between 4-12 hrs. I poured some into the holes yesterday evening before I left for the night. Thought I’d give it the night to cure… too bad it poured cats and dogs about an hour after I left.

More Deck Core Rot
With the roaring success of my first attempt at CPES, I decided to give it a shot on the Mast Partner, where there had been some minor rot, and screwdriver/lever gouging from the laborious and expensive mast removal procedure. As I began to dig out the mast partner, I discovered more rot that I had anticipated. Sucks. I’ve gotten pretty comfortable digging out my deck core. And even more so at drilling holes into my deck. To better access the mast partner, I removed the starboard deck box… which of course means 8 more holes drilled in the deck which are then “Dremel tooled” and filled with Epoxy. As I dug into the rotten core around the partners, without fail, the worst spots were those around the screws holding the aluminum mast boot support thingy. I’m beginning to think EVERY screw hole in my deck has rotten core surrounding it. I could spend the next month or so routing out my deck, drilling holes and filing with epoxy… but I’d rather go sailing.

Rain
Sixteen holes later, almost as if on cue, the clouds darkened, the sun went dim, and the rain began to fall. The sixteen virgin holes in my deck were just waiting to be filled with rain water… The mad dash to put away power tools and cover up the naked core ensued… it’s a race I never win.

Fiberglass Bobstay Casting Pattern
I trimmed and sanded yesterdays efforts, and re-mounted it on the bow to begin to finalize the correct shape. I think this is going to work out just fine. A few more strips of mat and some thickened epoxy will supply the necessary strength and rigidity. Bondo will fair it up.

To Sum Up Today…
I’m good at puttin’ holes in my boat, rain sucks, I spend alot of time mixing epoxy.

June came and went…

After a week (felt like eternity) tending to non-boat stuff (like taking my Dad to Martha’s Vineyard for a mini-vacay) I’m back in Danvers, making headway on my projects, with a launch goal of August 7th. This will get me in the water with a few days to spare before heading to Maine for Rosie & Darrahs wedding. A shakedown sail indeed!

Bowsprit Glue Joint Repair
While I was splicing with Myles, I grabbed a scrap piece of Doug Fir, and had it cut down at G&B to fit into my Dremel tooled bowsprit trench. The Dremel tool is NOT the right tool, but I’m making due with what I have. I think I have earned the right to call myself an official Wood Butcher. The Piece cut at G&B didn’t fit, so I had to widen my already sloppy trench a 1/16″ or so. Won’t be a beautiful job, but it should be strong enough I reckon. Good thing I plan to paint the inner half!

The Bobstay Chainplate Saga
I finally decided to definitely replace the glassed in stainless steel bobstay chainplate with an external bronze piece. But I’m still not sure if I should go with a machined plate design, or a cast design. Here I have mocked up quickly, a cardboard version of the machined bronze plate design. I’m not sure I like the idea of the gap between the stem and where the two plates would meet. Structurally, I don’t think it would matter. But visually and in preparation for “hitting things”, I’m not sure it would be the best design. So, I also am working on a pattern for a cast bronze chainplate. I tried my hand at a wood pattern, but with my lack of skills and tools, it was a disaster. So, I thought, why not try a fiberglass version. I gave it a shot, seems to be working so far. Still more fairing and building up to do here of course… Bondo time!

Stripping The Bulwarks
What a task this is! I didn’t have any clue about how time consuming this process would be. I’ve been using a paint stripper and a scraper to get the majority of the paint off. It’s not hard work, but is very time consuming, and I haven’t really gotten too detailed with it yet; the corners and grooves etc. The Sterling 2 part Linear Polyurethane paint has been ordered, and will be here next Thursday. Thank god for Port Supply discounts, that paint is not cheap.

All Pics Can Bee Seen Here!

Why Splice?
At first, I planned to only replace the three wires with cracked swages…but prudence spoke to me one cool clear night, and encouraged me to replace the entire rig. I debated amongst myselves, to splice, to Sta-Lok or to swage. Each has it advantage and disadvantage. Six of one, five and a half of the other, a bakers dozen for the other other. In the end I decided to splice my new rig in 1×19. Why the self inflicted torture you wonder. Pure vanity. I don’t think swages and Sat-Lok’s are very attractive. Being pretty is never easy. And certainly splicing 1×19 is no exception. I blame my schooner-upbringing for this attraction to tradition.

It’s About Who Ya Know
It also helps that I know a great rigger on Martha’s Vineyard, Myles Thurlow, who has rigged most of the G&B boats, including their largest schooners: Juno, Rebecca and Charlotte. He also worked on The Pride of Baltimore’s re-rig after she was dis-masted off the coast of France 2 or 3 years ago. He has offered to not only teach me to splice, but is also letting me use his shop and tools. He will work alongside me as his time permits, and I will pay him for his work, to help speed the process along.

The Brutality Of It
Splicing 1×19 is not complicated at all, infact I find it conceptually simpler than splicing 3 strand rope. It is however physically difficult. These wires simply do not want to bend the way you need them to. But some hammering and tugging, a few bloody finger tips, some sweet talking (aka cursing) and a nice pair of leather gloves really help coax them into position. Practice makes perfect they say, and I have 34 total splices to do for this rig. Myles did the 3/8″ bobstay today. I did none, only practice splices. So, 32 left to go, 30 if I skip the backstay insulation for now. I’m betting I can get 5 done tomorrow, 6 done the next day etc, and could wrap this up in about 5 days if I were to do them all myself.

Here’s some pics. Myles 3/8″ bobstay splice before serving. The Strands unlaid, ready to begin. My two ugly practice splices pathetically trumped by a very beautiful, near perfect 1×19 splice. All Pics Here