Long Days, Lots Of Open Projects
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.
Ben,
We saw a BCC sailing in Northport bay yesterday. Looked really nice, it was the first time that I have seen one in this area. How is everthing else going? Were really gunna miss you at our wedding, too bad you can’t make it. Talk to you soon.
-Todd
Nice update Ben. Teach us a bit more about varnishes. I have a project and I’d like to pick the right finish and thinners.
Todd — that BCC was probably Susie Q, my friend Rich from Northport. Yeah wish I could make it down for the nuptuals, would like to be there
Rich — I’m no expert in varnish by any means, but I do like to experiment. I’ve used Epifanes on every schooner I’ve worked and also at G&B. Seems to be the standard amongst traditional types. I used Honey Teak on Chamois, and will be using some of that on Elizabeth in the near future. I think 2 part finishes are the way to go. You can re-coat a few times in one day, for quick layer build up. Interlux Perfection and Detco’s Crystal are other 2 part options I haven’t explored yet. I don’t like what I’ve seen of Cetol, seems to always gets cloudy. However, I don’t have any personal experience with it, and have no intention of trying it.
Ben,
Looks like things are moving along very nicely. Love you site. I have always wanted to own a BCC so its nice to vicariously follow your progress. To be honest, I am surprised at how much rot, mast issues, chain plate issues, that you are having. Sam Morse builds a great boat so its interesting to see how much work is actually involved to bring it back to bristol… kind of scares me if I were ever to buy one of these in the future. Also, cant imagine how a lesser made boat would fair. I hope you can get her on the water close to your launch date. Good Luck and I cant wait to see some Chamois type sailing vids!
In regards to Cetol… I restored my Cape Dory 25 last year. 150 hours of work including scraping and stripping the wood bare and refinishing. I used Cetol for the job and talking to a guy that had lots of varnish experience (restores those nice wood Chris Craft motor boats) he said people run into issues with too many coats of Cetol and that is why it gets cloudy/muddy. He recommended putting only 3 coats and then sand down one before each season and add another. I have followed that advice plus added two coats of the gloss and it looks nice. Not as great as varnish but a compromise instead of 12 coats of varnish.
Cheers,
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Ya know I thought the same thing… it’s a highly regarded SLM boat.. how can there be issues with deck core!! But the fact is, any boat that is neglected will go to crap. I am still surprised though that any manufacturer would leave exposed deck core at such places as the anchor spill pipe etc… I’m sure there is a good reason… But as far as I know, most SLM boats have no issues with deck core. My chainplate issue I believe are due to the rig being loose for many years while the boat sat in TX. Worst thing you can do to stainless is allow it to get torqued around by a loose rig. The mast was replaced in 1999 by the previous owner. It is a Forespar. It has never been sailed. The previous owner said it began to bubble within 2 years of purchase. He was very disappointed with the prep and paint of this mast from Forespar. I guess they had a bad schedule for prep that month… who knows. Anyways, if the boat didn’t have all these projects, I would have never been able to afford it - so I see these projects as a blessing!
I bet if you do Cetol right it looks good, Interlux makes good stuff. Got any pics? 3 coats does sound nice!
You and me both can’t wait to see some sailing vids
Thanks for the shout.
Ben,
Below is a link pics of “Pintle” the CD25 that I own. One question… the BCC that was for sale (from the SLM website) on Cape Cod. Did you check that one out before buying Elizabeth? I was going to check it out. Sounds like nonstandard interior as a work in process and teak decks but wondered if you had any info/experience after viewing the boat? Also, do you know of any Nor Seas for sale around Massachusetts? I am a member of the NS owners group on Yahoo but wondered if you had any local knowledge of good boats for sale… timing was bad for me on Chamois… otherwise… that would have been an awesome boat to have.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24241390@N03/
Can’t wait for your launch! Such a fine time.
Regards,
KD
KD!
I did check out that BCC on Cape Cod. It’s a project for sure… defintely more of a project than Elizabeth. It’s Canadian built, with teak decks, and older Volvo engine. Interior will need some work, and of course so will exterior. Would be a good project if you have time, space and money to invest.
-B