Completing the Refit of Calypso
The Cracks in the Hull
In the last post I noted that Calypso had a fair number of vertical cracks as shown below and in the previous post.
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| The Vertical Cracks are Showing |
This was puzzling to me, since cracks in the paint caused by the sun are spider cracks. However, when I visited the Annapolis Boat Show on Oct. 5th and 6th, I met Tim Jackett, the designer of the boat and he had the answer for me.
Gelcoat does not adhere to the epoxy resin used in the hull. So, Tartan inserted a bonding material in between. Over the years the material cracked as did gelcoat, but one the epoxy resin in the fiberglass. So the hull is sound and seaworthy, the Calypso just looks cracked.
October 10th: I found the boat in one of the paint sheds at Milford Boat Works. It had been moved in sometime earlier.
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| The Shed |
The location of Calypso is in the white plastic covered shed in the picture above. After I did some work consisting of removing the solar panels and the bimini and taking some measurements of the lens of the crazed hatches and did some other minor maintenance, and after I discussed some items with Larry, the yard manager, and Cliff, the electrician, I took some pictures of Calypso's state.
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| The Deck |
As can be seen from the pictures above, the deck of Calypso doesn't seem to be particularly out of order, but for the fact that the wheel is laying on the foredeck!
However, the topsides are still looking like a mess, though a well sanded mess as shown in the following pictures.
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| The Sides of the Boat |
Obviously, I will have some difficulty taking pictures of the boat inside the paint shed and that's OK since it will have a much better paint job inside.
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| Work Continues |
Now Calypso is completely surrounded by scaffolding as the work continues. The first thing that I noticed was that there was some work on the bottom. The last time I saw the boat the joint on the starboard side is shown in the following picture.
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| The keel joint on October 3rd |
The epoxy covering the lead in the keel had separated from the actual lead. Now, (October 17th), new epoxy filled in the separation. Notice, also, that the some initial barrier coating has been done, apparently.
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| The Keel Joint filled |
Preparatory work on the topsides looks to be about complete except at the stern.
The Starboard Side
The Port Side
However, there is still much work to do on the stern. As shown in the following pictures, there are many spider cracks (look carefully at the blue in the pictures following).
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| Port Side Stern |
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| Starboard Side Stern |
While they are hairline cracks they are visible (looking carefully) in the pictures and will need to be repaired before the Awlgrip primer is applied. I have been told that the reason for these cracks is the color of the boat, flag blue. Dark colors absorb light converting into heat which causes spider cracks in the finish. This one of the reasons that so many cruising boats are white.
So I suspect it will be another week or two before Jerry, the man refinishing the boat, will be able to start applying the primer, though I may be wrong.
Another item on the list was one that the surveyor of the boat noted, before I acquired the boat. Many of the exhaust ports for gray water and water from the cockpit come through the stern above the waterline. These ports are plastic that crazes in the sunlight and therefore were liable to break apart.
As shown in the following picture, these are being replaced.
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| The Exhaust Ports |
Hatches and Woodwork
October 17th: went back to retrieve the companionway woodwork and hatches. The folk at Milford Boat Works deconstructed most of the woodwork of the companionway, exclusive of the two walls, one of which I did last spring and the other that I will do this winter.
Here they together with the hatch lids in the back of my car.
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| Parts in the Back of the Car |
You can see the lens crazing in the following photo. While it really doesn't look like in the two photos above, the wood of the companionway needs some serious TLC.
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| Crazed Hatch Lens |
Apparently, crazed lens like the one you can see can split or cave in during a serious blue water storm. So the lens need to be replaced if I actually use the boat for some blue water cruising.
And Calypso's deck looks very forlorn with no hatches.
The Deck in Deconstruction
Until next time, in two to three weeks.
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