Viajador, Hull no. 33 update

[Jasper & Karen]

Hello, all--

We're long overdue for an update here.  We hauled Viajador in October, 2014 to deal with some extensive cracking of the fibreglass on the decks and cabin top, as well as some rusty fasteners that were bleeding through the hull.  Thirteen months later, we splashed back into Howe Sound (BC, CA) with a very sound hull, a brand new cabin top and not much else done!  We're currently hunkering under an inelegant but reasonably effective tarp tent, which the 70 kph winds last night failed to completely remove. 

I've learned a lot this past year working on her:

1)  never strip fibreglass while wearing leggings

2)  never strip fibreglass if you can get someone else to do it

3)  if the thought of patching your fibreglass gives you pause, try stripping some...you'll LOVE putting it back on by comparison

4)  fibreglass should be patched at the first sign of a hairline crack...not 15 years later.

As you will guess from the above, the cracking had resulted in extensive delamination of the 'glass and we quickly realized we were into a job that would take far longer than we'd planned. 

The boat yard didn't help much, in that they parked us with the aft end hanging out over a sheer cliff with 40 feet of rip rap between Cliopatra's couch and the ocean; and with our nearest neighbour near enough to touch. It took me the better part of a year to convince them that it would be bad for business to have clients rappelling off their transoms to get at the work that needs to be done.

I spent a good part of the year smurf-blue, because our bottom paint had decided to flake off when pressure-washed, right to the 'glass in places, but stick like s**t to a blanket elsewhere. After 60 years, I figure there were some 40 coats that had to be ground off to get her anywhere near smooth!  We opted for a blue-black bottom this time: that smurf-blue stuff turned my hair green right through my hat.

Because of the delamination, we'd had some water intruding in places and many of the hull fasteners had rusted. I opened up all those, treated the fasteners with Blue Steel, filled the holes and then made my first ever foray into fibreglassing.  I'd read a manual on it and it didn't look like rocket science. The manual didn't mention that you don't have to cut the patches to the exact size and shape, so I spent an inordinate amount of time trimming little patches before Jasper straightened me out!  However, MY patches, unlike some others I could mention, cannot be seen now that it's painted.  Two of us were very surprised by that.

Meantime, Jasper was working on the cabin top, where we'd found extensive rot around the mast partner, starting from the hatch cover.  We had an enormous skylight over the forward berth for the longest time, while he patiently chiselled out layers of plywood further aft, and planned out the replacement.  It would have gone like clockwork, but for the fact that today's 3/8 plywood isn't quite the same thickness as the 3/8 plywood of 1956.  Long story short, that job's done and it's as smooth as can be.

Meantime, renting both an apartment and the space at the boatyard was killing us, so we opted to go back in the water as soon as the hull and bottom were done, without having had time or weather to re-glass everything we'd stripped.  Hardly ideal, but not much to be done about it, either.  Our cover isn't waterproof enough to keep the wood dry enough to put the glass on, so whether she spent the winter on the hard or in the water, the decks would be wet.  Far better that we should be on board, I figured, to keep the cover as intact as possible in these winter storms, and tend to any collateral damage.

The night before we launched, we spent on board in the boatyard and it was hellish weather.  It blew so hard it actually shifted the boat in the cradle-- a most unsettling sensation!  I doubted we'd be able to go in the water the next day, but it dawned clear and bright and nearly windless-- a minor miracle for November in these parts.  We pulled off the cover in short order; the engine started after a brief cough and we made a completely uneventful passage back to our Bowen Island home.

It's wonderful to be back on board again, even if it is winter.  Though I feared the boat would leak like a sieve without the fibreglass being intact, it's actually drier than ever because we don't have those mysterious rivulets of water running under the fibreglass and turning up in unexpected places.  In fact, the only place I'm seeing any water intrusion is around the mast, which I'm determined to fix tomorrow with the dreaded Sikaflex.  If only the wind will leave off for a bit...last night, it ripped the grommets for quarter-turn fasteners clear out of two layers of 12-mil poly, leaving about 12' of the port side of our cover flapping madly in the wind.  It took two of us to tame that with tarp clamps.  Hoping for a much calmer night tonight.

Karen

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Just to add to Karen's answer for Bob (and not to counter what Karen showed) here is a couple of shots I have that Karen sent me in 2008.  Thanks Karen, for all the pictures you have given me.

[Jasper & Karen]

Here's a shot we snapped today from up on the hill over the marina--pretty much the same view as from our boat, but from about 100' higher!

[bob mitchell]

well happy new year to you guys. I really appreciate your contributions, and I know Captain Clyde does too. This is the time of year I have to make money, but will be back on the boat in a couple of months. Would love to see a photo of that beautiful winter you are having.

[Jasper & Karen]

Clyde, Bob--

We wish you both a very happy holiday season!  Hope you're turkey-sated and not suffering from an excess of 'wisdom' this morning. We had the perfect 'white Christmas':  the snow stayed on the mountains where we can admire it without trudging through it; the sun shone, the sockeye and the turkey smoked to perfection and we had the most congenial hosts for dinner.  Today, on to the best part of Christmas:  the smoked turkey sandwich!

Happy to say the winds have calmed considerably since that first night aboard and we've suffered no further detarpification...detarpment...check that one out with the English teacher, please, Clyde!

Best,

Karen & Jasper

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Thanks for your interesting update.  There are some good lessons there for all of us.  I think the best is to repair the hairline cracks right away.  Those fifteen years can do a lot of damage to the underlying plywood, and that may be some distance from the crack itself.

The other lesson I saw there was to make sure you make the yard put the boat in a proper place, meaning do not let them squeeze you in between other boats (or hanging over a cliff) where none of you have room to work on your own boat.  Demand at least six feet of space (I would want more than that!) all around if you are planning to do some work on the boat.  They will want to squeeze you in so they can put more boats on the hard and increase their income.  They need to know that pinned in customers will not be good advertisers for them.  An unhappy customer won’t say good things in favor of the yard when treated so shabbily. 

I was thinking of you when I saw the weather map of the storm system approaching your coast.  I’m always looking at the weather all around North America, with a nephew in Alaska, you folks in BC, school friends in southern California, a daughter in Wisconsin, more school friends in Colorado, a brother-in-law in north central Arkansas, the matriarch of a family of friends in Down East Maine (her children are in Virginia and central Pennsylvania), and family in Maryland, South Carolina and Florida. (Now, that’s a sentence that won’t pass my wife’s grading.  She is a retired English teacher!)

Best of luck for the winter!  I was going to say “the winter coming” because we have had a long beautiful fall season and are still very much in it, being still in the 50’s (F) and will be in the 60’s through the end of this week.  But enjoy being at home now after so long on the hard.      Peace, Capt. Clyde

[bob mitchell]

How splendid. I really miss not hearing from you guys. GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT.  I know it was years ago, but I really enjoyed "getting some wisdom"!