Haulout Spritzig II

[Ozzie]

Thanks David , always rewarding to get her shipshape again

Side track. My 40 year old anchor had been marinating in the anchor locker for about three years and I figured it was time for a renovation About half an hour with a wire wheel, a couple of coats of cold gal, two coats of Killrust epoxy metal paint in “aluminium” colour and we are done. I fitted nice new anchor chain (2 m of 10mm) and new gal swivel. Even I’m not crazy enough to renovate a rusty anchor chain. I have also attacked the anchor locker. Also two packed/oil base under coated and top coated with weather shield gloss white. I had two packed it before but no top coat as it has a drain but what the hey. It cops a fair bit of abuse.

[Ozzie]

Another issue I had been meaning to address for some time was the inadequate failsafe for the anchor rope which was shackled onto a small saddle on the locker bulkhead. I have replaced this with a with a plate bolted to the bottom of the backing plate for my anchor bollard which holds a shackle. I will stick a dob of sika on these to stop them working loose.

[Ozzie]

I’ve got carried away really, the bloody thing still would have worked.

Mate, have you considered getting a helper. Over the years as my back went east, or should that be easter, I’ve often hired my mates sons to help with stuff beyond me. Not only were they fit and full of beans but they were often at uni or these days saving for land or such so a few hours leg work for a few bucks is very attractive. If your like me and probably like things done a certain way you can set up, measure up, mix up, sharpen the pick and shovel, whatever and then supervise the work . Certainly dealing with the stuff toxic to you would be worthwhile if it saves your health. Also as I’ve got help on hand I get more done in a shorter time rather than stepping back with a coffee and gearing up for the next step. Just a thought.

The minister for finance has been a great help and a dab hand with a brush and polish but I suspect an alternative strategy here is when I get the boat in, I get back on the house renos

[Ozzie]

Just dropped one at a time David and then when the front half was done lift the front one up so that it was close but not touching, then drop the back one right down. If the boat is counter balanced with a bucket of water or battery, whatever it’s remarkably stable and then if it does tip to the work side due to wind , or fat pigeons landing or something the worst outcome is a smudge in the wet AF. You could also tie a safety line from trailer to chain plate on the offside as you suggested.

Once again to other readers, safety first. This is not expertise, just school of hard knocks stuff. I did get side tracked once and forgot to tighten the bunk and the boat tipped down on one side to the very lowered position. It was surprising how easy it was for us to right it BUT if I’d been under it rolling paint it may have been an injury or worse. The importance of a good correct sized ring spanner is not overkill here. Get the bolts tight. If your boat were to shift weight during road transfer and your bunks are not tight you could be in big trouble as this is more than likely to happen while negotiating a curve. There are ample news reports on the net on load shift accidents. just sayin’.

These blasted windows are taking more time than all the other work put together.

[Ozzie]

Hello all. I have been stuffing around with windows for a few days . As I mentioned my old original light magenta colour windows were crazed and nearly opaque. Replaced the front one a few years back and it is going to have a solar panel mounted behind it, real soon now!

The front starboard window just about fell out after I removed the screws so no wonder it was leaking , other one not much better. Main cabin windows were much better and the silicone seal had to be cut to release them but the starboard one still cracked during removal.

For anyone wanting to cut out your own windows I warn you it’s a pain in the bum and only for retired people in a lockdown. Do yourself a favour and get new ones cut/done professionally.

I started with one. I found using the old front window as a template not a good idea. After I marked out on the polycarbonate and cut it out the slight imperfections, and there were some, in the original were magnified and I had to do a fair bit of trimming and sanding. For my second one, main starboard, I got smarter , I made a new template that perfectly fit the inner flat section through which the window screws. You could use thin cardboard, but in my case I have a sheetload of old spinal X-Rays which is thin, easy to cut and trim and if you stuff it up just grab another few. Once I had this dead perfect I taped it to my poly and then traced gently around the edge with a medium black builders marker, the ubiquitous blue ones that bunny’s flog off in packets of four.

This gives you an exact 2mm or so extra which you can sand down to fit the fillet moulded into the window frame in the body . Once you get this fillet right the window should fit flat against the inner section you cut your template to and the bit you’ve sanded will give you the perfect seal, shape wise.

Cutting out. I used my multi purpose tool on the front window and while it worked I found it slow going when having to do long cuts. I also tried using a spiral saw I found almost new in the throw out to do the curves but did not find it that controllable. See now why the dude threw it out. In the end a thin kerf metal cutting disk on the angle grinder was the tool of choice. I cut chords around the outside of the curve and carefully sanded back to the line on my bench wheel sander. You need to be gentle and not let things get too hot when cutting and sanding otherwise the poly will just melt rather than cut.

Trimming and chamfering is absolutely done best with a bench style sanding wheel. Everything else was a trial....that failed

As per cruiserpetes job and as I did on my front window I used heatproof gloss black ( engine enamel in my case). This masks the glue, silicons or tape you use to glue/seal the poly

The most terrifying thing about doing this job is it is time consuming and one slip with a cutting instrument or scalpel when trimming your mask and you may scratch or stuff up your surface and it’s game over and start again on that window. Also mark windows and particularly sides carefully. At one point I was up late and tired and had cut and chamfered the poly and spent an hour masking the WRONG #$&$%** SIDE, you want the paint on the inside. Luckily I was too tired to hang it in the workshop and start spraying it. When I got up in the morning I realised what a dunce I’d been.

A masked several “louvre lines” for want of a better word into the window which I’d seen on a big yacht in Europe and I thought it added something to the boat.

All in all I am reasonably happy with the final outcome. They are sealed well and won’t leak. I opted to use new ss stainless screws as the holes were already in the hull and as I’m moored and , well so far so good, why mess with something that has worked for 40 years.

[Ozzie]

Final shot

Maybe not everyone’s taste but I’m happy
My wife snuck this shot in , reckons I make odd faces when I’m doing detailed work. I find it meditational

[Geoff]

Geez Ozzie,

that is flash. Really looks good, and very modernising.

So the mauve/pink was pretty generic back in the day? I thought I had a custom finish.

Thanks for all the detail and the warnings. Mine don't leak at all, so I think. no I know, I won't be changing them until they do.

I'm good with the Dame Edna / Elton John finish, curtains on the inside anyway.

[Ozzie]

I didn’t mind the 70’s look I like the dark tinted poly that Pete had Geoff, but as you can probably guess I got the clear stuff for free LOL.... so I couldn’t help using it.

[Geoff]

Hi Ozzie,

I love free, or as near as. I spent an hour this arvo knocking up a tiller extension out of bits-in-shed.

FOC and I reckon it will do the job, and not too ugly either.

[Ozzie]

Meant to add the glue/sealant I used was Selly’s Flexiseal polyurethane black. It has 25% expansion and I had good success with it on caravan renovations. Yes I did pay for it... but only because nobody was throwing any out

PLEASE SEE MY UPDATED POST LATER ON IN THIS THREAD