Back! Part 2

we moved the boat in the end of April from Sardis,MS, a landlocked lake to Pickwick,TN, on the Tombigbee waterway, a straight shot to the Gulf of Mexico. Yeah baby!  We used a guy out of Nashville, TN called Sailors Moving Sailors. A real class act. 

The sailing is better at Sardis but the fact of not being landlocked is a huge plus when it comes to Pickwick. The class of marina is better at Pickwick also. 

Back!

The past several months have been incredibly busy. To sum up progress, fiberglass work, wood work, and boat moving, and a sprinkling of sailing in between. 

Early this spring I got the chance to fix the delaminating cabin top and companionway step. I thought I was going to be a daunting task, it wasn't. It was messy though. 

The companionway step when I split the layers. A spongy mess. 

Here is what lays beneath the Cherubini's skin. Little pieces of 1/2" balsa. Lots of little pieces. I replaced the balsa with a solid piece of 1/2" marine grade plywood. I scored the backside to allow it to curve with the fiberglass. The only mistake I made was I didn't score the outside edges enough. The plywood lifetime on the edges. It took a lot of slanging to get the edges back tot he same level.

I couldn't get a picture of the plywood filler because I was sort of covered in epoxy. Lol. 

The decks got new interlude Interdeck nonskid to complete the process.

Still woodworking!!

The cold weather that we had over the last couple of months has really stalled the renovations to the boat. We have managed to get some of the interior redone. I will post some pictures in the near future of the woodworking we are doing. If it can be pulled out reasonably then it has, or will, come home to be sanded and redone. The galley is also under renovation. The Kenyon alcohol stove was pulled and I went through it and got it back up to speed. I plan on redoing the formica countertops next and maybe a drawer face redo.

The head is behind us now...Part deux

Another handy piece of advice, one I learned after the fact, Do not set the toilet back in until all of the woodwork is back in it's place. There are certain pieces that were a bear to put back on with the toilet in the way.

Speaking of toilets, after filling and then re drilling the holes, I used life-calk and stainless steel lag bolts to reset it. I also added the mahogany trim to the water lines for the toilet as they were barely screwed into place with some drywall screws.


The shelf inside the bottom cabinet was also pulled and refinished while I had everything apart.

This is the fore hose that is behind the upper cabinet in the head...It's for the main bilge pump

This is the aft hose behind the upper cabinet in the head... It's for the shower bilge pump

I also replaced the bilge pumps thru hulls as they were nothing but a tube sticking out of the side.

Done for now. After the holidays I will continue working on the cabin woodwork and the next major project until the spring/summer haul out will be redoing the galley. So stay tuned...

The head is behind us now ..Part one

We finished the restoration of the head on our Hunter Cherubini 33. What a job, the results are fantastic and well worth it.

Here is a blow by blow recount of the job:

Here is the reason for the redo. The bottom of the inner bulkhead was rotted out at the bottom. The damage was probably from the integrated shower, and the fact that the wood is 31 years old. I doubt the tree the wood was made from was that old when they cut it down. I took out the three main walls to the bathroom and redid them with marine grade plywood. I do some pro bono work for a cabinet maker. He lets me use his high grade tools, and I give him free labor on some of his jobs he needs help with. It's a win-win situation for both of us. I followed his advice and we finished the plywood with an acrylic paint, like car paint, designed for cabinets. I will update the long term results in a few months to get a initial determination on the longevity of the idea. I finished the edges of the plywood with epoxy to seal the end grain to inhibit any water getting the wood.

This is what the head area looked like without any walls. The only wall I did not remove was the fore wall that is part of the main cabin. To remove that wall would mean I would have had to dismantle the drawer area. The plywood on that wall was fine and there was no damage to it at all. If you look close, I was also working on the engine cover and I redid all of the wood in that area also, while I had everything apart. I word of advice to anyone trying to tackle the project, To remove and replace the inner bulkhead, you have to cut it in half to get it out of the boat. The replacement piece was cut just below where the top of the engine cover screws onto that wall. I used the old pieces to make templates for the new ones. The inner wall was a guesstimate due to the bottom of the old one being rotten. It took some trial and error to get it just right. I also had to remove the toilet to get the walls out. It was a good thing I did, because the toilet was bolted down with galvanized lag bolts and they were almost rusted through.

This was where the toilet was bolted. It looked like it had been moved once before.

Don't use galvanized anything on a boat. Here's why.

 The holes where the toilet was located were filled with epoxy and the re drilled to ensure they were sealed properly.

Here is the cut I was talking about so the wall could make it into the boat. It's just below the screws.

The walls went in without any major issues. I had to trim a couple of the trim pieces so they would fit correctly.

I also fabricated a new trim ring for the sliding door area.

Here is the trim board I made out of mahogany to cover the cut on the head side. I still have to finish it out on the cabin side.

Head almost done

I finished the bulkheads for the head today. We are going to try something to see how well it works in the long run. A friend of mine owns a cabinet shop and I have been using his stuff to do a bunch of the woodwork. He brought up the idea to paint the walls in acrylic lacquer to finish the wood off. I have to admit the plywood looks extremely good.

 A quick update. Head is almost done, pictures were taken but I left the camera on the boat. Heading down tomorrow to do some more work, and i will grab the camera to update the blog.

Whew!!

I did a bunch of sewing with a Sailrite LSZ sewing machine that I borrowed from a friend. I made a new pedestal cover, 3 new winch covers and replaced the sacrificial cover on our headsail. Pictures soon. I see why they charge so much for replacing the sacrificial on headsails. What a pain, but a very rewarding job. I can't wait to get the new stuff on the boat to see the difference. Later this summer, we plan on making a new bimini and jiffy reefing cover.

The head is completely pulled apart. Whoever set the old toilet, secured it to the sole with galvanized lag bolts and they within months of breaking free. The old wallpaper that was in the head is gone and we were at first going to use a acrylic type laminate on the walls that I had laying around, but I don't think it will hold up to regular use. I think we are going to end up using a counter top style laminate from Lowe's or other hardware store.

The bottom job and deck are going to have to wait until spring. They are draining our lake to winter levels and hauling out is impossible due to low water levels. I will get some good pictures this week to show the improvements.