The View From Here

 Snapped an image of Pilgrim, upper center,  while installing a new antenna and Garmin anemometer atop the mast of SV Sea Rose, a 58 foot Little Harbor Sloop.   Sea Rose's owner whats the boat ready for departure prior to the holidays.  Ticking off all the last minute Sea Rose projects is consuming much of my time.

I know the blog has been a bit silent of late.  Multiple trips for Florida, a quick stint of work for Outward Bound, and a Thanksgiving Holiday have slowed our progress and limited time for penning updates.

We have made some progress on Pilgrim…

• We are pleased to report that our cap rail repairs stopped the leaks along the starboard hull.  Previously we would have drips in the pilot berth, electrical panel, and quarterberth during periods of heavy rain.
• We have installed a new potable water manifold that allows us to isolate or  equalize the water between the port and starboard tanks.
• We have installed the pressure water system and accompanying manifold
• We removed the original ice box and all the original insulation. 

I do plan to write up descriptions of all these projects.

The next step is to build a new ice box with much improved insulation.

For the next few weeks I'll be spending more time on projects for other peoples' vessels and peering longingly at Pilgrim from afar. 

Interior Tabbing Repairs and Modifications Complete

Previous posts in this series are…

What A Grind – March 6

Interior Tabbing Progress Report – March 13

Interior Tabbing Repairs Update 2 – March 25

We would dare not proclaim all Pilgrim’s tabbing repairs and modifications are complete.  We have quaterberth and engine compartment projects underway that will require new tabbing.  We have yet to thoroughly investigate the area aft of the engine compartment or forward of the vee berth. 

BUT…

We have completed the repairs to shortcomings and failed structures discovered in the cabin area of Pilgrim. 

In the quarterberth we addressed two areas…

We added fiberglass tabbing along the top, aft end, and base of the wall shared with the engine compartment.  We also added tabbing between aft bulkhead and the cockpit well.

Before...

Area prepped and ready for fiberglass mat to be applied.

After...

Future work in the area will include replacing the port, painting the quarterberth deck, and replacing the deck drain hose.

We also strengthen the upper wooden crossbeam at the entrance to berth.

Initial layer of light weight cloth applied.

Heavy 1708 cloth and a couple layers of paint added.

Ongoing work in the quaterberth can be followed via our the Quaterberth Refit – 2014 photo album.

In the galley we discovered the two port side partial bulkheads fore and aft of the sinks were intermittently tabbed to the hull during the construction process.

under the forward galley counter the partial bulkheads are tabbed intermittently to the hull.

We added tabbing to the missing sections and painted the area.

Ahh, fresh paint and a clean canvas upon which to install plumbing.

Additional modifications ongoing in the galley can be followed via our Galley Refit – 2014 Photo Album.

In the pilot berth, we removed the non-structural dividers below the deck…

We were very surprised to discover the dividers below the quaterberth deck were non-structural.

And replaced them with partial bulkheads tabbed between the hull and the seat back / aft lower chainplate anchor.

We are much more confident in the strength of the aft lower stay now that these partial bulkheads are tabbed between the hull the chainplate anchor.

This modification vastly increases the strength of the aft lower chain plate and adds additional storage space below the pilot berth deck.   Our progress in the area continues and can be followed via the Pilot Berth Refit – 2014 Photo Album

Under the countertop in the head we discovered intermittent tabbing along the bulkhead and failed tabbing intended to support the head pan.  The failed head pan tabbing was likely the work of the Morgan Repair Team.  Due to issues with sinking head pans Morgan issued a recall, circa 1980.  To the company’s credit they sent out Repair Team(s) address the issues.  On Pilgrim the repair team did a poor job.  They did not properly prep the surfaces prior applying new fiberglass mat.  Sections of the tabbing installed by the team have failed over the past 34 years.

Before…

Looking down into the area below the head countertop.  The wall to the right is the primary bulkhead on the port side of the mast step.  Much to our dismay this bulkhead was intermittently tabbed to the hull.

After…

Additional tabbing along the bulkhead.

additional tabbing and support structures link the bulkhead, mast bucket, sole brace, and head pan.

We have yet to paint the area under the head counter due to ongoing projects in the area.  Check out Head Refit – 2014 Photo Album to follow the progress.

The pre-purchase survey noted failed tabbing under the head door.

Tabbing intended to support the head pan failed due to poor design & installation.

Another failed effort by the Morgan Repair Team to add additional support for the head pan.  Rather than attempt to support the pan by adhering fiberglass mat to the vertical face of the support beam, I built up a brace from the hull and supported the beam from below.  Once braced from below, I added a layer of heavy mat between the hull and the face of the support beam.

I am confident this is a permanent solution.

Additional images from these repairs can be found in our Tabbing Repairs – 2014 Photo Album.

Interior Tabbing Repairs Update 2

Two previous posts March 6^th – What A Grind  & March 13^th – Interior Tabbing Progress Report, precede this update.

Over the past week most of our efforts and progress continue to be in the head area. 

I created a ¾” plywood floor for the area under the sink / over the mast bucket and stringers.

Test fitting the 3/4" plywood floor.

The plywood is bonded to the mast bucket, the ¾” mast bucket brace and the 2x4 floor stringer with thickened epoxy.  To assist with the bond, ¼” wood screws attach the plywood to the mast bucket and the 2X4 floor stringer.  While the assembly was still wet, I added fiberglass tabbing between the underside of the plywood and all the surrounding vertical members.

Once the underside of the assembly had cured, Anne & I worked together to apply heavy 1708 cloth between the topside of the plywood and all the surrounding vertical surfaces.

Tabbing extended to all the surrounding vertical surfaces above and below.

The resulting structure will add significant strength to the area and additional support for the head pan.  Structurally our repairs to this area are complete.  Next up for the area under the head counter are new through hull fittings and supports for the holding tank.  Future progress in the head can be found in our Head Refit photo album.

Just outside of the head, under the cabin sole are ongoing repairs to support the beam below the head door.  The support beam runs bow to stern along the midline of the vessel.  This is another area on our M382 in which the Morgan recall team completed a faulty repair job.  The team failed to properly prep the hull and wood brace prior to applying the fiberglass.  The result was tabbing that sheared away from the support beam.

Tabbing added by the Morgan recall team sheared away from the head pan support beam below the head door.  Note the two wood screws (dots to left and right) added by previous owner. 

A previous owner attempted to remedy this issue and prevent the head pan from sinking by inserting screws through the breakaway tabbing and into the wooden cross brace.  Rather than attempt re-bond the existing fiberglass, I chose to cut away the tabbing and create a solid base to support the beam from below.   

The detached fiberglass removed to expose a 3" thick laminated plywood support beam.

I removed the old fiberglass with a cut off wheel on a 4” angle grinder and then ground down the entire area to bare fiberglass.  My solution to supporting the cross brace required filling in the valley between the vertical support and the hull.  To provide drainage the initial layer of fill included a ¾” PVC tube set in thickened epoxy.  Next multiple layers of FRP blocks were set in thickened epoxy.

Initial layer included a 3/4" PVC drain pipe set in thickened epoxy

1/2" green FRP Blocks set in thickened epoxy used to build up a solid base to support the cross brace.  I secured the forward end with a new layer of 1708 mat. 

Using ½” thick FRP blocks saved time by allowing me to fill the area without worrying about excessive heat buildup from curing thick applications of epoxy.

Solid base for supporting brace aft (left) and tabbing forward (right) complete

The top layer of FRP, green panel on left above,  was set atop a large piece to 1708 mat that extended from the midline of Pilgrim to far under the starboard sole.  The mat should serve to bond the entire assembly to the hull.  The top piece of FRP extends under the full width of the cross brace.  A 1/8” gap remains between my assembly and the head pan support beam above.

1/8" to 3/16" gap for shim(s)

My plan is to epoxy a 1/8” to 3/16” shim into this gap and then add tabbing between the cross brace and the hull.   Hopefully we can finish up work in this area over the next week.

Moving aft in Pilgrim’s cabin, the pilot berth’s new partial bulkheads received oak cleats.

Oak cleats added to top of new pilot berth bulkheads.

The cleats are set in thickened epoxy and through bolted to the ¾” plywood bulkheads.  The cleats will provide a substantial base to which the pilot berth deck can be attached.  

Additional images of pilot berth project can be found in our Pilot Berth Rebuild photo album.

On the opposite side of the cabin, the partial bulkheads under the forward galley counter top received tabbing.  The Morgan factory only tabbed the bulkheads to the hull in sections not along their full length.   We added 1708 mat to the sections lacking tabbing.

Upper section of partial bulkheads under galley countertop

Lower section of partial bulkheads under galley countertop / sinks

Now the bulkheads are tabbed to the hull along their full length.  Like the head area, the galley tabbing repairs are complete.  Once the new through hull fitting  for the sink drain is installed then we can move on to priming and painting the area.  Additional photos and future progress in the galley can be viewed in our Galley Refit Photo Album.

Winch Covers - a great rainy day project.

Rainy weather may have prevented work out in the boat yard today, but it gave me time to get some sewing done. 

Starboard cockpit winch - naked and exposed to the sun.

We purchased Pilgrim with two Barient/Barlow 25 self-tailing winches in the cockpit.  The rope jaws on these winches are plastic and susceptible to UV damage.   I’ve learned that Lewmar purchased Barient and replacement parts are now very difficult to find.   Thus the need  protect the winches with sunbrella covers.

Fortunately Sailrite recently posted a how to video on making winch covers .  I followed the directions on the video nearly verbatim – unusual for myself.  

Much of the canvas work on C’est la Vie was “toast” colored Sunbrella so we have many spare remnants around for small projects.  I figured the light brown color would work well alongside Pilgrims wood cockpit combing. The only other  necessary component was a couple short lengths of bungee cord.

All components of the covers ready for assembly.

Sewing the top piece to the vertical sides is a bit tricky, but as the video recommends going slow eases the process.

tensioning the bungee on the first cover to be completed.

I could not wait for the rain to cease before running out to the boat for a test fit.

test fitting portside cover 

Success!  Another project to tick off the Pilgrim to do list.

Interior Tabbing Progress Report

In my March 6^th post – What A Grind – I highlighted areas in Pilgrim’s interior where we plan to add or repair tabbing… quarterberth, galley, pilot berth, and head area.   Over the past week only the galley has not received attention.

While prepping the quarter berth for new tabbing, I discovered that the structural component of the wall between the berth and the engine room is ½” plywood.  The additional ¼” of material is a cosmetic plywood façade glued to the structural wall with contact cement.

Removing sections of the 1/4" plywood facade from the wall in the quarterberth

If we hope to gain any strength from this tabbing, then we need to epoxy the new tabbing to the structural wall, not the facade.  In most areas the ¼” plywood separated easily using a putty knife, but a few areas required a hammer and chisel.  Below is an image of the area prepped and ready for cloth.

Quarterberth taped, masked and ready for cloth.

Along the top of the wall between the berth and the engine compartment we added a couple layers of lighter weight cloth. We applied heavy 1708 cloth in the areas visible in the image below.

new quarterberth tabbing curing

Since our plan for the quarterberth is storage space,  we will simply sand down the new tabbing , then prime, and paint the area.   We do plan to add additional bracing and tabbing under the quarterberth, but I’ll save that for a future post.  Check our Quarterberth Rehabilitation Album for more images of progress in this area.

In the pilot berth we again used heavy 1708 cloth on both sides of the new ¾” bulk heads

test fitting fiberglass cloth pieces in pilot berth area

I attached the original end sections (aft end section visible in background of image above) to the adjacent bulkheads with multiple ¼” wood screws and then tabbed sections  to the seat back.

The new pilot berth bulkheads are screwed into the cleats along the seat back. Tabbed to the hull and floor on the forward facing side. Tabbed to the hull, floor, and seat back on the aft facing side.

The new intermediate bulkheads are now screwed and glassed in place.   This assembly will add significant strength to the seat back / chain plate anchor.  The next step here is to add oak cleats for reattaching the pilot berth deck then sand and paint the area.  Check out our Pilot Berth Rebuild Album for more images of progress in this area.

The area around the head pan and mast bucket has received the greatest amount to effort since the last post.  The 2X4 that serves as a floor stringer forward of the mast bucket (see image below) was floating unsupported on both port and starboard ends. 

Unsupported 2X4 stringer on left in this image.  3/4" plywood member is bracing for mast bucket.  Pilgrim's mast bucket is supported by epoxy thickened with granite powder set atop the keel.

I laminated multiple layers of ¼” and ½” FRP creating shims to fit between the hull and the 2X4 on both ends.

shims for supporting 2X4 floor stringer

These shims were set in place with thicken epoxy.  We then applied multiple layers of 1708 cloth to secure the shims and distribute the load across a larger area of the hull.  While glassing in the area we also added  layers of cloth to tie the head pan, floor stringer, the ¾” plywood mast bucket bracing, and the bulkhead together.

Green FRP shim is visible under 2x4 in this image. Multiple layers of heavy mat on left in image serve to distribute loads from shim across the hull and also support the head pan.

We are not done with our work in this area.   Stay tuned for more structural additions to better support the head pan and mast bucket.

While sticky and in the area we also added a couple layers of cloth to a section of the bulkhead under the head counter.  An 18” section of this critical bulkhead lacked any factory tabbing – WTF?

2 layers of mat added to a section lacking tabbing in the original construction.

Thanks to Anne for spending half a day suited up and wetting our fiberglass cloth.

Anne suited up for work in Pilgrim

Ok, no more Breaking Bad references or she may never don the coveralls and respirator again.

If you want to see our current progress or additional images check out our Tabbing Repairs Album.  We add new photos each time we make progress on this project.

Sun Cover for Dodger Windows - Part 2

Here is a link to… Sun Cover for Dodger Windows – Part 1

Due to the irregular shape of the side windows and some challenging topography where the dodger meets the cockpit combing, I decided to start the install with the center panel.  I’ve installed snaps on past projects, but for this project I had a new tool in the arsenal… the Snaprite by Sailrite. 

inaugural use of the snaprite system

Specialized dies transform a rivet gun into a tool for placing and installing snaps.  The sailrite instructionalvideo  explains this system far better than I could hope to do in text.

Front panel installed now onto the sides

As with any tool there is a learning curve.   I broke multiple mandrels attempting to set a single snap stud (base) and still was unable to achieve a proper roll over on the eyelet barrel.  Achieving a secure set on the studs was so frustrating that I reverted to the old system of using a die and punch by the time I began work on the side panels .  The Snaprite tool did shine when used for locating and setting the snap button & socket into the new sun covers.   This tool really took the guess work out of locating the proper place to install the top portion of the snap. 

Once both the center and side panels were installed, I realized that the long gap where the center panel met the side panes could catch enough air to generate noisy flapping. 

the intersection of the two panels did not provide a suitable area to mount a snap stud

The dodger did not have a site for attaching snaps in this area.  I return home to the sewing machine with the covers in tow.   If the site was unsuitable for a snap, perhaps a velco?

using webbing an velcro to secure the panels at the intersection

A few inches of of velcro and some 1” flat webbing  saved the day. 

Not only to the cover’s protect the widows from UV damage, but they provide a nice bit of privacy when in a crowed anchorage or at the dock.

the view from the cockpit with the sun covers installed

Creating the dodger sun covers is the first project fully completed on SV Pilgrim!

As with most of our projects we have created a photo album – Dodger Sun Covers – Winter 2014, that contains additional images.  All our albums can also found  in the  links section, right side pane of our website – M382Pilgrim.blogspot.com 

Sun Cover for Dodger Windows - Part 1

The quality of Pilgrim’s dodger stood out on my first visit to the vessel.  The clarity of the strataglass windows is remarkable when compared to other vessels in our boat search.

Jeff on the foredeck while prepping Pilgrim for transport in the Sandusky Harbor Marina

Now that we own Pilgrim and plan to take her south, protecting her wonderful windows from year round, low latitude UV damage is a high priority on the project list.  Fabricating a removable sun cover for the windows seems like the best solution.

We feared using royal blue that matches the existing dodger fabric would generate too much heat in warmer climates.  Our choice of colors…  a contrasting white UV resistant fabric.

Using the center window panel to create a rough cut out of the fabric. 

Initially I attempted to measure out the pattern.  This worked well to estimate the amount of fabric for the job, but proved too inaccurate for creating a pattern.  After one false start that resulted in a permanent blue line across the lower section of the front panel, I tossed aside the tape measure and simply outlined the panels to create a rough cut out of the covers.  With the fabric atop the panels I was able to fine tune the dimensions of the cover and thus skipped creating a pattern.

I placed the fabric atop the panel to fine tune the shape of the cover.

The side panels were created via an identical process.

using the side panels as pattern for the cover

In the design phase, I decided to use edge binding rather the hemming the covers.  Using red or green 1” webbing as binding tape for the edges allows for easily identification of the port & starboard side panels.  Additionally, I used red and green on the corresponding sides of the center panel to assist with orienting it to the dodger.  White binding tape was used for the top and bottom edges of the center panel.

adding a second row of stitching to the binding tape on the port side panel

To provide additional longevity to the covers the edge binding is double stitched in place. 

The covers were now ready for the installation of snaps that will affix them to the dodger.  I felt the snap placement would be more accurate if completed with the windows installed in the dodger.  Time to load up the project and head out to the boat…