Association Forum - Light at the end of the tunnel

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Light at the end of the tunnel

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

Page: of 2

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

Member Avatar

USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/18/2010 : 06:43:03

I hope to finish the soda blasting of SL's bottom today. I had no idea of the work involved when I got started and doubt I'd ever do it again this way. I'll still have the areas under the pads and keel to do, as well as the thin line I've left all the way around so I know where my water line is, but it'll feel damn good to be able to say I'm done otherwise.

Since I was never able to get an actual quote from someone to do the blasting for me, I don't know if I've saved any money or not but it's sucked up a whole lot of time, very nearly to the exclusion of all other boat projects for the winter. I still have several projects that have to get done, and several more that I'd like to get done.

Live & learn, huh?

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5397 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 07:50:49

David,
Congratulations. Do you have any before and after photos? Love to see them

Last year, I set aside 4 weekends to scrape the bottom, and by the time I finished it had been 7. The scraping took about 4-5 weekends, then the prep (sanding, six barrier coats, three coats of bottom paint) took the rest. It was a good thing my other project (rewiring the electrical panel) had been done over the winter.

I also look at projects like this: can I do them pre-launch or post launch?

For example, I had to do the poliglow first, then the bottom paint afterward during pre-launch. Once I launch in 2 weeks, I can finish my radio installation and stanchions, if I can't get them done now.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

Members Avatar

USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 10:45:28

Bruce,
I know exactly what you mean. I've consoled myself by thinking "what can I do after it's on the water?". The one thing that has to be done is sealing the leaks from both of my deck organizers. I've got the hardware removed and the holes drying out from underneath, but I still need to do the over drill & back fill with epoxy.

I also discovered my stbd chainplate is leaking as well, so I want to get that done, and it's definitely something that needs to be done before launch, since you can't really work on a loaded chainplate. I may talk myself into just recaulking it till next year, but I really want to just fix it.

I also want to adjust the linkage on my outboard, which I'd rather not do on the water, too easy to drop small parts that don't float.

Then there's the water bladder to install, but I can live without that I think, I can reinstall a bunch of lead weights for ballast and do it next year. It's not like we need the extra water so much as we want the weight to trim the bow down.

Ideally all these would have been done by now, and we could just go sailing instead of working on the boat, but c'est la vie, no?

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 10:59:20

Well, you are both ahead of us! West Penn AAA is convinced that the auto dealer (where we purchased truck) and the trailer manufacturer completed their respective CA paperwork incorrectly - while both CA companies claim their paperwork is absolutetly correct. AAA won't issue plates for either vehicle until PennDOT approves everything and issues titles. So the boat is stranded 45 miles away from the house where we were going to perform our projects.

As for the dingly which came from Vermont with the C25 - an agency that processes papers for the PA Fish and Boat commission is telling us that we have to produce a VT title and/or registration for the dinghy before it can be registered in PA. The VT DMV website clearly states any boats under 16' and without a motor are not required to be titled or registered.

We also discovered the sales agreement drafted by the broker failed to list serial numbers for either boat - so now they will have to amend the agreement.

So, is it a light at the end of the tunnel or a train coming?

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

2272 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 13:18:50

Are you leaving the dink unpowered? I think PA reg is optional for unpowered boats below a certain length. My 15' Phantom is not registered.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 16:32:23

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by RhythmDoctor
 Are you leaving the dink unpowered? I think PA reg is optional for unpowered boats below a certain length. My 15' Phantom is not registered.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Powered - we have an open channel to cross to reach our mooring which can be breezy at times . . .

Edited by - on

TCurran
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 18:52:25

Dave,

I hope to be where you are soon, instead of soda blasting I am sanding the 5+ layers of paint off of my C-25 bottom. What a buddy and me figured would take 5-6 evenings of sanding is now looking like double that. So...I don't see the light yet. I plan on using ePaint barrier and bottom paints, anyone have any experience with ePaint products?

Tom

Edited by - TCurran on 04/18/2010 18:52:51

Ed Cassidy
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
365 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 19:17:36

I'm in the homestretch of redoing the bottom also. Started yesterday at 9:00 am and worked until 3:00 and again today. Started with sanding and moved to using scrapers. The paint was over 1/8 inch thick on the flat part of the bottom and scraping was far more efficient. I blocked up the rear and removed the rear rollers to gain access so all I have left is the area under the front rollers. When the rear is complete, I'll replace the rollers and do the same with the front. I expect I have another 4 hours or so in it tomorrow. I had allocated 2 days to remove the old paint and 1 to repaint so I'm pretty much on schedule, perhaps a little ahead.

BTW, the blue bottom paint I'm using is almost exactly the same color as the boot stripe. Will that make it look weird or should I just use bottom paint all the way to the top of the boot stripe? or perhaps put a 1/2 inch red stripe at the bottom of the boot stripe.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 19:55:39

Hi Ed... I think you may have discovered an approach to handling the bottom on a trailor that others will be very interest in!

Regarding the boot stripe, I would leave a gelcoat stripe between it and the bottom paint, which will change color as the season goes on. Just my personal taste.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2010 : 20:00:17

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ed Cassidy
 . . . the blue bottom paint I'm using is almost exactly the same color as the boot stripe. Will that make it look weird or should I just use bottom paint all the way to the top of the boot stripe? or perhaps put a 1/2 inch red stripe at the bottom of the boot stripe.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">The later model years have, say a 1" white stripe between the boot stripe and the bottom paint - so a close color match wouldn't look all that strange . . . but I think most people look for contrast - IMHO.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

Members Avatar

USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2010 : 07:22:28

And then life, or volcanoes, intervene. Our house guests were supposed to fly back to Switzerland via Amsterdam yesterday, instead we spent the whole day touring the tulip fields and shopping. Yik. I did manage to go through one bottle's worth of blast media while waiting for everyone to get ready, so all was not lost.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2010 : 18:53:22

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by delliottg
 . . . I did manage to go through one bottle's worth of blast media while waiting for everyone to get ready, so all was not lost . . . <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Atta boy David!

Edited by - on

TCurran
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2010 : 17:55:29

Dave,
Did you finish? I have about two more hours of sanding left. So, I too see the light.
tom

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

Members Avatar

USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2010 : 18:39:57

Hah, I wish. I haven't had a chance to get out to work on the boat since last time I wrote about it. This past Saturday was our semi-annual work party at the marina, so I didn't get anything done on the boat that day at all. Then Sunday was family photo day, although I could have worked in the morning, I didn't really want to get all baking soda'd up before heading for our appointment, and after a big lunch, it just sort of turned into a lazy Sunday afternoon that I'm trying to not feel guilty about.

On the plus side, our guests were finally able to get home this past Friday, five days late, but glad to get out.

This weekend we're having a bunch of folks over for a dinner, which means I might be able to work in the morning on Saturday, and maybe Sunday afternoon. <sigh>

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5397 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2010 : 19:28:32

I'm glad I scraped the bottom clean down to the gelcoat last year, applied Interlux 2000e barrier coat and painted red, then blue bottom paint.

This year, I finished my poliglow, then roughed up the bottom-paint and put on two coats of ablative, plus an extra coat near waterline.

Now, I'm waiting for the yard manager to move my poppets so I can finish in time for my launch on Thursday. I want my paint to dry completely (in the six pad covered areas) before I splash.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9082 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2010 : 19:58:06

Bruce, you shouldn't need any paint for a few years (unless you're trying to add ballast).

Edited by - on

TCurran
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 04/29/2010 : 08:27:37

The bottom is once again white. In many places where the six layers flaked off, the gelcoat was still shiny, so I'm glad I did the hard work now. All that's left is 3 layers of barrier coat and a few layers of hard anti-fouling. Using ePaint PE-1000 barrier and EP-2000 anti-fouling. But that will have to wait, work has me on the road.

Dave, hope you finish soon.

tom

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

Members Avatar

USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2010 : 19:58:46

Well, it's done, or as done as I can get it without lifting the boat off of the trailer pads & keel. Rita helped me tape off the water line while I finished off the last little bit under the stern. I came back and soda blasted the water line, and we were done.

I'm debating dropping individual pads to get under neath them, but even if I do that, I'm not going to get a whole lot of room to work in. A friend is recommending that I simply go to a yard, have them put it up on pads, finish the six spots under the pads and under the keel, and start painting.

The only two pads I'd be hesitant to drop would be the two rear ones. The rest are pretty well supported by the keel and/or bow. I figure I can prop up the rears with my 8 ton jack, then block it up while I work.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2010 : 08:44:35

Hi David,
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by delliottg
 . . . A friend is recommending that I simply go to a yard, have them put it up on pads, finish the six spots under the pads and under the keel, and start painting.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">IMHO, I would avoid this exercise - dragging product, tools, equipment and boat to the yard, scheduling lift time, the added stress of working quickly to minimize lift time and on top of all that hoping the weather cooperates. Do you have a lead keel? If so, do you care if the bottom doesn't get painted?

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> The only two pads I'd be hesitant to drop would be the two rear ones. The rest are pretty well supported by the keel and/or bow. I figure I can prop up the rears with my 8 ton jack, then block it up while I work.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I do something similar with my C25. The picture below shows a "fin" that runs the rear 3 to 4' of the hull. I've been told by Catalina that this is one of the strongest areas of the boat.

I purchased a short version of the telescoping "house" or "post" jack from Lowes. I place a 3' long 2X4 horizonatally between the fin and the jack (to spread the weight) then screw the jack up just enough to support the rear of the boat. Not to overstate the obvious, but I NEVER HAVE MORE THAN ONE PAD OR ROLLER TRAIN LOWERED AT A TIME. As you mention above perhaps you could use your hydaulic jack by placing a 4X4 vertically between the jack and boat - but you still need to place a horizontal block of wood on bottom of the hull to spread the weight.
Sorry for the long-detailed explanation but I don't want anyone to damage their boat (or themselves) after reading the above. I'll be doing this very exercise in a week or two - I'll post some pix!

Edited by - OJ on 05/10/2010 08:35:54

TCurran
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2010 : 14:22:04

First two coats of barrier paint on today, hope to have back in the water by Friday to watch the shuttle launch.

Dave, did you start painting yet?

Tom

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

Members Avatar

USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2010 : 19:46:37

Thanks for the advice, I was able to get three of the pads done today.

Here are some photos from yesterday, I was too tired to deal with my slow computer & internet connection. A hard reboot seems to have solved that, so here we go:

Rita taping the waterline so we can blast to the edge without hitting the shiny gelcoat:

Here's the transition between a clean line and the left behind waterline and under the port-forward pad:

I drilled the end of a 4x4 to just fit the end of my 8 ton jack, and then used two 12x12x2 on either end. The 3" deep hole helps prevent the jack from jack-knifing by providing some stability. You can also see how clean it looks under the pad:

This method worked great on the forward pads, plenty of room to get the soda blast nozzle underneath to get the old paint off. However, when we went to use the same method on the center pads, not so much. There was an alarming crackling sound as I lifted the boat right behind the keel, so I only went up enough to get underneath the starboard pad. I suspect because I was largely lifting the entire weight of the boat, but I'm looking for advice on this. I really don't want to damage the boat.

Edited by - on

TCurran
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 05/13/2010 : 16:40:28

Last coat where the jack stands were went on today, hope to splash in the morning.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5397 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2010 : 14:09:17

Tom,
What a great feeling, to get the bottom cleared and cleaned off, and to replace it with a new coating that should hold up for the season, and make bottom painting easier for some years to come.
Congrats

David,
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">There was an alarming crackling sound as I lifted the boat right behind the keel...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Oy!

I believe you'd want to distribute the load as evenly and uniformly as possible, and watch the keel as you lifted the rest of the boat.

The keel is suspended by the hull's keel stub and the keel bolts and so it is designed to dangle when the boat is hoisted by a travel lift. Was it possible that when the boat was lifted, the rear of the keel was pushed upward, while the front of the keel was unsupported?

Did you notice any slight deformation of the hull at that time or crazing of the gelcoat?

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2010 : 18:32:36

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by delliottg
 . . . as I lifted the boat . . .
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
David, the idea is to raise the jack just enough just to support the boat when you lower the one pad. There's no need to lift the boat. If the C250 is similar to the C25 while on the trailer - 70% of the weight of the boat rests on the keel, 30% on the pads.

Edited by - on

TCurran
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 05/17/2010 : 04:47:21

Bruce,
You're right, it was a great feeling to finally finish the job and launch the boat. Had a slight mishap and now have to repair a small area on the rudder. I used ePaint barrier coat and EP2000 anti-fouling (no copper, water-based bottom paint). Will post how it holds up in FL waters.
tom

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/27/2010 : 09:48:47

David,

What the heck are you up to?

Edited by - on

Page: of 2

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.