Monday, February 6, 2017

The Incredible Hull is for SALE........ SOLD-SOLD-SOLD


TIH is sold, very happy with the new owner and I wish him well.



The health issues that I mentioned in February 9, 2012 and come back with a bang and I'm unlikely to finish the project.

Please keep it mind that this is a PROJECT boat.  It needs cosmetics, sails and cushions.  It is in the water and moveable.  Check the blog for everything else.  You should be able to take over the slip which is well up the Miami River and an excellent place to finish the boat.

You are looking at a barrier coated hull below the waterline, Lightly used engine (Perkins Sabre 65), fuel filtration/polishing system, new prop and transmission, Three new fuel tanks, new water tanks, new standing rigging, titanium chain plates, new steering, wells dinghy arch, custom hard top, new bowsprit, two new roller furler for the foresails, extended boom, converted to a sloop, keel cooled refrigeration (partially installed) , new stove, refurbish galley, brand new salon deck boards, re-chromed winches, new windlass, 55lb Manson anchor.  Boat has been rewired with Mastervolt smart wiring, 100Ah/2500watt inverter charger.  B&G plotter, windgauge, VHF radio, SSB Reciever.  New companionway hatches. All new ports. All new deck hatches. And lots more.


Drop me an email; whitby42@gmail.com


Sunday, February 5, 2017

Painting.... good enough for government work.

 When I changed the aft companion way hatch I had to enlarge the turtle. I cut it down the middle, reinforced it underneath and filled in the join. I did not spend a great amount of time fairing. Today I finished painting with Quantum 99 and Kiwigrip non skid. Its good enough for government work.




Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Painting..........Quantum 99

Let me start by saying, I hate painting.  It might be the trauma suffered over 24 years in the Irish Navy where the motto appeared to be "if it moves, salute it, if it doesn't move, paint it."   I hate the prep work, I hate the application but most of all I hate paying someone a ton of money to do a so-so job.  Sure, if I was prepared to pay out $$$$$$ I could get a yard to spray Awlgrip and have a lovely paint job.  But its still a 40 year old boat, with all the wear and tear that goes with that.

If I was in a location with reasonably priced labor, like Sea Biscuit,  I would probably spring to have a crew spray the hull. If I go this route I would still favor Quantum 99 over Awlgrip due to repair-ability.

The options most of us DIY types have are;

1.  Get a local painter to roll and tip Awlgrip.  I have seen some lovely work.  More often, I've seen lots of "adequate" work.  The price difference is not huge, its a bit of a crap shoot.  Awlgrip cannot be sanded out to remove imperfections or repaired afterwards.  My "ballpark" for a good painter in Miami is about $10K for the deck alone and I think that's on the low side. 

2.  Paint with Interlux two part, or similar.  I don't think this is long lasting enough to justify the time and effort involved.

Then along came Quantum 99 paints.  Read the history here;  http://quantumpaint.com/about-us/

Today I went to a seminar  in Forth Lauderdale taught my Jon Boswell.  It was attended by a group of professional painters for the area.  I kept my head down (yes I know, not easy for me) and watched them spray paint.  Impressive, but I think they are the wrong audience for this product.  I believe that some yards are using it but the change over from Awlgrip or Awlcraft won't be led by the shooters.  As the customer pays for the paint why should the risk learning new tricks and probably botch a job in the process.  This is why Awlgrip has been around since 1973.

My interest was in rolling this paint.  (Note: tipping is not necessary or recommended).  Here are some photos;

Seminar.


The Genius bucket, everything you need in a bucket; https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=336090



The aforementioned Jon Boswell.


My first attempt at rolling on this paint. I'm sure I'll get better.


 My second attempt.  Getting better might take some time.

A few points;

1.  This paint goes a LONG way.  Don't compere it gallon to gallon with Awlgrip. Jon stated that 2 gallons painted a 50ft Beneteau hull.  You have to roll most of the paint off the roller and really stretch it out on the surface.  The last roll should be in one direction and light.

2.  You can overcoat in 3 hours but better to wait overnight and sand out imperfections.  Did I mention that you can sand and repair this paint.

3.  It contains more solids that Awlgrip.

4.  I will definitely use the Quantum 45 Epoxy primer on the deck, first.

5.  I will still probably use Kiwigrip for the non skid.

I'm not saying that my deck with look as good as your sprayed Awlgrip, but I may have 10 cases of good single malt in my bilge, bought with the money saved, to ease the shame and embarrassment.


"I have no vested interest in this product and have not been bribed in any way.  Obviously, being a sailor I am always open to corruption."

Monday, January 16, 2017

Companionway hatch improvements....

As you have seen I am attempting to rid TIH of any teak on deck.  I like teak but I don't like maintaining it.   The sliding turtle companionway hatches were is pretty poor shape and need replacing. From previous posts you can see that I came up with a solution and I was pretty happy with it.  Then along came Ebay and provided a SS sliding companionway hatch.  It was too wide but a trip to Samuel the welder took care of that.   If anyone is familiar with Hylas yachts, it is identical to the ones they use.  I'm pretty sure they are made in-house and not available off the shelf.

I took the opportunity to replace and rebed the aluminum side tracks that hold the hatch to the deck.





Once everything is setup I will bed 1/2" Plexiglass to the frame.


I used Plasteak for the front of the drop hatch.


New drop hatch will also be plexiglass.

And yes, the screws will be countersunk and plugged.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Amp draw on lights.......

14 lights in total (5 Alpenglow traditional +  9 LED).  Total draw  6 amps. (12v).

9 LED only, total draw 2.2 amps (12v).

The traditional Alpenglow still draw approx .8 amp each but I like the mellow light.  As they fail I will convert the fitting over to LED.

 

  

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Blowboater priced video monitor......

The Whitby/Brewer has a large engine room, very large by sailboat standards.  I, like all prudent sailors, carry out an engine room inspection every two hours, while motoring.    Well..., kind of, sorta, when I not seasick, tired etc..  I always check when I smell something burning.

I have always planned to install some sort of video camera and knew that they had to be a cheaper option than the Marine branded ones for $400+.  What about truck reversing cameras?  Bingo. 

Esky EC170-08 Waterproof Night Vision HD

If you have a MFD with a video input, you are good to go;

  
I already have White/Red lights in the engine room and will install a remote switch near the plotter.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Crap by design - die-cast zinc, monkey metal, white metal.........

The biggest sinner in this area, in the marine industry is the ubiquitous Perko.  Even if they coat their zinc products in Chrome, IMHO they are still crap.  On some of their zinc plated products you used to see "for freshwater use only", I haven't seen that for a while.  You will recognize these products by their acne like appearance.   Here are the examples on your standard Whitby/Brewer interior doors.




And these horrendous devices aren't cheap.  The one above has a retail price of $107, even though you can get it online from $65.

I spend a lot of time looking for a replacement and finally found one.  Its also not cheap, the brass version is $120.

Whitechapel Ltd

They fit on my W42 with very minor alterations to the screw holes.  I am happy to support quality products.

 They come with a set of shims.