Boats, plans and budgets have been coming apart faster than a jenga tower in a Parkinson’s support group.
We have the boat hauled out to take care of some unpleasantness while the engine is at the machine shop. We’re replacing sea cocks, painting the bilge, tidying up the engine bay and all sorts little projects that are easier with the engine out of the boat. You can see pic’s here on Lara’s page.
Good news is, the boat is going to be a lot more seaworthy. I’ll be able to sleep better on long passages and won’t be afraid to push Illusion from time to time (with her fin keel, she likes to really move!)
Bad news is more MAJOR issues…Illusion sat in the previous owners backyard for 20 or so years (in the water) and didn’t get a lot in the way of TLC or even basic upkeep. The mast step (and most of the structural metal of the boat) is made of mild steel. Here’s an equation for you budding chemists out there.
Steel + water + years of neglect = Lots of Corrosion
We knew there was corrosion, and after crewing on a steel boat I know the steps to remedy it: bang rust with a hard implement like a chisel, treat with Ospho, then paint with a rust inhibiting paint. We attacked the keel bolts and their backing plates this week, had them checked out by the yard and then moved onto the mast step. The keel bolts got a passable bill of health (they look like crap but the keel isn’t coming off). The mast step on the other hand, looked like swiss cheese…..well if swiss cheese was covered in rust.
The mast step is where the mast is joined to the keel, in a keel stepped mast configuration it’s the basic structural component for a system that uses thousands of pounds of pressure to move the boat forward through the water. After rust removal and treatment, here’s a picture of a load bearing portion of the mast step:
holy mast step batman!
So……I’ve got more work on my hands. I’ll put a technical post up soon.
But misery lovers company, last weekend I was looking for some other websites/blogs of people working on some of the same stuff we are and I found Syzygy. Matt is the captain/mechanic/boat maintenance guru over there and they’re going through some similar problems (albeit on a sweet Valiant 40…give me some of those problems please!) as they try to hit the open sea. His last few posts are interesting and show some of the frustrations of old boat ownership and trying to leaving the f’ing dock in general.
Check it out.