Monday, March 30, 2020

1965 Alcort Sunfish WAVE 30 Mar 20 Rigged for Sail, Washed and Waxed

30 Mar 20:

We rigged WAVE to make sure we had all the parts. We did. Skipper likes the old school daggerboard retainer.



Musings about the swivel cam cleat.




SCOUT approves.


















WAVE is back in the Sunfish Shack, next to PHOENIX.


Soon girl.


Log of WAVE.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

1965 Alcort Sunfish WAVE 29 Mar 20 Trim Rivets

29 Mar 20:

We hope everyone has battened down the hatches and is ready to ride out the storm. Boaters are a resourceful bunch. Set the watch and take care. We have doubled up all lines and will entertain the usual visitors with mess abouts as they present themselves.

Big news, the grapes are coming in.


Mast step had some resin chips, so we repaired the chips with THIXO thickened epoxy.




Now on to rivets. The deck edge and trim should have nice clean holes like this.



Unfortunately sometimes the trim has been drilled all the way through, steel rivets have been used or rivet remnants remain. This has to be cleaned up and rivets replaced with aluminum rivets.




Here's our riveting video about rivets.



The fiberglass Sunfish built 1960 to the mid 70s also have rivet nuts for the coaming.

Rivet nut video.




She's off the Finishing Dolly and ready for rigging!



Log of WAVE.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Another Hat - Eddie English Boat Trailer

28 Mar 20:

Our friend Eddie at Eddie English Boat Trailer in Milton, FL gave us a hat a while back.


Eddie and his team have built 3 custom galvanized trailers for us and sold us 2 stock small boat trailers. They totally overhauled the Skipper's trailer that used to carry ONKAHYE and set it up for CYANE.


Friday, March 27, 2020

1965 Alcort Sunfish WAVE 27 MAR 20 Flotation Foam, Rudder and Trim

27 Mar 20:

WAVE had a loose XPS (Exxrtuded PolyStyrene) foam floatation block, so we decided to hold it back in place by adding more 2 part marine-grade flotation foam.

The block is on the starboard side, bow end.


We chose TotalBoat marine grade, 2 part foam that adds 2 lbs of buoyancy per cubic foot. The rubber mallet was used to tap the block into place. The foam is very sticky so wear a long sleeve shirt.




We put WAVE on the hoist and turned her on her side, so we could pour the foam downhill. Poured the hull side first, then the deck side next.






Foam is drying, time for some small jobs. Reinstalled the drain plug.


Took the tape off of the bailer hole. WAVE did have a half broken bailer in there, we removed that. We epoxied it closed, an if we ever need to install a bailer we can drill a new hole.


Here's how a blind patch for a fiberglass repair looks from the inside. We can also see the remnants of the wood block for the keel hardware and hang fiberglass hanger that holds it in place.


1965 WAVE had the old style rudder, and we converted it a few years back. That style hull with the notch requires a special gudgeon backer plate.




We'll be looking for trim rivets next, reinstall the trim and install the gudgeon.


Log of WAVE.

PFD Gear + New Signal Mirrors

26 Mar 20:

Time to change out those electronics batteries in our PFD electronics. I am also adding signal mirrors to all of our PFDs. When I flew in the Marines we always carried signal mirrors in our survival vests, along with many other items. The mirror floats, requires no batteries, is lightweight, small and can be seen from miles away. Some folks don't realize how hard it is to spot a floating object from the air, and while a Search and Rescue aircraft may have Lat/Long information to navigate to a general rescue area, the signal mirror is one of several devices that can be used to provide terminal guidance to the survivor. Plus it is just fun to use. In the photo below one of the signal mirrors is already tucked into the upper left pocket, secured with a lanyard to the upper D ring, aka Dummy Cord.


The mirror I chose is the UST Starflash, it has an aiming port. As with any PPE, PRTFD. Please Read The Friggin Directions. DO NOT look at the sun through the port, lest ye be abducted by aliens.



Where's Waldo? Find the mirror.





The survival vest we used in the Marines was called the SV-2B, there were land and water versions. Over water a life preserver unit was attached, manual inflate for helicopter crews and auto inflate for jet crew.

Clark (me) on the left and Mooch on the right, in the Philippines 1989. We flew the UH-1N helicopter, part of HMLA-369 Gunfighter's detachment to HMM-161(C) Greyhawks. The Greyhawks were the Aviation Combat Element assigned to the 13th MEU(SOC) Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) embarked aboard the USS Belleau Wood. We toured the Western Pacific from January through June of 1989, with port calls in Okinawa, Cubi Point, Pusan, Sydney, Cairns and Pearl Harbor.


Large waves in the Pacific, 50+ feet, some sent green water over the bow of our LHA.


My ultimate goal is to get a Lite version of the SV-2 for small boat use for local day boating. Some items may go into a Ditch Bag for a longer cruise, a small bag that can be quickly retrieved in a capsize, swamp and swim scenario.



Also I'm looking for a good knife for my PFD, the one I have now might be hard to open one-handed. One option is something like the NRS Copilot with blunt tip, maybe a bit small. The one I flew with in the Marines was Vietnam Era, probably a bit big. Who has the Goldilocks knife that is jusssst right? And we also present the Hat of the Day, Eddie English Boat Trailer.

Survival Vest (SV-2B Series) Contents
General Kit

-Pistol - Through the years a 38 revolver, 45 automatic, 9mm
-Bailer sponge - The bailing sponge may be used to catch rainwater, to bail a raft, for personal hygiene
-Chemlights
-Compass
-Cord - secure items or fishing line
-Dye markers
-Flare pencil - 4.5 sec, 250 feet, 12,000 candlepower MK 79
-Hand Pump
-Knife - Camillus survival
-Knife - pocket or multi tool
-HEEDS - Compact SCUBA
-Pistol
-Radio with PLB
-Razor knife
-Reflective tape
-Signal mirror
-Signal MK 13 - Day smoke/Night candle
-Space blanket - Warmth and protection against the elements, signaling, and some radar reflectivity.
-Strobe with red and blue (NVG) flashguards
-Strop
-Tinder
-Water
-Whistle

Medical Kit

-Aspirin
-Anti-diarrhea
-Bacitracin
-Bandaids
-Charms
-Chiclets
_Enerjets
-Eye ointment
-First Aid Kit
-Insect repellent
-Metal match
-Mosquito headset and mittens
-Soap
-Sunburn ointment
-Tape
-Tweezer and pins
-Water purification tablets
-Water bag (1 quart)
-Water receptacle

This list might be useful to fellow aviators, like Key and barbara, more gadgets to play with.

Boat Smart and Fly Smart!