Borrowed Skipper's garden cart to make a tailwheel for SCOUT.
Carriage House visit for SCOUT to get fit with a rudder adapter.
Rudder adapter will be this size, with an upper and lower gudgeon. Built up from fiberglass and store bought Ronstan gudgeons.
We'll use 2 of these Ronstan gugeons and embed them in a custom made fiberglass adapter.
Ordered from Vela Sailing, 1/4 inch diameter holes for pintle.
Gudgeons will be fit to the stern cap and embedded in 4 oz fiberglass cloth tape, with TotalBoat THIXO thickened epoxy.
The 4 oz fiberglass cloth will be bedded in THIXO, pre thickened epoxy that comes in a 2 part cartridge. Use a High Thrust 18:1 caulk gun to dispense, not the standard household caulk gun, your hands will thank you.
6 strips of fiberglass cloth wet out with THIXO, they will form the inner adapter. Gudgeons will be added and an outer matrix of epoxy and cloth will form the outer adapter. We worked the THIXO into the cloth with part of a paint stir stick.
Taped poly film to the stern cap, then laid fiberglass strips, then another layer of poly to smooth things out.
Taped poly film to the stern cap, then laid fiberglass strips, then another layer of poly to smooth things out. 2 layers of cloth on either side with 2 layers over the end.
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.
Finished up the final bits before sea trials for VIPER. Inspection ports, deck hardware, coaming, gudgeon, bailer.
Cut a larger hole for the aft inspection port with a DeWALT jigsaw, taped the deck first to reduce scratches. The hole is drawn using the port cap, flipping it over and tracing around the outside of it. Don't trace around the outside of the mounting ring, you'll have a really big hole :)
Sealed the port with a bead of TotalBoat Seal. One trick we have is to run a bead of sealant around the port outer ring, put the ring in place and give it a 1/2 turn to spread out the sealant. Drilled holes for the hardware. Secured the ports with #6 stainless steel machine screws, washers and stop nuts. I bought screws that were long enough so I can reach them to put on washers and stop nuts, plus I bought a deep socket that will hold the nut while the screw is tightened. One BIG tip is to buy a couple extra washers and nuts, because they are hard to find if they get dropped inside the hull.
Drilled pilot holes for the bow handle #8 x 1 inch stainless wood screws, oval phillips head.
Drilled piilot holes for the halyard cleat and halyard block, installed with #8 silicone bronze screws long enough to catch the 3/4 inch wooden backer blocks under the deck. It is a good thing to see dry wood shavings come out when the pilot hole is drilled.
Drilled the 3/16th inch pilot holes for the coaming rivets. It is important to buy the proper rivet, aluminum 3/16th inch closed end. They need to be closed end so water will not get into the hull. I also put a small bead of sealant in the rivet hole before installation.
Tapped the edge trim into place with a rubber hammer. Drilled 1/8th inch pilot holes for the edge trim rivets, which do not need to be closed end but they need a grip range of about 1/2 inch. Once again it is easiest to buy the rivets from a Sunfish Dealer. Be careful to only drill through the top of the trim and the deck edge, not all the way through, that is enough to hold on the trim. If the drill goes all the way through, take a file and remove any sharp burrs that are finger slicers. We also go back and file the top of the rivet to make them smooth.
Installed the gudgeon with #10 stainless machine screws. The metal backer plate inside is tapped for the screws, no need for washers and stop nuts. I add a small dab of sealant around each screw hole before installation.
Installed the swivel cam cleat and the sheet hook. The screws for the swivel cam cleat come through under the cockpit lip, they do not go inside the hull.
Added a retaining line to the daggerboard, so it doesn't float away during a capsize. Skipper prefers the simple line over a bungee, it makes it easy for her to pull the board out one handed when beaching. Otherwise she keeps it down most of the time, or if on a run the water pressure holds it where she wants it.
The work dolly has worked out great. The bunks articulate to support the boat in a lot of different orientations!
Flushed out a pound of dirt.
Checked out the gudgeon backer plate, it is threaded for #8-32 screws and fiberglassed into the hull.
Upgraded the dolly wheels to solid rubber, 6 inch swivels. We can roll the dolly with ease from the carriage house to the backyard Sunfish Shack now.
Replaced the bow handle backer block with cypress. Sealed it with TotalBoat High Performance epoxy and bedded it in THIXO. Rpelaced the halyard block backer and cleat backer as well.
Built up the bow flange with one layer of woven roving then 3 layers of 4 oz cloth, saturated with epoxy.
Epoxy backer patch for the hull, 6 oz fiberglass cloth held in place by a piece of cardboard tied snug with strings.
