Critter Condos and Boat Storage

14 Jul 20:

MADISON was a family boat in Pensacola from 2000-2004 then out of the family's hands for a few years. She was stored outdoors near Escambia Bay when Hurricane Ivan came through. We tracked her down in 2011 and bought the hull back, had a fun time picking her up and chasing out a few critters from her hull. Tip: Don't leave the inspection port open on a boat without a rodent screen in place.

Here she is the day we picked her up, she was leaning against the retaining wall in the background, under some oak trees. Skipper lifted one end and I lifted the other, and we heard a scurrying sound. A huge rat popped out of the inspection port, said something rude and ran off. To Skipper's credit she did not drop the boat, nor did I, although Skipper did dance a little jig.

We got MADISON home and I spent an afternoon with a garden hose and wet vac to remove as much dirt, leaves and twigs as I could. Plus other unmentionable stuff. The name RATATOUILLE was briefly considered. We flushed the hull for quite a while and she has had a fun time sailing since then.

Fast forward to a few days ago, when I opened the inspection port to check for any leaks I was surprised to see more leaves and twigs. Hmmmmm. I guess what happened was when MADISON took her round trip in a Pods container to Chesapeake VA and back she got bumped around enough to shake more critter condo furnishings loose. So I got the cordless shop vac and several extension wands to vacuum out as much as I could reach.

Looking portside aft at the flotation block and cockpit. Couldn't reach past the block.

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Looking starboard aft at the flotation block and cockpit. The block is set a little more towards the side so the extension wands could reach back further.

Looking forward.

Is there more of Mother Nature still in there? Who knows? The good news is that there was no smell, everything in there has been baked dry.

Log of MADISON.

1980 AMF Sunfish Viper 09 Nov 17 Final Fitting

09 Nov 17:

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.

Complete Log for VIPER.