Ticking off the boat projects.

Busy week doing boat project on the ANAHATA in Annapolis.

Steve Madden, ex SA from Durban, helped me rebuild the deck collar tie down. He loaned a monster riveter, worked a dream. He also lent me a nifty little string with triangle on ends which enable me in insert the tung backing plate without  it falling to the bottom of the mast.

Marc Mayo, Steve’s partner at M Yachts ( ex Rhodesian) , help me rebuild my chainplate backing.

When I rebuilt the chainplates earlier this summer I noticed that the hull was cored. In other words it that a foam material sandwiched between two layers of Fibreglass. When I cranked down the lag bolts it ended up dimpling the hull in one spot . Not a good idea.

Marc came up with the solution. Cut out the inner skin around the lag bolts of Fibreglass substitute the foam with a solid Fibreglass substrate and replace new fibre inner skin. After three days of work it is finally  all done. Feels fantastic.

Hopefully get back to sailing this week and head down to Hampton, Virginia.

Technical description for other Passport 42 owners thinking of doing the project.

Hull 1″ thick
Outer glass 1/4 ”
Foam core 1/2″
Inner glass 3/16

1. Easy to cut it out using Fein tool with rounded metal/wood cutting blades.
2. Rough up surfaces using Fein rasp. Remove foam by 1/2 inch under inner skin.
3. We made plates a standard 2 3/4″ x 6″. This cover both bottom lag bolt holes.
4. Pre butter holes with epoxy.
5. The rough up solid glass substrate using Fein with rasp attachment.
6. Epoxy blocks into spaces using west export with covisol thickener to mayonnaise consistency. Important tape outside of hull to catch ooze through the holes.
7. Let it set up for a day.
Then clean with soaping water.
Sand and apply 3 layers of glass on the inside, each one bigger than the last one.

8. Finally applied some epoxy with thickener to smooth out the inner surface.

All I have to do is redrill the lag bolt holes.