Check Another One Off The List........

The major projects seem to be wrapping up. The King plank was one of those projects that we all knew how to fix, but no one really wanted to do it. Just the thought of taking a router to the center of a teak deck and pray that you don't screw up, just didn't seem like the best idea. However there was no other way. So we did just that. After gluing together, what seemed like a thousand pieces of timber to make a pattern of the king plank; Soren headed back to his shop to prepare a jig to not only router out the existing king plank, but one to rough cut the new inlay. I didn't have my camera with me to get any good pictures of the jig, or the progress; complete with saw dust flying. Here, the majority of the old king plank has been removed. The saw dust has been vacuumed up, and all that is left is about 4 hours of clean-up around the ends of the teak deck planks. USA 111 is a true wooden boat from the deck up, complete with wood deck ribs underneath. The builders topped the ribs with 3/8" marine grade plywood, then with 3/16" thick teak planks for the deck, and 3/16" thick mahogany for the king plank and margin boards. Take note, none of the inlays on the deck are screwed. Instead the builder used teak deck caulking. This may have been the demise of the old king plank all along. The caulking allows the teak in the deck to shrink and swell. So, the little bit of movement may have allowed the old king plank to twist when stood on, causing it to crack. It makes sense to me, and no one is arguing or coming up with a better answer, so I am running with it.

After cleaning up the edge of the teak planks, removing the remaining teak deck caulking and the few tidbits of mahogany that the router didn't we were ready for the new king plank inlay. Instead of using the caulking again, we opted to go with the tested and proven option of epoxy. The new inlay was fitted to perfection, and embedded in the deck with West Systems Epoxy. We clamped it down and left for the evening, allowing the epoxy to cure.

Over the next couple of days we tapped the new king plank off and prepared it for caulking. Once the tapping was finished we were able to run a thick bead of black teak deck caulking around the perimeter of the new inlay. (Free teak deck tip from Soren: The longer you can leave the caulking to dry; before cutting it, the better the finished product will be.) I guess the caulking shrinks a lot, and continues to shrink until completely dry. Soren says 2 weeks should do it.

Now we wait. It would really suck if this was the only project that we had to do, but it wasn't. So, we just moved on to other ones and left this one alone for a while. Trust me, we all were counting down the days. It was like that scab, that you just have to pick.

After waiting the suggested 2 weeks, it was time to cut the caulking and remove the tape. Using a very sharp chisel we sliced the caulking to the top of the tape. A little sanding of the caulking, and it was time to reveal the the finished product. After the tape was removed we sanded the new inlay.

This isn't the greatest picture. (I never seem to have my camera when I should. From this point on, I am leaving the camera in the truck.) Now, in this picture we have already sanded the new king plank, stripped and finish sanded the margin boards, and re-tapped the deck. This project is ready for stain and numerous coats of varnish. So, check this one complete.........

It Once Served A Purpose......

Now time to hide it and forget that it was ever there. I am talking about the other unsightly hole left in the bulkhead once I had removed the non-working knotmeter.

As you can see in this picture, the hole was pretty rough. Soren laughed when he saw it and said, "It looks like someone grabbed a beaver by the tail and cut it out." There was an unvarnished teak plank that screwed to the outside that served as a spacer so that we could close the cabin door. The bulkhead itself is built of marine grade plywood with a mahogany veneer attached to the inside and outside of the cabin. The inside veneer was in great shape, (Except the hole), but the outside left a lot to desire. The veneer had been chipped up pretty bad around the edges.

Now, how do you plug a 4" hole without anyone knowing that it had been there? You could just epoxy in a new piece of wood and try to get the joint as tight as possible, but if you looked close enough you would still see the plug. We didn't want to laminate the inside of the bulkhead, but we were considering re-laminating the outside. That would take care of the outside. Now the question is how do you hide the plug on the inside. Like that of a lightening strike, I saw the wheels turning in Sorens head. He gathered his tools, loaded his truck and headed back to his shop for the day.

The following morning Soren arrived with an idea in his hand. Not sure how this would play out, but we told him to go for it. He truly has never done us wrong. So below he headed with a jig and his trusty router. Within minutes he had sawdust flying from the cabin. A few minutes later, and some epoxy mixing, he was finished.

Soren has recently purchased a new wood carving CNC machine. Basically, if you can think it, he can carve it out of wood. He has come through again for us. This was his design, on a 1/4" thick piece of mahogany, which he then inlaid into the backside of the bulkhead. US 111 has been permanently branded. It's a nice, classy, custom touch to the overall details of the work that we are doing. The oval shape hides the purpose of the inlay, and it will last for years to come. A little varnish and that issue is solved as well.

As far as the outside of the bulkhead goes, we again decided to laminate new mahogany keeping the wood grain uniform throughout the cockpit. Soren epoxied a round plug into the hole keeping it flush with the exsisting bulkhead. Then laminated new mahogany over the entire face. When all was done, this is what it looked like. A little finish sanding, staining and numerous coats of varnish; no one will ever be the wiser. (Unless you are reading this blog)

Hole Today, Gone Tomorrow........

Kinda ugly, isn't it? This is what the back of the cockpit combing looked like when the boat got to the shop. I know that almost all the boats have a hole that looks just like this one, but I want to be different. Now the question is, how to get ride of it?
Start by stripping the old varnish off of both sides. Then call Soren. Easy enough, and he is already doing some other work to the combing. We might as well make all the combings match, right? Soren started by routing out a V notch in the combing. He then glued in a piece of mahogany half as thick as the combing is. The following day Soren returned with his trusty router and cut yet another V notch, slightly larger then the first. But this time only half the thickness of the combing. He then glued in a second piece of mahogany and let it dry.

Doesn't look much better yet, does it? After the epoxy dried and Soren had a chance to trim everything down. He then glued a laminate of mahogany on the inside.

A day to dry, remove the clamps, and trim to the right size. The hole is gone, and the wood grain on the inside of the combings all match.

Much better.......We did ponder the thought of laminating the backside of the combing, but once sanded and cleaned up, it had a kind of "Purpose" look to it, so we left it. With stain and varnish you more then likely won't even know that it wasn't meant to be that way.

And one last shot of the cockpit with all the new laminates...........

If You Were Cut Off Where You Are Cracked........

You would be short.......That is the problem. The NIFA (The Nordic International Folkboat Association) Rules have a minimum heigth requirment on the cockpit combing. I can't just cut it off where it happens to be cracked. Replacing the combing would be time consuming and extremely expensive. It is a solid piece of mahogany from the front of the cabin top all the way to the back end of the cockpit. Repairing it the same way that it was done the first time would work, however it is not something that I want to do every few years. All these thoughts running circles in our heads, we called our friend and true woods craftsman; Soren Hansen for his input.

Soren came out to the Hayward boatyard and took a look. I could see that he was contemplating the same thoughts that we were. In the end he came up with a pretty good solution to the problem. We decided to strengthen the cockpit combing and re-laminate a new piece of mahogany on that side of the combing. It really is the same concept as plywood. A single piece of wood is only so strong. You laminate a couple thinner pieces together, and the wood becomes much stronger. We first had to strip entire combing of all fittings and varnish. Then soren came in and drilled 1/4" holes, about 1/2" deep down the entire length of the crack. This gave him good access to inject epoxy into the crack, sealing it completely from the elements. With that done, Soren then routed out a 2" wide strip approximately 1/4" deep; vertically down the inside of the combing. This would allow him to glue in a strip of marine plywood for stregnth.

It turned out so good that we decided to go ahead and have him do the other side as well.

Soren allowed the epoxy to cure overnight and the next morning removed all the clamps and forms. A quick sand and the combing was ready for its' new laminate. Lets' be realistic, we couldn't have had two different wood grains in the cockpit.......A day later and Soren was done. (With the combing) Doesn't look to bad. Now I hope that we don't destroy it with all that stain and varnish stuff.

One problem solved, at least for the time being.

Frejas' Striptease......

After what has seemed like months, US 111 is completely stripped of all of her exterior varnish. In reality it has only been about 15 days. A couple of the items on my list have changed drastically from my original plans.

First off, there was a large crack on the port combing, that was repaired once but has seemed to open up again. The first attempt at fixing this problem involved drilling and embedding 1/4" x 6" long bronze machine bolts from the bottom, and some epoxy. That worked for a little while, but as the years went on, the crack grew in length, and the combing became less stiff.Next was the issue with the king plank on the foredeck. I have pictures of the boat when she was brand new, and the crack was there from the beginning. It has been filled with epoxy, varnished over and starts to crack further forward. As you can see from the picture below; I am running out of boat. Then there was the knot meter. Great in concept, but horrible in use. Don't get me wrong, if they work they can be a asset. However this one did not, and has become more of an eye sore then anything else. The problem with this is that you leave an unsightly hole in the bulkhead once the knot meter has been removed. I'll have to think about that one, but we still have lots to do and plenty of time to resolve that issue.
While thinking the knot meter issue through my mind, I noticed another unsightly hole in the boat. Although useful if utilized (Not by many boats in S.F.) The stock position of the backstay control line. Hey, if having your crew jump off the rail, and adjust it while you kick them in the face is your secret to boat speed, so be it. It isn't my cup of tea. Most boats that are raced here regularly have run the backstay threw the deck hiding the rats nest of purchase, leading the controls just forward of the skipper, on both sides for easier adjustment from the rail. So, add that one to my list.

Like I said, the "To Do" list has changed..... We have our ideas on fixes, but the 1,000 chicken shit little details keep popping up. Other problems that need attention include:

• The teak laminate on the front of the cockpit seat is peeling on the starboard side and needs to be repaired or replaced.
• The cabin top is too weathered to just patch and blend and really should be re-painted.
• The waterline on the rudder is painted the wrong color blue.
• Nameplates were installed over the divots left by the jib lead blocks (When we sheeted to the deck). Bleach and repair the cabin sides where this has taken place.
• I know that there are a bunch more, I just need to find them..............

We have a lot to think about repairing, and figuring out a slick way to accomplish it.

Where To Start?

Now that the boat is in the shop, I can take a better look at the projects at hand. My list of "To Do's" looks something like this:

• Strip and refinish the outside of the cabin
• Strip and refinish the combing and cockpit bulkheads
• Strip, repair, and refinish the king plank
• Repair, clean, and refinish or replace toe rails
• Patch and rub out cabin top
• Clean and refinish teak decks
• Strip and refinish margin boards
• Clean up interior finishes around the companion way
• Tear down of the mast and refinish with 3-4 more coats of varnish
• Polish hull
• Strip and paint bottom
• And 1000 other chickenshit little details...........

The first thing that needed to be done was taping off the deck. The boat sits next door to our steel fabrication shop, and steel dust will embed itself into the teak decks and allow the never ending battle of rust. Sounds easy enough..... Three hours later, this is what it looked like. Then start stripping all the hardware on the cabin top, deck, and cockpit. My rule of thumb is the cleaner the canvas, the better the artwork. I do not believe in taping around fittings and such. I have found that problems can lurk in the some of the most hidden of places. That, and knowing that it is much easier to bring the parts to the polishing wheel, rather then bring the polishing wheel to the part. By the end of the second day the boat was completely stripped of all her hardware and we were ready to start stripping the cabin sides, bulkheads, and combing. My father started stripping varnish off of the front of the cabin, and I headed to the cockpit to remove the micarda trim on the top of the combing. At end of day three the boat looked like more of a skeleton then anything else.

The Winter Is Here........

And what does that mean, you may ask? The answer is simple; 4 months until the next race. Sounds like a long time to be off the water, but not when the list of "TO DO's" extends past both ends of the boat in which you rely on getting you around the race course and back to the marina every other weekend for the remaining 8 months of the year. After two years of racing the boat, my list of wants has been overtaken by the ones of necessity.

US 111 was built in 1984-85 and was (To the stories that I have been told) the first of it's kind produced, the proto-type per say. However, I will go into the history of the boat in another posting later on. 23 years of racing on San Francisco Bay, even with meticulous maintenance and upkeep will have it's toll on a boat. US 111 is at that point. The original owner, Ed Welch had taken great care of his boat over the years, but a couple years lacking varnish and fixing this and that has left it "Good from far, but far from good". In all honesty, those couple of years she was under new ownership (Ours) and there was a line awaiting use of the Hayward boat yard. Knarr US103 had staked claim on the hard, and we have only made one boat cradle for the two boats. It would scare me to have both of the boats in the shop at the same time. Too much to do and too little time to do it in.

The first step is arranging the art of getting the boat to Hayward. Nothing that Svendsens, 18 wheels, a boat cradle and a forklift can't handle. I motored the boat over to Svendsens on November 22, and had scheduled the boat to be hauled the following Monday. Removed the sails, boom and running rigginng from the cabin top, and stow the halyards to make unstepping the mast as easy as possible for the riggers. That Monday I loaded the empty boat cradle on our trailer and headed to Alameda. Svendsens unstepped the mast, hauled the boat and placed her on our cradle. 60 mph down 880 and the boat is in the Hayward yard. Back the truck into the shop, unchain the cradle and pick the cradle and boat off of the truck with a 10k pound capacity forklift. Pull the truck out, position and place the boat on the ground for a long winter nap. Build a small scaffolding system around the hull and POOF, instant boat yard. It is a little extra work, and not many sailors have access to their very own Peterbuilt and forklift, but it sure beats the cold, wet winter outdoors.