V-berth construction

The next item on the To Do list is to re-vamp the V-berth.
This boat was built more for racing than cruising so the primary function of the forepeak was sail storage and staging.

Since we'll be doing more cruising than racing, we're looking for a little more comfort.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera the day I started the demolition so I don't have the before pictures, but here's a few pics of the work in progress.

 Here you can see that I have cut down the port side of the V-berth to lower it by 13", and I have removed the sb side completely.  The reason for this is that the sides were not symetrical.  The board lying next to the hammer will be the new top of the V-berth. It will be just shy of 7' long and over 5' wide at the aft end.  With 5" of foam, it should make a comfy bed.

The best method I have found to cut things out is to use an angle grinder with a very thin cut off wheel to cut through the fiberglas where the vertical meets the horizontal.  Once the joint is cut all around, a good smack with a hammer  usually will break the pieces apart.  I can then slide a thin pry bar under the tape and prise it off.  In this case it seems as though the fiberglas of the hull might not have been prepped properly before taping all the plywood sections in, as the tape just popped right off.

The sb side was shorter due to the hanging locker which has been removed exept the bottom. You can see the vertical bare patch where the hanging locker ended.  I'll cut the bottom back to the pencil line which lines up with the bank of drawers on the port side.  The coat rod is hung on the bulkhead and on one of the gussets supporting a deck beam, so I'll leave it open for the time being. I can close it in if we find it necessary to contain the clothes.
If feels good to get some work done finally.  I've completed the rough fitting of the new v-berth.

So it's time for the ugly bit ... sanding down the entire forepeak to prep for epoxy taping the plywood to the hull and then painting.  YUCK with an F.  Oh well, hope to have all the taping done this weekend.

Mast block collar

 Since the cabin deck rot was caused by water leaking by the bolts holding  pad eyes for the mast blocks, I've decided to eliminate them from the equation by fabricating a mast collar with eyes for attaching the blocks.  I traced the mast collar flange with hole locations onto some cardboard and then shaped a faceplate to accept the eyes.

Once I was satisfied with the template I cut out the two pieces from 1/4" s.s. plate. It was a bit tough to bend the face plate, but with some serious heat, some clamps and a 5 lb hammer I was able to beat it into submission.

I'll weld the eyes directly into pairs of holes drilled in the face plate once my blocks arrive to ensure I have the spacing right.

My new Garhauer mast blocks finally arrived and I think my mast collar should work pretty well

Once the weather warms up, I'll paint the cabin roof and then finish mounting the collar.  I'm tempted to remove the ear with the eye off of the mast so I'll have more room for the collar boot.

Cabin roof rot repair

Well it feels good to finally get started.  I've been puttering with cleaning and planning since September and trying to get Blackheart dry so I can begin repairs.

The cabin top rot is just aft of the mast, mainly on the port side, caused, I believe, by leaks in around the stand up blocks mounted on the cabin roof.

The roof is constructed from a layer of 1/4" balsa plywood (I think) to the inside followed by two layers of 1/4" plywood.

As you can see I have removed the mast collar since the rot extends under it.  The collar was glued to the deck with a very tough adhesive (perhaps GM 5200) which is near impossible to break free.  So, I used a heat gun to warm the collar, probably to a few hundred degees, and used a pry bar with a very wide flat base to apply some upward force.  It took close to an hour of continuously moving the heat gun around to collar to break it free.

I've used a sharp chisel to remove the rotten material on each of the three layers.  I've left at least 1 1/2" so subsquent layers of patch material overlap the layer below.  I'll leave this area open for a week with a heat lamp under to make sure it is thoroughly dry before fitting the new plywood.

Here's the patch in place.  It's 2 layers of 1/4" plywood on top of the 1/4" mahogany.  It's all held together with screws and West System epoxy.  The epoxy was thickened with fiberglas to fill gaps.

Here's the patch in place.  It's 2 layers of 1/4" plywood on top of the 1/4" mahogany.  It's all held together with screws and West System epoxy.  The epoxy was thickened with fiberglas to fill gaps.

I've finished the hole repair at the base of the mast by course sanding the plywood to about 1/32" below the finished cabin roof.  I mixed up a batch of West System Epoxy and added some micro balloon filler and troweled it over the patch.  It's now ready for the final sanding which I will do when the weather is warmer and I can tackle refinishing the entire cabin roof.



Blackheart - Peterson 35 Salilboat Project

Hello,

I hope to document my progress on the repairs and upgrades I plan to undertake on Blackheart, my 1978 Cooper Yachts - Peterson 35 (Ganbare one tonner design).

This is my first attempt at Blogging, so I hope you will provide feedback on how I can improve it as I go along.

I purchased Blackheart in September of 2010 and she was biginning to show her age as the previous owner was not able to keep up with the maintenance.

Besides needing a thorough scrubbing inside, she has a few major issues;

• 
  

  foresail foil is outdated and held together with duct tape - New Harkin Mark IV on order
• 
  

  sails are pretty rough - repairs will see us through a season or two, but new sails are on the wish list, replace #4 luff tape with #6 for new furler
• 
  

  replace halyards and sheets
• 
  

  replace mast base stand up blocks with base collar and new teardrop blocks
• 
  

  repair/replace foredeck hatch
• deck leaks - all through deck mounted hardware will be resealed - apply fresh coating of Cetol
• deck rot - two small sections of teak deck will need replacing
• cockpit rot - two small section of the cockpit side walls are rotten this boat was built for serious racing and has no lazerette seating which I intend add
• cabin top rot - small area of rot near mast
• replace cushions throughout
• replace teak sole boards
• remodel V-berth
• remodel head
• repair/replace engine guages

Well that's about it for tonight