Those Little Boat Projects

Dave usually takes care of polishing our prop each spring. I have a new respect for this job which I took on this year. I spent three hours rubbing WD-40 and elbow grease onto a very oxidized prop until the beautiful brass color was revealed. Other than a few small dings, it's in pretty good shape, especially considering how hard cruising is on boats. It does have several "scars" from barnacles that we picked up in the south during our Great Loop adventure. Polishing out the prop is just one of the spring tasks on our list each year.

Patina Before Polishing

Polished Prop

Our boot stripe or water line was looking pretty rough with chips from barnacles and several deep scratches. We'd talked about repainting last fall, but only went as far as buying the blue topside paint. In between other projects, we prepared the area by sanding out the old paint and filling the low spots before taping and rolling on a new coat. It took two of us to complete the applications. I rolled the paint on while Dave followed closely behind tipping or smoothing the orange peel texture that a roller leaves behind. Essentially, Dave dragged a foam brush through the paint that I applied. After three coats with sanding and retaping in between, it looked great, one more item off our list.

Taping the chipped water line

Epoxy filler over chipped paint

First coat of fresh paint

Three coats on the boot stripe

Mystic gets a new coat of ablative or self polishing bottom paint each spring. It wears away slowly over the summer which exposes the hull to anti-foaling elements that help keep Mystic's hull from gathering moss, so to speak. Without it, Mystic would be covered in algae, weeds, and scum by fall. A new coat always looks so good and is especially attractive this year with the new boot stripe paint up against it.

Dave applying bottom paint

Mystic looking ready for summer

In addition to the little projects, we spend time doing regular maintenance. Each task is required to get the new season rolling. Our list included:

clean (wire brush) sacrificial anodes

replace sacrificial winter halyards

move anchors from locker to anchor roller

clean and inspect the bilge

put our sails on

reinstall fire extinguishers

reinstall CO2 and smoke detectors

reinstall water pump impellor

wash and wax hull

install horseshoe buoy hardware

reinstall propane tank

clean and fill water tanks

never ending bright work (varnish teak)

Dave went up in the bosun chair to check on the following:

install the tri-sail halyard

install lazy jack halyard

install the flag halyard

check spreaders for wear

check spreader lights (new bulbs)

check anchor light (new bulb)

inspect rigging

Owning and maintaining any kind of boat is a lot of work. Some days are easier than others just as some projects are easier and quicker to complete. It all has to get done! In the end, if you aren't diligent, you'll end up with a project boat that no one wants. 

The Mahogany Rudder Repair

We are knee deep in boat projects while waiting on Mother Nature to flip the switch from winter to spring. Our latest work is a doozy of a rudder repair on our Alberg 35, Mystic. Each spring, we look closely at the original 60 year old mahogany rudder that steers our boat. It has a crack in the outer edge that has split dramatically in the last few years. Luckily, it is thru bolted to the rest of the rudder, but it needs our attention before we launch.

After a bit of research on Alberg owners websites and googling "how to repair a wooden rudder", we came up with a plan. First, we had to scrape and sand off all of the old bottom paint, exposing the mahogany. That job was one of those that you hate from the very beginning to the very end. The weather didn't help the situation. We had a beautiful 82 degree day but it was so windy, (20-30 mph), that we had to put up tarps to keep all the dust from settling on nearby boats. We created a little tent, held down by cinder blocks and chunks of wood that we found around the marina. In spite of being held down well, the tarps flapped loudly all day. We began by using scrapers and chisels to get the flaking paint off. Next, Dave hooked our palm sander up to the vacuum and sanded out what couldn't be elbow greased away. It took the two of us six, (or 12) hours to get the majority of the paint off. By the time we finished, we both looked like we'd been wrestling with a smurf. We were covered in blue bottom paint from head to toe. A hot shower helped get rid of the blue but we were sore from our contorted efforts under the tented hull.

Rudder before repair

Wind tent around Mystic's hull

Almost ready for epoxy

Crack goes all the way through

We'd hoped to complete the last of the sanding in the morning but woke to clouds and temps in the 40's. Rain arrived early morning and dropped several inches on us. Dave had covered the rudder with plastic so it didn't get wet. Our project timeline was heavily effected on day two but we were making progress.

Monday brought more rain but it cleared after lunch. Dave filled the big crack and slathered the rudder with epoxy. Then he palm sanded the first epoxy coat and added a second. Once that too had been sanded, Dave rolled on a white barrier coat, eventually adding a total of four coats. When he was done, it was flat and smooth. We are certain that our rudder is in far better shape than before the repair. It should last for years to come.

Orange spots are the original barrier coat

Dark Mahogany Peaking Through

First barrier coat

Final coat applied