1990 Canadian Sailcraft CS34 Shoal Draft
Sail #8268

1982 Catalina 22 Fin Keel
Sail #10506

1994 MUMM 36 ACE
Sail # 29206

Monday, April 30, 2012

CS34 Masting

Before going to the club, I went to Holland Marine Products, and picked up some yellow striping and new windex tabs.

Got the club a little before 3pm.  It was cold and raining very hard.  Could not get into the parking lot to get the cover frame pieces because they were grading the yard.

Went to the boat and attached the dodger.

Dave and Tony came around 4pm, and we brought the boat to the masting crane.

It was here we met Wendy and Mike.  Over to the mast with a dolly, we moved it over the crane.  I wanted to put in a spinnaker halyard and topping lift; there were tracer lines in the sheaves, but could not find where they came out at the bottom.  We taped the spreader boots with rigging tape.  Man it was raining hard! The mast went up without incident, just snugging up the upper shrouds.

We moved the boat back to the dock, and did the initial tuning of the rigging. Tony was very knowledgeble with this and explained things well. 

Dave and I connected the wiring in the mast and confirmed that all the mast lights worked.  The wind instrument is working.  We also lifted the floorboards and located the transducers.  Found the plugs and realized that we can pull the transducers to troubleshoot.  Will do another day.

Said good bye to Wendy, Mike, and Tony; THANKS SO MUCH GUYS!!!

After Dave left, I hung around the boat and it continued to rain hard.  I attached the bimini and connector panel.  I hung the boom with the topping lift and cleated the mainsheet to the mast.  To wet to run all the lines under the coachroof.  Looks like the vang needs to be cleated at the mast, and was dissapointed that the topping lift is too short to run to the cockpit.  Will have to evaluate the deck organizers and clutches to see if I can move them back to the cockpit.

I was soaked and cold, the little ceramic heater was not keeping me warm, so I fired up the burners on the propanne stove.

CS34 Cradle Delivery

Cradleman service delivered cradle


Sunday, April 29, 2012

C22 Bottom

Got to the club a little after 9am, and immediately started fairing the keel.  Took several applications of epoxy bondo glass/sanding to get it decent.  Also brought the repaired rudder for fairing.

Took a while to get the keel, rudder, and bottom half decent.

Mixing up the white Interprotect was not problem.  I used a paint mixer attachment on my cordless drill.  I mixed if a 1/4 batch and was able to cover about 3/4 or the boat, including two coats on the keel.

Starboard

Port
Bottom
NOTICE on the picture above there is a groove in the keel joint.  This was done on purpose: after applying Interprotect 2000E, I will be filling the grooved keel joint with Sikaflex 15 LM.  This sealant costs $8 a tube from Bathe and McLellan and is the same colour as VC17' and will flex 70% of its dimension so the keel joint will NOT crack as the keel flexes under stress.  Otherwize this joint will crack every year and potentially let water into the keel studs.

The boat is suspened about 3" off the cradle using jack stands so that I can paint under the keel. 

Would have liked to got further, but I started with 3" foam rollers, and the epoxy quickly turnied the rollers into mush; went throught two of them.  Borrowed a tray and large roller from John and Ian; much faster, however, after about 5 minutes, the solvent in the epoxy ate through the roller and they fell apart.  Went through three borrowed rollers  before I ran out of material and got 3/4 of the boat done.  Will pickup some epoxy friendly rollers tomorrow.




CS34 Mimico Launch (with video)

Here is a YouTube video of the lift:

http://youtu.be/B1u8004PP7o
 
Funny how the tagline crews run after the crane with the load!
 
Really neat to see how Mimico launches boats under 40ft.  In Whitby, every boat is launched using a fixed crane, which really limits how far away from the launch dock the boats can be placed.
 
These rubber tired mobile cranes lift pretty much all of the small to mid sized sailboats and powerboats.
 
The other neat thing is that Mimico use several forklifts to move the cradles around:
 
 
In Whitby, they hook the cradles up to a pickup truck with a chain, and drag them accross the property to the storage yard.  The roadway between where the cradle and the yard is a mess for weeks with dust and stones, and takes weeks to cleanup.  I think this is also hard on the cradles, and limits placement for storage.
 
Also in Mimico, you have to take your cradle pads home and fold your cradle by noon the next day, or you will be fined by the club.
 
In the club next door, Etobicoke Yacht Club, they have several hydralic trailers to ferry the boats ON THEIR CRADLES to the cranes at the water's edge:
 
 
 

Saturday, April 28, 2012

CS34 Mimico Launch

Got to Mimico a little after 10am.  Had to park accross the road and carry tools in.

First thing I did was compound the sides with my new Dewalt buffer and Aqua Buff 2000 I got from Ray.  Worked like a charm for removing the scratches that were under the "Endurance" vinyl lettering.

We then tried the new lettering using tape on the bow and stern of the boat:

Didn't look right on the bow

Looks about right!
I also compounded the rear transom, but before I was done, the crane was getting closer and closer, and the safety officer asked me to stop and put away my tools, which I did.  I quickly taped the transom lettering on to see what it would look like





Also cut some of the vinyl boot strip and repaired a couple of rips on the port side:

Hard to see, but what a difference!
Went to do the starboard side, but the safety officer stopped me.  Kinda ticked me off, as I only needed another 15 mintues, and the boat was not lifted for another hour.


Mobile crane

Almost there

Splash

The speed instrument did not work, depth was fine.  Will troubleshoot later.

Dave and I put some water in the tanks, and flushed the rest of the water system (head, sink, and shower).  Each tank takes about 10 mintues to fill from empty

Folded up the cradle and said goodbye.

Hooked up the water heater and fill it with water.  After about 10 minutes, we had hot water.

Rita and I spent several hours cleaning the boat.  I worked on the topsides, while she worked on the insides.




C22 Keel Fairing

Been spending a couple hours every night fairing and sanding the keel using Bondoglass.  This is a bondo product with fibreglass strands in it for strength.

The starboard side of the keel is slightly off center (the keel studs were slightly off at the factory), so I had to build up about 3/8" of fairing in 3 layers.



Little bit of sanding this morning, then off to put the new boat in the water!

Monday, April 23, 2012

C22 Rudder Repair

After work is was raining, 2 degrees Celcius, with a North wind 20 knots.  It was VERY cold and miserable at the boat.

Got home and in the garage, opened up the crack on the rudder with an 1/8" of an inch drill bit every 1/2" down the length of the crack.  I think the pintles are what was holding the rudder together.  Also oversized the mounting holes for the pintles and will fill them with epoxy and re-drill.


I cut out some fiberglass cloth to fit the length of the crack.


Filled the open crack with polester resin and placed two layers of cloth over it

I then clamped the crack closed (see above).

New Sail Cover?

Kijiji had an ad for a "slightly used but in good condition black sail cover!"

Saturday, April 21, 2012

CS34 Commisioning

Met the previous owner at 8am.  It was a cool 2 degrees Celcius with rain.  We got the ceramic heater warming the cabin right away.

Dave showed me how the various systems on the boat worked, and answered several questions I had.

He showed me how he winterized the motor cooling system, and how to drained the anti-freeze.  The motor started on first turn.  The motor ran very smoothly with no black smoke out of the exhaust.  He showed me the engine starting and stopping procedures.   After about two gallons of water went in the intake hose, clear water came out the exhaust at the back into a waiting bucket.

He showed me how to check the engine and transmission oil.  There is an access port in the washroom to make checking the oil easy and not have to remove engine panels and/or the companionway steps.

I did not realize that the boat has a heat exchanger.  Permanent anti-freeze cycles through the engine, to the hot water heater, and to a heat exchanger that is cooled by incoming seawater.

He showed me how to drain the anti-freeze from the water system.  The water heater is drained and a copper bypass pipe was placed around it to make winterizing easier.  Will remove this after we the boat is launched.

We put a drop of dishsoap on the PPS mechanical shaft seal to lubricate it until water gets to the seal.

That just leaves the head, which is easier done once the boat is in the water, as the sea water is used here.

Went to Holland Marine Products (HMP) in search of some of the plastic ISOMAT halyard exit plates.
Apparently they are not manufactured anymore.  I bought a stainless equivalent that will have to be pop rivited to the mast.  Also picked up 5 ft of dark teal striping that HMP bought from the CS factory when they went out of business. What a deal for a dollar a foot!  They also have the factory gold stripes, but CS used two different colours, so we have to bring in a sample.

7 days until launch!

Off to Still Time 1.0 to do some fairing.

Friday, April 20, 2012

C22 Bottom Sanding

After the gelcoat repair, decided to finish the sanding.  Spent about 3 1/2 hours and completed it.  Ran out of light to sand under the last pad.  Too dark for pictures, so I snapped some this morning:



Smooth as a baby's bottom sanded with 80 grit sandpaper!



Pad taken off for sanding

Sanding certain spots had broken through the epoxy barrier to the white gelcoat.  There are also some scratches from the bottom scraping that need some fairing compound.

Next steps are are to fair the keel with epoxy glass, fair the rest of the hull, and a final sanding.  Hopefully get this done on Saturday.  The weather reports say it will be too cold for applying the Interprotect 2000 epoxy barrier. 

15 days to launch!

C22 Gelcoat Repair

After work, Dale helped me get the first layer of gelcoat on the bow



The colour match is pretty close.

Lots of sanding todo because of the compound curve of the bow, could not get the release plastic to conform to it, leaving a vein on the starboard side.

Will probably need a couple of more applications.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

CS34 Hull Wax

The weather is supposed to be cold and wet after tomorrow for the rest of the week.  Decided to get out to the boat and get the hull waxed.

First step was to wipe down the hull with Interlux 202 fiberglass solvent.  You apply the stuff with a rag in 2 foot sections on the hull, then immediately wipe if off with clean paper towels. It was amazing how much junk came off the an already clean hull.

Then took some rubbing compound to various spots on the hull.  It took the water black steaks right off!
Also compounded where you could see where previous vinyl letters had been on the port front only.  Can't see them anymore.

I then followed with a Meguiar's Cleaner and Wax.  Applied it with a small sponge, and let it dry to a haze.  Buffed it off with an electric buffer at first, but found that a microfiber cloth worked easier.

Took about four hours to complete, and we are pleased with the results!

Starboard side looking foward

How's that for shine?

Port side looking aft
It was late and we were tired, so we didn't get the transom done. 

The boat can now go in the water.

New decals were ordered today; hopefully we will get them before launch.  Also ordered some extra decal material so we can patch some of the hull stripes that are slightly damaged.

CS34 Bottom Paint

Went down after work to paint the bottom on the new boat.

Rita taped off the boot strip while I got things ready.  I had already mixed the VC17 beforehand in a large mouth 1.78L juice bottle.  Added the copper powder first, then the can of VC17, and shook vigorously.  The PO said it would take almost 2 cans to paint the bottom.

Using a small 3" foam roller, I had Rita shake the bottle with the cap on, pour the paint on the roller, and quickly re-cap it.  Took about 3 hours to paint the bottom with two coats in most places.  We only used one can of VC17.


The PO warned me that the rear pads take too much weight in the cradle and cannot be lowered.  I did lower the fronts, painted behind them, waiting a bit for them to dry, then lined the pads with wax paper.

Bottom Painted!
Also went to the mast and washed it with dish soap, including the main track.

Monday, April 16, 2012

C22 Bottom Sanding

Put a couple of hours in sanding the bottom before I ran out of light.  Slow progress because all the sanding is done holding the sander upright with pressure. Arms a burning!

Canadian Tire sanding disks are SHIT and expensive; will get some more good quality ones from Toolies in Ajax.

Going take another 5 or 6 hours of sanding to complete; want to have sanding completed before the weekend so I can get onto fairing the keel, and interprotecting the entire bottom on Saturday.

19 days to Whitby launch!
12 days to Mimico launch!

CS34 Decals and Cleaning

Left for Mimico a little before noon, but it was raining and mizerable.  We decided to goto IKEA, have some lunch and look around.

Got to the boat a little after 1pm.  Wanted to get the bottom painted, the vinyl decals removed, and the side cleaned.  VC17 won't stick if the hull is wet, and it was, so NO BOTTOMPAINT FOR ME!

There was another CS34 a couple of boats over, same year, hull #32 (mine is #68).  A little rough and dirty:




We used a heat gun to remove the decals on the starboard side, and the rear.  Could not get the glue residue removed with anything we had, so off to No Frills we went in Mimico.  Picked up some 3M scrub pads, a 12 pack of sponges and scrub pads, and some VIM with bleach.  VIM did nothing, WD40 did nothing, but Goo Gone with a scrub pad removed the glue residue.

Decal residue

Click for larger version

End result
While I was doing this, Rita was washing the sides:

Aluminum stands worked great!

Looking Good!
Also removed some of the excess butyl tape with a putty knife:

You can see the goo above the numbering


Also took a look at the new halyard installed by the PO:



Need to install mast exit plates to avoid chafing the new halyard
Will need to install a spinnaker halyard and uphaul/downhaul before launch.

The hull cleaned up really well and will be able to get a couple of coats of wax next week.

It was too wet to do the bottom paint, as water was dripping over the underbelly even without us washing the hull sides.  Oh well, we had a full day just the same.  We stayed on the boat until after 9pm.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

C22 Keel Attached!!!

Got to the club a little after 9am bound and determined to the get the keel attached.

Modified the rear stainless backing plate with several trips back and forth to the shop.

Pulled the keel up to the keel stub using the nuts.  Fit was good.  Lowered the keel back down to about 3/4". 

Dale came by to give me a hand with bow gelcoat repairs, and helped with the keel.

We first levelled the boat using a couple of 4 ft levels:




Good thing we did, because the boat was twisted the cradle.

I went in the boat he removed the nuts and backing plates, and buttered plates with Sikaflex 291, as well as forced some sealant around the studs.

We layed about a 1/4" bead of 5200 aound the entire keel.  We used a popcicle stick to make sure the sealant was continuous without any bubbles.



I then went in the boat and slowly tighened each of the keel bolts, bringing the keel up to her final resting place.  About half of the 5200 oozed out of the crack.  Dale had a 6" scraper and cleaned it up while I was in the boat tightening the bolts.

After I was done tightening the keel bolts, we took some acetone to clean up around the keel joint so fairing would stick later.  Looks Great!




We took a look from astern and the keel still looked canted SLIGHTLY to port, even though it was hanging freely.  Took a 1/4" rope and strung it between the sheer line and the back edge of the keel and marked it with some tape.  When we did the same on the starboard side, it was off about 1".  We drove a 2x4 between cradle and keel on the port side to bring the keel to the same measurement.



The 5200 sealant is slow cure: 24 hours to non tacky, and 7 days to cure fully.  I will just leave her alone until next weekend for fairing, Interprotecting, and VC17ing.

Cameron was telling me the slow cure 5200 is tenacious: he once dropped the keel on a J44 with a 9,000 lb keel.  All the keel bolts were off and they had to use wedges to separate the bond of the 5200.

Milestone achieved!