Not a bad Alacrity for sale in Plymouth

Saw this on eBay, probably a bit overpriced as a starting bid on eBay but not a bad boat that with a little TLC could make a good boat.  Keels are like mine not encapsulated but that is not a bad thing.  Interior has been altered a lot so nothing original as far as I can see but not bad equipment.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370558640642?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

Hole for heads now blocked up...

I removed the horrid ball head toilet from the boat and I have now blocked up the hole.  Having used a disc sander to clean around the hole on the outside I put a patch of 3 layers of glass fibre matt soaked in epoxy and held them to the hull with a plastic disc held in place with a piece of wood and a brace.  I then went inside the boat and put more epoxy resin and chopped glass matt in the hole as well as a wooden plug. I then put more epoxy on top...no water getting in here!

Here is outside and inside shots... 

This is after I had sanded the area and put some surface filler on the hull.

It just needs a final sand and then it can be primed for the antifoul but that is still al while off.

 

This is the hole from the interior.  I just need to sand flat and it will be a base for the locker bottom.

Re-furbished outboard bracket

I took the bracket apart and cleaned up all the wood and re-varnished and looks pretty good now. 

This is before...

And now after...

Notice the rowlock socket so you could scull the yacht if the engine failed.

Glassing over the water tank filler

My Alacrity had a small water tank glassed in at the front starboard side and it was rank.  Filled with black water and unable to clean it out and with a filler right at the bow, who would do that?  It had to go.  It had a rotting ply surround and was covered with a perished rubber cap.

It was a struggle as it was a copper pipe with a flange between the tank and the deck.  You can just see it protruding at top right of this pic which is after I cut the tank open.  I cut into the tank to make a locker in the bow and I had to cut into the top of the tank to get at the pipe and flange. 

It was a messy job and I ended up with a very large hole in the deck.  In this pic you can see where I removed the pulpit and also anchor chocks which were cast iron and rusting nicely. 

A view from inside the boat showing the top of the tank I cut out and the hole in the deck.

I used a disc grinder to clean the deck around the hole then I made a disc of thin ply and covered it in clingfilm to stop the epoxy sticking to it.  I then put a wire through it and held it tight against the underside of the deck. Here's how it looked from inside.

This it afterwards I used three layers of fibreglass matt and epoxy resin then some epoxy with chopped strand to fill in the top.  I was quite pleased with the result and I just need to blend in the gel coat to make a finish similar to the non slip deck but I am painting that anyway.  Obviously I just needed to remove the wire and the disc of ply from inside.



Looking from inside, looks neat enough and might need to line this locker to cover where the tank was bonded inside the hull.

This is a pic after applying white gelcoat.

You can just see the round patch where the filler was removed and glassed over against the deck which has been sanded and given one coat of white primer.  You can see the deck in the distance which is still discoloured and dirty.  I am looking forward to seeing the whole deck painted with new non-slip areas.

My new window frames

When I bought my boat it had thin plastic windows on held in place with rubber surrounds.  This is my son Tom helping to punch out the old windows.

Initially I thought I would have a single piece of perspex screwed through and bedded on mastic but I liked windows with frames.  I then got a quote from the same company who supply windows to Contessa and after picking myself up off the floor I politely declined their quote.  I then got thinking, I had some 3mm stainless steel sheet from a previous project and I set about finding someone who woudl cut it to a pattern. I made cardboard templates and then searched Google and it was whilst watching Orange County Choppers that I saw a flow jet maching in action cutting steel and other metals with a very high pressure water jet.  It cuts very cleanly and does not distort the metal as there is no heat.  I searched for that type of company and found one not far from me.  The issue was they worked from computer drawings and had to digitise my templates which added to the overall cost but in the end I had four identical framed cut with holes for bolts all exactly aligned.  If anybody wants some frames cut they now have the ability to reproduce the frames very quickly.  The company was a bit of a pain to deal with taking an age to get the job done but in the end for £160 I got some good frames and I think they will look great. Most of that cost was the digitising of the templates.

I intend to bolt through the fibreglass and sandwich the perspex between or I might even go for 5mm toughened or laminated glass if I can get it with a tint. 

Anyway, here are the frames and one clamped to the boat to see how it looks and I will post more pics when they are fitted.  I need to finish painting the topsides first, another job still to finish.

This next pic shows the overlap there will be and with an identical frame on the insode of the boat it will look quite neat I think.  I am going to use bolts and dome nuts as interscrews are quite expensive give I need 70!  Hopefully I will have no leaks.

Finally an update...

Well despite the lack of input to my blog I have been doing quite a few things on the boat and whilst not as much as I wanted I would like to share what I have done.  My PC has been out of action for most of the year but now back online.  I will post some pics and blurb over the next few days and weeks and I hope you will find it of interest.

Missing gooseneck track on mast...UPDATED

When I got my boat and had a good look at the various bits that came with it I never once thought about the gooseneck fitting on the mast.  I was cleaning the mast the other day and thought now how on earth will the boom fit on the mast. 

The boom has a fitting that would seem to go onto a 1" T track.  On the mast there is a section 15" long where a track should have been fitted but no track.  I have scoured the internet and found lots of places that sell track but I did not want a metre of it and it is quite expensive so I set about making my own.

This is the back of the mast where the track should have been.  The three holes in the middle are larger than the top and bottom ones and there did not appear to be any thread on them.  The top and bottom holes looked as though self tapping screws had been used.

I have a piece of aluminium the right thickness and cut a piece 1" wide by 15" long.  I filed the edges and finished them on my belt sander making sure the track fitted nicely through the boom fitting.  I then made a template of the holes on the mast so I could locate them when I drilled through the track. 

Now I was going to cut a similar piece of aluminium about 1/2" wide to go under the forst piece making my T section but then hit on the idea of using some thick aluminium tubing as a spacer where each bolt went through to bolt the track to the mast.  I think this will work quite well but time will tell.  If there is too much pressure on the track then it may bend as it does not have the rigidity of proper T track.

 I have drilled the track and tapped the holes in the mast as seen above, to take 5mm countersunk bolts and I will put a stopper at the bottom to stop the gooseneck slider coming off the track.  I may want to pull the boom off the top of the track so I will leave that.

I will amend this posting once I have fitted on the mast.  Another possible drawback is that the aluminium is not annodised so corrosion may be a problem,  We will just have to see.  At least it didn't cost me anything ;o)

Well, here is the new track on the mast and I think it looks pretty good if I say so myself.  Proof of the pudding will be trying it when the boat is afloat and the main under load.

I also replaced some horrible steel screws holding a nylon cleat on the mast.

Anyone recognise this?

Well it is the handle from the ball head toilet I ripped out of the boat.  I removed all the stainless steel nuts and bolts and anything I thought may be of use.  Low and behold I bent it into a handle shape and ground the end square to fit nicely into my furling gear.  It turns a treat and will be useful until I fit slab reefing to my boat which will be for another year and another mainsail I guess.