#426 Refurb/Rework Thread

[JurisG]

I started this thread just to keep all of my boat in one place (as far as this forum is concerned, anyways - the physical pieces are all in Massachusetts!). Going to post some updates on my missions below, and keep doing so as I do work. Hope this is the most streamlined way to do it!

[JurisG]

As I posted in the Rudder Thread (http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=576&page=21), I have the creaky third-plank problem, and probably some rot with my 42 year old rudder (shocking, I know). Using the Ariel Association Manual and the Rudder Thread, I went in to remove it, sand it, evaluate it, and then either epoxy/glass it or rebuild it.

Taking the tiller head apart was a cakewalk. a 1/2" socket and a 1/8" allen head gets you to the Delrin Bearing, which can be easily pried out with 2 flat head screwdrivers, although one should try to do it gently.

The U-shaped strap that supports the rudder on the keel was another story. It was held in with what appeared to be rivets or pins. No screwheads were apparent. Obviously they needed to be drilled out, but I made the mistake of trying to drill a pilot hole with a small drillbit first. Don't even bother, because although it LOOKS like copper, those pins/rivets are as hard as stainless steel. They ate my drillbits, and forced me to knock the heads off with big drillbits (see pics).

Having disassembled the tiller head and removed the strap, I was able to remove the rudder from the rudder shoe, dig a hole, and begin sliding the rudder down. Not so fast. I had a sneaking suspicion that the propeller would be in the way, and it was.

The cotter pin turned to dust when I removed it, so I punched it out with a pin + hammer. I wire-brushed away 42 years of boat paint, and removed the huge nut holding the prop on. And this is where I'm stuck.

The prop WILL NOT BUDGE. I heated it with a propane torch, put a gear puller on there, and beat it with brass pins and hammers for nearly 2 hours, and all I accomplished was collapsing the cotter pin through-hole with the gear puller. I had to leave it with some penetrating oil, and some hope for better ideas next weekend...

Anyone have any idea how to pull the prop? Am I missing something about the rudder removal (does the prop really have to come off)? It looks to me like the only way to NOT remove the prop is if one were to fully disassemble the rudder from the copper shaft, which I don't want to do (in fact, the rudder through-bolt heads are so curved and shaped, I don't know if it would be possible).

Thanks for any advice!

[mbd]

The prop WILL NOT BUDGE. I heated it with a propane torch, put a gear puller on there, and beat it with brass pins and hammers for nearly 2 hours...
Been there, done that. :)

Get or borrow a prop puller. It's ridiculously easy with the right tool...

[ebb]

THIS is what this Forum is about.

Those are pins and not bolts. You put pins in and peen them over into the chamfer so you don't have any heads or nuts sticking out. Elegant and proper.
The pins of course are not reusable when you remove the fitting. Just put in new ones which is probably a good idea anyway.


I tried to peen over silicon rod when I re-shoed. Trouble is every attempt at mushrooming the pin ended up hardening the bronze. Former owner may have done something similar on your baby.
I should have found some soft copper rod - peened that over - probably very easy to move the metal into the chamfer and probably more secure than I know I ended up with because the siliconbronze rod just stopped moving finally no matter how much &%+!!*&??*#!!! peening I did. Never really got it close and tight!
I'm not the only one........:o

Silicon bronze is pretty hard for 98% copper. Once you get the 'head' drilled off the pin the body should be easy to punch out.
Peening pins is imco the best way to attach the heel fittting and the gudgeon to the 'keel post'. Copper rod and the siliconbronze strap should have no galvanic issues being next to each other on the scale.

If you feel the need for a zinc because you notice some pinking or pitting, my Ariel came to me with one of the pins in the heel fitting changed out for a bronze carriage bolt long enough for a zinc guppy to be attached.
I thought it looked funky, but it is an easy way to add a zinc.
Doesn't look like your gudgeon is corroded so you probably have no galvanic action there or by association on the rudder shaft. In that area.


The O-ring on your sleeve bearing looks fairly new. Not flattened like it was on A338!
__________________________________________________ _____________________________________________
Found a discussion on Wooden Boat Forum on siliconbronze rivets vs copper rod.
One guy put it: Copper rod: Easy on, Easy off.
__________________________________________________ _
In this forum discussion another poster says you can heat up silicon rod to anneal it.
You'd have the pins cut to size and for convenience have a jig you can peen over one end first.
You heat to anneal with a torch at above 900 degrees (there is probably a color you heat the bronze to - ebb doesn't know.)
You know, it's like "heat to medium red and quench" - right!
Let the pins cool - use them immediately because the temper returns to siliconbronze in a short while.
(this is hearsay from the WBForum)
I wonder if the process is repeatable - ie make a head on one side using a hole drilled in a piece of iron plate, depending on the time it takes, heat it up again if necessary and cool to peen the other head on the boat.
Hmmmm, copper rod looks good right now!

[carl291]

Somewhere someone claimed they went to Electric supply store and bought copper ground wire the size they needed in an X amount of feet went home and cut it into the pins for peening. Just passing it along!

[JurisG]

Combining 2 workdays into 1 here.

So I Rigged up my own prop puller from a bandsaw-cut steel plate, alumium plate, threaded rod, and hardware. It slipped in behind the prop and allowed me to tighten the bolts while putting pressure on the prop via the end of the prop shaft. See the photos below. I used an ultra hot soldering torch to heat the prop up, and with some help, gave the steel plate behind the prop simultaneous whacks on both sides with mallets. As you can see with pictures, the end result was less desirable than I hoped. The shaft sheared at the extreme end, which didn't make ANY sense given where we were applying pressure. In any case, it was the final attempt at a losing strategy.

I finally just banged out the Marine Tex around the rudder hardware, and the rudder came off totally cake! I had to use a dremel w/ cutting wheel to cut deeper screwdriver trenches in the bolt heads, but they basically didn't put up too much of a fight. So, my advice to anyone reading this is: don't try to remove a stubborn prop to remove the rudder unless (1) you've already tried disassembling the rudder in earnest and haven't been able to, or (2) your upper rudder rod (the one that passes through the hull) is somehow damaged or unusable.

In any case, the rudder is off and looks salvageable, so I'm stripping it right now to get it ready for some Marine Tex and some fiberglass. 42 years of bottom paint is turning my driveway into a rainbow.

Also, does anyone know where the most efficient place to mount the bilge pump is? Mine is under the rear-most removable panel on the floor of my main cabin, but I'm not sure if it's actually at the "lowest point" of the bilge.

[ebb]

One for the books.

That's a nice jig.
Better because you can really get behind the prop with it.

Why did you set it North/South
and not East/West which would not have been in the way of the top piece of shaft?
That's the deruddered top of the shaft there in the pic?

Looks to me (it may be the angle of the foto) that you didn't get a totally strate pull with the jig as you show it and that's why the shaft cracked.

Never realized that you guys with inboard A/Cs cannot just undo the gudgeon and drop the rudder like the OB versions can.


It would be really great to have a blow-by-blow on the options of what it takes to drop the rudder with a prop in.


I assumed you just turned the rudder to 90 degrees and it would slip by the heel fitting
and squirrel around the prop
- after you uncoupled the gudgeon and removed the top sleeve bearing.
???

[JurisG]

As far as N/S vs. E/W, the rig could have lined up either way; The reason for the alignment in the pic was so we could beat it on either side with mallets. I took that pic when we were done breaking it - it was lined up pretty well when we were really working it, although you are right - a slight misalignment was probably the cause.

Unfortunately, after removing the handle, gudgeon, and bearing, I tried to remove the rudder (by pushing it, still attached upwards and then downwards into a trench), but it would not slide by the Prop. I tried every which way, but I'm sure it would have required some brute force, and probably some undesired bending of either the rudder shaft or prop shaft to attempt removal with the prop attached. Therefore, I tried to remove the prop, failed, and finally simply disassembled the rudder from the shaft. So, the blow-by-blow of what actually worked was:

1) Remove handle, gudgeon, and delrin bearing.
2) Dig a trench under the rudder (unless the boat is up high or on stilts or something).
3) Drill out the heads of the pins holding the rudder bracket with a large drill bit. Remove the bracket by prying it off and punch out the pins with a hammer and punch (after chiseling the boat paint and maybe even cleaning it up with a dremel that has a wire brush attachment).
4) Push the rudder up (lift it out of the rudder shoe) and drop/turn it until you can get at the three bolt heads holding the rudder together. They should be well shaped and coated with bottom paint...
5) Take a dremel with a cutting wheel and make the flathead screwdriver bolt heads deeper and more usable. Clean up the area around the bolt heads with a wire brush and make sure the paint is "broken" around where it needs to spin.
6) Use a chisel/punch/flathead and a hammer, and dig out the marine tex bondo-like filler from the two spots it's in - see the pics above (the holes are where the filler was). Dig first nearest the stern and move towards the bow to avoid damaging the hardware.
7) Unearth the bolts from the bondo.
8) This part's a 2-man job. Use a HUGE flathead screwdriver (with a hex shaft - not a round shaft) with an adjustable wrench on the shaft and have someone hold it on the appropriate bolt. Use a wrench to slowly spin the nuts in the rudder holes (not too fast - don't strip the bolt heads!). Once they're moving, you should be able to spin it with your finger. Once the nut is off, slide something (I used a big, crappy adjustable wrench handle) between the end of the bolt and the wood of the rudder and bang the bolt through. If it's not removable with your hand after that, use a big pair of pliers to remove it the rest of the way.
9) The top bolt is the worst; it's got a nasty hook in it and apparently screws right into the rudder with no hardware - I actually think I "caveman'ed" that one off so you're on your own there.
10) Since the prop is still in the way of the rudder shaft, the shaft will stay where it is and simply be re-bolted to the rudder with new hardware once I'm done restoring the rudder.

[carl291]

Are you planning on replacing the prop shaft and maybe the stuffing box also? My luck would be the prop would fall off before I could motor away from the launch site:eek:
Good Luck

[JurisG]

Current plan of action is to start the motor up and see if it spins clean (indicating that I didn't break or bend anything integral to motor operation). If so, I think I'll drill and tap the end of the prop shaft and run a bolt in with a washer on it, which I will weld to the prop. I'd like to avoid replacing the stuffing and shaft.

[mbd]

I wonder if a Vetus shaft coupler or some sort of spacer would add enough length at the other end of your shaft so you could have your the threads redone and keep your current setup? I'm wishing I had gone this route instead of getting a new shaft ($$$) when the same thing happened to me.

I don't know much bout these things, but I'd be concerned about future maintenance, weakening the tip of the prop shaft further, and the balance of your prop with the welding option.

[bill@ariel231]

"If so, I think I'll drill and tap the end of the prop shaft and run a bolt in with a washer on it, which I will weld to the prop. I'd like to avoid replacing the stuffing and shaft"

hmmm... that actually sounds harder than fitting a new shaft. Demolition is the hard part. For safety's sake you might want to open up the stuffing box and replace the packing AND the section of hose from the box to the shaft tube. Most of the shafts that i have seen with a sheared nut also show some galvanic corrosion. That takes time and may indicate a likelyhood of other problems at the other end of the shaft like a leaking stuffing box. changing the hose and packing is easy and something i do every couple years for the packing and every 5 years or so for the hose.

goodluck
bill@ariel231

[carl291]

Well just a consideration for you, Maybe drill and tap the shaft, run a bronze bolt in, then drill an angled hole through the head of the bolt and the prop and install some .060 safety wire.
Or drill and tap, install a "lock tited" threaded stud, then a nut with a carter pin.
I'm would try keeping the prop salvageable for future use.
Like Ebb I didn't realize the problem with removing the rudder with an inboard.

[Commander227]

JurisG,
I agree with Bill. Now is the time to go after the stuff box and hose. It will cost all of ten bucks and only take an hour. I also think you should be thinking new shaft.
Try Minnie's Yacht Salvage, I got a used prop in perfect condition for $45.00 and they had some used shafts as well.

[Fox]

Yikes! I guess I really lucked out removing the prop on 322, a couple taps from a hammer and it came right off. It took a bit to remove the key from the shaft though, I was pulling the whole shaft, so it had to come out.

[mrgnstrn]

Combining 2 workdays into 1 here.

<snip>

Also, does anyone know where the most efficient place to mount the bilge pump is? Mine is under the rear-most removable panel on the floor of my main cabin, but I'm not sure if it's actually at the "lowest point" of the bilge.


JurisG,

There is a lengthy discussion of bilge pumps over in this thread:
http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=105&highlight=bilge+pump

When I had A#3, there was an access plate under sink cabinetry that led to the way-back-way-deep part of the bilge. I mounted a small bilge pump on a piece of angle-aluminum and stuck it in the hole. That way I could get the darned thing out when it was time ti fix it.

However, there are some important differences:

1.You have an engine where I had an empty space (I had the O/B version)
2.You likely don't have any kind of panel, but also can't likely see what's back there because the engine is in the way.

You need a very small, very flexible 6 year old gymnast to climb back there and tell you what's going on.

Or put the bilge pump in the best place you can and call it a day!

[ebb]

Don't see how any of you guys with an inboard can get by without an access plate or flush hatch in the cockpit deck?
Wouldn't it be easier and maybe safer too if you had access to the back of the engine and the stuffing box/stern tube?

You'd have to have something pretty sturdy, don't know that the usual plastic plates would work. I think Triton Tim ended up with a Bomar$$$ something after disappointment with a Temptress brand hatch.

It's another potential hole in the boat, and after Ed's recent story about taking green water (filling the cockpit) over the stern on a day sail, it may take some study as to what will work best in the Ariel cockpit.

What's the thinking on this?


[In remodeling the interior of littlegull, one of my big paranoia exercises is to make sure that every section of the hull has access.
Want to stuff a pillow in any hole, or at least FEEL where the ocean's coming in.
I went overboard and got a huge commercial s.s. flush hatch for the cockpit, but I don't like the idea of leaks, constant leaks, and stainless that will become a problem because access thru the cockpit deck was POSSIBLE!
Want a smaller more managable hatch because I know access from under the bridge deck (littlegull is an OB Ariel) will always be a problem.
Forget who it was now, but somebody here had their rudder jammed right thru the bottom making a hole.
Be great to have TOP access to the rudder tube, etc.]

So there's a couple good reasons for a cockpit deck hatch.

[JurisG]

Thanks for the input, all.

Is there a section in the manual for replacing the stuffing and hose? I don't have it in front of me, but I also don't remember seeing it when I flipped through.

Also, I was under the impression that replacing the whole shaft was a major headache. I mean, you have to wrangle in behind the atomic 4 to do it, right? I'm not even sure how to get in there yet.

[mbd]

Here's a link to a great web site that covers it: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/stuffing_box

[ebb]

Yer right Mike, that is a great site!
It's a perfect example of how to present a tip on a specialized subject.
As the testimonials prove, it may be no big deal for somebody who's done it a few times,
but as a mystery for a first timer this is text book, as they say
Or I'd bet, a whole lot more practical and patient than any text book can be.
WONDERFUL CLEAR PHOTOS.
REVEALING EXPLANATIONS.

See comments for a further tip on removing flax.
Also click Tree View for more How-To
I think I've seen this guy's logic used on anchor selection. Viz the Supreme.

(almost wish I had an inboard...)

[JurisG]

That site looks like an excellent start when I'm in there - but my question is ariel-specific. How do I actually get at it? Do I go in behind the motor? Rear Hatch?

I've seen the old salts at the boat yard taking a jig saw to their hulls, taking out a square piece, doing the job, and re-glassing it. Is this what I'm in for?

[mbd]

Cockpit lockers. When I got my boat I had a leaking stern tube. After a few times in and out of the lockers, I got to the point very quickly that I saw this as a necessary and desirable modification:

http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?p=10014#post10014

http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/attachment.php?attachmentid=2412&stc=1&d=1121567772

[ebb]

Mike,
dang! Forgot that install of yours.
Altho the Bomar part must have stuck.
So it's a "SLAM" hatch....How's that worked out for you?

LEAKS?
I'd worry that I couldn't cinch it down...haven't seen the hatch.
[Ed Ekers "getting wet" story is going to stick with me a L O N G time:eek:]
Does fit perfect., that's magnificent access back there!
Can you work on it? Strong enuf, as in my case, to rest the OB on it? That kind of thing. I'm NOW going to look into it seriously.


One thing for certain your cockpit floor is a lot sturdier than A338's.
Tim's portrait holding that hefty chunk of cockpit is impressive.
A338 has no balsa core.
It's just a layer of glass.
A lot of play in the floor even with the ply stiffeners Pearson pasted underneath with matt. Might have to epoxy in a wood frame for extra rigidity to support such a big hole.

Thanks for the reminder!!

[mbd]

The hatch has been great, I use it all the time to check on things down there. Leaking had been a problem after the initial installation because of the camber of the cockpit floor. When Tim was doing the deck work on A-414, one of the things I asked him to do was build up a level lip so the hatch could sit flat. The leak has now been reduced to a "nuisance" at worst, but I haven't verified if it's even leaking at all.

As for strength, it flexes a little when you're standing in the middle, but I have never been worried about it's durability - and obviously, it's continuously underfoot and being stood upon.

All things being equal, if I had the bucks, I'd probably spring for one of the aluminum hatches, though I understand they can get warm in the sun, but they're virtually bullet proof.

A side note: I'm also planning to add a cockpit grate someday, in addition to keeping your feet dry and looking nice, it will also add more support to the hatch. You won't even know it's there.

[JurisG]

Sorry for the lack of updates; I sent my phone for a swim in the bilge and lost all the pics of our progress!

In any case, attached to this post you will find pictures of how I have dealt with my broken prop shaft. The bearing had no play, and I spoke with the mechanic who has done all of the work on #426, and he said he just did the stuffing 2 years ago - he recommended I put it in the water and run it this year because it looked good. Therefore, I decided to put a pin through the prop and shaft after slowly drilling through it, peen it over, and cover it with JBweld. I also filled in the void left by the sheared prop shaft.

I also want to add that I cleared all the stuff out of my side compartments in the cockpit, and can now "access" the back of the engine, stuffing box, etc. BUT, I simply can't wiggle my 6'5" frame in there. Also, I'm not sure an access hatch would do much for me since my gas tank is right where I would want to put it. Every time I want to use the hatch, I would have to remove the gas tank and move it to the side. MAYBE a project for next year. For the time being, I have a very good mechanic in the South Shore, Massachusetts area, who is experienced at wiggling into the cockpit compartments and knows the Atomic 4 in and out. Anyone who is interested can contact me for his information. To get it started, we needed to do new points & condenser, and a new fuel filter, along with a new battery.

I purchased some new hardware to put my rudder back together from Jamestown Distributors (www.jamestowndistributors.com) and cleaned up the old stuff with a grinder for what I couldn't find. Jamestown has a vast selection of brass and silicon bronze hardware. I also purchased some fiberglass supplies from them. The rudder steps I've gone through so far are:
1) Remove the rudder from the brass shaft (see previous post in this thread). Leave the prop alone unless absolutely necessary!
2) Strip the paint off; sand it down; Take out all possible hardware, but leave the pins in place, holding the 3 planks more or less together.
3) Clean up the hardware, buy new pieces for whatever needs replacement.
4) Take a dremel to any rot (cutting wheel, sanding attachment, grinder are all useful) especially between the planks.
5) Blow out the stuff leftover between the planks with pressurized Air.
6) Trace the rudder on cardboard with sharpie, marking the spots where the holes for hardware are (to be filled with Marine Tex).

The next steps I think I will be taking are:
7) Put the hardware back together
8) Add some countersunk stainless steel straps to reinforce the planks and hardware
9) Do a few layers of fiberglass
10) Use the tracing made in step (6) to cut out the holes for Marine Tex
11) Do the Marine Tex and then Re-Glass over the holes
12) Dremel away and put her back on. Slap some bottom paint on with the rest of the bottom.

We have also been attacking the Teak with a rotary sander because someone put Varnish over it. We are doing it over with many layers of cleaner, brightener, and Teak Oil.

I'm hoping to have her in the water by July. Does anyone have any leads on some kind of reference material for doing the rigging? Is there a guide out there somewhere? I've helped to rig up a Catalina before, but never a Pearson.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some finished rudder pics!

[mbd]

I don't know - I wouldn't feel at all comfortable relying on just a pin to hold your prop on, not to mention the balance of the whole assembly. Be really careful when you put her into reverse! That prop has a lot of boat and displacement to pull when turning that direction - I can just imagine your prop spinning itself right off the shaft... :eek:

I sincerely hope I'm being a Nervous Nilly and am just plain wrong, but yikes!

[JurisG]

I would agree with you, except that I know from experience that the prop is seized on to the shaft. I spent 2 days with MAPP gas, brass punches, mallets, prop pullers, etc trying to get that thing off. Trust me, it's not going anywhere. The pin was just to make me feel better about it, and if it spins off - well hey, there's always a sail to get me home!

[mbd]

If it spins off, most likely you'll be trying to stop the boat or back out somewhere and your sails won't be much use to you at the moment.

Boy, I hope you're right. With my luck, I'd have been just one whack from the bloody thing popping right off the shaft. :o

BTW, your work list is quite impressive! I'm sitting here wondering how in the world I'm going to make my upcoming launch date in one week!

[JurisG]

Some rudder updates -

I've stripped all of the bottom paint off and taken a sander to it. I also took a dremel to the spots that were looking a little rotty, although the meat of it is looking good. I then clamped the three planks together (the only hardware still left in there are the pins between planks) and routed out some places for straps. I then installed the stainless steel straps with stainless hardware, and plastered it over with Marine Tex (see pictures). I will dive into fiberglass next weekend because the Marine Tex needs some time to cure. And dont' worry, I didn't put Epoxy into the hardware holes (not yet).

Does anyone have any hints on what type of fiberglass to use? For instance, there is fiberglass mat (looks like fiberglass particle board almost) vs. fiberglass cloth (looks like what they wrapped my broken wrist in when I was 12). I've gotten conflicting recommendations from different folks. I think I'm leaning towards the woven cloth simply because it looks easier to use.

Lastly, I'm still looking for some kind of guide to raising the mast and doing the rigging on a Pearson, if anyone has any leads on such a thing. Thanks!

-Juris

[ebb]

Of course you know wood swells when wet and shrinks when drying.

But maybe with old rudder wood there is less movement in this regard. There may still be some swell in the wood of your rudder and that imco is a good thing when considering encapsulating.
Nature abhors a vacuum. The wood will want to equalize with its environment.

Believe some have done this successfully on this Board.
But it is controversial.

Some suggestions:
Use the best laminating 100% solids no blush EPOXY you can find. The best epoxy is always 1 to 1 or 2 to 1.
Put on an initial wet soak coat.
Always build on a wet soak (sometimes on other projects you have to dry it off). Priming in this way helps to insure the bond. If epoxy sets/drys you have to abrade it to provide tooth for the next layer. Just lightly sand a cloth layer, lightly. You can work the Xmatt.

I would use "panels' of XMATT (or equivalent*- do not use plain mat or roving) on the sides, just on the flats, no attempt to turn any corners. This is to provide some beef over the area that ordinarily wants to move. One layer should be enough. Would then laminate over that something as light as 6oz cloth in maybe three layers.

Hopefully somebody who has done this will post here. I'm imagining how I would proceed:

Smooth and fair.
Coarsely abrade everything including the bronze.
Would work first on one side, beginning with a heavy Xmatt panel, cut smaller than the rudder, but just barely lapping the bronze to wood join, just,
then drape 6oz over the blade on all sides. Let it set. Trim off all the danglies, smooth all edges. (Shurform tools)
Turn the rudder over and do the same there, making sure you lap over the edges.
Let it set, or if you have time, drape a second layer of cloth over the first.
Then reverse the rudder and put another layer of cloth over the first side making sure you turn the fabric over the edges. The fabric won't build up much as you double the edges.

A trick with the cloth is to lay it on at 45 degrees to the rudder post, on the bias. You will be amazed at how well the 6oz will drape over the edges all around. You will have to cut here and there, but it'll be a piece of cake, I'm certain.

Make sure you have abraded the bronze rudder post so epoxy will stick. I'm assuming you will be wrapping the shaft along with everything else. This will increase the diameter of the shaft. I believe that 4 turns (maybe even 6 turns of 6oz) of 6oz will be OK to fit in the hollow of the keel 'post'. Can always sand the hollow out a little with a two inch sanding drum (as described here) to make room. Remember room for multiple coats of bottom paint! Also as you fatten the rudder you will decrease its swing radius.

In the gudgeon area it should be possible to cut out what you don't want and add back a single layer of 6oz to the wound to line the cutout. If it is incorporated in the layering so much the better. I wouldn't depend on just wetting the cutout with epoxy or rubber. Need the best seal there.

Then fair with compound mixed in the same epoxy. I like 407.

And of course pay particularr attention to the shaft where it extends into the shoe and out of the top.
I have a prejudice with woven cloth, shouldn't sand through it. You can sand and grind on Xmatt, not cloth. You notice when working with glass that it is not 'amalgamated' into a laminate, it just gets encapsulated by the epoxy. It's still fiberglass stiffened with snot. That's why the quality of the resin is so important.
Your rudder, of all things, deserves the best!
IMCO

Hope some of this helps.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
*I use Knytex Xmat from TAP. It is two layers of unidirectional (bundles) glass roving at 45 dgrees to each other and very very loosely sewn together.
You can persuade this stuff into corners when wet. It turn outside corners too but not as well. Experienced people can manipulate the fabric by pulling on it to make it turn corners. I would not turn corners with Xmatt on the rudder. It comes in 19 and 25oz, I believe, thick and more thicker. It gobbles up resin like nothing else. You can (as described elsewhere) put mylar film on the wet-out mat and create pressure to squeeze out resin to make it more dense and stronger. Sandbags - waterbags maybe?

[JurisG]

So after numerous consultations with experts, and influenced by my general abhorrence of fiberglass mat, I decided to use just 6oz cloth.

I got a few yards of 38" wide 6oz fiberglass cloth from Jamestown Distributors along with a Gallon of Polyester Resin, 4 oz. of hardener, a gallon of Acetone, and some "Captain's Blue" resin dye from New England Marine and Industrial.

When the Marine Tex we put over the straps and in the cracks had cured, we sanded everything down and cleaned it with Acetone. we then laid the rudder on a large piece of fiberglass cloth, and cut out the shape of the rudder plus about 4" extra to wrap over. We cut some reliefs and made a plan, and mixed up our first batch. 16oz of Resin was plenty for each coat. We put some blocks in the middle of the rudder with some double-sided tape to stand it up off the cardboard, and coated the wraparound pieces of fiberglass with resin to keep the cloth in place. We then flipped the rudder over and did the entire first side with a foam roller and paintbrush. We waited for that coat to harden a bit (about an hour or so), then repeated the process. We left the rudder under heat lamps and out of the rain for the night. You can see the results in the first and second pictures.

The following day, we came back and sanded down the side upon which we laid the 4" of extra cloth, leaving the side with the full coat on it untouched. You can see the results in the third picture. We then laid that side down on another full piece of cloth, and cut out an exact size panel, leaving no extra for wraparound. We flipped it over, and did two coats on this side, again leaving it under heat lamps for the night.

The following day, we sanded down any rough and bubbly spots around the edges. The worst spots were the area where the rudder posts should rest, and the prop cutout. After some deliberation, I completely blew those areas out with a Dremel. We decided that there was absolutely NO WAY the brass rods would fit into the radius if we left the fiberglass in place. We decided to hit those areas with a strong coat or two of evenly painted resin only.

We then cut out a number of ~4" strips of fiberglass tape, which by the way was a godsend. The edges are "singed" so the cloth doesn't unravel when you try to work with it. Using the acetone, I wiped the edges in order to make the resin tacky again. I then laid the strips around the edges with slight overlap, using the tacky resin (almost like spray mount) in order to keep them taut. We then mixed up one more batch, and covered all the cloth tape and holidays (mostly the outer edge, crown, and prop cutout) with a coat of resin. We also used this opportunity to coat the rudder shaft areas with some resin. You can see the results of this step in the fourth picture.

The last steps will be to do some touch up sanding, cut out the hardware pockets with an X-ACTO knife, put all the hardware back in with the shafts, Marine Tex the pockets and shaft-rudder junctions, Cover the hardware pockets with some fiberglass cloth tape + resin, and slap on some bottom paint. I'm pretty psyched with how it's coming along!

[JurisG]

Hi All,

I'm getting closer to my launch date, and still can't find a good resource for rigging advice. Does anyone have any high quality photos of their rigged up Ariel? Any handwritten instructions or anything like that? The previous captain of my boat is unable to guide me through my first season due to health reasons, and I don't want to mess anything up! Any info would be much appreciated, and could be emailed to me: JurisG@Ximedica.com

Thanks!

[JurisG]

She's in, and running fabulously. 426 is back in action and the rudder is holding strong. Took it for an epic sail on Tuesday night - the GPS was reading 7 knots on one good tack.

I have a classic story, and a question. First the question.

I want to purchase a Loos Rig Tension Gauge because I once sailed a Catalina 22' whose mast snapped off in a Gale. No one got hurt, but we got lucky. Does anyone have any tension numbers for the Ariel? How can I figure out what to Tune to? Unfortunately, the manual is on the boat so I can't check if the numbers are in there, but I don't remember seeing them.

Now the story. One of the last things I did before she went in the water was to check the sink drain. It looked good, but I was so nervous about it that I fastened a pipe clamp and some chain to it with a clip on the end. I then screwed a door handle to the wooden frame piece the sink is mounted on and connected them. Just in case.

When she got dropped in the water, I instantly began having engine troubles; it was cutting out after starting and running for about 20 seconds. After using my starter motor to get to the nearest dock, we determined the carb needed replacement - it was gumming up. In order to access it, we had to remove the entire wooden frame upon which the sink is mounted. You guessed it, as soon as we pulled the sink drain, water started pouring into the boat as predicted by the Association's manual. But, due to the mod I put on there at the behest of the manual, we were able to bungee the drain tube up through the hatch to one of the stanchions, keeping the water out of the boat while we did the work. Check out the image below.

Also, since it's her first time in the water in a couple of years, I have heeded the advice of the last newsletter (regarding ethanol's solvent properties) and have about 6 filters on board. I've already gone through three, which were FILLED WITH CRAP that the ethanol cleaned off the inside of the gas tank. As soon as the engine stalls once, I know it's time to swap the filter. I'll get past it eventually.

To the Association, thanks for all the hard work putting this useful information together. I absolutely love this boat!

[Bill]

Calibrating between the Loos gauges is questionable, given the "accuracy" of the gauges themselves. In other words, my gauge might read 22 while yours might read 25 for the same shroud's tension.

Our gauge's reading are, however, used as an index to repeat the tension we previously set -- such as after we remove the wires to re caulk the chain plates, and because we loosen the back stay after sailing/racing to lower the pressure on the system.

[JurisG]

Bill, I don't have my manual with me (it's on the boat). Are the numbers you use as an index in the manual, or do you have them elsewhere?

[Bill]

BOAT WRECKED SEE:

http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?2670-Free-Ariel-%28-426%29-in-Marshfield-MA