Ariel #24

[Tim Mertinooke]

I used 3M 5200 as a bedding compound for the rudder shoe and strap. This will provide a nice permanent bond that leaves me the possibility of removal in the future should I need to.




I had trouble finding bronze rods like the originals that held the rudder shoe in place. To compromise I purchased 1/4 inch carrage bolts. They did not have the length I needed to bolt the shoe in place so I filed the holes on one side of the rudder shoe so the carrage bolt would fit and I plan to cut the ends of off the bolts and peen the ends once the 5200 cures the end of this week. I left this area messy so that the peened ends will set in a gasket of 5200. THe area will be carefully cleaned once that is done.






Rudder Strap

The original rudder strap was well worn and ready to be retired. Ebb, our resident wizard generously gave me some bronze stock from which I made a new one. Thanks again Sir! This one should last another 45 years.






I used silicon bronze carraige bolts again for this application like the shoe. This time the length I needed was to be found so I bolted this in place with silicon bronze lock washers and nuts. The strap was bedded in 5200 like the shoe.

[Tim Mertinooke]

In an obsessive compulsive rage I decided to finish removing what was left of the materials Pearson "dumped" into the bilge. I noticed at the very bottom of the bilge beneath the foam was a rubber-like compound that the lead pigs sat on. This was obnoxious to remove, but worth it. I used my trusty wonder bar and a serrated knife to remove it a little bit at a time. Prying, cutting, prying, cutting until it was all removed. What I have now at the bottom of my bilge is fiberglass, poured resin, and some random things set in the resin like a piece of mahogany, and some weird purple sea-shell type things. There is no wonder now that I look at this that water could have percolated down into the laminate then out the shoe through the pin holes. I could also see light through a couple areas where the shoe sets before I did the epoxy work shown in the previous post. I am going to prep the area by removing all of the excess resin stuck to the sides of the bilge. Grind down the random high spots, clean the ara with acetone to remove the nastiness, rough up the area at the very bottom of the bilge and then pour some epoxy in which I hope migrats into the nooks and crannies. This will be followed by a couple layers of fine weave cloth saturated in epoxy. Once that is done the area will be coated with a thin coat of thickened epoxy to make it fair. My goal it to have a smooth clean bilge that does not let water in or out unless directed by me. THe area in the front of this part of the bilge allows water into the keel void found between the lead ballast and the hull. This area will also be sealed with epoxy and laminate. This will be painted with bilgekote once complete. I have no plans to put the lead pigs back in. Once this is done I will mount my new bilge pump.






This stuff is incredibly foul smelling and tough.



A snap shot into the tools and technique.



This is a view after I removed all of this rubber stuff. You can see it is a potpourii of stuff (wood, glass, resin, unknown solids mixed in.) This was certainly shoddy work done by Pearson. The good news is that I am truly at the bottom of my bilge now and if I prep well I should get a good mecahnical bond between the new epoxy and what is there now totally sealing the area off forever. I will hide the sins of those before me.






If you look closely at this picture you can see the purple solid things I was mentioning. They are inbedded in the resin they poured. This is the area directly above the rudder shoe location. I can visualize water making in between these pieces and the resin poured. Covering this should do the trick.

[ebb]

Someday when the ultimate HOW2 on plastic classics is put together, TIM,
you'll have a prominent part in the volume on Hull & Decks.
Great photos!

Kept running into that purple concrete stuff in 338. Because so much of the interior bulkhead and furniture was fitted loose in 338, I think the stuff was a kind of stiff quick set bondo the Factory used to position and tack things in place. Maybe it was colored blue so the workers could see it in relation to all the other plastic laminate and tabbing going on? A late model like 338, I have the feeling the stuff going in was pretty casual and improvisational, nearly everything is 'off' in the boat. Maybe it was the solvents.

While the main bulkhead in 338 is way crooked down bottom, some of the other important pieces like the settees are relatively, relatively, parallel and square. One side is completely removed now and the telltale purple spots were evident in places. A flapwheel on the angle-grinder* mostly disappears it, but it does seem to have been used befor the major tabbing of the bulkheads, furniture and soles.

Yours would be the first 'rubber' padding Pearson used, that I can remember hearing about here. What is the thinking of putting weight in the end of the keel anyway? Must be a MORC regulation? OB vs Atomic4? Certainly our rudders are heavy enough! There's more than 20 pounds of bronze metal in the rudder alone. Then add the shoe, gudgeon, bolts, and tiller head !
__________________________________________________ ______________________________________________
*In the Book of Renovation the angle grinder and flapwheel is the epitome of evil. After using a Festool vac and 5" sander system inside the boat, it's impossible to imagine a horrible job more gratifying. While not as quick in removing material (afterall we are expecting a sander to do the work of a grinder), the experience of working with NO lethal dust and fiberglass particles is mind blowing! While we put on a dustmask, whipping it off we discover the air inside the boat is clean and sweet smelling, with very few sparkling glass nasties floating around. An amazing experience!

The company has a strangle hold on the pricing in the US. No matter who sells it, it's the same price. VERY very expensive. For prepping the inside of a fiberglass classic nothing else comes close.

[SkipperJer]

Tim,
Fill me in on the reasoning behind not putting the lead back in. Thanks for sharing your fine work.

[Bill]

Tim,
Fill me in on the reasoning behind not putting the lead back in.

See "Encapsulated Lead" discussion: http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...hread.php?t=27

and "Extra Pearson Ballast" http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...hread.php?t=31

Remember the Search button . .

[Tim Mertinooke]

Alberg designs tend to squat I have found. My Cape Dory Typhoon does, my friends CD 27 does, half the ariel photos I have run across show it. My outboard weighs 60 pounds, Gas tank full is another 15, I plan to keep a small anchor in the stern lazerette as well, theres another 20 pounds. I prefer the boat sits without the squat and removing the lead should help. I know the lead keeps the weight down low where it should be on a boat like this, and that it could affect the performance, but for this summer I don't plan on putting it back. If I feel as though it needs to be put back in next summer to compare I will. For this summer however they stay out. I weigh 210 so I'll just lay down on the cockpit sole if it gets to nasty out there.

[Tim Mertinooke]

It's nice to have wrapped things up below the waterline, I am pretty sure she won't sink. Now my energies go to the interior. After seeing so many inspirational photos browsing this site, I decided to paint the interior gloss white with brightsides, then replace the original lights with brass ones from ABI. I hope to have things prepped this week and paint this weekend weather permitting.

The replacement lights


Some befores of the bulkhead. The two new lights are going exactly where the other ones were (at least for this year anyway) for the sake of ease.



After removing the weird foam placed in the gap between the bulkhead and the cabin trunk, there was a space that needed to be filled. I decided to use a painter's caulk to make it look like a tight fit. The teak trim of course will be varnished. My hope is that this dark, multicolored, cave of a cabin transforms into a bright and airy one.

Here is the nicely cut bulkhead that left the shop floor in RI 45 years ago. Now that's craftsmanship (note sarcasm in voice.)

[Tim Mertinooke]

Here is a shot after the first coat. the second coat today should make it look awesome. I decided to do it in stages as I have limited time after work. The sides will be done next followed by the aft part of the cabin. I have some teak pieces let over from a job my dad did and I will be using those to make teak trim around the top and sides of the bulkhead.