Joule Completed!...(nearly)

March 10, 2018

We've reached the day!  Joule is completed...well, as the title states, "nearly."  There is the matter of her name and hailing port - which the owners are to bring over in the morning, so she may just have her name in lights by tomorrow!  The owners are also getting a bit of work done prior to splashing Joule:  the rudder stock has got some 'slop' in it due to a bolt that secures the tiller to it not aligning well.  The bolt is pushing off to one side of the round rudder stock, and the result is a not-so-snug fit of the tiller to rudder stock connection; the owners are also getting a bottom job.

Today, however, was the close of at least this ~7-month chapter of take down, repair, and rebuild.  I got to work installing the plumbing connections for the cockpit drains and their through-hulls.  I connected a NPS coupling to a hose barb, using polysulfide to seal the connection, and then tightened the other end of the coupling onto the port side NPS through-hull (also sealing the connection with polysulfide.  I then pushed and spun the hose onto the hose barb, overcoming the hose's resistance to going on.  I placed two clamps hose clamps onto the hose and pushed them down over the hose barb, and tightened them just enough to keep the hose in place.  I set the inboard end of the hose again the lower portion of the cockpit drain to determine how much hose needed to be trimmed, and then did just that.  I applied a bit of polysulfide to the lower portion of the cockpit drain, set the other two hose clamps on the hose, and then snugged the hose into position.  For the last step, I tightened the hose clamps securely - two on the through-hull and two on the cockpit drain.  I repeated this step for the starboard side drain.

Back in the cockpit, I trimmed the tiller base plate bungs, wiped the surface clean and then applied another application of teak oil.

I headed back over to the shop to prep the locker lids and fiddles to be installed in the cabin liner.  I sanded the weathered fiddles and then cleaned with a solvent.  The fair bit of sanding and cleaning did wonders for the fiddles.  I simply re-secured them in place with their original fasteners.  For the locker lids, I just gave them a good scrubbing with a solvent to remove years of crud.  The locker lids are a plywood with laminate construction, but seemed to have held up fine over the years.  I am sure they will be hidden away under new cushions in the near future.

At this point it was clean up time...I began a bow to stern vacuum session, and tossed over anything I had stowed away on board during the refit.

I placed the sanded and oiled washboards in the companionway, and slid the hatch closed.

She's nearly ready for the water!

As a gift to the owners, I fabricated a new tiller for Joule.  Made of alternating layers of teak and ash woods, the newly made and varnished tiller looks at home on this great little sailing yacht!  I absolutely love these Typhoons, and am happy to see new life breathed into hull #1044.  Glen and Catherine, fair winds and following seas!

Total Time Today:   3.5 hrs

Tiller Base Plate Install & Trimming Remaining Bungs (almost)

March 9, 2018

Joule is almost complete; just a few tasks remain, and those will be resolved through tomorrow.  Today's items were to install the tiller base plate and trim the bungs that I could - and apply teak oil to those surfaces.  Getting to it, I set the tiller base plate in position, adjusted slightly, and then pre-drilled for the #10 self-tapping screws.  Once the four fasteners holes were pre-drilled, I removed the base plate and tapered both the underside of the plate and the cockpit sole in order to provide ample voids for the polysulfide sealant to squeeze into.

I solvent-wiped the underside of the base plate as well as the cockpit sole, and then applied a generous amount of polysulfide.  Knowing things were about to get a bit messy, I applied some protective tape to the top of the base plate.  With the polysulfide on the cockpit sole surface, I then gently set the base plate into position and secured the plate to the sole with the four fasteners.  I used a filleting tool and push as much polysulfide as I could into the small voice around the rudder stock and fiberglass tube that emerges through the cockpit sole.  I will come back later and remove the tape, cleaning up the area a bit.

After I finished the base plate install, I went ahead and removed the tape that was applied for the nonskid application...revealing a sharp line.  Next, I turned to trimming the bungs on the aft cockpit trim, the top trim on the companionway slide hatch, as well as the three bungs on the starboard coaming securing the return block to it.  I vacuumed up of the wood dust and shavings, and then cleaned the surfaces with a solvent.

Turning back to the tiller base plate, I grabbed some varnish (glue), four bungs and a hammer, and headed over to Joule once again.  I painted each bung with varnish, set it into its fastener hole, and then tapped it home.  These four bungs will be the last four to trim...tomorrow.  Teal oil will follow for the tiller base plate, as well as the aft cockpit trim, companionway slide hatch trim, and the forward edge of the starboard coaming.

Prior to knocking off for the evening, I applied teak oil to the forward edge of the starboard coaming, the top trim on the companionway slide hatch...

...and the aft cockpit trim.

In the last work session tomorrow, I will clean and re-install the various fiddles for the interior liner (v-berth area, settees, etc.).  I will install the new cockpit drain through-hull plumbing components.  I will also trim the four bungs on the tiller base plate, aft cockpit trim, companionway slide hatch trim and the forward edge of the starboard coaming board.

Total Time Today:  1.5 hrs

Installation of Jib Tracks and Coaming Cleats, Final Coat of Cockpit Nonskid-

March 8, 2018

The finish line is clearly within sight!  Excited to maintain pace for completion within the coming couple of days, I decided to tackle the toe rail jib tracks this afternoon.  In previous work on the toe rail I spaced out the fasteners for the rail as well as the jib track - making sure that the fasteners did not overlap.  As I laid out the jib track on the installed toe rail I notice that my location for the first of the jib track fasteners needed to be adjusted to aft just slightly.  With the new location set, I marked the fasteners' locations on 3" centers.  I then pre-drilled and tapped for the #10 machine screws.  

I backed the machine screws with nuts from below.  As the fasteners exited the underside of the hull-to-deck flange, I wasn't left with a lot of room to place the backing nut into position.  This lack of room required me to remove a bit of the laminate from inside, and I did so with a spiral saw.  At each of the locations where the jib track fasteners existed the flange, I ground away a bit of the inboard hull laminate....just enough to get a nut on the machine screw.  The starboard jib track was completed with those minor alterations.

On the port side, I decided against driving the machine screw completely through the deck and the hull-to-deck flange.  Instead, I up-sized the fasteners to a #12 machine screw at 1.5" in length.  I drilled and tapped for the machine screws, applied polysulfide (as I did for the starboard jib track), and then secured the track by tightening down on the machine screws.  The slightly larger head of the #12 machine screws required me to open up the tapered fastener holes in the jib track itself, to allow the stand-up block to slide back and forth free from impingement.  I finished the jib tracks by installing the block stops fore and aft, and then wiping up the polysulfide squeeze out.

Next, I turned to the coaming board cleats.  I set the port side cleat a comfortable distance aft of the winch, allowing for working room for the lines.  I drilled 1/4" holes into the coaming board, using a scrap piece of wood for backing to prevent tear out, and then tapered the inboard side of the holes to allow the machine screw head to sit flush with the coaming board.

The port coaming cleat installed, pictured below.

I repeated the process for the starboard coaming cleat.

To end the work session, I applied the final coat of nonskid for the cockpit sole.  I will remove the painting tape tomorrow...hopefully revealing a clean line :)

Items that remain:

- Install tiller plate, bung, trim bungs and oil

- Trim bungs and oil on companionway hatch, aft cockpit trim, and coaming return

Total Time today:  4 hrs