July 15, 2017
After disconnecting the outboard wiring from the battery and removing the fuel line, I lifted the engine from the transom's motor bracket and placed on an engine stand for safekeeping. I prepared the engine and associated gear for the owners to pickup later in the morning.
After spending some time with the owners, discussing project scope, wants and needs, I helped load up their outboard and began to prep for the day's work. The first order of business was to remove the mast and rigging from her deck. The standing and running rigging, mast components, etc., would not be part of this project, and would provide the owners with some to-do items for them to check off the list. With the mast secured on horses, I turned my attention to the day's work.
The first order of business was to remove the old, outdated electrical system. The owners will be freshening up the electrical panel, bilge pump, cabin light(s), etc., and will be designing the installation themselves. My immediate task was to remove the old system.
To that end, I began by removing the small DC panel, battery charger, and wiring.
Removing the wiring and electrical system's components was straight forward for this very simple system; after removal, I vacuumed the boat's interior from cabin floor to v-berth and various compartments.
With the interior free from an aging electrical system, I had the interior ready for sanding, primer and paint. Since sanding was not on today's to-do list, I gathered the old items and set aside in the cabin so that the owner could pick and choose which to discard and which to "recycle".
After I had removed the electrical system, I turned my attention to the ugly ducking hanging on the transom. I have encountered a number of these spring-loaded, transom-mounted motor brackets on Cape Dory 19s, but have yet to see an elegant installation that compliments the work that Carl Alberg did in designing this transom.
The motor bracket appeared to be secured to the transom with six machine-threaded bolts and two lag bolts. The backing plate used was a piece of plywood.
I began by removing the two lag bolts, and then the 6 washers and nuts. I attempted to gently pry the motor bracket from the transom, but soon could see that that things were not moving the way I had hoped. The bedding compound used was stubborn to say the least, and I began thinking of ways to remove the dome shaped bolts. I first attempted to grind a slot into the head of the bolt to remove with an impact driver and a slotted head - that was a no-go. I could see that grinding a slot into the head of the bolt generated significant heat through the bolt, softening the bedding compound (5200?). Since I was getting things heated up to my liking, I continued to apply the grinder wheel to the head of the bolts in order to soften the bedding compound. I then used a hammer to drive a flathead screwdriver underneath the head of the bolts and slowly worked them out by leverage.
The spoils of that skirmish!
Hull #1044 already looking better! I am hoping that the owners choose a name in the very near future, since referring to her as a hull number just seems wrong. (Glen, Catherine, I'm kidding, take your time and choose wisely!)
Since I would be doing quite a bit of scrambling in, out and over the cockpit in the coming months, I decided to remove the tiller. I then decided to remove the rudder post cap because of some comments that the owners made after a recent July 4th sail. There was apparently some 'slop' in the tiller and I wanted to investigate, to the extent that I could. Since I do not have the ability to drop the rudder in my shop, these needed repairs will have to occur at the yard prior to launch.
I removed the rudder post cap and could see that the set screw was offset as it entered the cap...
It became obvious to me why the owners felt the 'slop' in the tiller. The captain's touch on the tiller was not being transferred directly to the rudder post since the rudder post cap was not properly seated on the rudder post. The tapped fastener hole that secures the rudder post cap to the rudder post blew out the starboard side...hence the 'slop'. Becasuse I cannot address this issue at my shop, I will be discussing with the owners to that they can take the appropriate action in resolving the needed repair.
My next task for the day was to remove the hardware littering the poop deck. I use the word 'littering' purposefully since there are two too many cleats on this poop deck! Let's get back to basics people! Why the POs felt the need to secure this dainty little sloop with three cleats on the aft I may never fully realize. We have the occasional hurricane-strength winds in Florida, but this may be a bit of overkill. I plan to discuss with the owners and will follow their direction for discard or re-installation.
Along with removing the poop deck's hardware, I also removed the cockpit seat trim and the aft cockpit trim. Since working on the motor bracket, I began to wonder what sort of bedding compound was used for the installation of the various components. After removing the aft cockpit trim, I could see that the bedding compound was likely 5200...since it was removing chunks of the gelcoat! I will be addressing these repairs in the near future as part of the process for prepping the decks for new paint.
The poop deck was looking better than just this morning. I did notice some potential soft spots in the poop deck while removing the hardware, so I will be investigating these areas more closely as the restoration moves forward.
With the day's work drawing to a close, a fitting pic for the 'end'...
Total Time Today: 5.25 hrs
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