It’s been a busy month, both on Orion and off. We left Rochester with Dave’s sister, Diane, to visit with her for about a week before heading on south – to Deltaville for Dave and to NC for Cathy. Dave would pick up on the boat projects and Cathy went to visit her mom and sisters for a week before rejoining him again.
Let it Shine
We were going to have some gelcoat work done on the hull to repair some damage sustained over the winter (see our Late January entry). To prepare for this, Dave washed the boat and then used a strong cleaner to remove the waterline stains acquired from the long trip in the ICW. With the hull now white again, he applied 2 coats of wax – first a cleaner wax, then a regular liquid wax to get her shiny.
Let it Shine
We were going to have some gelcoat work done on the hull to repair some damage sustained over the winter (see our Late January entry). To prepare for this, Dave washed the boat and then used a strong cleaner to remove the waterline stains acquired from the long trip in the ICW. With the hull now white again, he applied 2 coats of wax – first a cleaner wax, then a regular liquid wax to get her shiny.
Stanley from Deltaville Boatyard repairs Orion’s gelcoat, delivering a seamless finish.
He then handed it over to Deltaville Boatyard’s gelcoat expert, Stanley, who did a beautiful job filling the gouges and restoring the smooth finish to Orion’s starboard side. Even knowing where the damage originally was won’t help you find evidence of it now. With the repairs completed, we were almost done. Dave had talked to a fellow boater who sung the praises of the effectiveness of Colinite Fleetwax. He had used their heavy duty paste wax product that had resisted the inevitable ICW stain for most of the winter. After then seeing the product survive being acid washed on another boat, Dave was sold. We applied one coat of Colinite’s liquid cleaner wax and then followed with the paste wax. Of course, Orion now gleams, but we’re hoping the shine won’t fade so quickly this year. Time will tell.
Straightening the Bow
Straightening the Bow
Damaged bow pulpit
Straightening the Bow
The other damage to Orion from the winter’s incident was more obvious – the dented bow pulpit on her starboard side. Earlier in the summer, Dave had ordered a replacement piece from Beneteau, which arrived at the boatyard about the same time we did. He just needed to remove the old one and replace it with the new one. Simple, right?
Well, there were a few other things to consider. There were wires running through it that fed the bow navigation light. Since it holds the forward edge of our lifelines, these would have to be taken down, requiring the work to be done with little between the worker and the 10 foot drop to the ground. The anchors would have to be stowed elsewhere as well. Also, since the original bow pulpit had never been removed, the bolts holding it to the deck might not be easy to unscrew.
The other damage to Orion from the winter’s incident was more obvious – the dented bow pulpit on her starboard side. Earlier in the summer, Dave had ordered a replacement piece from Beneteau, which arrived at the boatyard about the same time we did. He just needed to remove the old one and replace it with the new one. Simple, right?
Well, there were a few other things to consider. There were wires running through it that fed the bow navigation light. Since it holds the forward edge of our lifelines, these would have to be taken down, requiring the work to be done with little between the worker and the 10 foot drop to the ground. The anchors would have to be stowed elsewhere as well. Also, since the original bow pulpit had never been removed, the bolts holding it to the deck might not be easy to unscrew.
Without a bow pulpit, little lies between you and the ground.
Dave was pleased to discover that the new bow pulpit had been pre-wired, reducing the work on this aspect to simply transferring the existing bow light to the new fixture and re-attaching the wires in the anchor locker. (While he was working on the light, he replaced the incandescent bulb with a new LED one to save power while sailing at night.) After removing all of the lifelines and anchors, he removed the bolts without too much difficulty. With some help from a fellow boater, he then removed the old bow pulpit and lifted the new one into place, fastening the bolts and re-attaching the wires for the navigation lights. After confirming the bow light worked as before, he reattached the lifelines.
With this repair and the gelcoat work already done, Orion looked whole again.
With this repair and the gelcoat work already done, Orion looked whole again.
Orion’s bow pulpit after repair.
Orion’s prop with Propspeed re-applied.
Smooth Running
After applying Propspeed to our propeller last summer, we were pleased with the results for most of the intervening months. The prop rarely had any growth at all, and what was there came off by simply wiping. However, in early June, Dave was disappointed to see barnacle growth that required more scraping to get off. He contacted Propspeed, and their MD rep, Chris, contacted Dave to get a look at the prop. He arranged to meet us at the boatyard, inspect the prop and re-apply the Propspeed for free.
After applying Propspeed to our propeller last summer, we were pleased with the results for most of the intervening months. The prop rarely had any growth at all, and what was there came off by simply wiping. However, in early June, Dave was disappointed to see barnacle growth that required more scraping to get off. He contacted Propspeed, and their MD rep, Chris, contacted Dave to get a look at the prop. He arranged to meet us at the boatyard, inspect the prop and re-apply the Propspeed for free.
On a particularly hot, humid, September day, Chris arrived early and he and Dave worked to sand and paint the prop. His best guess was that the prop wasn’t prepared properly before. After watching him at work, we can only guess that our prop was originally too smooth, since the finished surface this time was a little rough from the 80-grit sandpaper finish.
After sanding the prop, Chris, washed it with an acid to remove any remaining residue, rinsed it thoroughly, and then dried it in preparation for the primer coat. He supervised the mixing of the primer with its hardening agent. Then he and Dave applied the primer, followed quickly by the clear coat. They had enough left over that he also coated the prop of another boat in the yard who expressed some interest. We’re optimistic, based on the experience of the other boaters we talked to, that this should work better than the first time.
You can certainly tell the difference when Orion’s running gear is fouled versus her performance when she’s clean.
Thru-Hulls
You can certainly tell the difference when Orion’s running gear is fouled versus her performance when she’s clean.
Thru-Hulls
On the advice of our survey inspector last year, Dave had been thinking about replacing the engine thru-hulls with bronze sea cocks, instead of the original plastic connections, which had no shut off at the hull and were susceptible to damage from the engine vibrations. Since we would have to empty the aft cabin to prepare for our rudder work anyway, this seemed the time to make the investment.
This was another job for the boatyard. This time, Ben did the work of removing the old thru-hulls, detaching the hoses from them, installing the new bronze fittings and sea cocks and then re-attaching the engine hoses. Of course, we won’t be able to truly test this installation until the boat goes back in the water. But for a brief time, they sure do look nice.
Other Boat Stuff
Other Boat Stuff
We did a few other projects that weren’t as dramatic, but still had to get done.
- Dave replaced the stern light, which had a broken lens and replaced the bulb with an LED version, making the boat’s navigation and anchoring lights completely LED.
- Cathy took the bimini in for some re-stitching, since the wear of taking it down and putting it back up had shown some weaknesses.
- Our generator box is gradually breaking down and new leaks had to be repaired with generous amounts of sealant.
- Dave was thrilled to be the recipient of 2 almost new batteries (about 2 months newer than the others we purchased at Sam’s Club last year) from another boater who was replacing his entire battery bank. These were quickly installed in place of 2 aging Trojan batteries that were already on the list to be replaced, since they were no longer charging well.
- Dave replaced the stern light, which had a broken lens and replaced the bulb with an LED version, making the boat’s navigation and anchoring lights completely LED.
- Cathy took the bimini in for some re-stitching, since the wear of taking it down and putting it back up had shown some weaknesses.
- Our generator box is gradually breaking down and new leaks had to be repaired with generous amounts of sealant.
- Dave was thrilled to be the recipient of 2 almost new batteries (about 2 months newer than the others we purchased at Sam’s Club last year) from another boater who was replacing his entire battery bank. These were quickly installed in place of 2 aging Trojan batteries that were already on the list to be replaced, since they were no longer charging well.
Family Times
Cathy hitched a ride with Bonnie, Troy and little Troy back to Deltaville on her way back from NC. They had come with their fishing boat in tow, looking forward to getting some time fishing on the Bay and getting a little boating advice from Dave. Afterwards, we enjoyed some great food at the marina’s annual Crab Festival, with all you can eat crabs.
Cathy hitched a ride with Bonnie, Troy and little Troy back to Deltaville on her way back from NC. They had come with their fishing boat in tow, looking forward to getting some time fishing on the Bay and getting a little boating advice from Dave. Afterwards, we enjoyed some great food at the marina’s annual Crab Festival, with all you can eat crabs.
More Work in Sight
The list of projects is getting shorter, but there’s still a couple of big ones to finish. You’ll get the lowdown on those in our next update, which hopefully will find us in the water – or on our way there.
The list of projects is getting shorter, but there’s still a couple of big ones to finish. You’ll get the lowdown on those in our next update, which hopefully will find us in the water – or on our way there.
