AusCan
Guru
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2012
- Messages
- 3,218
- Location
- Australia
- Vessel Name
- Kokanee
- Vessel Make
- Cuddles 30 Pilot House Motor Sailer
Last month my anchor winch gave up on me. I wasn't overly disappointed, as I was looking for a reason to replace it. The old winch was a vertical capstan only and I had to haul the chain by hand.
I shopped around and found a nice vertical Muir with both combination gypsy and capstan which would fit the limited space available.
A simple changeout....? Not a chance! As I removed the old winch and other deck hardware, it became obvious than the plywood core was badly rotted. It appears their has been water ingress via the bolt holes for the forestay bracket & chainplate.
The area around the winch had slight dry rot, but as I removed the bad core wood towards the bow it became softer & wetter. Around the forestay bracket I was spooning out porridge.
I ended up removing the entire 3/4" core in the bowsprit area (about 12" x 30") between the bow and the anchor locker using a variety of home built tools. I managed to hollow out the void back to good dry plywood. This required removing a non structural panel under the bowsprit, and cutting a notch at the nose of the bow to gain additional access. This also allowed me to custom fit the new bow roller so kindly donated to me by Hendo. Thanks mate!
The fibreglass layers on top & bottom are both 1/2" FG so there is very little flex even without the core. Right now, she's just open to dry out any last bit of moisture that might be lurking. In the next few days I plan on relining the bowsprit with 3/4" x 2" strips of grey box, a local hardwood.
Once relined, I will fill the voids and impregnate the wood. I'm undecided whether to go polyester or epoxy. I don't expect there will be much void space, but there may be a few gaps.
I am also wondering whether to cut the 3/4 x 2" strips to fit tight, or slightly loose to allow the filler to migrate around each strip.
I'm open to suggestions...
I shopped around and found a nice vertical Muir with both combination gypsy and capstan which would fit the limited space available.
A simple changeout....? Not a chance! As I removed the old winch and other deck hardware, it became obvious than the plywood core was badly rotted. It appears their has been water ingress via the bolt holes for the forestay bracket & chainplate.
The area around the winch had slight dry rot, but as I removed the bad core wood towards the bow it became softer & wetter. Around the forestay bracket I was spooning out porridge.
I ended up removing the entire 3/4" core in the bowsprit area (about 12" x 30") between the bow and the anchor locker using a variety of home built tools. I managed to hollow out the void back to good dry plywood. This required removing a non structural panel under the bowsprit, and cutting a notch at the nose of the bow to gain additional access. This also allowed me to custom fit the new bow roller so kindly donated to me by Hendo. Thanks mate!
The fibreglass layers on top & bottom are both 1/2" FG so there is very little flex even without the core. Right now, she's just open to dry out any last bit of moisture that might be lurking. In the next few days I plan on relining the bowsprit with 3/4" x 2" strips of grey box, a local hardwood.
Once relined, I will fill the voids and impregnate the wood. I'm undecided whether to go polyester or epoxy. I don't expect there will be much void space, but there may be a few gaps.
I am also wondering whether to cut the 3/4 x 2" strips to fit tight, or slightly loose to allow the filler to migrate around each strip.
I'm open to suggestions...