New member from France, boat in Croatia

After a year of visitng, surveying etc i've bought a 1982 defever 44, it will stay in its home port of Split in Croatia.
I'm from a sailing background and know I have a steep learning curve.
I'm going there this week to start making a to do list and will be back to the forum with many questions.
First question will be do I replace the side port hatches or refit them; some are leaking, how bad I'll know this weekend?
I really look forward to learning from your experience and hope i'll be able to give something back over the coming years as this project goes on.

jbuck said:

After a year of visitng, surveying etc i've bought a 1982 defever 44, it will stay in its home port of Split in Croatia.
I'm from a sailing background and know I have a steep learning curve.
I'm going there this week to start making a to do list and will be back to the forum with many questions.
First question will be do I replace the side port hatches or refit them; some are leaking, how bad I'll know this weekend?
I really look forward to learning from your experience and hope i'll be able to give something back over the coming years as this project goes on.

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Hi Jbuck,
Welcome: I've only heard good news about Croatia, and it's a beautiful part of the Med. I've been to Venice a couple of times and loved it.

Lovely looking boat. what sort of engines do you have?

It has 2 x ford lehamns 120hp. hours unknown but looked after by a knowledgeable man
so he'll start the teaching me the maintenance procedures this friday I hope.

jbuck said:

It has 2 x ford lehamns 120hp. hours unknown but looked after by a knowledgeable man
so he'll start the teaching me the maintenance procedures this friday I hope.

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You've joined the right forum: there are lots of very knowledgeable people on here who know a lot about lehmans. Ford diesels are fantastic engines.

Please post some pics of you boat, and it's interior layout etc.....

jbuck said:

First question will be do I replace the side port hatches or refit them; some are leaking, how bad I'll know this weekend?

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Welcome to the best boating site on the 'net. I'm sure you also know about the the Defever owner's group, which has tons of info specific to our boats.

If it's just the gaskets leaking, there are sources for new gasket material. Wilson Lin at POCTA in Hong Kong, who still builds Defevers, can hook you up. There are also domestic sources, but you should confirm the precise dimensions. This has been discussed more than once among the Defever owners. If the port frames are leaking, it's obviously a bigger and more expensive job. Again, the Defever owners or Wilson can point you to replacements, if you go that route.

Assuming you don't have worn out gaskets, the decision to rebed or replace them would, for me, depend on whether there is something structurally wrong with them or just a failure of the bedding job. Also, I personally would not rebed plastic ports, but would dig deep and replace them with stainless.

Enjoy your new Defever!

Replacing port hatches

Thanks for your replies, I'll know a lot more by the weekend, and will no doubt have more questions.
Here ares some photos of the boat as it is today.
Jeremy

looks to be in good shape.


Try testing the leaks with a water hoe to determine the water path. Are there opening posts?

Welcome

Welcome

Great looking boat

and we love Croatia some great cruising

bayview said:

looks to be in good shape.


Try testing the leaks with a water hoe to determine the water path. Are there opening posts?

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Here are some photos of how thy look I need to see if the damage is old, new and what caused it, left open, or gentle seep.
The saloon windows, one pictured here, certainly need redoing, one was badly leaking last time I was there during the pre purchase survey in a very windy rain storm.
It was too rough to take the boat out that day but it was perfect to test the water tightness.

Very Nice boat, with lots and lots of accommodation.

When transitioning from auxiliary sailboat to motor vessel, for me the learning curve applied to the new-fangled electronics such as radar, GPS/plotter, depth finder, and radio but not boat handling.

Thank-you i hope thats the case. A lot of the electronics look like they'll need replacing a part frol depth. I plan to stick to radio and leave the other radar etc. Its relying on engine only that i'll have to get use to aswell.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Lots for you to do BUT it seems you have a lot to work with as well. Enjoy. I would suggest you make her leak free first and foremost. The rest will come.

you may know this but there are two places to leak.


the gasket for the window opening and the mount itself.


Those windows probably have a through hull structure with an outside flange with a tube that goes through the cabin side and an inner flat piece that clamps the two together. Good caulk in supposed to seal the outer through hull "tube". The obvious place to start is replacing and cleaning the gasket area if the screw clamps work properly.
Hard to tell from the pIX but there is indication of water at top. to me that means the frame tube to hull seal has failed and the entire structure needs to be re bedded.


The water damage will be hard to refinish to look like the other panels. Some boats have too much teak inside and look dark. White painted walls with teak trim is an alternative and much easier than replacing teak walls.
I have had trouble with those type of windows because the top hinges don't have adjustment.


replacements and parts are probably available from the window maker if you can find the brand

"Split in Croatia"...yeah, not too jealous!
That area is one of the few on this planet that I envy over our Pacific Northwest.
Cruising Croatia is definitely on my bucket list!

Welcome Looks like a great project, good luck.

Thank you for this advice and good wishes.No i dont know this stuff so please assume i know nothing. It is a gret project.I'm there tomorrow until sunday so ill have a good look around and try and see where the leaks are first and foremost.
Exactly what you say rtf, i'd like to get it leak proof and enjoy the boat this year before launching into more costly repairs but i'm sure i wont have the choice, as you say everthing is broken i just dont know it yet.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Lots for you to do BUT it seems you have a lot to work with as well. Enjoy. I would suggest you make her leak free first and foremost. The rest will come.

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Good advice

Welcome aboard

Welcome... very nice looking boat!

Your port lights look like they might be Bomar - I repaired, rebedded & replaced a number of these on our previous Carver Riviera. Parts were available through West Marine - special order - at lest as of a few yrs ago and I see they still list them in their catalog Bomar Portlight I had some of the outside flanges that were cracked from UV and the cost of new flanges was nearly what a new portlight was so I replaced them. Others only the window needed replacement and they weren't too pricey. New gasketing was also available by the foot and I got enought to do them all and regasketed all over time.
The toughest part of the project was cleaning off the old caulk - I found a small wire brush in a drill worked best for the areas hidden by the flange - just need to be careful w/ surrounding gelcoat - I masked and found that useful as a guide.

Good luck w/ the projects - take photos & post some "How To's"

jbuck said:

Here are some photos of how thy look I need to see if the damage is old, new and what caused it, left open, or gentle seep.
The saloon windows, one pictured here, certainly need redoing, one was badly leaking last time I was there during the pre purchase survey in a very windy rain storm.

Click to expand...

Some hints and tips on portlight replacement and re-bedding here:
Installing New Found Metals Stainless Portlights Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com
My boat's were replaced with these stainless Newfoundmetals units used in the DIY. Very nice quality, and not overly expensive..

Thank-you Don and Steve and all others for the advice, got back from croatia last night.They qre bomar grey series porthatches.The problem appears to be that the hatches were over tightened and the plastic "catches" that hold the tightening scew down parts are broken. A simple leak because you cant actually close the windows properly.
I' m planning to order some replacements from go2marine and see how we get on.
They measurd 466x217mm and newfoundland metal costs were really high unfortunately as they look terrific.
It poured with rain last saturday and the saloon windows seem to be ok.
I'm getting a cover made for the top deck and we'll see what effect that has.no point in changing windows etc if i cant find the leaks.

Thanks for the link. I've just ordered 7 new port hatches, delivery in around 5 weeks. Will record the work done.

jbuck...
Glad it worked out and you found what you needed. Next chore is to figure out which sealant / bedding approach to use.
If my memory serves me right I believe Bomar recommended silicone sealant.
Some folks swear by 5200 but I recommend strongly against it as it is PERMANENT!
Here's the 3m Marine Sealant - Adhesive Chart
Which Caulk Video link

Also Compass Marine How To Portlight Install
Most important is the need to remove ALL traces of silicone if that's what was used previously - NOTHING - including silicone will stick to silicone if there is residue.
I haven't used the butyl material Compass Marine used but my brother has used this approach and swears by it.

Greetings,
Mr. Ba... VERY good point and caulk/bedding is almost as contentious a topic as (gasp) ancho....Well, you get the point. I wholeheartedly agree NO silicone. NONE, NADA, NEVER, NOT AT ALL, VERBOTEN!!!!! My bedding of choice is Dolfinite.

Thanks Steve, very useful links, i'll be returning in may to croatia with the porthatches for 10 days of sanding and fixing. I'm having a cover made for the flybridge to see if It will stop the leaks in the saloon to give me time to find out what needs to be done. I' m also getting a price for covers that will virtually wrap around the whole saloon. Its pretty exposed in the marina and looking at the driving rain on the windows made me think of a cover for all the saloon windows.i jusr need to see what style of attachments they recommend. Any experience with boat cover hooks , buttons etc?

Preparing and stripping teak

The boat is slowly being made waterproof.
I'm back from delivering 7 portlights to the boat.
The new winter cover is back on the flying bridge after the 200km per hour bora which hit Split a few weeks ago ripped it off.

A question about stripping teak.
I've started stripping the old teak rails and saloon doors with a heat gun and scraper. It works well but it doesn't come completely off. I then started sanding to get off the remaining patches.
As I sand (80 grit) the dust gets into the teak and colours it so its difficult to see when I've removed the last bits of varnish. I want to sand as little as possible so would like to know when to stop.
What is the best way to then clean the teak before the new finish goes on?
Does anyone have advice to give me on this? I'll be starting this seriously in May when I go back for 8 days.







Thanks. Would a new thread be better for these questions?

jbuck said:

It has 2 x ford lehamns 120hp.

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A source of spare parts for these engines is American Diesel. They are based in the east coat of the US but they help worldwide. It is run by Bob Smith, former president of Lehman which marinized these engines.

Bob, his son Brian and others there are very knowledgeable and helpful so feel free to call the for advice: +1 (804) 435-3107 (bobsmithadc@juno.com)

Ten years ago I bought a boat boat with 1979 Ford Lehmans and I replaced all heat exchangers and upgraded various components following their recommendations. I enclose some of their recommendation and spare parts list.

Where will you be cruising this summer?

We'll be cruising around hvar in croatia for 2 weeks.
I'm back there in may to continue the teak restoration.