improving and maintaining Albin 33

[swordfish]

I think there were certain things that could be better, immediately after the purchase i went to work at improving some bits and pieces.
first I wanted to get rit off the chair. this is much too big for the small salon. the chair blocked the entrance and you could not have a good look around if you are sitting on the bench.
So i started to gently breakdown the helm seat and attempted to preserve as much as possible teak because here is not enough old teak in stock.

 

[swordfish]

as a owner of a "taiwan build" trawler i knew i purchased a rain cloud. there are allot of leakey problems to adress. At first there is the samson post.
when i removed the trim it was al wet and i know the previous owner had tried to fix it because i found popsicles stick???
Moister had found a way under the trim and soaked the popsicle sticks and started to rot.
I removed all rotten pieces of wood and let is dry. Then I treated the wood with rot stopper and filled with putty. finally i replaced the trim.

 

[swordfish]

as one leaking problem is solved at the front...


now the leaking rear hatch has to be solved.
I bought a old (2014) model vetus deck hatch for 50%off. and trim down the edge with an angle grinder so it sits flush on the deck.
I had to cut some wood out of the deck so that the hatch levers fit in.
This repair has to be made so no (rain)water can come in anymore and i can assure you no water is comming in... and no water is going out.
The rear section of the "Zwaardvis" was not driet properly when the hatch was closed. so after a couple of days a mold began to build up
After cleaning up there were a couple of vents build in

 

[swordfish]

there is not much room on a small boat. therefore I do not understand why not al places are used.

in the galley is place for 4 drawers. but there are only 3 used. just for fun I made in a fourth drawer.
Unfortunately, there is not much teak available so I had to improvise.

 

[swordfish]

I wanted to clean the ship's keel (inside of the hull?) i found a few blisters. when I made it open there was moisture underneath it ...of course...
Found out that underneat the bow thruster ware a couple of damage spots in the bottom fiberglass which have to seal de concrete ballast. moisture from the chainlocker and rainwater that came in through the samson post leaked onto the concrete and loosend all the fiberglass and paint from the bow up to and under the engine.
I can tell you that after a lot of years...stagnant water can stink tremendously.
half work does not work, so I'm going to handle this well. First I take everything to the side then i strip of all loose paint and fiberglas, let it dry thoroughly and seal the concrete again. sounds easy.
after letting the concrete dry, i painted the bottom with rubber seal. Unfortunately they only had it in black

 

[refugio]

So what's your replacement seating at the helm?


Keith

 

[swordfish]

up to the next problem:

at the rear of the salon there began to form a mold spot on the ceiling at the place where it is often wet in a rainstorm. Of course it was another leakey problem. as far as i can see it appeared to come from the lighting cable from the mast. After resealing the cable entry and the mastfoot it seemed it stopped to rain at the inside.
I cut out the wet piece of ceiling and made a new insert. When i was done i left the hole in the ceiling open to dry an bit more.

 

[psneeld]

Welcome to the "totally rebuilt my Albin club"...

I figured 3 years rebuild....now thinking it's really a 10 year plan...

 

[swordfish]

when I came back on board after a few days of frost, i found a puddle of water on the ground.
The block of wood under the mast was obviously saturated with water. when water freezes it expands, and cracked the polyester which resulted in a hole in the roof.

So i started to remove the mast and mastfoot to let the wood dry. This large block of wood, of course, takes years for it to dry, so I took out a section to speed things up. later on i will fil it up with a new peace of wood

 

[swordfish]

So what's your replacement seating at the helm?


Keith

im using a folding barstool.

 

[swordfish]

Welcome to the "totally rebuilt my Albin club"...

I figured 3 years rebuild....now thinking it's really a 10 year plan...

Thanks for the warning, just a little too late I now have 9 years to go.
who is going to tell my girlfriend

 

[psneeld]

Thanks for the warning, just a little too late I now have 9 years to go.
who is going to tell my girlfriend

Not me...the "I need the whole boat to be torn apart because I am doing plumbing/wiring/electronic, etc runs" causes quite the stir with my liveaboard partner and large dog.


You are on your own buddy!!!!!

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

 

[swordfish]

Not me...the "I need the whole boat to be torn apart because I am doing plumbing/wiring/electronic, etc runs" causes quite the stir with my liveaboard partner and large dog.


You are on your own buddy!!!!!

when she starts to moan then I help her to remember the beautiful days

 

[Aquafarm]

Nice work. Nine years will go by in a flash.

 

[Aft Deck Capt]

Swordfish. Nice work with the mods and maintenance, don't give up! If psneeld is right and I think he is, I'm on the same 9 year schedule. However, since we enjoy what were doing that calculates out to a mere 3 "boat years". Right?

 

[alormaria]

I think I'm on the 23 year schedule.

 

[swordfish]

because I think I never get a 100% waterproof seal arround the crack in the original mast foot. I have to take drastic measures. I found an old aluminum container which fit exactly on the mast foot. after refurbishing, it can be placed on the deck. the bolts are too short and therefore I had to adjust de brass mast foot a bit.

 

[swordfish]

Now I can fix the crack, and wait until the wood is completely dry. Then I place the wood insert, assemble my aluminum tray and brass pole base.

Then I can again raise the flag again. and hope is stays dry on the inside

 

[swordfish]

In the meantime I've been working to convert several lamps into LED.
I had to use the old socket because there were no others who fit.

 

[psneeld]

I would not mix aluminum and brass....unless very well isolated from each other.

I could be wrong but if the brass has enough copper in it....copper and aluminum in a salty environment are mortal enemies with the aluminum cording very fast.

If you can squeeze in a layer of rubber or plastic sheeting...it may be fine.

I shaved a half inch off my wooden mast hump, built back up with multiple layers of fiberglass roving and built a dam around the whole thing and filled with epoxy. Still good after 5 years and I use my mast/boom to lift my 200 pound dingy.

 

[swordfish]

can you spot the difference?

 

[swordfish]

I would not mix aluminum and brass....unless very well isolated from each other.

I could be wrong but if the brass has enough copper in it....copper and aluminum in a salty environment are mortal enemies with the aluminum cording very fast.

If you can squeeze in a layer of rubber or plastic sheeting...it may be fine.

I shaved a half inch off my wooden mast hump, built back up with multiple layers of fiberglass roving and built a dam around the whole thing and filled with epoxy. Still good after 5 years and I use my mast/boom to lift my 200 pound dingy.

the aluminium container is painted. the underside of the brass is treated whit rubber seal. the holes where the stainless steel bolts come through will be sealed with sikaflex

 

[Larry M]

Swordfish: Nice job. Better than new.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. s. You do VERY nice work.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

the aluminium container is painted. the underside of the brass is treated whit rubber seal. the holes where the stainless steel bolts come through will be sealed with sikaflex

That's not good enought in the long run. I'd either make a thin pad, say out of Starboard, to go between the aluminum box and the brass part or you nylon washers to raise the brass part off the aluminum box while filling the space between the parts with 5200 to form a gasket.

 

[psneeld]

That's not good enought in the long run. I'd either make a thin pad, say out of Starboard, to go between the aluminum box and the brass part or you nylon washers to raise the brass part off the aluminum box while filling the space between the parts with 5200 to form a gasket.

Tough call for sure...but I agree, with a mast plate that will work a bit, it should have more than paint and a coating unless that coating is at least an 1/8 inch thick and tough as nails.

 

[swordfish]

So far it had cost me nothing. I found the high grade aluminium box , paint and rubber seal i had lying around. The only thing it had cost me is the work of grinding 8 mm off the brass.
the rubberseal is recomended to apply at a minimum thickness of 2 mm. I wanted to apply only at the brass but as i read al your reactions i think i apply it on the aluminium box to, so i have 2 layers of 2mm

Next year i want to grind the back to back seat of the flybridge and place flexiteek. Therefor i have to remove the mast again. I can inspect how my solution has worked out. If its not held up i should have listen to you all at first or else i have earned bragging rights



(Flexiteek is a one piece plastic deck that looks like a teak deck with grains and everything Which can be glued over the existing deck)

 

[swordfish]

at least an 1/8 inch thick.

Just found out 1/8 inch is 3.17 MM
why do you use that oddbal meassurement system and talk funny.. makes it al so hard for me:lol:

 

[psneeld]

Because I can....

4mm of rubber.....see....you sometimes can just feel the right thickness no matter whose funny ruler you use....