Back in the water

Thorne · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 12:03 am Post subject: Back in the water

The good ship Persistence was re-powered with a Yamaha 90 4 stroke and put in the water at Metlakatla yesterday. This was the first time she had been off the trailer in 20 years or so. The transom was strengthened with an aluminum plate sleeve. Other than that it was a few hours with soap, water and a scrub pad. If I can figure out how to post pictures I will do so.[/img]

PaulNBriannaLynn · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:19 am Post subject:

Id love to see pics of the old girl! Also the strengthened transom

thataway · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 7:44 pm Post subject:

Congratulations!

Thorne · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:20 pm Post subject:

Mike was kind enough to set up an album for me. The boat's name is Persistence. I've posted a few pics, and will do more in a bit.

South of Heaven · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 11:15 pm Post subject:

Wow, so it's been on a trailer since 1996 or so?? At least you know there's no water intrusion (or a very low % of it)!

What's the rest of the story? Where did you buy it? Repower? How's she running?

Oh and btw....Congrats. Lol

hardee · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 12:42 am Post subject:

Thorne, Congratulations. I have heard of "rescue" dogs an cats, and other animalstuff, but it sounds like you got into a "rescue" C-Dory. Tell us more. You got a good start on the album, take your time and share some more boat history and project progress.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

Thorne · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 12:17 pm Post subject:

There is a bit of a story here. . . so bear with me. We bought our place in Whale Pass in 2010 from the people who homesteaded the place. They bought the boat in 1994 or 95 as best I can tell. He got Alzheimers and they had to sell the place since he couldn't run a chainsaw or find his way home. (the place is off the road system and only accessible by boat). In the house paperwork I found an old commercial halibut permit from 1994 that showed the boat was in Metlakatla (which is where I started teaching high school science this year). Anyway, my sense it the former owner was likely suffering from Alzheimers for years before a formal diagnosis, and the it caused him to feel overwhelmed by the boat, so he stuck with his old skiff which he knew and was familiar with. So, the boat came to WP and sat on the trailer. My neighbor knows for sure that the boat had not been off the trailer in the 17 years he has been in town. We become owners of the boat in 2010 as part of the purchase of the place. Back then the boat had been sitting in the same place for so long the boat had several inches of moss growing on the gunwales, which we power washed off. We are only in WP during the summers, and have been building a house on the place since 2010, so there was both no time and no $$$ to dedicate to the boat until this year. Prior to this year we had been working and living overseas during the school year. Now this year we finally reached our goal of being in SE Alaska year-round by going to work for the Annette Island School District. New hubs went on the trailer, we had The Bay Company in Craig re-power the boat with a 90 hp Yamaha. They had the aluminum sleeve fabricated. When we initially arrived at The Bay, Chet (the owner) thought he would be funny and tell us that the dump was three miles back the way we had come. Persistence looked a mess for sure. The school here in Metlakatla has an excellent CTE program with a great wood shop and auto/metal fabricating shop which gives me access to dry storage and all the tools to work on the boat. I'm in contact with Mary at Fisheries Supply to work out what materials will be best to fix the damage to the hull. It was remarkable the difference a good scrubbing with nothing more than soapy water made. The stainless cleaned up well, the windows are spotless etc. . . We made a few trips halibut fishing (one as far as West Rock,about 25 miles, on the south end of POW) before pulling the boat to start the work in order to have time for some deer hunting and winter king fishing.

I even have the original kicker which is a 8 hp Johnson. I had it running a few years ago, and other than in need of a bearing in the lower unit and impeller replacement it will do the job.

Thorne · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 12:24 pm Post subject:

Chet at The Bay Company was of the opinion that since Persistence is a 1983 hull the floor is solid fiberglass, not cored. (can any of you verify that?) In any event the only water intrusion was around the front hatch, which I've repaired in the past few weeks. The sleeve on the transom is insurance. The engine mounting bolts had sunk in a little, but the transom was essentially sound. The new engine required new bolt holes anyway, so it was the right time to do the sleeve.

Discovery · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 9:02 pm Post subject:

I had a '84 Angler. I thought the floor was either 1"+ of solid plywood, or cored with balsa. The total thickness fiberglass plus wood was 1 1/2" or so.

thataway · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 11:23 pm Post subject:

My understanding is that that vintage boat had 3/4 to 1" plywood core.

Great job in rescue! Congratulations on the full time appointment, and life on PWI!

Thorne · Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:15 pm Post subject:

Here is a question to the crowd; how would you recommend I fix the pits/porosity in the gelcoat? Clean and spray with gelcoat, clean and paint, or something else? There are pics of the situation in the album. Thanks in advance!

PaulNBriannaLynn · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 10:19 am Post subject:

Its hard to tell from the picture, they look almost like raised blisters but that's probably just an illusion.

If I was to go about attempting a fix, I'd fill the pits with epoxy and sand to a smooth finish using gradually less coarse paper, and spray with gelcoat. You could roll and tip a quality boat paint, instead... like I see being done on sailboats. Not quite as nice a finish as gelcoat but would probably look fine.

thataway · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 2:24 pm Post subject:

Here is the other thread specifically on refinish.

My feeling is to spray the entire boat with gel coat is not only a huge undertaking, but gong to be more costly, and difficulty than painting. I also disagree, that the gel coat will give the best finish--at least in the hands of many amateurs...Professionally, the 2 part LP vs Gel coat may be close. But in many ways the 2 part LP is better--and that is why some of the high end boats are painted rather than gel coated.

tsturm · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 5:42 pm Post subject:

thataway · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 5:56 pm Post subject:

First the prep is the biggest part of the job--and you have to have those coats of epoxy laid down for the paint. For the Gel coat, you will do the sanding, and filling, without the epoxy coats, so all of the filling will be polyester or vinyl ester based filler.

My personal feeling is that the gel coat is more difficult to get a good finish on an area as large as a C Dory 22. Remember the initial gel coat is sprayed into a highly waxed and polished mold--which is a perfectly finished surface.. That is why the surface of the gelcoat is perfect. lf you spray on the gel coat, it will be far from perfect--even the gal who at this stage in life does my larger areas of gel coat or paint. far prefers paint to gel coat for large areas. She does a lot of both, and is the best in the area. (actually is a team--second person handles the hoses, and then spots for any irregularities. ) Not unusual to have to sand, and shoot again. (with either). That is why many elect to tip and roll--may not be quite as good, but is easier unless you are very experienced.