August 18, 2018
I couldn't resist getting out on the Allied 24 today...mending arm and all. There is work that can be done that is befitting my current state of "gimpness," as the owner so accurately labeled me. "Bring out the gimp!" Well, not quite as accurate as that...
Anyway, I went through the lockers in the cockpit, main cabin, v-berth, and cabin locker, and emptied them with cat-like agility. I organized the aftermath, and considered my options for stowing the items during the refit.
Most of the items I managed to secure under fairly thick-mil plastic sheeting, and the balance of the items were placed in the shop. With all of the loose items removed, I could now comfortably move out the boat and closely examine the areas requiring necessary attention, as well as those areas the owner wished to modify.
I began on the poop deck, and decided I would move forward from there. The rails (toe and taff) are suffering from "blazing tropical UV syndrome," and show signs of what looks like Cetol (or like product) flaking up, and showing bare wood in many places.
The taff rail was nearly 100% devoid of this protective covering.
In addition to the poor surface appearance, the brightwork is showing cracks and splintering in many places.
The aft lazarette hatch is in the same condition; and shows its construction separating in places.
The material comprising the aft lazarette hatch is punky (dry rot), and generally suffering from the "I don't have time to take care of you" ailment.
Moving into the lazarette itself, the starboard fuel shelf requires replacement, with the design subject to the owner's requirements.
The area needs a a good deconstruction, sanding to bare glass, and rebuilding.
To port, another fuel shelf was in a state of disrepair and required removal.
Moving into the cockpit itself, the sole appeared to be structurally sound. There is a portion of the cockpit sole, forward and out of view due to the bridge deck, that contains a hole straight through to the bilge below. No doubt the core around this opening needs replacement. I will put the moisture meter on the sole in the coming week, as well as drill test holes to more closely examine the condition of the cockpit sole core.
The tiller is driftwood!
Forward, on the starboard cockpit seat, is the icebox. This will be removed and joined with the current seat locker, and the top will be glassed in.
Moving aft on the starboard cockpit seat, the locker itself requires sanding and repainting. As mentioned above, this locker will expand in stowage capacity with the joining of the ice box space. The lids require some glass work, and currently are without hinges.
Moving to port, the cockpit locker contained the battery for the limited electronics on the boat and was purposed as the starter battery.
A look in the aft portion of the port cockpit locker...what is that?
Nice! Perfect application for the marine environment.
I moved into the cabin to take a closer look at the state of affairs. The old ice box to starboard can be seen below. This will be removed and joined with the starboard cockpit locker.
The companionway bulkhead was outfitted with a ~1/2" sheet of plywood - likely to provide some structure for the companionway trim to be secured to.
Looking aft and underneath the cockpit sole. More sanding and paint-prep work to come.
Flipping over to the port side, you can see the forward wall of the port cockpit locker. Either we will replicate this on the starboard side, or we will extend the starboard locker to take the space of the old ice box.
Again, the modified companionway bulkhead, to port.
The cabin sole appears to be in good shape, but may be replaced as part of the overall scope of work.
Its dry with good structure. I didn't find any concerning spots, other than the age of the material.
The most obvious and concerning issue that I came across was the starboard lower shroud chainplate. It had apparently been under massive strain, perhaps the mast was pumping in high winds, but it was about to be ripped through the side deck.
The primary bulkheads will be removed and replaced with 3/4" meranti.
Quite a bit of play in this standing rigging member.
And the aft side of the primary starboard bulkhead.
A previous owner had outfitted the primary bulkheads (port and starboard) with mild steel reinforcement , with plates on either side and a beam that connected the two plates.
With replacement of the bulkheads, and proper tabbing onto the overhead, as well as recording the cabin top and mast step surface, we should be able to eliminate this unsightly band-aid.
The bulkheads were bringing strengthened to the best go the previous owners ability. Rather that ripping out the bad and replacing with better, they were just covering the bad.
To port, more evidence of strain being placed onto the bulkhead, indicative of issues above.
Moving into the v-berth, the chain locker bulkhead will get some attention in the near future in the form of tabbing it to the hull.
Not much going on up here in the concerning category.
The overhead is a different story. At some point the deck was reconstructed (poorly) with a sheet of plywood and limited glass reinforcement from above and below. In this area of the boat, we are looking at a fair amount of rebuilding. The locking pliers backing plate will be coming out as well.
The boat apparently was struggling with ferrous envy!
The brightwork was just poorly executed. The owner has interest in a small bowsprit to accommodate a cutter rig, so we will be mocking up a new bow profile in the coming weeks.
Starboard toerail, forward, is indicative of pretty much the balance of the brightwork.
The coachroof trim will also require fabrication and replacement.
The companionway slide hatch is...
giving up the ghost! There is limited work that I can currently perform, given the state of my arm, but in the mean time I will be focusing on building a road map into and through the scope of this project and ordering materials as required.
Total Time Today: 3 hrs.
