Acrophobia

The mast on a Westerly GK29 Half Tonner is 39 feet tall. Earlier this summer I attempted to ascend to the top of the mast to service the halyards sheaves. I was looking forward to going up there. I brought my camera planning to snap the view from above. However halfway up I became nauseated and agitated. It was my first time to climb a sailboat mast. I think the most discomforting thing was the rocking of the boat. The boat rocked a little and the mast swung allot. I had to come down... a failure.

Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. I never thought I was afraid of heights. Is it irrational to fear going up an aluminum straw 39 feet in the air? What if you add in the motion? At what point it is irrational? I felt safe... I had 2 halyards attached to a bosun’s chair, 1 to lift and 1 as a back up if the first one failed. It was perfectly safe. Sailors climb the mast all the time. While my boat is not this big, watch this video and tell me do you feel anything odd?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdJlgLasCLw

Next time I go up the mast I plan to use a mountain climbing harness and ascenders. I've read others use this method to climb the mast. I got to do it, those sheaves aren't going to do themselves.

What?

This blog is about Something Else… Something Else is a Westerly GK29 sailboat. My GK29 was purchased in 2010 and it was already named Something Else. Henry the prior owner (aka PO) said it was named Something Else because it sailed like something else… However in my experience the boat always needs something else fixed or replaced. I would name the boat something else… but it already is. So that is where I am, working on Something Else.

Sins of the PO

Let’s talk Something Else before me. The prior owner (PO), Henry, was the 2nd owner of Something Else. He bought her in the mid 90’s. Henry was a CPA in Chula Vista California and enjoyed spending his free time sailing Something Else. In his office was a large picture of him and his son aboard Something Else off the coast of Mexico. He was obviously proud of both his son and daughter who were now adults. He wanted them to have Something Else. Henry was older, and had prostrate cancer. He was no longer able to really take care of the boat let alone enjoy it. But the kids didn’t want or have time for Something Else. He didn’t want to but he had to let Something Else go to a stranger.

In 2008 something else was put up for sale. The economy in the US was tumbling and so were the boat prices. In the UK GK29 prices were listed for around ₤15,000 or $22,000 depending on the exchange rate. Henry’s price for Something Else kept going down but nobody bought her. I started looking at sailboats in 2010. I looked at mostly Ericson’s and Catalina’s. When I saw the ad for Something Else the price was down to $6,500.

I went to look at Something Else in August 2010. It was “love” at first sight. I offered $5,000 and Henry accepted without hesitation. Henry was to have prostrate surgery the next week and that weighed heavy on his mind.


I was a new owner of a 1978 Westerly GK29 Half Tonner. I knew she was a fixer upper. A little TLC and she would be an awesome sailboat. Since then I’ve heard several times that “they” have seen better boat cut up and thrown in a dumpster. I guess love is blind.



Something Else in Chula Vista



Henry recovered from his surgery and helped me with logistics with the boat since I lived more than 100 miles away. A lot of work was required to prep Something Else for the sail up to Long Beach. In October 2010 a few guys were helping me with the final prep for the trip. I invited the crew and Henry to dinner at the marina restaurant as a Thank You for all the help. The beer and conversation flowed freely. Henry and I were talking about boat insurance. He was shocked I only paid $75 per year. I explained it was only liability insurance. To which he replied “I was so glad I had full coverage insurance when the boat sank”. I’ve never been so shocked!

Thus began what I call the sins of the PO. Any past transgressions I’ve inherited. It was Henry’s… and now its mine. Fortunately I am happy with Something Else, but perhaps I should have bought something else…

The Wild Life!

Today I’ll blog about something else… The wild life.

Last night about 2am I woke with a fright because of the sounds of a little man drilling a hole in my hull then the sounds of water pouring in. glub glub glub. I got up, peed and went back to bed.

No this isn’t the result of my wild life, but rather something else; the wild life in the marina. In the quite tranquil water lurk many animals ready to wake one from their slumber or prevent it all together. Birds, seals and shrimp all make sound that make a paranoid skipper worry. Sea gull, heron, and terns catch muscles and fish and dine alfresco on deck. They make a sound of someone on deck scratching their way looking for a way to break in. Seals bang into the keel (the fin that sticks five and a half feet below the water) and make a “Puffff” sound as they blow out air at the surface. But the most constant sound is the snap crackle pop of the snapping shrimp. They sound as if they are on the hull trying to cut and pinch their way in. This link can give you an idea of what I am talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONQlTMUYCW4

In the fall an osprey comes back for the winter and stands watch atop the mast 3 boats down. This carnivore eats well… It expels a lot of waste as well. He leaves a mess on deck. A few times I’ve heard the thump of its BM and laid there hours waiting for the other shoe to drop. I enjoy the raptors return, I’m so happy he prefers somebody else’s mast!

In the case last night the unmistakable sound was the wild life of my fellow boater 4 slips down coming home from the bar. His electric powered dingy augering its way through the water, his wake gently slapping my hull making a glub glub glub. Ones imagination can be deceiving aboard Something Else!

Stanchion Action!

Something Else had some Stanchion issues when I bought “her”. I’m not sure Something Else is female but traditionally boats are called “her” so I will fall in step. A stanchion is a post sticking up from the perimeter of the deck to support the life lines. My boat and many boats made in Europe during the 60’s and 70’s used solid aluminum stanchions. They are 24 inches tall with a triangular base held on with three screws. The life lines are stainless 3/16 steel cables and are intended to prevent the crew from falling overboard. Two of the stanchions bases on the port side had broken thru the deck. This must have been caused by an impact with a dock or another boat. The stern pulpit was also bent over on the port side. Oh the sins on the PO. With the outer layers of the deck broken, water was able to seep into the balsa core of the deck. The balsa rotted locally and no longer provided structural rigidity.

The first step was to remove the stanchion. The nuts were encapsulated in fiberglass. This had to be ground and chiseled away. The nuts and screws were removed and the stanchion was easily removed. Exploratory surgery was required to determine the extent of the damage to the core. Deck material was removed until all the damaged deck and core were removed and solid good material was exposed. The area was bowled out to provide a tapper of about 10:1. This allows the layers fiberglass area to bond to. Next a new core was fabricated from marine plywood. The core was bonded with thickened epoxy to the existing core and the bottom fiberglass layers. 12 oz. fiberglass cloth was laid up with epoxy resin. This was topped with peel ply (a Dacron fabric), waxed paper, a piece of plywood and finally a 25 lb weight. After the epoxy cured the weight, plywood and waxed paper were removed. The peel ply was pulled off which left a nearly perfect surface. The area was sanded and faired then painted to protect the epoxy from UV exposure. The original aluminum stanchions are being replaced by polished stainless steel stanchions that are the norm on sail boats here in the US. I got these at the yacht salvage store. They sure are pretty. I had the stern pulpit straitened at a local shop that makes pulpits for many manufactures since the 60’s. I am holding off the final installation of the stanchions and pulpits until I paint the whole deck.

Damaged deck from stanchion

Inside veiw of damaged deck.  View looking up.

Rotted balsa core.


 



Replacement core and 10:1 tapper for fiberglass repair



Repair prior to sanding and paint.



Sanded and primed.




I have 8 solid aluminum stanchions for sale!



I Can See Clearly Now!

The second project on Something Else was the replacement of the portlights or windows for the land lubbers. The portlights on a GK29 were just Plexiglas. FYI in England where my boat was made Plexiglas is called Perspex. On the port side (left side if you are looking fwd) the Plexiglas was original. Scratched, crazed and cracking Plexiglas bolted onto the cabin side. At least the port side didn't leak. The starboard side (right side if you are looking forward) was another story. The PO "modernized" the portlights on Something Else (bad PO bad). He attempted to bond the Plexiglas flush with the cabin side. Unfortunately, the fit and the bonding were poor and leaked badly. I'm glad he gave up after doing the starboard portlight. I had to duct tape it until I could replace it.

What to replace the port lights with? I looked at making new ones like the factory; however the starboard side was cut larger by the PO. I looked at many alternatives. And decided I would buy Lewmar port lights at Minney’s Yacht Surplus. Minney's is my favorite store and their motto is "WE KEEP BOATING AFFORDABLE". They had a ton of them, new in the box. The price was less than the cost of buying Plexiglas to make replacements. Lewmar is English too. It took some work to fit them but they look so cool and they don’t leak at all. Take a look at the before and after pictures and tell me what you think.

Port side before - Factory original

Port side after - Lewmar port



Starboad side before - Non factory flush



Starboad side after - Shows fiberglass reworked areas

Fix it

The first project was replacement of the mast step. The Half Tonner version of the GK29 is keel stepped. This meaning that the mast goes through the deck and terminates in the bilge just above the keel. The fitting for my mast was corroded almost beyond recognition (Figure 1). Luckily the Selden part number cast into the part was still there. I had no idea of the manufacture or where to find a replacement. An internet search of part number identified the manufacture and where to purchase it. I did not have the yard remove the mast for the step replacement. Instead the mast step was replaced with the mast in situ while the boat was moored in its slip. To lift the mast I built a strongback (Figure 2) on the deck. Straps were attached to the strongback fed thru the mast partners and then attached to a come-along on each side of the mast. The lower end of the come-along was attached to the lower fitting of the mast. A line was tied off low on the mast to prevent the lower part of the mast from moving in the horizontal plane. I had four helpers the day the mast step was replaced. The helpers kept the stays loosened and I was inside working the come-along. Once the mast was lifted about 8 inches (Figure 3) the stainless structure the mast step is attached to was removed. A spacer fabricated from G10 Garolite and installed under the step fitting and sealant was used to prevent future galvanic corrosion (Figure 4). The mast step structure assembly was installed with new stainless hardware. The mast was lowered and stays tightened. This project worked well for me. Quite a bit of static and dynamic analysis was examined to ensure the structural limits of the cabin top were not exceeded and the ability to control and balance the mast while it was raised. I do not recommend this for everybody. Examine all the risk factors and mitigate those risks prior to doing this yourself.






(Figure 1) Extensive corrosion of mast step.  Note attachment screws.

 


(Figure 2) Strong back to support the weight of mast during lift.



(Figure 3)  Mast lifted and structure and step removed.

 

(Figure 4)  Old & New Mast step fitting.



BBC 79 Fastnet Documentary

I was reading a GK29 bulletin board on line and in 2006 the BBC was looking for a GK29 to use for filming a 79 Fastnet documentary they were making. I did a search on YouTube and found the Documentary. They show a GK29 here and there. It is interesting, but I need to get a life! To put everything into perspective in 1979 my GK29 would have been brand new and I would have been the same age as the son in the documentary. Wow! That is Something Else. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHTKMGO0YYw