V-berth makeover Part I

[bearmcnally]

Just remember ? you can not use domestic enamels on fibreglass or in a marine environment ,they break down quickly and lose their gloss !

Bear

[storm petrel]

Bear,

Re: stringers.

I recall talking to Bill, or reading a post by him a few years ago when he decried the lack of stringers in the Top Hat and described how he crushed/cracked one side of the bow of a Top Hat when beating with a storm sail into a heavy sea in gale conditions. Jamie M also put a lot of extra glass reinforcing into the bow section of Possibilities before he set off for his circumnavigation.

While I agree that the glass Top Hats were thought not to require stringers, I would not take one into serious blue water (ie Southern ocean) without strengthening the hull like Jamie did.

Are you still coming down on Saturday?

Cheers,
Mark

[Aaron]

When I met jamie when he sailed into the lake, we were talking about that and it split right down the bow, when he was in lord howe, he sailed for 4 hours and was on the bilge pump every 10 minutes.
I dont think it had anything to do with stringers, wouldnt it be that they were builtin two halves????

[Phillip]

Just a point, the Mark 1 has two stringers, one on each side!


Oh, and yes the hulls were made in two halves for all Marks [except 0].

Phillip

[Troppo]

Hi Troppo,

. . . .In the fibreglass versions it was installed as a storage bulkhead ,anchor ,sails etc.Looking at your forepeak I don't think it any structural integrity at all ? I would be inclined to cut a couple of plywood nibs in ,and glass them onto the hull and then into the existing furniture,If the furniture is glassed in properly it should become a structural member if you are worried about hull flex ? . . .

Cheers Bear
MK 1's Beautiful

After looking at all my pics of the forepeak bulkhead, I think Bear might be right with his point of originally no structural integrity. While some of the original fibreglass liner has been cut away, nowhere does it look like it was reinforced and there are no reinforced areas on the hull to hang the liner on. For example, look at that bit like cardboard which was stuck onto the very thin fibreglass completing the end of the storage cupboard. That is paper-thin fibreglass sheet under that whereas if the area was meant to be a solid bulkhead I would expect to see evidence on both the hull and liner of having had good thick ply or fibreglass sheeting reinforcing the whole area. There is nothing there to indicate to me that at one time the bulkhead had more reinforcing than was given by the standard thickness of the fibreglass liner.

So, I could have left in the old flimsy scrappy repair job after all. Maybe I should push it back in place, hold it with duc tape and spray paint the area a nice white colour.

Okay, maybe I'll be a bit more creative and industrious.

Bear, I think I know what you mean by plywood nibs. I guess they are little bits of wood stuck on to the hull to provide some points to stick the furniture to [I know I am not using the right terminology but oh heck, I'm just learning]. I was thinking if I put in a big piece of ply (sealed with epoxy) I would first stick blocks in on the hull and ceiling so the ply would have something to be attached to. Would those blocks be called nibs?

I am not worried about hull flex as I am too inexperienced to get worried by things I don't understand. I do want to show respect for the boat and if extra strength should go in then I am happy to do it.

Louis

[bearmcnally]

The mould is in 2 halves but the hull is made as a whole piece ?

You normally wax the mould bolt it together then spray the gelcoat and then start laying the yacht up .
Well that's how we did the Swanson 32 and Swansons did the 38 .the 38 has stringers glassed in.Glass over foam (that's them just under the cockpit floor looking aft )

cheers Bear

PS looks like I'm coming as long as Greg gets his window in ? could be a bit drafty other wise !

[storm petrel]

Aaron,

I am sure Bill(Bornfree) said he cracked the side of the bow in his boat. I think it was a different incident to Jamie's one, which I did not know about. Interestingly, Possibilities was moored in Pretty Beach (where I moor my boat) before Jamie bought her.

Cheers,
Mark

[Shaun]

Mark,
Bill was also telling me, that would be an area(the pointy end inside the hull) of the TH he would reinforce with epoxied in foam ribs, if doing any serious offshore stuff...makes sense particuarly in light of Jamies experience which I also hadnt heard of.
From memory it was the floor where a crack developed during a gale in one of Bill's TH's??

cheers

[storm petrel]

Shaun,

Thanks for this info. It was years ago that Bill told me about this and I was beginning to wonder if my memory was failing me.

Mark

[Phillip]

Morning All,

Everybody should remember that most Top Hats were fited out by their new owners.

Thus we get the many varaiations in the interior fitout that we are seeing.

Unless it was fitted out in the factory there is/was no standard.

Phillip.