Facing my fears

Now that the keel has come off, I have decided on a major expansion, to replace it. If it were left in the boat, two major repairs would be required: one at the centerboard trunk, as discovered by Scott 10 years ago, where two inches of the keel from the starboard edge of the centerboard slot is delignified; and a second at the bottom rudder fitting, where a large check has split the plank away from the stern post. Besides the critical major repairs, there are at least four large splits where knots in the oak have failed, and the gaps should be filled with something. In the process of rebuilding the keel, all the bolts would have to be removed and the holes would need to be bunged and rebored, to ensure tightness. With a new keel, the holes would be tight and the original frame pockets will be removed, so the quantity of exposed end grain will be vastly reduced.
Progress to date:

• Remove all frame-to-floor bolts and floors on odd-numbered frames from 13 to 21, and all half-floors from 24 to 29.
• Replace floors at 21, 19, and 17.
• Reef caulking below the stringer for plank reconditioning
• Reconditioned 3 planks.
• Removed centerboard sheave
• Removed bronze centerboard trunk port lateral bolt

Additional tasks:

• Replace plank #3A and 3B starboard
• Replace plank #3A port
• Replace Keel

Interior Demolition Stage 2

I received the plans for Rune from the Peabody on Monday, 1/12.

Progress to date:

• Removal of all cabin sole and sole beams.
• Remove head.
• Remove V berth
• Remove Retention tank
• Cut away bottom of head forward and aft athwart-ship bulkheads.
• Remove head door, its trim, starboard locker door, its trim, starboard base locker door, and its trim.
• Cut away bottom quarter head fore-and-aft bulkhead.
• Cut away base of forward galley stove bulkhead.
• Remove #1 battery box base.
• Uncover and remove bungs for all scheduled frames and floors. These are frames 13-29.
• Remove fasteners for alternate scheduled frames forward of centerboard trunk
• Remove fasteners for two centerboard trunk partial frames and floors.
• Remove two partial floors next to centerboard trunk, out of ten.
• Remove four bronze lateral drifts which hold the centerboard trunk in the keel.

When we removed the false keel, we found that the slot for the centerboard was so deteriorated that a huge, complicated dutchman would be needed to repair it. Because of the false keel, and because so much of the interior furniture has to be removed, the scope of the job has expanded to include:

• Replace false keel deadwood.
• Replace slot liner in false keel deadwood with GRP sheet.
• Replace all plumbing hoses, pipes and manifold with PEX system.
• Reroute the electrical lines in the bilge.
• Improve access to all bilge pockets in the head (the forward one was inaccessible).
• Realign and simplify the plumbing for the sanitary system.
• Remove the LORAN and old GPS electronics, and replace panel for navigation locker.
  
• Build retention devices for all cabin sole pieces.

Ballast bolt failure

When we took off the keel, we found that two of the blots which hold on the ballast were seriously corroded. As was noted in my first post, one failed without warning during spring cleaning. When, last week, we forced the ballast away from the plank keel to remove it, a second one snapped. Today, Snediker and I spoke at length with Ed McClave, of McClave, Philbrick and Giblin. He was convinced that the two aftermost keel bolts corroded in the way they did because they weren’t silicon bronze, but were naval brass instead. Their color was slightly different from that of the other nine bolts. The two alloys are equivalent in strength, but the brass is more vulnerable to losing zinc when continuoously submerged in sea water.

Demolition Begins

The progress to date:

• Centerboard has been removed.
• Centerboard pennant has been removed.
• Ballast keel has been removed.
• Worm shield has been removed from the deadwood.
• False keel deadwood has been removed.
• Centerboard slot liner has been removed from the deadwood.
• Interior table has been removed.
• Ninety per cent of the main cabin sole has been removed.
• Bronze centerboard trunk has been removed.
• Paul Haley surveyed the scope of work on 1/5/09.

T & S generated a scope-of-work document, with consultation from Paul Haley. Its summary is that the keel is satisfactory, the bronze centerboard trunk is fine, but the wood centerboard trunk and the frame heels, between the engine and the base of the stem, need to be replaced. Paul Haley identified this in his survey in early 2008. The job will require removing all interior joinery, fabricating scarfed frame pieces, installing them, and restoring the joiner work.
I asked that I be assigned to Taylor & Snediker's crew as an apprentice, to reduce my out-of-pocket cost.
I called the Peabody Essex Museum, again. Photographic services admitted that she had not filled the order, from before Christmas, and promised to send it today.