Winter Work

It has been several months since my last update. Been busy for sure.

I have been learning how to mas epoxy teak. On my previous boat, Catalina 25, I had used Cetol to restore the wood -- after washing all the teak with a two part system. I have observed the difference between the Cetol and the MAS Epoxy, the Cetol is more like an orange color on the wood; the MAS Epoxy is clear and so the wood appears brownish -- although, I have yet to apply Epifanes varnish over the wood, which may affect the color.

I wanted to learn something new, and give it a try, so I researched the MAS Epoxy system and have been trying it out. I'll post some pictures after I have completed the job.

Check out the website here: http://www.masepoxies.com//Videos/Clear_Coating_Wood.html

Great Ketch Rudder

These are a few pictures of the Great Ketch Rudder.

Notice the rudder connects to a pin located at the bottom. Above the red boot line on the right side of the rudder is a rubber boot that holds the ball joint to the rod that connects to the steering wheel.

I pin inserts into the bottom of the rudder from the skeg.

Launching Ketch 2010

The day arrived for Great Ketch to be launched. The early morning was calm with a slight breeze, and not many boats were in their slip. I arrived at the marina to see the boat in the hoist waiting for me to apply the remainder of the anti fouling paint to areas where the stands had held the boat while on the hard during the winter.

After the boat was launched, a dockhand and I started the Yanmar engine and expressed delight knowing that the engine was pumping water and running well. Basic engine maintenance task still needed to be performed.

Great Ketch was placed into its slip. I checked the boats hull for leaks, the through-hull connections, and the overall condition of the boat. I walked along the deck admiring the feel of the Great Ketch as it floated in piece in its new slip.

I made a request to the marina to have all fuel filters replaced, the impeller in the water pump replaced, and to save the oil changing task for myself, which I performed the following week. Using a hand pump to suck the oil from the oil pan it became obvious that changing oil is a time-consuming task --imagine sucking heavy syrup from one of those hollow plastic tubes used to stir milk in coffee.

Bottom Paint 2010

It was a cloudy windy day, early May 2010, when I applied the bottom paint. I used a roller and one gallon of ablative paint. The bottom appeared to be in very good condition, and the bottom paint went on easy. The blue color was very attractive in that it gave the boat a very clean look.

The areas under the jacks were painted the following day. The marina lifted the boat and I painted the areas with a foam brush. Within 2o minutes after I painted those areas, the boat was launched -- yes the paint wasn't giving the correct amount of time to cure, but the marina was not able to afford having the boat tie up the hoist for 8 hours.

I painted the hull after I used a machine to apply "Buff Magic" - - as a recommended rubbing compound. I also applied the Professional Polish. I admit that I need to become better at using the correct product and buffing machine -- I wasn't too pleased with the results especially after the time and energy I made working on the hull. Painting the bottom was so much easier on my arms than buffing the hull. The exercise has led me to the understanding of why many sailors choose to leave the hull alone,,, let it age gracefully, or sailors pay someone else to buff and wax the hull.

Gelcoat on Hull Port Side Part 2

The picture toward the left depicts the repair of the hull at the location where I sprayed gel coat that was matched to the color of the hull. Notice that the two repair spots are barely noticeable.

My first attempt at color matching the gel coat was not successful because I had not sprayed enough gel coat, which made the original repair show through the new color match gel coat.

My second attempt was an improvement. I sprayed a thick layer upon layer of gel coat using the Preval sprayer to cover the original gel coat repair. The thick layer of gel coat left an orange peel textured that required sanding with 320, 400, 500, and then 600 sand paper. Lastly, I used a buffer machine to smooth the final gel coat.

The repair was my first using a disposable sprayer. The picture doesn't depict much variation, but, that is the point of color matching.

Gelcoat On Hull Port Side

The hull on the port side had two historical gel coat repairs. These two repairs did not match the color of the original gel coat, and were not sanded nor buffed. Another gel coat repair located toward the bow and on the port side was performed by me, and although the gel coat was sanded smooth, the color was much whiter than the original hull color.

After viewing a "how to match gel coat color" video, I decided to spray gel coat on the previous repairs in order to better match the gel coat to the color of the hull. With my color kit of of black, yellow, brown I made several colored gel coat test samples on a freshly sanded area of the hull -- sand an area of the hull to remove the oxidation so a palette is available for gel coat color samples.

After 90 minutes of various amounts of yellow and white, I had the color close to perfect. Using a Preval mini sprayer mixed with gel coat, styrene thinner, and gel coat hardener, I sprayed the gel coat in small even motions. The gel coat sort of spattered out of the nozzle and created and orange peel texture. Thinning the gel coat more would have helped the viscosity of the gel coat when spraying from a tiny nozzle (Preval) but may have caused problems during the curing process of the gel coat.

The color of the newly sprayed gel coat was a better match to the hull, yet, much sanding would be required to smooth the gel and complete the job.

The picture above with this post shows the white gel coat patched before the new sprayed gel coat. After the job has been sanded and buffed, a post will be made showing the complete gel coat repair.

Considerations - Investigate a gravity feed gel coat gun. A gun with a larger nozzle may make spraying gel coat efficient, albeit a compressor will also be required.

Keeping the Water Out

Many of the hoses under the cockpit showed dry rot; cracks in the rubber, and a brittleness. Hose clamps were stainless steel, but not the adjusting screw/bolt. Many of the bolts were rusted beyond recognition.

It was important that the integrity of the hoses and hose clamps were evident; thus. hoses were replaced with PVC hoses -- the original hoses were made of rubber that had a wire embedded within the hose wall in order to provide strength, and hose clamps were replaced with all stainless steel to ensure that the adjusting screws didn't rust.

Working under the cockpit was an exercise in physical contortion. Having to lie upside down at inhuman angles gave me the opportunity to practice new yoga positions not yet documented in the yoga 1000+ history.

The month of March provided cold winds and conditions that were not conducive to the sailor who unknowingly practices yoga positions typically practiced by creatures absent of a skeleton structure.

In the picture provide above, one may note the old rubber hoses toward the left, while the new PVC hoses are located toward the right.

Now that the hoses are in place and secured with clamps -- two at each important connection, water will flow out from scuppers, from the bilge pump, and from the water tank as appropriate out the transom.

CYK Cat Ketch Anywhere?

I owned a Catalina 25' sailboat prior to owning Great Ketch. It was extremely easy to find information about the Catalina because there were thousands of these boats produced. On the contrary, approximately 100 of the 31' Herreshoff Cat Ketch boats were built; five of the 33'. CKY closed business during the mid-late 80s when many sailboat companies went bust.

Fortunately, I did stumble upon several pictures of a H31 that was for sale. The H31 was located in Florida. The H31 looks very much similar to the Great Ketch. The pictures are posted as a resource link in the side bar. Notice how elegant the boat sits on the water.

I continue to look online for other owners of this rare boat.

Enjoy.

The Journey Begins

The Cat Ketch boat pictured toward the right was designed by Halsey Herreshoff, third generation of the Herreshoff boat builders, and built by John Newton's Cat Ketch Yacht company. The original name of the boat was "Great Ketch," the second owner changed the name to "Clark's Great Ketch." As the third owner, I have decided to change the name to the original name: Great Ketch.

I discovered Great Ketch on the hard in late September of 2009. Upon seeing Great Ketch for the first time, I was struck by the juxtaposition of the traditional design and modern technological aspects; a classic cat ketch style boat with free standing carbon fiber masts, and Aerex foam in her construction -- as one example.

The Great Ketch needs attention, brightwork, hull paint, deck, non slip, and bottom paint. Only after the winter months shall I have the opportunity to repair a few of the items needed in order to sail her closer to my home. It is approximately 265 miles of Great Lake Ontario and the New York Canal system between the marina and Ketch's new soon-to-be home; transporting her will be my first modern day Huckleberry Finn adventure.

To provide a sense of accomplishments, I have removed the scupper hoses -- they were dry rotted. Unfortunately, the winter set upon her too soon before I was able to fix new hoses in place.

In the meantime, I have researched the Herreshoff builders, the Cat-Ketch Yacht company, Rich Black the maker of the carbon fiber masts, and John Newton the builder of Great Ketch.

The intention of this blog is to provide a historical log of the work involved to restore the boat, provide an educational "How-to" for others, and provide additional interesting readings for the curious pertaining to sailing, cat ketches, and boat design and builders.