Posts Tagged: deck

All those little bits of teak

On May 31, 2016 - Completing the deck 2016 -2017
  • Teak edges for hatch and all through-deck fittings. New Samson post in place.
  • Making the teak edging pieces for the cockpit
  • Cockpit coaming fitted
  • Final sanding of the coaming, up it goes!

Once the rubbing strake's done, there's all those little bits to do. Steve carefully mitres teak edges for all the through-deck fittings. There's the cockpit to finish off, again with teak edging, before sanding down the coaming, hoisting it up onto the deck again, and setting it in place to bolt in and seal. Meanwhile, Bev's been doing OK with cycling and walking recommended, relieving the frustration at doing nothing. To keep the 'other project' on track, she set up a meeting with the architect on 25th May. Steve returns to Derbyshire for a couple of days then we both drive to Suffolk for the Bank Holiday weekend. Wide sunny skies until Monday, when 40 mph winds are forecast. With the van roof down, Steve secures the tent as best he can and we retire for a stormy night. Tuesday dawns bitterly cold, still windy, the tent flooded but no more damage and after a trip to Thorogoods we decide to retreat to the warmth of Derbyshire again.

 

Sanding the deck and a new rubbing strake

On May 17, 2016 - Completing the deck 2016 -2017

With the beginning of May looking promising, Steve goes down to Woodbridge. Departing much later than planned on the 11th, he didn't arrive 'til nearly midnight! Bev stays at home, still hobbling around, looking forward to some advice from the physio about what she can and can't do . . . Steve's first job is to make more repairs to the tent. It has a serious 'lean', several degrees from the perpendicular, with the poles bent at alarming angles. Apart from the ripped section in the side, there's several holes along the top where the poles have rubbed through the canvas . . . an inner tent made of tarps is a necessity whenever rain is forecast now.

The tent fixed as well as he can manage, Steve concentrates on the boat, removing all the 'peel ply', filling the blemishes and finally sands the newly-glassed deck. Almost ready for buying the paint and a trip to Larkmans confirms the colour. James is finishing the deck of 'Charm': International Sand it is. Next job is the rubbing strake, carefully crafted from larch and fixed along both sides from stem to just past the cockpit coaming. A visitor passes complimentary comments on the fair of the hull.

Storm damage to the tent, but it's lasted well!

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A day trip to Essex, via Woodbridge

On April 21, 2016 - Completing the deck 2016 -2017

The coaming returns to Suffolk

The coaming returns to Suffolk

Mast restored to it's stand and tent patched up . . .

Mast restored to its stand and tent patched up . . .

A call from Toby and Hugo, wanting help in retrieving their tender from Fambridge, means the chance for a ‘one way’ trip with an empty trailer to Essex. Steve manhandles the repaired and varnished cockpit coaming down to the road. He lashes it to the trailer, carefully packing it in cardboard for the journey with Hugo. They make good time to Woodbridge, but find that Storm Katie took her toll on the tent. A full section of one side is ripped out. The mast has also been blown from it’s stand, damaging new varnish applied last summer. But as Hugo says, it’s nothing that would not happen during a good blow at sea! The tent, however, really won’t stand up to any more gales, so 2016 has to be the launch year, as promised last August in Ipswich! The wintry weather, since an early spring-like Easter, makes another trip to Suffolk quite unattractive for now, though, so we stay at home doing more of the ‘little jobs’ for the boat and think about plans with the architect for the ‘other project’.

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Finally, we’re laying the deck!

On October 12, 2015 - Engine, hull & laying the deck 2011 - 2015
The first week in August finds us back in Derbyshire for a few days, the house is still there and judging by the state of the garden, it’s been raining a lot! Return to Suffolk on the 10th with the intention of staying for the rest of the summer. We plan to do some house-hunting, following early research by Bev on her new road bike. Beverley takes a week out to join James on 'Kestrel' in the August Classics, 14 - 23 this year while Steve is persuaded by Wendy that he must forgo sailing this summer and get on with the deck. Did he really promise that 'Cachalot' will ready for the August Classics, 2016? He gets started in earnest, making good progress by the end of the Cruise. But where's the summer gone? There's rain, rain, wind and more rain in the week up to the Bank Holiday, with a welcome invitation to dinner at the Masters on Bank Holiday Monday.
  • Cutting the first board for the deck
  • Preparing the underside
  • Preparing the board, edges and underside
  • Painting the underside
  • Underside painted and ready to lay
  • Bulkheads
  • Side decks on
  • Making a start with laying the deck
  • Underside of the foredeck painted
  • Aft deck
  • Glassed deck ready for winter 2015/16
  • Bulkheads making the interior look good
Bev drives to Matlock for a couple of days to check out the house and visit her Mum. She gets a slow puncture in the car, which becomes a theme for the week with four on the bike back in Suffolk! It's a new tyre for the car and a tougher one for the bike after four inner tubes get holed! While Bev pedals round looking for houses, Steve continues to make great progress with the deck boards and bulkheads, all grooved and painted ready for fixing. After another short trip back to Derbyshire, we put the house on the market and return for Maldon Town Regatta on 19 September. Autumn looks set fair for us to keep working on the deck into October, so we order 20 metres of glass with two-pack epoxy and put a thermometer on the coachroof to monitor temperature in preparation for glassing the deck.
We join Simon and Julia for the Cycle Show at the NEC, and try out bikes way out of our price range! The final week of September finds Steve completing the preparation of the deck, and with bulkheads installed, we're ready for our lesson from James, kitted out in our very fetching protective clothing. Everything has been carefully masked off, materials and tools all readily available, scaffold planks alongside the hull for fairly easy access and plans on how to glass the deck without getting ourselves into too many sticky corners! Bev is assigned as glue mixer, which is OK at first, but once there's only the two of us it becomes much more stressful . . . after four sessions, the job is done!
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Painting the interior and preparing for the deck, at last!

On July 30, 2015 - Engine, hull & laying the deck 2011 - 2015

Gales, trains and paint

After being forced back to Derbyshire by gales at the beginning of May, we set off for sunnier climes in Italy. Travelling by train via Derby, London, Paris and Milan then to Siracusa, Sicily (with the train boarding the boat to cross the Strait of Messina), we returned by overnight ferry from Palermo to Naples, flying back to Gatwick after a few days sightseeing in Rome.
Progress having been seriously delayed this year, Steve spent just over a week in Woodbridge in early June, achieving his Springtime goal of getting the whole of the hull interior painted at last! ‘Henry’, the hardy and generally trusted vacuum cleaner, did need the smile wiping from his face when he fell from a deck beam knocking a tin of (very expensive) paint into the bilges! With grey bilges and white above the sole, she’s looking good, and another step towards putting on the deck.

No more distractions!

Mid-June found us back in Derbyshire for the Eroica Britannia at Bakewell Showground. Much colder than last year, the weather didn’t dampen our spirits as Beverley joined Steve and Rob for a most enjoyable (and challenging) 55 miles up hill and down dale along with 3,000 ‘heroic’ riders on classic pre-1987 bicycles.
4 July and it’s off to Suffolk again, taking the Bongo and the car for the ‘long haul’, with no distractions until August! The tent's become somewhat untidy, leading to some ‘home improvements’, clearing out old wood that ‘might come in handy’ as patterns and extending the workbench to full-width of the tent: total cost, one bag of nails at £2.49!

. . . and now for the deck!

After more discussions, sucking of teeth and research into the definitive plan for the deck, it’s decided: marine ply and glass, painted to provide the look of canvas. Now the decision's made, Steve's fairing the deck beams and finishing jobs it’s easier to do without the deck on, and ordering the ply, of course. Water and fuel tanks are thoroughly cleaned, and securely installed along with a new fuel filter.
22 July: ten boards of plywood arrive on a large lorry from Lathams. After stacking it safely, we depart for Yarmouth, Isle of Wight for the weekend to say 'bon voyage' to the OGA fleet sailing to St Malo. On our return, we find Marion and Ian are stormbound on 'Eleanor' in Ipswich, they cycled round to see the boat and invited us back for supper. Yesterday, Trevor, Peter and Paul were in the Tidemill on 'Gromit', so we all repaired to The Anchor for an evening meal.

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Six years on: spring 2013

On April 24, 2013 - Engine, hull & laying the deck 2011 - 2015

Bongo has a refit, and we venture down to Suffolk

The entry for 15 April 2007 declares Cachalot a ‘project’. Six years on and we’re still enjoying the challenge. BUT, six years had taken its toll on the Bongo, and she’s overwintered at Full Circle Autocare Ltd. for new wheel arches, door sill and tidying up of dents, bumps and scratches in the paintwork.

Richard and Jim have done a great job, and we’re looking forward to getting back to Woodbridge just as soon as its warm enough!!! When will the winter end??

21 April 2013

Its the start of the OGA 50th anniversary celebrations this weekend, so we're off to Heybridge Basin to say 'farewell' to 'Witch' and 'Bonify', despite the weather, as the first boats leave on their four-month adventure.

Back in Woodbridge, we begin to make plans for this year, after another late start due to the very chilly winter . . . its still bitterly cold at night and we cuddle up in the van with extra blankets, duvets and woolly socks! We aim to get the hull ready for painting this summer, and start by thinking about the deck . . .

What about the deck?

We turn our attention back to the deck . . . after researching the options and having some test pieces of the old teak deck sawn at the woodyard in Tansley, it's decided! The remaining foredeck will have to come off, allowing for a complete new marine ply sub-deck, a layer of glass to ensure we have no leaks, then the sawn teak will be re-laid. The Tansley woodyard has agreed to saw all the stock provided we supply it to them completely clean, with no stray fastenings to wreck their saw. So there's lots of plans and more measurements to be done. Fortunately, the inside of the tent isn’t too cold up on the deck during the day, and with the door closed and several warm layers, the van’s not too bad either.

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Up with the deck!

On December 18, 2007 - The start 2005-2010

Autumn into winter, 2007

Advice from Adrian meant Steve and Glyn could make a start on the frames. After measuring up and making plywood templates, a couple of visits to Grimsby resulted in several pieces of good oak bends being brought to Matlock, where Steve started to fashion the new frames on the kitchen table! Beverley started thinking about an alternative solution.

Returning to Woodbridge the frames could be put in place, at last, some new wood going in rather than rotten wood coming out! But then, there are more long deliberations. What can we do about the deck? Repairs to the counter stern are deemed impossible with the deck in situ.

So, careful slicing between the teak planks and extraction of the screws means that we now have a large pile of teak in pretty good condition, albeit in need of a good clean-up! The ply deck was lifted to form a pattern for future reference and the teak marked with chalk and stored in neat bundles.

At last, Paul will be able to see what he’s doing and have space to work!

Back in Derbyshire, the kitchen table is proving rather too small for the task in hand, but there's a solution. We decide to proceed with plans for a workshop in the garden, which necessitates constructing a large deck.

Planning applications submitted to Derbyshire Dales District Council, are eventually accepted, so we’re ready to proceed with a ‘winter build’. Dave was engaged to build the deck, with Simon helping and Beverley keeping everyone happy with mugs of tea. From the workshop or deck one has a spectacular view across the rooftops to the other side of the valley, providing an excellent vantage point and place to work!

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