Sitrep 12

B Log Entry...09JAN2012 HAPPY NEW YEAR! The holidays are over and the boat continues to take shape. It has been two years to the day since Joann and I had our first look at the Willard Vega Horizon rotting away at the Patrick AFB marina. We actually purchased it on January 22 and had it hauled a few weeks later, but it was on January 9th that we took that first step into the twilight zone and certain bankruptcy. However, since that first day on board, we have not had any second thoughts about taking on our “project boat”. It has been a very interesting two years. We have learned a lot, had a ton of fun tearing her down, and had lots of discussions on sailing trips to come…Dry Tortugas, Bahamas, Virgin Islands…ahhhhhh. But, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.

When we last reported on the progress of the still un-officially named motor sailor we described the disaster we had with the failed tarp and a boat with lots of water on the wrong side of the hull. After pumping it out and leaving it to dry for a couple of months, I was finally able to pour hydraulic concrete into the bilge area in the engine compartment. The concrete is about ½ to 1 inch thick and filled in all of the dips and cracks from the failed ballast that we spent many hours removing one handful at a time. We purchased a rubbery sealer to go over the concrete; however, it must be used within a couple of days of opening the can or it goes bad. We need to also use it up on deck where people walk so we will hold off sealing the bilge until we are ready to do the decks, which should be pretty soon. Also, last time we B-Logged, we mentioned that we finished the hull up to the primer. Here it is in its current state under our big top.

Good news on the engine and transmission. The marine shop did a full inspection of the engine and gave it a “thumbs up” for overhaul. They will literally replace or rebuild everything that is bolted on. The compression checks were above 400 psi in each cylinder and the rest of the engine looked very healthy. As soon as we gave them the go-ahead for overhaul they sent the transmission out to be reworked. That is done and back with the engine. As soon as the shop receives and installs the re-machined head and assorted parts, they will be bringing it back our way. Remember how difficult it was to get the engine out of the boat? Well, as Joann and I were working on the pilot house exterior we realized that the roof comes off. It weighs a zillion pounds but it unbolts so the engine can be hoisted in and out of the engine compartment (below the pilot house flooring) easily. Good piece of information to have had earlier but we are not complaining. It should be very easy to return the engine to its rightful place. Now to get the bilge sealed and the engine compartment finished before the engine arrives.

With the engine in final repair and the transmission overhauled, we moved up to the decks to begin the task of repairing and refinishing all of the cracks and crazes in the gel coat. And there are many. During the Christmas break, the weather was fantastic and we spent many hours preparing the exterior (topsides) of the boat for refinishing. First we had to sand down and fill the entire deck. When the previous owner(s) thought they had leaks from the decks, they poured gallons of epoxy all over the decks, pilot house and cabin. There are supposed to be small channels running along the sides of the pilot house to guide rain and wave water to the scuppers. Some of the channels were completely filled with epoxy resin. After a solid 5 days of scraping, sanding, Dremeling, chipping, more sanding, and numerous cuss words aimed at the previous owner(s), we stood back and looked at our well prepared boat. It really didn’t look much different. Bummer.

Pilot House After Preparation

Last weekend we began refinishing the topsides. When a boat surface cracks, painting over the cracks will look great at first but the cracks will eventually come back. For a long term solution, you can either Dremel out each crack and fill it with epoxy (works most of the time) or to really repair it right, fill the cracks with smootz and cover the entire area with Dynell. Dynell is a polyester fabric cloth that essentially becomes a completely new skin when epoxied in place and smoothed out. We are Dynelling all of the smooth surfaces of the boat (not including the hull which we have primed and is ready to paint). On the walk areas, we will fill in all of those cracks and rough areas with the rubbery filler that we will use in the bilge with one slight modification. We will put rubber sand in the walk area filler while it is drying to act as a non-skid surface. Now mixing epoxy for the very large sheets of Dynell is a real challenge…especially when the temperature changes 35-40 degrees while we are working. The first batch I mixed cooked off so fast that it started smoking while we were trying to roll it onto the fabric. Joann’s roller was smoking, and I don’t mean because she was working fast. We tossed the roller, spreader, and tub of it overboard to keep it from burning us. Wow! Ok, let’s recalculate the measurements. The next batch worked much better and we were able to get a good amount of Dynell in place before it cooked off. The outside temperature started dropping and the next batch was too cold. It just didn’t want to set. We waited all of Saturday afternoon for it to set enough for us to trim the edges but it stayed pretty wet. We decided to head to dinner and come back later to trim under the lights. Great idea! Almost. Did you ever hear of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. Well, we could have done a remake of that movie called “The Moths”. Under the bright lights every moth in Brevard County decided to visit us on the boat. At first it was like, “Hey, look at this cool moth.” Then it was, “Wow, look at all the different types of moths.” Then it led to, “Run away before we are smothered by moths!” Now, moths in the lights of a football stadium are not too bad, but in the confines of the circus tent and the moths flying into your face, under your glasses, and in your hair; it can get pretty creepy. After beating back the moths, we got the edges trimmed, stepped back and looked at our well Dynelled pilot house. It really didn’t look much different. Bummer.

Pilot House After Dynell (notice the moth on the deck)

One last item. We need to hear from you. The boat’s original name was Surveyor. It has not been called that since its first owner had it back in 1974 to the early 80’s. A name is missing on all of the documentation since then. We need to name the boat. Here are some suggestions.

Travels – We have had two previous boats named Travels.
Gulliver – Joann likes this one.
Garden Ornament – Submitted by our good friend(?) Brent from down-under.
Surveyor – keeping it original

What do you think? Do you have a suggestion? Please…keep it clean.

Until next time, when Joann says, “Turn out those $%&@# lights!”

Kevin and Joann