Re-sealing the Shroud Chain Plates

The shroud chain plates on the starboard side had been leaking behind our dagger board for quite a while now, but we hadn't had the time to get it with our never-ending list of to do's. 

We finally decided to reseal them and were somewhat surprised (well we should've known) to discover that the chain plates were installed straight through our cored deck and were only sealed in with Sikaflex! Similar to how all our other deck fittings were installed.. 😒

Needless to say, water had seeped through and rotted a whole lot of our balsa core around the chain plates.  
 

Releasing the tension of the shrouds

Sealed in with Sikaflex

Tied the shrouds onto the side cleat, Alex removing the AIS antenna cable

Removing the chain plates was a bit of a challenge. Can't help but wonder why most things on board the boat are installed in such a way that's not designed to be accessed or replaced ... ever? (when in reality, everything on a boat needs to be repaired/replaced/maintained at some point, no matter how well designed or installed it is)

Had to saw off the head of the bolt in order to remove it

Chain plates removed, digging out the Sikaflex

Clearly damp

After tapping on the deck around the chain plates Alex was convinced that the water leak had spread

Carefully removing the top layer of the deck

Rotted wood

Eek - just as suspected

Soaked

Not good

After clearing out the rotted wood

While I dried it out with the heat gun

Alex cut out strips of wood (teak) to fill the hole

All clean and dry - ready to be filled

More epoxy work

Not easy working after dark - having to shine the light and fight off mozzies

The cut out wood fit perfectly

In hindsight, we should've stuck masking tape onto the surface to minimise 
the epoxy mess (oh well)

What it looked like the next day - the holes are now sealed with epoxy

Alex decided to make a plate that fits nicely around the chain plates to protect the sikaflex and hopefully prevent water from seeping through?

Sealed the chain plates and plate in place with Sikaflex

A close up photo

Once fully dried, we re-attached the shrouds

We repeated the process on the port side. Fortunately there was no leak there, so we didn't have to cut out a section of the deck. However, after we re-sealed the chain plates and re-attached the shrouds, for some reason the middle shroud on the port side would not tention above the spreader.

Update: Check out our Spreader Maintenance post.

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Boat Works in Trinidad II

So, we've run out of our 2nd visa extension here in Trinidad. 255 days have come and gone, and we still have a long list of boat projects and repairs to do before we can launch, albeit shorter than when we first arrived in September last year.

Our engine, which was one of the main items on our to do list, unfortunately could not be completed in time! Just as we were close to putting the engine back together, we discovered the crankshaft pulley was not seated straight on the crankshaft. Of course, we accidentally discovered this only after a week of troubleshooting why the pulleys for the alternator belt didn't align. Well, looks like a replacement crankshaft pulley is on the shopping list.

We'll be flying out to Miami tomorrow for a visa run. Looking forward to the 6 day break! {very excited} Even though I know we'll be running around looking for boat parts, it'll be a nice change of scenery. There's a limit to how long one can live in a boatyard without a break no matter how "lovely" the boatyard may be.

Hopefully the new pulley will resolve our issue, and we can finally get the engine installed upon our return.. And sail again?

Here's a quick update on what we've been up to since our 'Boat Works in Trinidad' post.

Jobs completed:

Painted markers on anchor chain
Applied linseed oil on anchor chain

Replaced all clam shells under the boat

Replaced bolts at the base of the jib stay and back stay

Installed anchor windlass in anchor locker
Replaced engine for dive compressor (Bauer)
Painted our engine (Yanmar)

Installed new engine mounts (Polyflex)
Installed new insulation in engine compartment
Serviced steering wheel chain
Re-sealed windows in saloon on starboard side
Re-sealed chain plate on starboard side
Replaced bungee cords on shade cloth
Added a spin-out in the head

Jobs In Progress/Not Started:

Re-assemble dive compressor
Re-assemble main engine
Re-bed remaining deck fittings
Install backing plates for all deck fittings (cleats, winches, clutches, etc)
Paint the galley, head, port side forward cabin
Repair crack in starboard forward cabin bulkhead
Service outboard engine (Yamaha)
Re-seal front windows in saloon
Re-seal chain plate on port side

Replaced all clam shells under the boat

Installed new insulation in engine compartment

Installed anchor windlass in anchor locker

Serviced Steering Wheel Chain

Painted markers on anchor chain at every 5m

Applied Boiled Linseed Oil on Anchor Chain

Re-sealed windows in saloon on starboard side

That's all for now! Miami here we come!

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List of Sailing Blogs

Five years ago, I started a blog account but was too self conscious about my writing skills or lack thereof to post anything. I'm not a gifted writer; my vocabulary is limited and my grammar is somewhat of a hit and miss. So you can understand why I wasn't ready to share that with the world.

So why now? Well, perhaps I'm a little older, my skin is a little thicker or hopefully it's because I'm a little wiser to know that I can't always worry about what others might think. But it was really after chatting with our dear friends about our travels late last year, that I realised it's such a good idea to have a blog as a way for us to document our travels. Let's face it, we're not getting any younger; I can barely remember what we did last week! 

It's been 5 years, 2 oceans, 18,750 nautical miles and 19 countries. It's very unlikely I'm going to remember our journey in detail 10 years down the line {okay, realistically a year, at best.. two years}. Of course I'll always remember that time when we were chased by five different Sri Lankan fishing boats, or when the water was so rough the helm fell off or when we were drifting in the Indian Ocean for 5 days and subsequently saved by the US Navy. 

But that only accounts for about 5% of our travels. Would like to look back and remember all the places we visited, what we ate, the people we met, the repairs we did, etc, etc and share the stories with our family and friends. So good writer or not, I decided to face my fears and just blog it {yikes}. 

Since then, I've been searching for fellow sailing blogs to follow and oh my, there are many wonderful blogs out there. I truly enjoy reading their stories and getting their perspective on life aboard. It's also comforting to know that we're not the only ones on a budget with a never ending list of boat projects & repairs.

Here's a list of blogs I found inspiring and informational. There are plenty of lists already but I wanted to have one of our own because it never hurts to keep sharing :)

A Life Aboard

Around 'N Circles

Art of Hookie

Astrolabe Sailing
 
Beautiful Crazy Happiness
 
Bloom

Bumfuzzle
 
Calypso

Commuter Cruiser
  
Chancelot | Sailing Chance

Crystal Blues

Delos

Dolphin Dance

Fortunes Afloat

Harts At Sea

Independence
 
Jacaranda Journey

Katarina

Katie and Jessie On A Boat

Kittiwake

Life Afloat

Livin' Life 

Marine How To
  
MJ Sailing

Mollymawk

Oh Sail Yes!

Pacific Sailors

Perspective

Rocket Science

Sailing B+A

Sailing Britican

Sailing Goodvibes

Sailing Simplicity
 

Sail Far Live Free

Saving To Sail

Shiloh

Smitty

Sundowner Sails Again

Take It Easy

Terrapin

The Boat Galley
 

The Cynical Sailor

Wanderings

Wanderlust
 
Where The Coconuts Grow

White Spot Pirates

Windward

Y Not Sailing

Yelo

Yogini Sailor

Yoyo 

We hope you'll enjoy our blog as much as we enjoy these blogs.

If you'd like your blog on the list, please drop us a comment and we'll be happy to add you in! ;)

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May 2017 | MONTH IN REVIEW

Here's a quick summary of what we were up to this month.

• The rainy season came early this year and was officially announced on May 12th.

• It's been almost 9 months, and we're still working through our ever growing list of boat projects and repairs. We're slowly making progress, but many times it's like we're regressing {big time}. It's one step forward, few steps back.

• We spent a lot of time re-assembling the engine, but hit a roadblock with the alignment of the alternator belt. We spent another couple of weeks troubleshooting it.

• We also replaced the insulation in the engine compartment, serviced the steering wheel chain, replaced the nuts and bolts at the base of the jib stay and back stays (read '8 Bolts in 5 hours!' post).

• To be honest, it's been kinda hard trying to keep motivated. The never ending work list really takes a toll on us.

• We met our friend Rene on S/Y Yoyo again whom we met when we first arrived in Powerboats in 2015.

• We tried our best to complete the jobs before our 2nd visa extension expires (June 13th). But realistically, we knew it wasn't going to happen, so last week, we bought the cheapest tickets we could find to Miami, Florida.

Check out our posts this month:

How to Remove Rust Stains from Fiberglass | FSR Review

8 Bolts in 5 Hours!

Recipe | Alex's Famous Salad

April 2017 | MONTH IN REVIEW >>

June 2017 | MONTH IN REVIEW <<

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Photo of the Day | 2017-05-27

Here's our photo of the day! Super-sized bag of chips from PriceSmart in Trinidad @ 425.2 grams! 😃 Placed our 4½ inch teddy bear in an attempt to illustrate its size. We're used to the usual 184.2 gram bags, you can imagine how our eyes lit up in delight! 😆 {okay, so Alex will deny that his eyes lit up, but he sure had his fair share of the chips}

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Recipe | Alex's Famous Salad

Alex's Famous Salad

If you're salad lovers like us, do try out Alex's salad recipe. It's famous! ;) Finally decided to post this so that we could share it with our friends and family. A healthy, hearty dish for you and your loved ones.

Serves: 2-4 people

Ingredients:

Base Salad

•     1 Red Onion (finely sliced)
•     1 Red Capsicum (diced)
•     6-8 Tomatoes (diced)
•     4 Cucumbers (preferably Lebanese - sliced)
•     1 Apple (Granny Smith or Pink Lady - diced)
•     1 Eggplant (cubed & pan fried)
•     ¼ cup of Cashew Nuts (roasted, unsalted)
•     Handful of Snow Peas (sliced)
•     ½-1 Avocado (cubed)
•     Cheddar cheese (cubed)

Season With

•     Salt
•     White Pepper
•     Fresh Lemon/Lime juice
•     Olive Oil
•     1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar (optional)
•     Sour Cream (optional with chicken)

Variations (choose at least 5 others)

•     Handful of Alfalfa/Bean Sprouts
•     Handful of Baby Spinach
•     4-5 Red Radishes (sliced)
•     1 small White Radish (sliced)
•     4-5 Eggs (soft boiled & chopped)
•     4-5 White Mushrooms (sliced & pan fried)
•     Chicken (pan fried & cubed)
•     Coriander (chopped)
•     Bok Choy (chopped & pan fried)
•     Asparagus (pan fried, but still firm) 
•     Zucchini (cubed & pan fried)
•     Feta Cheese
•     Smoked Salmon

Method:

1. In a large bowl, add all the prepared ingredients.
2. Season and mix it all up.
3. That's it!

In this combination we (by "we" I really mean Alex) made the base salad with bean sprouts, baby spinach, red radish, white radish, mushrooms, chicken and sour cream. See photo's below.

Radishes, Snow Peas, Capsicum

Apple, Cheese, Baby Spinach

Cucumbers, Onion, Mushrooms

Tomatoes

Pan fried Chicken breast

Cut Chicken into cubes

Season, Mix & Enjoy!

We hope you'll enjoy this recipe!

If you made this, we'd love to hear about it! :)

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8 Bolts in 5 Hours!

Today we replaced 8 bolts at the base of our jib stay (the stay on which the jib is set). It took us 5 hours to complete the job! Yes, that's right 8 bolts in 5 hours. 

Very glad we decided to change them though, because 6 out of the 8 bolts were so badly corroded that when we tried to remove them, either the head of the bolt or the nut at the bottom snapped off; a couple of them even snapped off at both ends!

Corroded bolt snapped off at both ends

Base of the jib stay (view from under the boat)

A close up of the bolts replaced on the Starboard side (excuse the Sikaflex mess)

It was a real hassle but definitely necessary. We shudder to think what might happen if they snapped off at sea. It would without a doubt be a real challenge. Not one that we'd want to take on if we could avoid it.

The next day, we decided to replace the 8 bolts for the back stays as well. Fortunately, none of those bolts were as corroded as the ones on the jib stay so replacing them were easy peasy.

Before (port side)

After (port side)

The Old vs New - Nuts & Bolts

Just another typical day's work on the boat.

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How To Remove Rust Stains From Fiberglass | FSR Review

 

If we're not fixing leaks or fighting corrosion, we're cleaning rust stains... and we have a lot of them on our deck {oh! the horror}. Mostly from our stainless steel deck fittings and screws! Wait a minute.. doesn't stainless mean no stains i.e. no rust!? Um... no.. {sighs} Alex was quick to enlighten me that unfortunately stainless just means stain-less i.e more resistant to rust, staining and corrosion than regular steel! {oh.. :( so it still stains.. just less.. hmpf}

One day, on one of his many "shopping" trips to Budget Marine, Alex decides to buy this tub of FSR Fiberglass Stain Remover ($85.50 TTD). A non-abrasive light bluish stain absorbing gel, made in USA. According to the manufacturer, it's safe to use on white painted surfaces even gel-coat; great for exhaust and waterline stains, removes oil, rust from stainless steel stanchions and railings as well as road dirt from RV's and boats. Sounds fantastic!

So I put it to the test. The instructions were simple enough. I used a sponge (you can also use a brush or a cloth) to apply the gel on the affected area; left it to work its magic for about 20 minutes (or more) and wiped it off (you can also rinse off with water). No scrubbing required.
 

Before

Several applications for the tough spots

After - What do you think? Probably could do with another round?

I would say it works, those stains from the cleats have been there for quite some time (as we left Raptor on the hard for 16 months). It took several applications, but remove them it did {well most of it}. The less stubborn or more "recent" stains, came off in one or two applications.  

Besides cleaning off the rust stains, we had to re-bed the deck fittings. This meant digging out rotted wood in the deck core (this happens because the fittings weren't bedded properly the first time), filling it with epoxy, re-drilling the holes and re-bedding them with sikaflex, but that's another story..

If you're looking to clean rust stains without much elbow grease and don't mind spending some money, you can get this on eBay (~$15.47 USD), Amazon (~$13.64 USD) or your local chandlery/hardware store.

This was our experience with FSR. Hope this helps. If you know of any other way to remove rust stains from the deck/fiberglass, we'd love to hear it! :)

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