[Siena]

Sorry about lack of response.

Boat was finished in August by Burr Bros.  They did a great job although it seemed to take forever.

One thing we discovered was the rudder was not symmetrical.  I can't imagine this was designed this way and have to think it may have been refaired at some point.  I had noticed this while bottom painting but didn't give it much thought.  Burr sent off my rudder to a company in florida I think Foss Foam?  They made the new one and did a good job.

The other major damage:

Quadrant was snapped, they had to cut an access panel in cockpit.  But they made it removable with cleats and lightly caulked it back down in case I need to access
Rudder bearings were replaced (whew)
New skeg fabricated by Burr
New cables, and binnacle refastened
Tabbing that was broken loose was redone

Bilge sump was a poor design.  Any water that leaked down through holes from bilge pumps had soaked the foam in keel.  They cut back keel and excavated the black rotten foam.  Keel fiberglass was very stout, probably 1″ thick.  This was redone. 

The bilge sump I had them redesign with a tray that was glassed in after new foam poured in cavity.  I had them attach mounting pads for bilge pumps and switches so that there would be no screw holes down into foam.  I guess at some point water will find it's way in there but trying to keep at bay as long as possible.

Can't seem to find any progress pics from visiting the yard but thought they did a great job.

[Siena]

Thanks!

I appreciate clean diesel fuel like I appreciate clean underwear.  Just makes the world right.

[Siena]

Thank you very much it was a great time and made all the work I did this fall/spring worthwhile.

I gave all the rail meat the option to provide their own lifejackets (which were required at start/finish) and I was the only one to not dress like a refugee lol.

Cracked off reaching we were consistently in the 8.5-9.4 knot range in 18-20 knots of wind and our class was mostly much shorter boats.  Can't beat waterline length and that's what I was counting on.

looking forward to some more racing this summer everyone really enjoyed it.

Peter

[Siena]

Just didn't seem like any interest in previous conversations I started so I drifted off.

Been very busy on my 1986 up in MA with this warmer weather.

Built a fuel polisher that has been working most excellent so far during testing.  Using (2) Shelco stainless filters, a Carter fuel pump wired to either 12v on or to switched 12v to power while under power.  A variety of brass fittings and valves to either return the fuel back to tank or to provide emergency 10 micron filtered fuel to engine lift pump in case of Racor clog.  I also installed a sight glass to check the fuel flow.  Supposed to do 72 GPH theoretically.  I've been running it the past week while onboard it is definitely moving some fuel.

I replaced all the lights with LED.  Including engine compartment now is like a surgery theater.  Cheap too.  Did LED strip lights under galley overhang an awesome upgrade.  Did the same under nav station deck overhang. 

Rebuilt cooling system on engine.  My Westebeke was running hot all last summer say 200 under heavy steaming. Found the inlet to the heat exchanged was so choked down with salt deposits it was maybe only 20% open.  Replaced all the hoses and cleaned and rebuild exchanger.

Lots of rewiring of lights.  Built a bunch of custom brass parts for fuel shutoff, flagstaff.

Cover should be off soon and ready for paint and varnish weather.

[Siena]

Here's a couple pics of my LED install, I also went ahead and installed another strip above the DC panel.  It really lights up the nav table, love these things.

It was broad daylight so use your imagination

[Siena]

I finally test drove one of my new improvements this evening.  I removed the fluorescent light fixture above the ice box.  I purchased a 5m string of LED light strip and installed a 5' section in the galley.  It runs under the deck from the main bulkhead above the ice box, over the range and sink area.  Wow.  Just wow.  I will take pics but let me just say it really puts out a beautiful spread of light right where you want it in the galley.

Couple notes. 

I bought the 5050 LEDs which are the brighter version, about $15
You can cut them every 3 LEDS and there are solder points there to attach new wires.
I bought the warm white version which has a nice yellow tone just like incandescent bulbs
I installed a small round rocker switch in the aft galley cabinet just to the left of the stove

When I had them in the garage out of the packaging I hooked up the entire string to a spare battery and used my DVM to check the draw.  The 5 meter length drew 3.2A.  So guessing my 5' section draws about 1A. 

I also replaced all the overhead lights with LED bulbs as well as the reading lights.  One of the old bulbs I checked drew 1A, the new LED lights were 0.15A and considerably brighter.  I also used warm white bulbs here.

Overall the total cost for retrofitting LED bulbs was way less than $100 and I cut my Ah usage substantially and got a lot more light.  I wish I got a before and after but I can tell its drastically different

These were the bulbs I used for overhead lights

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131379602658?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Reading lights

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251525795319?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Led light strip

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JMEIZB6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Siena]

In my new varnish craze I locked eyes on the companionway hatch/ladder.  My top tread had a crack in it from being cantilevered out and if it wasn't fixed, it would have gotten worse.  I was trying to figure out how to reinforce it.  I have lots of metal around from aluminum to stainless plate and thought about putting in a plate from below.  Really what I needed was to drive in a rod and epoxy it so the crack wouldn't get worse.

Fortunately at my work we have tons of brass rod so I grabbed a piece of 13/32″ brass rod and set about fixing.  I was just going to do the top step then decided to just do them all for symmetry.  My 4 year old son was helpful in holding a scale so I could drill a 4″ deep hole in a 3/4″ tread.  Even though I consider myself very proficient with a drill, that was nerve wracking especially doing 8 of them.  Chamfered one end, slathered in epoxy and my son manned the dead blow.

This was the top tread.  The whole ladder was looking a little janky so I decided to just do it right.

I used my favorite Bosch jig saw with the tilting fence and cut off the brass rods flush.  Then I carefully belt sanded the edge of the treads to take away some of the wear.  I soaked the whole ladder in citrus stripper and then scraped it clean.  I also did the plywood engine hatch as well.

I sanded the entire ladder down to 220 and gave it a sealer coat of Goldspar satin varnish.  I like that stuff, it lays down great, very easy to get nice coats.  I'll do 5 more and call it good.  The ladder looks 10 times better even with just one coat.

Fortunately the rest of my interior is in excellent shape.  It has 10 coats of new varnish on the sole and the remaining interior I either did in satin or is in good shape.  The only parts that need a little help are the handles and some surrounding trim in the companionway.  But that can get done this summer, I need to get out sailing!

[Siena]

Oh I know, just pulling on your rudders.  I'm in the home stretch for this session of varnish.  Next varnish project (which I can do at the mooring) is to tackle the handrails and some of the smaller bits around the cockpit.  I also want to pull my lewmar hatches and rebed them.  I've heard butyl tape vs caulk wondering what the common wisdom is here?  My boat has teak surrounds that are cambered bonded down to the deck.  The lewmar drops right down on those.  I was thinking of sanding back into good color on the teak and applying penetrating epoxy then a varnish schedule. 

I'm getting a little weeping, just enough to dampen the surround down below but not enough to drip.

Hoping to go for a sail Sunday, wife and kids are getting anxious. 

[Siena]

***tap tap***

This thing on?   Anyone else working like a dog to get things moving in this beautiful weather we are having?

Coat #2 on the exterior, needed a lot of work.

[Siena]

I worked a lot on the boat today it felt great to make some real progress.

Turned the main hatch cover from looking essentially like this

After a lot of sanding including a belt sander

This is with a very thinned first coat of varnish to seal the teak

Only 10 more coats to go

Finally got the name on, wish it was a little bigger ( ) but I think it looks sharp.

Scrubbed the bilge, installed the batteries including make a new ground cable, installed the engine impeller, hooked up the hot water heater, did a ton of sanding and started getting the first coats of varnish on the exterior.  Beat tired but got a lot done

[Siena]

Oh and I also tried to apply the letters on a gusty day…yada yada yada..the new letters arrived today hehe

[Siena]

On coat 3 (or 4…) of the cabin sole.  Finally got the right varnish (schooner96) and the ratio just right.  I abandoned the epifanes varnish brush and went to a foam roller and foam brush for tipping off.  Got a much more even coat by pouring the varnish on the sole panels, rolling out and then tipping off.  Also switched to my old skool porter cable half sheet finish sander does a great job.

No pics but got the bottom painted, zincs on ready to hit the water in a week.  Lots to do though, I think I was a little ambitious with my off season plans ha!

[Siena]

Thanks Mike for the welcome!  We are at the Hingham shipyard.

All of a sudden things hit a fever pitch getting ready.  I decided to remove the entire holding tank (aftermarket plastic) because previous owner had left it, uh, filled for 2 years and the looks from my wife were enough to start the process.  It was a plastic 10 gal tank and the hoses were permeated.  I removed the tank, drained it, cleaned it as best I could.  I then filled it with ice and a strong concentrate of Purple Power, capped the ports and drove around with it in the bed of my truck for 3 weeks.  Worked great.

Reinstalled with new Shields 101 sanitation hose.  I got it at West Marine and they matched the best price I found online which they have been doing for me lately with varnish/paint vs Jamestown.  Although I do end up buying a lot of stuff from Jamestown anyways.  I hope the new hose and the fresh tank go a long way to cutting down on odors.  I also plan to scrub the bilge.

On to fun stuff.  Been meaning to reletter Siena and finally got on it.  I race a lot on a NYYC40 and I was remarking to the skipper how nice and classy his letters looked.  Turns out he does tem himself with a vinyl cutter so I set off for Bristol RI today and made use of his generosity.

Here's the old

I traced the transom and fortunately they have lots of lead ducks being naval architects and a batten.  Here's a couple check for size plots

This was the final version

He has a cool old office in the Herreshoff building, lots of good old pics on the wall.  And “stuff”

Some old Nat Herreshoff power boat hulls they were checking, there are a lot of hull models at the museum too.

So the top layer in gold was cut on the vinyl cutter

And then transferred to the white letters being careful to align everything with transfer tape

So all that is left is to remove the old letters with a heat gun and layout the new letters.  I really like the bronze color he recommended.  He had the flashy gold but I agreed that the bronze satin was a nicer look

Then I hit the sewing machine for some repairs. Let me just say I will never make a living as a seamstress or a sailmaker but I did a decent job sewing on some new Dacron for my UV cover.  I thought the sails were in worse shape but they aren't really bad.  I will have a sailmaker work on them this fall and make a decision about how to proceed.

[Siena]

Thanks for the welcome!

I would love to make it down but it's probably not in the cards this year.  We are planning a week or two having the boat stashed in Newport and maybe a trip to Maine (my home state) in the fall?  I would like to plan a trip south for a winter and keep the boat near Florida as we have family and close friends in the del Ray beach area.  If so the Chesapeake will def be in the list.

The dickerson has just been a wonderful boat, ours had some exceptional stewardship along the line.  The gentlemen I purchased the boat from was not one of those stewards unfortunately but the lack of care was just cosmetic.  The owner before undertook a massive refit, new westerbeke, max prop, simrad hydraulic autopilot, upholstery, Dickinson heater, A/C, new rig, awlgrip etc.  what I'm fixing now is cosmetic.  The interior was a solid 9/10 and with the freshly satin varnished interior and bright teak and holly sole should be a looker.

Just need to get after the exterior varnish this spring, if only there wasn't a 8' snow pile where I need to back my truck up to…

I am possibly in the market for some sails, mine have a season left in them.  If anyone has a lead on some decent cruising sails I'd love to hear from them. 

Thanks

Peter

Hingham, MA

[Author]

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