Finishing the Skeg Repair, New (old) Seacocks and Engine-bay Refurbishment (Project Lottie Ep13)

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In this episode I continue the Contessa 32 refurbishment by finishing off the skeg repair (filling with foam and laminating over the top), fit some “new” seacocks that are in fact rather old bronze Blakes. I also fit a new bulkhead in the engine bay to replace the one removed in the last episode and apply a flowcoat finish to the whole area.
Buy me a beer?…. www.paypal.me/...
If you have enjoyed this video and/or learned something you can now buy me a beer using the link above to make a donation to the channel. If I end up with more that beer tokens I will put it towards a better camera, better mic’s or lighting so that all benefits you the viewer. Many thanks for the donations!
My thanks to the owner for giving me permission to create this content based on the refit of his boat.
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About Me
I run a small business called The Solent Boat Butler and spend my days repairing, maintaining and refitting sailing boats (often Contessa 32’s due to my long experience with them). I'm mostly in the central Solent area of the UK. Being a cruising and racing sailor with many thousands of inshore and offshore sea miles logged I like to think that I bring a great deal of real-world experience to my work and help many new (and not so new) boat owners to improve and maintain their boats. When I'm not fixing boats I also provide some own-boat sail training, help owners with deliveries, provide pre-purchase inspections and deliver consultancy services to those that are refitting their own boats for cruising or racing.
Facebook - thesolentboatbutler
Instagram - george_the_boat_butler
Website - www.solentboatbutler.co.uk
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Disclaimer
I hope that viewers both enjoy and learn something from my videos but please remember to take the appropriate precautions for any DIY refit works you undertake with appropriate PPE and the correct tools for the job. If you are in any way unsure as to how to go about a project or are unsure if something on your boat is safe please consult a professional.
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Music credit - Bensound.com and RU-vid audio library (Dyala and Quincas Moreira) royalty free music.

Опубликовано:

4 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 73

@mickymack1230 Год назад

George this series has to be one of the best on RU-vid, I have learnt so much, big respect for all that hard work. I suspect many do not realise the amount of work needed to shoot and produce a video series like this which is a huge achievement in itself! I would just love to know what the Client would be expected to pay for such a refit and i am sure that must remain confidential. I would like to invite your viewers to comment and speculate as to what such a refit would cost as it would give prospective buyers of older Yachts and particularly Contessa's how much investment is required to get one back to what can only be a superb example of this legendary Sailboat.

@RefitandSail Год назад

Thanks for those kind words, I’m pleased you enjoy and learn something from the series. I specifically don’t talk about cost of the works but will say that people do love these bots for good reason, they are a classic in much the same way as an e-type Jag is or a Morgan so enthusiastic owners can and do invest in them but long term have the job of owning and sailing them which for many owners is priceless. I have owned and been around co32’s all my life so I do share that passion which is probably why I have a waiting list of clients.

@servantofgod5642 17 дней назад

What a fantastic channel. Seeing you in the engineless confines aft reminds me of my steel 25 foot yacht and the need to be a contortionist in the engine room that I took out the old MD 1 Volvo and bought an outboard! Made an extra double berth aft and no more diesel smells.

@denisconnaughton2923 Год назад

Super again George. Thank you.

@RefitandSail Год назад

Pleased you enjoyed it, thanks for watching

@fendykefabs Год назад

Hi George, a very nice common sense approach to all the jobs that have to get done and to please a customer too.!

@RefitandSail Год назад

Thanks

@yoramyannay2150 Год назад

Learning that seized decades old Blakes CAN be freed is certainly encouraging. Two years in a bucket of diesel? i got two of those draining the cockpit on my Westerly. One had its cone head sawed off so removed and installed a new one. The other is still whole, seized, and in place

@RefitandSail Год назад

Probably depends how long it has been seized for but yes, they can with patience and time often be separated and usable again if you have the time.

@bendaves77 Год назад

Or soak it in marvels mystery oil and diesel or kerosene mix..

@bendaves77 Год назад

Seems like that quarter birth could be used for something more useful perhaps like adding some wooden storage drawers and then make the back of it accessible from the bridge or helm whatever the proper wording is.. and get rid of the navigation table for added galley space.. put a cupboard like a lazy susan in the quarter birth or something that uses the space properly

@petrichorfilms Год назад

Totally correct "Stain less" not non corroding, steel rusts but just at different rates depending on type.

@GLF-Video Год назад

I recently found your channel. Excellent work. Very educational. Thanks!!!

@RefitandSail Год назад

Thanks, pleased you like them.

@CrewsFarm Год назад

Another really interesting video. Couple of thoughts - you chose to replace the cover over the skeg with ply (as it was before), but would there have been any advantage in using the same thick glass sheet that you covered the water tank with? Also, I am struggling to see the benefit of replacing the bulkhead behind the engine compartment - bearing in mind that it isn't structural and seems to make life more difficult in an already cramped space. Thanks again George.

@RefitandSail Год назад

Thanks John, pleased you enjoyed it. Yes your boat does not have that bulkhead at all, other boats have it in a slightly different location. I don’t believe it’s structural but it does enclose the engine a bit so may help reduce the engine noise that is transmitted into the living space a bit. Yes I could have used some of that grp sheet over the top of the skeg but I’m not sure I had enough left over. The plywood is just there to give me something I can layup the glass on. The new tube is GRP so will bond much more successfully than the old metal one so low chance of future problems, if that did leak the tube is surrounded by structural foaming epoxy which is also very water resistant so it’s highly unlikely that the plywood top will end up wet and rotten like the old one. If it does I’ll be scratching my head!!

@bendaves77 Год назад

I see a place called fosters ship chandelry makes bronze blakes seacocks.. they definitely aren't cheap but if they're bronze and last a long time they are worth every dollar

@RefitandSail Год назад

I just looked that up and they do say that they are bronze, I wonder if that is an error on their website as the manufacturers describe Blakes as “Cast DZR Brass/Bronze components” which suggests to me that the body and Cone are dzr/cr brass and I suspect the fixing bolts are bronze as they are a slightly different colour when I have bought new ones. I think that chandlery need to amend the description on their web shop.

@stephenrobinson1007 Месяц назад

In one of your videos you mentioned an epoxy which does not suffer with the annoying amine blush as much as other well known epoxy’s. I’ve tried trawling through to find the reference again but no joy. Please put me out of my misery 😅

@RefitandSail 28 дней назад

Try ampro from Gurit

@stephenrobinson1007 27 дней назад

Thanks George 🙏

@thesailingdonkey Год назад

Hi George, Very informative video and great to see the quality of your work. I am trying to spruce up my decrepit engine bay (Ecume de Mer 1974). I seem to have a mix of crazed gelcoat, some areas painted and some areas seem to just be exposed fibreglass. Would you recommend Flocoat or Epoxy paint for this job? Is it enough to degrease and key the area up, or will the different surfaces require different treatments, for example will I need to prime the exposed fibreglass first? Cheers

@RefitandSail Год назад

Flowcoat is probably the best option as it gives you a relatively inexpensive and hardwearing, scrubbable surface but or really wants to be painted directly onto the grp hull or the old flowcoat and if you apply it over pain it can cause the paint to bubble and makes a big mess. Epoxy paint is a good alternate but likewise it shouldn’t really be applied over old pain if that’s what you have. That’s why a lot of people just use regular bilge and locker paint as it gives a reasonable finish and can be applied to most (clean and prepared) surfaces.

@thesailingdonkey Год назад

Mines pretty mangey, so it sounds like bilge paint will be best!

@TheCorsair Год назад

Another great espisode... !

@RefitandSail Год назад

Thanks!

@MicBruise Год назад

Just curious regarding the purpose of that bulkhead you replaced at the aft end of the engine bay. You said that it was not structural, and it's not a watertight bulkhead (especially after you cut a hole in it for the exhaust hose). Why replace it, if it is not structural?

@RefitandSail Год назад

Good question and you are not the only one to ask it. I’m 98% sure it’s not a structural necessity (based on some co32’s not having it but most do although not always in the same place). Having it there does allow better and easier soundproofing of the engine bay, it compartmentalises the engine bay so there may be less noise/smell transmission if it’s more closed off. That said a well installed and maintained engine should not give off any diesel smells as that would indicate a leak.

@MicBruise Год назад

@@RefitandSail Thanks for the explanation.

@bonafideadventures8425 Год назад

I fail to see the need of seacocks there to be honest with you. those are pretty good looking seacocks but it’s usually the sea cocks that fail and sink the boat. It used to be the hose but the hoses are better these days and don’t need to be worried about anymore. I guess it’s a better be safe than sorry right

@julianmarksuk Год назад

Many thanks - another excellent recording with lots of useful information. I note your comments regarding the use of SS in contact with sea water. However, my prop shaft is SS. Why doesn't it corrode?

@RefitandSail Год назад

It’s a good question, probably find the prop shaft it’s not made from 304 or 316 but many are made from Duplex or other harder grade of stainless. The shafts I get for clients are always F51 duplex (google it). Your shaft is also in free flowing water which is oxygenated. Where stainless suffers most is when wet and the water is trapped such as a deck fitting that is leaking slightly so the fixing is trapped in water so ideal conditions for crevice corrosion. Hope that makes sense.

@julianmarksuk Год назад

Thanks

@thedailydeary7787 Год назад

Hi George, great videos. I was wondering if a primer coat over the epoxy would be a good idea as opposed to gelcoat straight to the epoxy. I have always thought there were some bonding issues and a intermediate coat was needed. Thanks again

@RefitandSail Год назад

Hi, pleased you enjoyed the videos. To answer the question (and it has been asked before so you are not alone) yes it is ok to apply polyester gel/flowcoat over epoxy in some situations. You are not going to get a chemical bong between the two because they are dissimilar resins but if the epoxy is completely 100% fully cured AND there is a good key (sanded/abraded or texture from peel ply) on the surface you will achieve a good mechanical bond between the two. Hope this answers the question. Problems can arise when the epoxy is not fully cured or the self ace prep is not good enough.

@PaulAnderson-xv2xd Год назад

Beer is good.

@dcdow180 6 месяцев назад

This is a brilliant program but one thing I can’t understand, why put expensive bronze seacocks on the scuppers, they are never going to be used like an engine/ toilet seat cock so what’s the point. My scuppers drain straight into the sea. Another point you don’t like a filter at the top! A filter is there to stop large objects rolling down and jamming up the system as I’m sure you will agree the system you have would be a nightmare to resolve

@RefitandSail 6 месяцев назад

Seacocks on the cockpit drains are essential as they are sit below the water, if the hose failed (maybe doe to old age or maybe from heat damage if there was a fire in the engine bay) the seacock can be closed to save sinking. I don’t like grills on the scuppers as they always seem to block up with rubbish, I guess they would also catch anything accidentally dropped but I’d rather the drains worked as well as possible if needed and take the risk on dropping/loosing something down it.

@kbbarton1 Год назад

I would imagine that pulling off the peel-ply is "satisfying" for the same reason that pulling off the blue painters tape off of the waterline after painting the hull is satisfying since it signifies the end of a job that requires a lot of tedious prep work.

@RefitandSail Год назад

I think you are right there although one of the reasons for using peel ply is that you can laminate direct to the textured surface it leaves so pulling it off may just mean you need to do the next lot of laminating too.

@TheOldGuy Год назад

Really appreciate your explanations on the "why" you do things certain ways. When you cover up the screw heads on the outside of the hull, do you need to do anything to the thru hole itself? It looked like there was an edge that could use a small amount of filling, or will that be taken care of with the primer? Thanks!

@RefitandSail Год назад

Thanks for the comment, pleased you enjoy the videos. Yes a very small amount of filling will be required, the holes for the cockpit seacock were slightly oversize (the through hull fittings removed were just a smidge bigger) so when I fill the screw heads in I will also put a bit of fill around the hole just to tidy it up, it’s only a couple of mm.

@AndrewandGillLee Год назад

Hi George,.When would you deem it necessary to fix any through hull to a backing spacer (wood or other?).Great channel and enjoyed your transatlantic voyage.Andrew Lee

@RefitandSail Год назад

There are two situations when a backing pad or backing spacer are necessary, 1 if the hull is not flat and you need to make a flat surface for the through-hull nut to tighten up against. 2 if the hull is a bit thin you may want to add some more material to the hull in the area of through-hull hole. For 1 anything can be used (12mm plywood for example). For 2 I would advocate using a backing pad made from grp sheet that can be securely bonded to the hull. The engine seacock on Lottie (composite trudesign) uses a grp backing to make a flat area.

@andrewhebden2793 Год назад

All Gauntlets seacock are all Forespar which are very similar to Trudesigns. The cockpit drain seacocks are further for’d than Lottie’s and are for’d of the engine bay aft bulkhead. They are accessible from the quarter berth therefore Gauntlet does not have or need an access hatch in the port cockpit locker. Interestingly Gauntlet’s cockpit drains are not crossed and as this has never been an issues other than some gurgling I have left them as is. As everyone says, Contessa 32s are all the same except where they are different! It is a Slack/Bridgelands Mouldings boat though.

@andrewhebden2793 Год назад

P.S. I made my aft bulkhead removable to get at anything behind it in the future as the stbd access hatch does not go that far. The ‘Quietlife’ soundproofing I am fitting seals it nicely.

@RefitandSail Год назад

Yes they are all a bit different depending on when or who they were built by. The interior build evolved during the JR build era, other builders did their own thing too. I have worked on so many now it’s been interesting to see how the exact method of build has evolved and I can normally tell what year a boat is by looking at a few key indicators inside and out.

@GBRmedic Год назад

Love the videos (I do enjoy a good refit series)... May I ask about the cockpit scuppers? ...you have the hoses cross over (presumably with good cause). Wouldn't that lead to issues draining to leeward side of the cockpit? Or is that to prevent siphoning water up the leeward drain while heeled?

@RefitandSail Год назад

Thanks for the comment, I pleased you enjoy the videos. It’s common but not essential to cross over the cockpit drains, I believe this helps reduce the amount of water that comes into the cockpit when heeling. The cockpit sole is very close to the static waterline and when heeling over the crossing of hoses means that the drain that would normally be underwater is connected to a seacock that is on the high side. That should reduce the chance of wet feet. That’s the theory at least, I have only ever sailed co32’s with crossed over hoses and when heeled over there is minimal water in the cockpit sole but I obviously can’t compare to a boat I haven’t sailed.

@damienduggan9060 Год назад

Loving the channel George and a big fan of your work. Quick question if you don’t mind. Why use flowcoat as opposed to a bilge paint of some sort. Thanks a mill

@RefitandSail Год назад

Hi, thanks for the comment, pleased you like the videos. Nothing wrong with using bilge and locker paint, indeed it will be used in other parts of Lottie. The flowcoat (also known as a gel wash) is slightly preferable as you only need to apply one coat and you get a thick, hard and scrubable coating, more so than a paint, it also lasts indefinitely unless physically damaged. Paint needs less prep, is easier to apply but you generally have to apply a number of coats to get the same quality of finish and it is more prone to physical damage when cleaning. So both are perfectly good options and the lockers that have previously been painted will be painted again. In the areas that have minimal paint (because of the works I have been doing or because they have the original flowcoat coating I will flowcoat again.

@damienduggan9060 Год назад

@@RefitandSail Thanks for the info George. I’ll be doing an engine bay in March so that’s super helpful 👍

@secretsquirrel6124 Год назад

are you going to drill a drain hole in the bulkhead to drain the rear of the bulkhead into the bilge in case of leaks? also do you know if there is a Contessa with the galley moved infront of the chart table so its possible to have rear quarter berths port and starboard? seems a waste of space to enclose the area behind the engine as it could be used for various different things batterys/inverters/watermakers/engine spares

@RefitandSail Год назад

Yes absolutely, it will want some limber holes (drain holes) it will also need holes for the exhaust hose and the engine controls. There is a cockpit locker on the starboard side so not really possible to have two rear quarter berths without loosing a really useful and large locker. The space behind that bulkhead is relatively small so while you could store some bits on there if you were pushed for space I would not want it to be anything you need in a hurry and certainly nothing too heavy that far back in the boat.

@luisteixeira9841 Год назад

Stainless steel 316 is rust prove, everybody use, you need to clean sometimes because of the salt and the oxygen and stainless steel doesn't like each other.

@RefitandSail Год назад

I wish that were the case, 316 or A4 stainless is definitely a higher grade stainless steel and is more resistant but it can still rust/corrode when it is in water for a long period. There are better/higher greases of stainless than 316 depending on what properties you want but they are not commonly available as fastenings and would be prohibitively expensive.

@michaelmather7352 Год назад

@@RefitandSailyes chemical grade or medical grade screws but like you said they cost more.

@pironiero 5 месяцев назад

music levels in timelapses are constantly much louder that your actual voice, fits nicely tho, but kind of too loud

@RefitandSail 5 месяцев назад

Yea, I get better at video editing with practice! More recent videos are more consistent on the volume.

@bluedogozwoofer6737 Год назад

just curious re that rechargeable cloth cutter ? any observations - suggestions ? again, thanks for the video

@RefitandSail Год назад

I have seen a few different companies offer electric scissors like mine but they all seem pretty similar. Mine works well and I think it was about £100 GBP a few years ago.

@matthewsellers82 Год назад

Working in engine bays I always thought the perfect physique would be that of a contortionist, body-building, midget. Turns out that during WW2 one of the big aircraft manufacturers went around the traveling carnivals recruiting small people to work in confined spaces.

@RefitandSail Год назад

I think you may be onto something but I’m not sure you are allowed to advertise a job where you need to specify a person of small stature. P.s. thanks for the donation too, it’s appreciated!

@Baddco Год назад

Any reason for mot using coated foam board rather than ply to avoid rot?

@mickey1299 Год назад

Yes i would be seriously interested in that answer myself . Sorry George , i'm back again , but i am genuinely interested in that answer .

@matthewsellers82 Год назад

Properly prepped and sealed marine ply won't fail (if ever) until long after you and I are pushing up daisies.

@RefitandSail Год назад

No reason not to use a lightweight foam board for this application but also no great benefit. If I was trying to make a super light race boat then you may consider it but the plywood I have in stock is very high quality marine plywood and now it’s coated there is no reason why it should not last extremely well.

@mickey1299 Год назад

@@RefitandSail Thanks George . Ya got another subscriber

@Baddco Год назад

Thanks. Keep up the good work