Major Underwater Repairs Without Haulout? Sailing Yes Let's 14 

I couldn't have said it better, !

@@setkacagarro-blogspot-com Credit where credit is due innit Nathan. Totally brilliant structural repair on a beach anywhere in the world with a decent tide. Astonishing yet obvious on a Wharram... designed for it yet we still need ar Dominic to show us his way... BOOM... she's done! Brilliant!

thanks for the encouragement @@Artiz... really appreciate it!

@@dominictarrsailing Love the way you just crack on and make it happen Dominic... the Wharrams are the boats of the people and watching you live your dreams through 'Yes Let's' in all your authentic glory is just astonishing... every episode too mate! Gotta encourage talent like yours Dom... 'natural' innit mate! Smart people catch on pretty quick so it won't be too long before you get some much deserved support and revenue coming in! The work you are doing providing invaluable video information/boat repairs/Proa/skiff ('backbone') building FOC here on YT is now recognised by most people who really enjoy helping in anyway they like, can and do! It is for most of us now exactly what RU-vid is all about! Fair winds Dominic... I'll still be watching when there's a million of us out here, so crack on Skipper!

thank you for watching and the encouraging comment!

no problem thanks for watching!

thank you!

hmm, you mean the top of the up standing center part? I may have given it a quick run over with the grinder but not much of a bevel no. Or do you mean the bottom edge? that's certainly beveled from the welding. It is bedded in a lot of epoxy at least so I hope it turns out okay!

@@dominictarrsailing Yes, the bottom edge, against the horizontal plate. Without any bevel, it butts up on its edge to the bottom plate, at right angles. The weld along the bottom probably didn't get right through to the centre of the vertical plate. I didn't see what you put on the stainless to separate it from the plywood. It should have a good layer of epoxy in the "notch" before inserting the skeg. If you simply put the skeg next the wood, and hoped that the outer layer of fibreglass would stop water ingress, I'm afraid that wont work very well. The water will wick into the "notch" and start corrosion of the skeg.

@@dnomyarnostaw oh loads of epoxy in the notch, I am not worried about that. And also would have wetted it out first. but that's a part I forgot to film. I see what you mean about the bevel now. Well, it's glued in now! I'll see how it goes

thanks!

Why drink anything but the best?? Sometimes things also work out better than expected such as the polytarp sail or the proa!

thanks Rich!

The other side is also stainless, and I don't see it showing any problems. I dry this boat out regularily, so plenty of chance for the stainless to get a breather. I did weld quite slowly but you could be right, I'm pretty new to welding. This is my biggest welding project so far. I'm thinking of redoing the rudders in stainless anyway, because have already rusted a bit too much at the bottom where they fit over the pintle.

Stainless Steel positively Hates Seawater, and rapidly starts cracking up in it. Why I well never have a Stainless Steel Anchor or Chain. thankfully total failures with both, are starting to become more Public, and hopefully we'll the end of it being used in such critical applications. Trouble is, it can be really hard to spot just how Nasty things have become inside the Metal. No problem on Deck where it loves being polished, and where it does appear to love Being polished with a Cloth with Vaseline/Petroleum Jelly on it - I'll be doing some long term testing to Confirm this hopefully, starting Fairly soon, with oversized Cleats, side deck Stanchions, Stainless tube safety rails and Cabin top handholds, stuff like that. Should have some useful provisional observations, within a few years with luck. Best Wishes and Fair Winds. Bob in Wales. 👍⛵️✨️✨️✨️

thanks! yeah finally back to how it was all working in Janurary!

haha thanks Rael!

for sure! some parts where a lot of work (such as clearing the hole and fitting the new skeg) but also most other steps required time for the epoxy to set so I made a plan and knew that I had to get the fitting done by a certain date to have time to seal and paint it properly!

thanks!

thanks!

with this fix I got things back to where it was in jan. I'm doing some coastal cruising right now. got a few more improvements planned before the next big voyage

thank you!

thanks! 👍

thanks!

A careful beach selection is essential for a project like this! how fast does polyester go off? what sort of catamaran are you fixing? I'm using fast hardener here. (although I use fast hardener all year, just do small batches, NZ is temperate, though). I wasn't too worried about the blocking. I had big planks on the bottom, and blocked up the hulls enough so it definitely wouldn't float on the next tide, but then only jacked up the corner of one hull I needed to work on. It was okay except for a whole week where the sink didn't drain properly! definitely more blocks the better though, and really should be longer ones that can be stacked two side by side, alternating direction.

A Woods Gypsy. I am West coast Scotland, ‘beach’, have take what there is, most of the shore is rock pebbles, so not good if any waves at high tide. Polyester goes off in about twenty minutes. Cheap and cheerful, especially as it will be mostly cut back sometime. When I do the full job, either all epoxy, or just the final coat to ensure a good waterproof seal. There are thoughts it doesn’t stick to epoxy, but if you abrade well and clean off, it is fine. It is worth keeping a tub of car body bridging / filler on board, I have sealed a crack below the waterline from the inside, by holding a fist sized lump over the crack, although separated with polythene and wearing rubber glove, I still had to be cut out!

​@@markthomasson5077 got it! I looked it up, woods gypsy is 1.8 tonnes dry, and pahi 31 is 1.5 (on paper) so same ballpark. I'm also considering dragging up the beach with a "comealong". Which I now have on board but havn't tried yet. On greased wood blocks. This is how they used to do it. It's why they call it a "slipway". And bury the anchor deep to pull back out.

@@dominictarrsailing good idea, would not work on a Gypsy. She has stub keels…well one remains. I did consider air bag rollers, but at a max of 600kg, just a bit small. One thing worth having is four old tyres, string them under the hulls when beaching to save damage. I suspect my Gypsy is a bit more than the 1.8t. My 2t trolley Jack only just lifts one hull.

@@markthomasson5077 hmm what rollers? are these just inflatable fenders? I see lots of mention of using these as rollers but I can't find a listing that includes a rating. If your weight is significantly over the design the water line would be much higher. You should be able to estimate from that, especially since the gypsy has pretty straight sides and not much overhang.

the boat IS home base! all my tools are already aboard ;)

@@dominictarrsailing What about the welding, is that a workshop you are regularly able to access?

@@fossilfool ah yes that's at a hacker space hackland.nz/ (metal/wood down stairs, sewing/3d printers upstairs, appears in episodes 11-14)

@@dominictarrsailing Sweet! If I ever visit New Zealand I will try to visit.

@@fossilfool you are invited sailing if you do come!

what problems did you observe? what would you prefer to build a boat from?

@@dominictarrsailing Delamination and general degradation, even after twin pot paint protection from new. Frankly a other issue has appeared since though it is (incorrectly ) assumed to only apply to the Tropics, and that is Destruction by Termites. Termites are also a serious Problem in Europe, and look to have been confirmed in the South West of England. So many Customers Boats had been affected with Termite cestruction of Plywood, , that Island Packet have totally abandoned the use of Plywood on their boats. That is one of important reasons why I am planning the purchase of a New Island Packet as soon as possible tbh, as I need to spend at ,east a few years in the Tropics and I don't plan on it being a voyage just delivering Termite Meals. Best Wishes and Fair Winds. Bob in Wales. 🤔👍⛵️✨️✨️✨️

@@dominictarrsailingPS. For the Warmer Latitudes nothing beats GRP possibly best Laminated with Vinylester, as pretty much anywhere you go in the Worled, there are People Skilled with using it for modifications, repairs etc, and no shortage of Competent Amateurs. For the Severe Latitudes, Arctic, and Antarctic Regions, Steel, as Good Enough Welders with the necessary gear, are not that difficult to find. Aluminium hulls and Seawater ? Pass - you really have to keep well on top of those things, and once they start corroding, look out. For Cruisers though, imho, Anodized Aluminium Masts continue to be the best choice, especially if in Mast Furling, for the Superb UV Protection of the Sail they offer when Furled. the only bit of extra detail to deal with for UV, is the UV protection needed under the Furling Slot. Bob. 👍

A note concerning Aluminium Masts, following on from below. There is a Marine Hard Silicon Polish rated as good protection in a Marine Environment for 10 years (I can Vouch for 8 years, and it was still like new when the Boat was sold) This is like the Liquid Diamond type Car Polish (which may serve as effectively, just needing reapplying more Frequently ). However, new boat and Mast to you, I'd try to get the Marine one, as for Survey the Mast ends to be unstepped, if it isn't already. So thorough inspection and Mast Clean over, Polish everything with that hard shell protective Polish. You can pretty much guarantee that the Mast is going to be unstepped, inside 10 years can't you ? Tip, When applied to New Polycarbonate, UPVC and such, it protects those brilliantly as well. I used it on my Parents new UPVC Fascias and Soffit Boards for their House in 1989, and having only had occasional quick blasts with the pressure washer, when cleaning my Motorbike, they look as though my Father only fitted them yesterday. Worst thing you can do with plastics, is scrub them as you create micro scratches which bet filthy, the dirtier they get, the more you scrub, the Dirtier they get, so apply a hard Silicon Shell to their Surface when new, and they can last, and last. Bob. 👍

@@brownnoise357 I wouldn't have in-mast furling personally. If it jams you have a big problem. At least roller furling on the boom can have backup slab reef points. On my monohull I had all reefing lines to the cockpit so I could reef the main easily. (tying down the loose section only necessary on 2nd or 3rd reefs, and that could be done a bit later when the situation is under control) I met someone that had been on a boat trying to sail from NZ to Europe via cape horn and had to turn back mid pacific(!) because the in-mast furling failed! Of course they had to get the sail off by fully unfurling it then remove the full length vertical batons (!!!) while it was way too windy!

thanks!