Sail Life - Back in the shed, patching holes & removing deck hardware - DIY boat repair 

That winch handle deck fill looks awesome! I don't know about anyone else, but nifty boat parts make me happy XD

🤔 I sure wish your videos were an hour or more longer. I just can't get enough. Cheers buddy. Jay 😎

I have discovered the one thing which a DIYer must have to do any boat project...It is a beat-up old red screwdriver which was never intended to do any of the jobs it is required to do.

Good to see you've dug the 'shorts' out for the hot weather Mads !

Lots of visible progress this week. Must be encouraging.

It is easy to make a slotted tool to help get the green one open, also use silicone grease on the o ring to stop the excessive friction. One more thing, YOU are freaking Awesome. I enjoy watching your videos so much.

Youve become a master fiberglass repair man..

You should contact the guys on the NYC CNC channel. I'm sure that they would machine new cleats for you at a more reasonable price, as it would make great content for their fusion Fridays or widget Wednesday videos. I would love to see a video on how to model a cleat in fusion 360 as well as mill it out. Just a suggestion. I love your videos, keep up the good work.

Regarding deck fills, keep looking. Plenty of other choices out there. And I strongly suggest that you select fills that are color coded as to use. Especially true when multiple deck fills are present.

Type “A” without doubt. A quarter turn is fair enough. Flush mounted, easy to use winch handle, no metal to metal for the threading, etc. but maybe some more searching for other options? As other commented, colour coded fills is a splendid idea!

The deck fill with the winch handle to open for fuel, the other for H20! You can always use slip joint pliers or a crescent wrench as a helper to get it unstuck!

Not a boat guy, but I am an avid DIY person. With respect to deck fills, I vote for "A" - the quarter-turn winch-handle fill. I like that it has a tether, won't be cross-threaded, and uses a tool commonly available on deck.

Wow, the right tools do make a huge difference.

Athena is looking good and its awesome you were abled to get to use the shed again this year. I like the deck fittings with the winch handle adaptor.

My vote on the deck fitting is B, When you turn the 1/4 turn and damage the stops, you have no ability to tighten down the O-ring. At least with the thread plug, if the O-ring fails, you can seal the threads with some teflon tape temporarily. Also make yourself a small T-handle for the top of B. 2" pvc pipe with a notch to fit plug and dowel rod to make the T handle for leverage.

Your inventive solutions to all these weird problems never ceases to amaze me. I'm learning so much that I apply to working on my automobile. Love your videos.

It's a no brainer, go with "A" but get extra "O" rings. As for filling holes, fill em all. Yo may not want to put components/hardware back in original place. Also, remember the placement of dingy. If using a ridged dinghy either davits off the back or cradle on deck. For cradle on deck it's very easy to rig a stowable crane. You just need a 10 foot pole, three pulleys, a base plat and rope. But if using an inflatable (preferable RIB type as you can deflate the sponsons when stowed) you can just use a halyard.

Good to see you're back in the shed. Great video, thank you.

My vote is for traditional chromed bronze screw in style deck fills. Neither of those two look very long lasting to me, not sure I'd want plastic on a fitting that will get opened frequently. you overbuilt your diesel tank with stainless, why go to plastic on the fuel fill?

Hi Mads, we replaced our deck fills recently and chose caps with fold down handles and stamped in labelling, diesel, water, waste. So far they work great.

Quarter twist gets my vote.

Enjoyed the video. Looking forward to seeing Athena's new look.

First time comment, love your channel Mads. You must use the one with the big black o-ring. The o-ring makes the seal. Tightness does not improve the seal. If it locks after 1/4 turn, that is all you need. Keep up the great work!

To remove adhesive residue try REMOV. I covered all my port lights with duct taped plastic for a year. REMOV made removing the duct tape adhesive possible without employing aggressive or abrasive methods. The Gel coat was unharmed. Follow the directions carefully, especially the twenty minute wait between application and removal.

A tip for the gloves when fiberglassing, it really helps to wear 3 or 4 pairs. You don’t have to worry about it getting through, and if you need a clean glove you can just rip one off.

I know I'm late but in regards to deck hardware, I'd recommend using two different kinds of deck fills. One for diesel, that requires a tool to open, and one for water that doesn't require a tool. That way it's harder to mix up the two tank fills.

Thanks for sharing this Mads. You've had us all hooked on your project for a long time. We all would love longer videos......but are ever mindful how much time it takes to edit these things. The beauty in them is they are basic and simple in one respect, but so full of fascinating approaches in problem solving. Your tenacity and meticulousness, is a wonderful example to us all. Another great thing to look forward to every Sunday. As always...thanks for all you do.

Raise the deck fill for the diesel fuel by 5mm or more by either a fiberglass panel cut slightly larger than the diameter of the deck fill. That way the deck water sheds away from the fill and you wont strictly rely on the seal to keep water out of your fuel tank during a hard rain. Leave the water fill low and positioned such that you can capture deck water during a rain into your water tanks.

Great vid. You are getting better then some of the so called professionals. Well done keep em coming.

Grrr I have just found your videos and have just watched hours in my holidays. Thought I would just binge watch and see the end. Now I’m waiting like 1000s of other for the next one. You have done a such great job of making sanding and watching paint dry so damm interesting, informative and fun to watch that I can’t wait to see your next post. I’m sure it will be a fixture of my week.

My deck fills are from 1979 still work great I put vaseline on them every time I fill never any water in my tanks and easy to open! replace the O-Rings every two years or so!

Deck fill B offers a better means of reducing chances of leaks. Slight compression of that "O" ring is all that's needed. Provided the deck fill is not mounted in an area prone to excessive flex and potential deformation, the long threaded cap would provide a good solid seal. The other option seems less durable for long term use. Oh! and thanks for the sanding.

Good luck at the dentist. My vote on filler hardware is for the one with the winch fitting. Personally I don’t like plastic fittings like those, and I find myself increasingly appreciating flush mounting as much as humanly possible on the deck. My recommendation is to get an extra fitting of the type you decide on for the on-board spare parts kitty. When you’re that far into a rebuild like Athena you’ve got every right to fret snd fuss over the smallest of details. Cheers

+1 for the winch-handle style filler, I liked that the cap looked like it was captive so can't blow overboard. I've never seen the other style before, the 'grip' looks way too slippery, even in dry conditions. It would be cool if the insert in the cap could be ordered in different colors to help identify which tank you're filling or emptying.

Lubing the o-ring on the deck fill will help with the stiffness and still keep a good seal.

I keep envisioning that 10 years from now Maad's Built Boats will be much sought after. Spider alert 13:12. Good luck with the tooth extraction.

This video is pure theraphy

Ok Mads, I'm pretty sure if I sent you a single keel bolt, you could build/fabricate the boat to go with it! Therefore , I'd recommend making your own tool to ease opening the harder to open fill port. Whip up some of that epoxy wrap the do-flicky in saran wrap, sink it in it, let it harden, then attach a handle of some type to increase your mechanical advantage. Cheers and keep up the great videos!

Spinlock everything (clutches, jam cleats, organizers, etc. ) they are expensive but the best by leaps and bounds.

Having done Kiwi Grip on our boat my suggestion would be just go with one large area. There is enough going on up there without the added look of a non skid grid and getting the lines and look correct would be an aggravation that easily avoided. For the deck fills I would opt for option C, Metal cap with slot and hole for a key, I can use the back of the blade on my knife to start it open. My boat is over 30 years old and they still look good, no corrosion.

Have your local machine shop create a threaded plug for the deck fill with the winch handle socket. Would be pretty easy for them.

Not a fan of either of those fill caps, to be honest. Any other options? I have a flip lever to hand screw my caps on this '01 hunter, and I like them a lot. If they get too tight, I can always use a tool. Most vessels I see have a slotted 2 hole chrome cap which needs a key, but is pretty much a standard here in the US. Manual control is very convenient, but you also might want to to consider getting all of your fills (water, waste, fuel) squared away with the same type of cap system if it will need a key.

To me no question the choice is A. That big o ring will seal fine even though it is a quarter turn fitting. In 10 years having that winch handle available will be wonderful. The most trouble I've seen after a bit of time is getting the fittings open.

Another great video Mads, thanks and keep em coming.

Again a good video Mads! Even my wife and children are looking forward to see your endeavours rifitting Athena on Sundays. Keep up the good work 👍

I like the winch handle one, because of the ability to have some leverage, but the otherone you could use pliers of some sort

Definitely A. Winch handle saves lives.

Can't wait to see all the progress you'll make. It must be so nice to be back in that shed!

This truly is a complete restoration...

Things are looking good on Athena! Good luck with the wisdom tooth extraction hope that all goes well. For what its worth, I say that you should do with the winch type deck fills.

Mads, I've been binge watching for the last couple of weeks and today I'm all caught up with your project. First, thank you for sharing and congratulations, not everybody understands the satisfaction of doing something you have never done before and how fulfilling is to rise to the challenge and met it straight on. For that, I salute you. Now, I'm sure you have already selected the type bottom paint you are going to use but may I give you some advice. As an engineer and with many, many years of experience as a NACE Certified Coatings Inspector in the field of epoxies coatings and repair putties I can tell you that not all epoxies are the same and that if ATHENA was my project I would look into using very low permeation epoxy coating which incorporates microscopic glass flakes which further prevents water permeation (osmosis in your case). By the way, this would be considered an intermediate coating before the anti-fouling. This type of coating is more prevalent in the oil/gas industry as storage tank coatings specifically designed for extended durability under constant immersion and chemical attack. As you can imagine if it is designed to last 15 to 20 years in the bottom of a crude oil tank, protecting the hull of a sailboat would be a walk in the park. You could ask the PPG technician you featured a while back for a recommendation from their INDUSTRIAL coatings line. If you were here in the good old USA I would recommend a storage tank epoxy coating modified with polysulfide for added flexibility and impact resistance especially at low temperatures where regular bis-A, bis-F epoxies become brittle and easily crack because of movement or impacts. One more thing, if you are looking for a once and forget sealant, do look into industrial polysulfide sealants. They are not the easiest to apply and they are rather smelly while they cure but once cured, nothing in the market beats them especially in fuel(diesel, kerosene, etc) UV resistance and cold weather performance. If you have a question about coatings I would gladly provide you with my two cents. Godspeed with Athena and next time I raise my glass the Skál will be in your honor.

This episode has been, without any surprise or doubt, wonderfully satisfying to watch and enjoy!

If it was me, I'll pick "A" - its cover is more flush. The cover of "B" seems to protrude more [ie. higher].

Just started too watch you channel last night. Impressive and very addictive! I lost some hours of sleep :-) Keep up the good work, take care and, how knows, some day we might see Athena in the water :-)

Good progress! I always look forward to watching this project. Your videos are an inspiration.

You should use a small drill bit to stop drill any cracks so the crack cannot continue on the bottom side of the deck.

Hope all goes well tomorrow :D

Liked the video Mads. I would go for the 1/2 turn filler caps. No fiddling with threads and a you have big wrench or two to remove them. Fair winds & regards from the UK

Looking good!!! Keep up the great work.you sure have some great videos 👍👍👍👍⚓️⚓️⚓️

Congrats on getting Athena back indoors! Regarding the deck fills: my vote is for the winch handle style that you showed. My reasoning is that as a quarter-turn cap you will never run the risk of cross-threading and spoiling the threads. I'm not crazy about the orange color scheme though. Good luck with the wisdom tooth.

Nice job

Having restored 3 boats we love your videos. We uploaded a video this evening and Ant gave you a mention (yes it was about sanding) Its good to see you sharing knowledge Mad's. If you can pass on some insight as you go through the journey, and it brings benefit to others..... Keep posting and sharing the knowledge, oh and keep sanding!!! Ant & Cid xx

Congrats on the inside move

Haa haa haa haa! "It's going to get blisteringly hot today. Haa haa haa. "Cooked alive" Haa haa haa. In southern Turkey there is the exact opposite problem you can't epoxy shit in the summer. Once you get past 48C all bets are off on everything. Awesome work it's looking great. Good luck with the tooth.

Option "B": Because plastic will sooner or later be destroyed by the wrench (it has on my boat). Okay, your version has metal enforcement at the top, but it is only at the top. If option "A" turns out to be difficult to open, any wrench will do the trick, and some lubricant should make it move easily.

It is amazing how far you have come since you put Athena in the shed last year. Awesome work! Thank you for another spiffy video :)

Of the two go with the winch handle one, mostly if you can get a Blue one for freshwater.

Very nice video, a lot of progress. Option A

Mads the boat looks beautiful. I'd go with the winch handle operated filler cap.

You are correct ! Athena looks SO MUCH BETTER than she did the last time she was in the shed ! Does the shed stay reasonably cool for most of the day ? Metal buildings like that can turn into ovens !!

Happy summer Mads... We are still somewhat cold on the east coast of Canada.... Cheers from PEI , Bryan.

Hi Mads, I have had the Rutgerson caps on my Kaskelot for over a year now. They have been used regularly over the year as i live onboard. Heat, freezing cold etc. No problem what so ever. Easy to open and close. They have a little stainless steel tool that can be purchased separately and with the tool it’s not so easy to overthighten. Extra o- rings are probably very easy to order from the manufacturer. I have put some waterfree vaseline on mine and the work very good that way. We had some issues with dieseltheft here in the Gothenburg area so i just put a shut off valve under deck on my hoses. Good luck with your work on the boat. Best regards Jonas G

the deck looking good mads.

That new hatch is looking mighty spiffy m8 👍.

great video mads :):):):)

Deck fills. I'm in love with the idea of using the winch handle however like you I don't really like the quarter turn part. In addition the plastic body seems like something that may possibly distort later and be prone to leaking. Perhaps you could get something called a "shackle wrench" that has a slotted part that would grab the cap on the threaded version.

Option B, threads are better than than the slide lock B.S. and you will be able to get much better leverage with both hands on the lid than one hand on the lid/one hand on the bottom.

Great video on DIY i am following it.

The winch handle filler cap is better I think because it will be harder to cross thread and break. If you cross thread the other one not only will it either be impossible to remove but if you did you will most likely strip the thread and it will never seal again anyway. Great videos...love your how to style.

Nice, tight editing!

i think.. b its most needed... i dont trust on close system on option a A... And option B can easy open and it closes perfect... I read other comments here and i disagree with... coz in first time u have never depends on tools instead your own hands... i think.. i repeat the option B is most needed there.. i really reallly enjoy your time doing this dude.. Thanks..

Hi Mats, I would go for the winch handle type. Your toes will be gratefull for not hitting that edge when mounting it in the deck.

Not sure what’s worse. You making epoxy jokes or me totaling understanding and laughing with you about your epoxy jokes.

During our last years cruising foreign ports, we saw at least 3 boats that put water in the diesel tank OR diesel in the fresh water tanks!!! We installed fresh water fills on stbd. side and diesel on the port. But two different type of fills would work great also!

A. And use a 10 MM ring to raise the tank fill because of water flussing the deck our rain. Raised wil prevent water coming in easy when the cap is not tight enough.

Great to see the progress !! I like seeing the attention to detail. I’ll be in Prince Rupert soon and hope to hook up with Alfi

Madds I vote for something alone the line of Victory Deck Files

Hi just a suggestion, The cap you have to open by hand looks the better filler. If you made a purpose made tool opening would be very easy too.

A. Is the answer. Won’t trip on it and you won’t crush it by walking on it . But A is not a great choice because it should screw closed with the winch handle. Keep looking

"In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of sanding."

mixed bag you say Mads? love a good variety :)

on the fill. plastic against metal never a good idea. plus indents in the deck always catch water and sand, if the other is a little slippery put some deck grip on the cap. happy trails

Hi Mads.... hoping for a speedy recovery for the tooth.... I hope you have a way of securing the openings of Athena or get the valuables off.....

It's nice get to relax after a day of diy... By watching some diy. ;) I'd go with the winch style personally. Not only would the other one be hard to open when wet, but also when it heats up it cold be even harder to open.

If you plan on visiting the tropics make your deck a really really light colour I lived in the tropics for many years and to keep it possible to walk on the deck I had to go to almost an off white

Great progress, nice to be out of the weather eh? I like the winch handle style hardware for convenience, but the other looks better. Take care.

Another good one. The new deck hardware looks good and as usual is far more expensive than it looks.

I have one of those, that takes a winch-handle to open. Have cost me two winchandles so far.

No 1 esp if you can get it with a ss funnel , keep going I'm injoying you vids.

Option A on the fill. Oh and I think Bosch needs to name a sander after you!