Somerledi | Shannon 28 Updates

Back on Somerledi for more bottom removal fun. The scope of this mobile project is to restore her bottom (new barrier coat and anti-foul paint), plus new seacocks and thru-hulls, and other items as time permits given the owner's desire to relocate Somerledi to New York.

I was back at the full Tyvek and full-face respirator for removal of the 5 layers of anti-foul paint, stopping short of removal the existing barrier coat paint over top of the original gelcoat. As mentioned in previous posts, through removal of the bottom paint there were quite a number of blisters that revealed themselves - both repaired and newly forming blisters. The new forming blistering are very small, and after grinding a few out, it is apparent that the blisters are forming in the first layer of glass - a lot of the first layer is showing dry, meaning insufficient resin was used in the layup. The successive layers appear, for the most part, to be effectively wet out with resin. Anyway, an ongoing and case by case basis.

I started in at the starboard aft and worked the water line forward, removing bottom paint down to the turn in the bilge - this was the bulk of the day, coming to roughly seven hours. The owner of Somerdeli was on hand as well, and devoted his time to grinding out blisters on the port hull. Some additional work will be done on this areas - 400+ - but the owner did a great job at getting his boat back to "Bristol".

I spent the last ~20 minutes removing the mushroom heads of the thru-hulls, as both the seacocks and thru-hulls are to be replaced.

Total Hrs: 7.25

Back at the bottom this Saturday morning with intent to finalize the port side of Somerledi. On the first session of bottom removal, I had no mental or physical strength to attack the turn of the bilge, so that was the focus of today. I started towards the bow of Somerledi, at the turn of the bilge and then worked aft. After finishing the grueling overhead, I walked back to the bow and finished the forefoot. Finishing the port side felt like a significant milestone, and with that energy, I returned to the rudder and finished the port side before turning to the starboard side.

The rudder was completed to ~95%, and with the day long in the tooth, I started on the starboard hull, just forward of the prop aperture. I managed to get a good start on the starboard aft before rolling it up for the evening. More to come on the bottom removal (unfortunately).

Total Hrs: 9.5

The removal of the bottom paint began on Saturday, the 14th of March. The intent here is to prepare the bottom of Somerledi for a fresh barrier coat (an epoxy-based water barrier to protect the laminate), and to apply fresh bottom paint to ready her for her new owner. While the bottom is being prepped for barrier coat and bottom, or anti-foul, paint, new thru hulls and seacocks will also be installed.

Arriving at the work yard, I gathered all tools and suited up in full tyvek and respirator, and then picked up the sander, a 6" Bosch with vacuum system, and started removing material at 9:45am. I set the sander back down at 7:00pm....taking a few slugs of water along the way. I was able to remove about 3/4 of the port side bottom in this session. Bottom jobs are right there at the bottom on the list of which tasks are most enjoyable.

The stripping of the old anti-foul paint revealed a previous blister repair - a poor one at that - as well as new blisters forming. The previous repairs show near perfectly round fill areas - likely some polyester-based fill material with no fiberglass laid. I suppose a counterboring bit was used to dish out the blister and then filled. Nearly all of these previously repaired locations had flaking barrier coat around it, helping me to identify them. These will be ground out properly, allowed to dry, and then be filled with a small patch of glass followed by fairing compound. All will be epoxy-based repairs going forward.

I also identified small, new blisters, which will be treated in the same manner. The good news is that the blisters appear to be vary shallow, forming in the first to second layer of laminate. More to come...

Total Hrs: 9.25

In an effort to get ahead of schedule on this short duration project, I headed over to the storage yard where Someledi is currently on the hard to remove her standing rigging from the recently pulled mast. The old rigging will serve to assist the rigger, a local family business by the name of Sail Ready Rigging Services, in building out the new wire.

I arrived at Somerledi and knocked out a couple task items for the owner in his prep to have the boat rewired and for some light woodwork in the saloon. Measurements and photos taken, I returned to the mast to begin the removal of the standing wire rigging.

I moved from the top of the mast down, removing forestay and backstay, upper shrouds and lowers. I bundled the individual stays and shrouds up in neat loops, taped and labeled them for the hand off to the rigger next week.

Total Hrs: 3.5

Somerledi's owner had scheduled for the mast to be pulled this week as a last minute add to the yard's work list, so I scheduled some time to assist in getting the mast ready to be pulled. The following is a list of items I handled in order to prep for crane to easily remove the stick:

- Removed Somerledi's canvas cover (bow to stern), folded and secured within the cockpit
- Removed mainsheet, coil and stow away
- Pulled cotter pins from gooseneck pin, away removed the boom, stowing it on the side deck
- Removed the staysail boom, and secured on the side deck
- Removed the whisker poles, and secured on the side deck
- Removed the haywards, coiled and stowed below (main, spinnaker, staysail)
- Removed all miscellaneous lines on the deck, tidying up the boat for work aboard
- Since the owner elected to have all wiring replaced, I snipped the mast wires so as to not inhibit removal of the mast.

Oh, and I was locked inside the storage lot, having to jump the barbed wire fence and track down a key. :)

Total Hrs: 2.5

The upcoming Milbs Mobile Marine project will be readying a Shannon 28, Somerledi, for extensive cruising by her new owner. Over the past several months, I have been discussing with the owner plans for refreshing critical systems and components of this '84 Shannon 28 for an eventual Atlantic crossing.

The Shannon 28 is an American-built boat known for its purpose design for offshore sailing. Don't let the waterline fool you, this boat's lead keel is encapsulated, the hull is solid core fiberglass laminate, and the rudder hung on a deep skeg. Somerledi retains her original Yanmar and is in good working condition.

The mobile work that I will be doing on this upcoming project include taking the bottom down to her original gelcoat and addressing any laminate issue that may present - though upon my inspection, and after a pre-purchase survey, no osmotic blistering was detected. Rebuilding the bottom will include laminate work (if any is required), an epoxy-based barrier coat, and fresh antifoul paint. Above the waterline on the hull may include freshening up the original gelcoat or, at owner's discretion, may include new topsides paint. The rub rails, and potentially the toe rails, are to receive a freshening up on varnish. Removal of the rudder's trim tab will take place, and installation of a self-steering wind vane to follow. All bronze seacocks are in good condition, but need servicing to free them up as they are currently difficult for the owner to open and close. Also included in the scope of work is proper completion of the head install (partially complete at this point). Installation of a new electric windlass for the foredeck will be upcoming as well. Finally, loose ends here and there for Milbs Mobile Marine to likely manifest.

The standing rigging will be completely redone by Sail Ready Rigging of St Augustine. More to come...

Total Hrs: 1