New SUP deck plug

 Our new SUP is coming along.

It is a hollow structural skin design.  The hull was molded awhile ago and now our deck plug is taking shape.

Today we gave it a glass skin.  Soon this will get gelcoat.  The gelcoat will be sanded and polished up to a gloss before molding.   

Building Oars

 Our Dyer Dinghy didn't have a decent set of oars.  It was time to start woodworking again.  My wife and I planned a sail to Beaufort NC.  We would be anchoring out in Taylor creek and needed some oars for the dink.  

I had leftover wood from previous paddle building projects.  I found 2 nice long pieces of douglas fir for the shafts.  The blades were made from a glue up of pine and sapele bits.  After the blades were formed. I cut 2 sapele doughnuts for stops for the oarlocks.  Being in a hurry and not wanting to lose any strength, I skipped rounding the shafts.  I did take a bit of the corners off at the handles and then wrapped the handles in carbon fiber tow set in epoxy.  It has a nice feel in the hand.  Here the photos....

Rigging with Dyneema

With practice and tensioning
 the slice will improve in appearance.

 After our forestay failed last year we have been contemplating the best way to re-rig our Sabre 28.

I like to do things myself so I have been watching you-tube videos about dyneema rigging.

It is super strong, user friendly and gives a visible sign when worn.

This winter will be a great time to unseat the mast and re-rig.  The boat stays in the water all year here so I will have Sailcraft lift off the mast and tie up the boat nearby while I re-rig.

To get started I tried brummel splicing an eye in 3/16ths line for use as a lifeline.  The average strength of 3/16ths dyneema is 5400 pounds!

It's easy!

Awesome high quality thimbles from Suncor.

SUP: Molded

We molded the plug.  Made a video as well but way to long to deal with.
Here is a still photo of the completed mold prior to releasing and a photo of the mold itself.
We used black tooling gel-coat, vinyl ester resin, chopped strand mat, woven roving and glass tapes for reinforcement.

SUP plug ready for molding

After months of shaping, sanding, refairing etc...
The plug is real to mold.
Tomorrow the weather looks like it will cooperate so we shall see.
Once we were happy with its shape, a last coat of gelcoat was sprayed on and we worked up through the grits to a wet sanded 2000 grit.
It then got the buffing compound and cleaning.
In the past I have only used wax and then PVA (polyvinyl acetate).
It has always worked well but the PVA can leave artifacts.
This time I am going to try Chemlease after applying Chemsealer.
They come recommended.
Photos of the molding will follow soon.

The glossy plug

Sabre 28: Mast step

The Sabre has a deck stepped mast with a solid teak compression post fastened its whole length to the port bulkhead.  The post ends at the sole level and a piece of compromised hardwood was under the sole here.
There was rot of course so I removed it all out.  In its place I made a step support of 3 inch pvc tube filled with chopped carbon fiber set in epoxy.  This was cut and ground to fit the post without the sole in-between.  It stands upon the leads keel.  I then cut a piece of spele to replace to void in the sole.  It rests on a notch in the post support.  It is a tight fit and was pressed into place with thickened epoxy.

Sabre 28: projects

Here are some photos of some projects we completed on the 1978 Sabre before launch.

New raw water thru-hull for engine intake:
This included fabricating a fiberglass backing plate and new Groco bronze.

New Oak battens in the forepeak.

New Cutlass bearing.

Sabre 28 splashed after service

Thanks Sailcraft of Oriental.

Sabre 28: Bottom work

We opened the blisters with a hammer and chisel.  I like this better than a disc sander.  It is way cleaner and you can be both quick and precise.  it has the benefit of preserving the original curvature you can fair to.  After the hull dried for 20 days, I filled the voids with West System epoxy with adhesive filler and barrier coat additive.
After this set, It was sanded and got an additional fairing coat.  After this was sanded I rolled on 2 passes of barrier coat additive in epoxy.
Today we will lightly sand this in preparation for our ablative bottom paint.  We will be using Pettit Ultima SR 60.

Sabre 28: Keel bolts

Having the boat hauled gave me the opportunity to back out the nuts on the 7 keel bolts with no anxiety.
Glad I did.  They were in ok condition.  No leaks but the nuts do show signs of crevice corrosion.   The bilge is a location where fresh water can lose it's entrained oxygen and start the corrosion of stainless steel.  It was also apparent that the washers used where deformed and therefore not dispersing the loading correctly.
To address this I ordered new 316 heavy nuts and 316 over-thickness washers.
The nuts came from :
https://www.albanycountyfasteners.com
The washers were from:
https://www.extsw.com

Both companies provided quality items I would recommend.
After a thorough cleaning of the bolts and bilge surface, the new fasteners were seated and torqued into position with a bit of 5200 providing an additional seal.

Before and after.  (Different bolts)

Sabre 28: Haul-out for service

We hauled the Sabre last week at Sail Craft here in Oriental.
We hadn't seen the bottom so I didn't know how extensive our project list would be.
It's not so bad.  After the power wash, some small blisters were apparent.  These are concentrated on the leading edge of the rudder.  There are also maybe 40 penny size blisters distributed around the hull.  I opened these and will grind and re-fair.
The prop and shaft had a growth and needed polishing.  I removed the shaft to check on the integrity of the dripless shaft seal.  It is in good shape.  The doubled SS bands were not tight enough but there were no leaks.
The cutlass bearing was shot, so this will be replaced after other work is done.
The depth and speed transponder will be the next project, as well as the ongoing bottom sanding...

The cutlass bearing after some chipping away at the faring material.

Sabre Sailing once more before haul out.

Sabre 28 hatch supports

The Sabre has a lazarette and 2 additional hatches in the cockpit.
One on each starboard and port as is standard.
None of them ever had a support and to access the spaces, you had to use one hand to hold the lid or risk the lid slamming shut on you.
This week I found a fantastic product made by Moonlight Marine.
I bought the 2  my West Marine had in stock and I will get another.
You install them to support the lid in the fully open position.  To close the lid you bend the spring and the hatch will close.  When in the open position, the spring is rigid and can firmly hold a good deal of weight.

It is a simple and elegant solution.  I love them.
Here are some installation photos...

New Year's day regatta

Here in Oriental, we have an "Instead of Football Regatta".
It is a great tradition.  I think this year was the 27th annual.
Great conditions and lots of boats of all sizes.