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 Post subject: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 19 Aug 2020 07:31 
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Tactictian

Joined: 06 Aug 2020 09:02
Posts: 142
Hi - my father-in-law has owned #240 since 1990. He is 86 and wants to keep the boat in the family so I have become a co-owner. While I have sailed on the boat many times since 1996, I wasn't fully aware of how much work the boat required. Well, after three straight weeks working on her, now I know! The boat basically required a full re-fit. Decks are wet, systems not working, engine needs work, rigging and electronics are poorly conceived or outdated, interior is a mess, etc etc. I am beginning the long multi-year schlog through the re-fit process. Boat is in the water (Deale, MD) and my initial goal is to make her dry(ish), safe, and reliable for fall cruising. The heavy lifting will begin in the off-season.

I have an appreciation for the boat, it's design pedigree, and suitability for Chesapeake Bay cruising. So, despite it's condition, it's worth doing the work. There are two other T37's on the next pier over from me in far worse condition so that makes me feel a bit better about what I'm attempting to do.

Spent the first two weeks just cleaning her out. There was a ton of accumulated crap and the boat was covered with mold. Pulled the main salon overhead to fix leaks and will replace with PVC. Of course, the boat is a Pandora's Box - everything I uncover leads to a few more issues! I pulled out an incredibly sophisticated (for it's time) 1980 vintage autohelm (Sharp "Seapilot") with a massive bronze/brass gear or rack connected to the rudder post. It had never worked for my father-in-law but was still hooked up and causing a parasitic drain. I weighed the system - 80 pounds approx! I'm on to engine work. Overheating issue caused by heat exchanger fouling (never cleaned!). Mechanical cleaning really helped but I decided to pickel and flush with Barnacle Buster.

I'm mostly a small boat racing sailor and now windfoiler, and while cruising has an appeal, going unnecessarily slow does not. So, I will be "optimizing" the old gal as much as practicable. Just ordered a new North mainsail, full battens, max hoist/roach, loose foot. I plan on pulling the CB over the winter to fair (God knows what that thing looks like!) and seal.

I appreciate all the knowledge here (been lurking for a month) and look forward to sharing what I discover along the way. Thanks!


Attachments:
File comment: stbd chainplate rot. Took a good look and the plywood rot was from the bottom up but didn't go through to where the bolts are located. Will bond in new core.
sybd chainplate veneer.jpg
sybd chainplate veneer.jpg [ 4.42 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
File comment: port cockpit seat core repairs - started as screw holes. Bad core all over!
Port seat.jpg
Port seat.jpg [ 2.59 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
File comment: Autohelm rack
autohelm 2.jpg
autohelm 2.jpg [ 5.56 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
File comment: Autohelm worm gear
Autohelm 1.jpg
Autohelm 1.jpg [ 4.12 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
File comment: The Sharp "Seapilot"
Autohelm 3.jpg
Autohelm 3.jpg [ 4.32 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
File comment: Hull #240
Tartan 37.jpg
Tartan 37.jpg [ 3.96 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 20 Aug 2020 08:42 
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Skipper

Joined: 09 Aug 2017 15:35
Posts: 725
Location: Maine/USVI
Greetings.

Get 'er out, take her home and do 'er up stem to stern. Not rocket science, but requires sitting and staring for hours on end. I've got #216, and wish I had simply bought #488 instead. But I got a tight boat now, about 59.5% done. The last 41.5% will come fast. Mast & boom is newly painted, going back in tomorrow or this weekend. Just have to run the new Raymarine wind unit & cable, mount the new all-round, put the shrouds and stays back on and reeve the four halyards (instead of the two that appear to have been the only ones used ever). Waiting for a halyard exit plate today and that'll do 'er.


 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 20 Aug 2020 20:34 
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Skipper

Joined: 13 Feb 2011 21:19
Posts: 337
Location: Canyon Lake, TX
Welcome aboard! I have #287 since 2011. She was a project when we bought her but I'm still excited to own her. Sail her like you would race her. That centerboard will make her point like you won't believe.

_________________
Wayne
Master and Commander of the Sailing Vessel Impetuous
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.
Subservient to no man except SWMBO
Any day without dock lines is a GOOD day!


 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 01 Dec 2020 10:28 
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Skipper

Joined: 20 Oct 2006 16:10
Posts: 687
Location: Out of Waukegan, IL
Been there with the mold growth. Inside of our hull was mostly nasty black and I spent 3 days scrubbing everything I could reach without removing the interior. First time those surfaces had been viewed in 35yrs.

You should get familiar with Microban biocide or equivalent. Water damage crews use it in basements. Kills mold, mildew, bacteria, virus... pretty much anything. 2oz. makes a gallon of spray that kills and prevents future growth for a period. I spray the deep spaces in the fall, air dry, and no growth for the storage season. For the season I got the smallest read dehumidifier to run since we have no A/C.

_________________
SMMO/First Mate aboard High Flight #299
1981 - Full Keel - Furling Main (A boat for the lazy crew...)


 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 02 Dec 2020 22:00 
Offline
Skipper

Joined: 29 Dec 2006 09:38
Posts: 656
Welcome. The boat is worth your investment of time and money. I have owned mine for 28 years and have gone through most everything at some point. I would recommend that you start where you have: getting the leaks in the deck fixed. Tartan had a lot of folks commissioning the boats back then who just put deck hardware in the balsa deck without drilling oversized and filling filling with epoxy before installing hardware. I strongly suggest you check all the fittings for this before you do anything else--perhaps you have. End grain balsa is resistant to water migration but boat stored in wet places without covers will have migration if the core is open to hardware from the deck. Good luck. You have a lot of folks here if you have questions.
Ray Durkee
T37 #373 Velera


 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 04 Dec 2020 08:47 
Offline
Tactictian

Joined: 06 Aug 2020 09:02
Posts: 142
Down2TheC wrote:
Been there with the mold growth. Inside of our hull was mostly nasty black and I spent 3 days scrubbing everything I could reach without removing the interior. First time those surfaces had been viewed in 35yrs.

You should get familiar with Microban biocide or equivalent. Water damage crews use it in basements. Kills mold, mildew, bacteria, virus... pretty much anything. 2oz. makes a gallon of spray that kills and prevents future growth for a period. I spray the deep spaces in the fall, air dry, and no growth for the storage season. For the season I got the smallest read dehumidifier to run since we have no A/C.


Thanks, I will look into the Microban. There are still a few areas that I realized I haven't reached like behind the starboard settee along the hull and under the cockpit deck which you can only see by looking up when you're down in the sail locker. I run a small dehumidifier and a large fan during the summer months. Even so, I still get that annoying mildew growth on porous wood surfaces.


 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 04 Dec 2020 08:54 
Offline
Tactictian

Joined: 06 Aug 2020 09:02
Posts: 142
Velera wrote:
Welcome. The boat is worth your investment of time and money. I have owned mine for 28 years and have gone through most everything at some point. I would recommend that you start where you have: getting the leaks in the deck fixed. Tartan had a lot of folks commissioning the boats back then who just put deck hardware in the balsa deck without drilling oversized and filling filling with epoxy before installing hardware. I strongly suggest you check all the fittings for this before you do anything else--perhaps you have. End grain balsa is resistant to water migration but boat stored in wet places without covers will have migration if the core is open to hardware from the deck. Good luck. You have a lot of folks here if you have questions.
Ray Durkee
T37 #373 Velera


The leak situation is under control now after removing the headliner (and replacing with PVC) to identify where they were coming from and fix. Only slight leaks now through chainplates and fwd hatch. Rig coming down this year (first time since my family has owned the boat!) and I will re-bed the hatch. Of course, according to my moisture meter, I have plenty of wet core on the deckhouse and deck itself. So damn much to do that it gets overwhelming just thinking about. I hear you on re-bedding hardware. It's incredible to me that I have so much wet deck considering the boat has not been used hard by any stretch and has also been covered every winter. The forums have been helpful. I hope to be able to contribute some knowledge as I accumulate experience.


 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 04 Dec 2020 12:36 
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Navigator

Joined: 06 Sep 2020 10:08
Posts: 99
I'm also a new T37 owner. We also have some survey results showing moisture in the deck. So rebedding stanchions, chainplates, and probably other stuff is in our future.

I'm wondering if that's the time to install aluminum backing plates for stanchions, winches, and mooring cleats. Is this a modification many people have done? Is it worth the effort?


 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 04 Dec 2020 15:48 
Offline
Tactictian

Joined: 06 Aug 2020 09:02
Posts: 142
madmike wrote:
I'm also a new T37 owner. We also have some survey results showing moisture in the deck. So rebedding stanchions, chainplates, and probably other stuff is in our future.

I'm wondering if that's the time to install aluminum backing plates for stanchions, winches, and mooring cleats. Is this a modification many people have done? Is it worth the effort?


I just finished repairing two stanchion bases and surrounding wet core after an unfortunate incident that compressed them. I laminated in simple 1/8" glass/epoxy backing plates made by compressing the laminate. Personally, I would not use aluminum because of corrosion with 316 fasteners. I would use something like G10 (get at McMaster or other vendors) because it's easy to shape and you can bond it if you want (just rough the surface properly). Chainplates is a whole other story. They are bolted to a structural bulkhead comprised of thick fiberglass skins laminated to a 2.5" marine ply core. Lots of discussion here on chainplate repairs. FWIW, my starboard chainplate bulkhead core was rotted from below. I picked out maybe the lower 2 inches of rotted wood which were actually below the chainplate bolts. Turned out there was no rot in way of the bolts.

Any through deck fittings that go through balsa core are going to be problematic. It turns out that the inboard stanchion bolts go through the outboard edge of the core so when those holes get compromised the deck will be wet. You can see how much of the deck I had to remove to get to dry wood. Deck fittings that are just through laminate should be easier to repair as long as there's no significant delamination.


Attachments:
Deck Repair 2.jpg
Deck Repair 2.jpg [ 7.25 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
 
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 Post subject: Re: Hull #240 (keeping it in the family)
PostPosted: 05 Dec 2020 10:11 
Offline
Tactictian

Joined: 06 Aug 2020 09:02
Posts: 142
No Lunacy, my initial repair strategy was to replace the core just under the stanchion bases to effectively eliminate the need for gelcoat repair. This is why those semi-circular holes were cut. When I got in there I realized that the core was wet far beyond just the base area. I literally picked out wet core through those initial holes to the approximate rectangle where I cut. It never seemed to end! Wet core kept coming out.

What I was left with were two rather large holes right through the deck because I had no idea where the core ended and the laminate became one solid glass piece. So, I had to laminate from the inside first to create a new lower skin, then from the top to add thickness. Once that was done I had to add some filler (404 and 406 mix I think) to level the repair area out as prep for new core material. Core was added, then filler again, then more glass. Once I had that last top layer of glass I hired a local glass guy to finish it up (I wasn't about to screw around with gelcoat matching). He laminated the top skin back, scarfed the edges, glassed, faired, then started gelcoat. He created a non-skid pattern by hand. At the moment, the repair is totally sound and looks decent but the gelcoat guy isn't happy with it and will come back for some final color match and skid touchup. I used homemade fiberglass backing plates on the inside (none there originally). And, yes, I had to remove the wood trim to get to the nuts. I had to cut back some of the headliner too. Many hours of shear joy I can tell you!


 
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