Unpleasant surprises
During cockpit renovation I discovered how mainsail track is anchored to boat structure: with two galvanised steel bolts running from the track down to the bottom of cockpit walls.
Unfortunately, due to age and water seeping through wood, these bolts corroded. Port side was gone to the extent that the bolt fell down onto floor when I touched it…
Quite conveniently my whole cockpit structure is gone so I can fix it now pretty easily. At least I thought so.
Instead of galvanised bolts I intended to use silicon-bronze threaded rod and anchor it in exact same positions as old rods were sitting. To accommodate that I’ve made a special joint in wooden beams so that the bolt and nut will slide into the beam and be nicely hidden in the oak.
Then came a surprise when I attempted drilling a small pilot hole in attachment place on the main sail track - the wood collapsed under the drill and a cloud of rusty iron dust fell down onto the bottom. So much for re-using old anchoring point on the traveller. I’m left with a big hole and void around the rests of mainsail track which used to be embedded in wood there.
I was scratching my head on what to do next. The traveller track is anyway a very ancient solution and quite impractical indeed. I think my boat is the only one in the vicinity which still has this. I was planning to replace it with modern construction somewhere in the future and it appeared to me that this future might just came.
In principle the traveller track is, in my case, a simple C-shape metal bar which hosts sliding cart with block attachment for main sail and two side-stops which can be adjusted to determine where - more or less - the mainsail sheets will be attached after the tack.
The problem with this primitive solution is that one cannot adjust the sheets position during the tack. The whole assembly is under big tension on leeward side and trying to release the loaded side-stop is impossible. One needs to tack again (or go to windward) to change the position of side-stop and then tack back. Not smart, especially during gusts when releasing the cart to leeward can save the boat by de-powering the mainsail.
Position adjustments are possible only in 3 pre-defined locations (drilled holes to accept stopping pin, spring-loaded). That’s also far from perfect.
Moreover, the traveller is so short that these adjustments make really minor difference compared to keeping the sheets in the centre position so in practice I rarely used it at all. On my previous boat, a racer, the adjustments were possible anytime and in smooth action.
So I’ve made a decision to upgrade this already now since fixing the existing construction will take time and the result will be anyway unsatisfactory. I’ve ordered a new complete set of traveller, adjusted with smooth action on side blocks with 4:1 purchase ratio.
Meritaten has 28 feet on deck so I ordered a solution scaled up to 32 feet. Nothing too strong ever breaks, as they say in Maine.
While waiting for delivery I’m figuring the way I will anchor this properly to the boat. The old solution was to use steel rods (red on the picture) anchored into cockpit side walls, under the durk.
I imagine that these bolts were anchoring the mainsail track, through the wooden beam, into the cockpit structure.
I cannot re-use the same place on port side as there is a big hole now in the wooden beam. Starboard side looks better but I’m doubtful if the old rod has much strength still to rely on so I need a new anchoring place, possibly better placed to protect it from leakage.
The current solution - with sail track embedded into cockpit benches - has a drawback that it allows water to seep into the wood. This is due to the fact that the traveller is moving and vibrating as it is loaded by the main sail, causing gaps in the sealing goo which should stop rainwater from going into wood. There is no other way to stop it but applying a generous amount of Ettan every season there - and then getting your pants dirty if you sit there during sunny day.
The new traveller will be longer so it will span over the side benches, thus enabling me to place it on top of the wood. I will then have better possibilities to properly secure the track to the boat structure - and the whole assembly can be made water tight more easily.
The plan is then to first repair the hole which is left after the old rod. Than will be dane with mahogany graving piece glued there. Then I will rise the wooden beam by gluing mahogany planks so that it is at the same level as cockpit benches.
On top of that I will then attach - with screws and bedding compound, to enable future replacement - a long and thin mahogany or oak plank, to get a flat and even surface for new mainsail traveller.
Traveller profile will be attached with thru-bolts to wooden beam and cockpit benches. Port and starboard bolts will be long enough to enable attaching loop-nuts from underneath, inside the boat. Similar nuts will be anchored into cockpit side walls or into nearby frames. Then these points will be connected with stainless steel threaded rods (green on the picture above), forming a Rome-screw and thus enabling tensioning the whole assembly.
Once calibrated I will then apply blue Loctite thread glue to stop these nuts from unscrewing upon vibrations.
Anyhow - these joints will have to be checked periodically, especially after heavy sailing so I want to have them accessible, unlike the old solution.
In the mean time I fix other small things:
I have final-shaped and planed to proper thickness the laminated oak frame for replacement. It is now ready for gluing once the temperature allows.
I’ve made a new cabin end-wall, facing the cockpit (the old one was damaged during cockpit structure removal as it was glued).
I’ve decided to keep the old cabin doors and bottom “flap” door so I renovated them with original mahogany pieces, screwed and glued with brown Sika (I will never disassembly them so Sika is in place here).
My original plan was to remove them and replace with vertical sliding boards, like on more modern boats. This solution enables using different boards for different conditions:
one with mosquito net when we anchor during warm nights and want more ventilation
one with big polycarbonate pane for rainy days where more light in the cabin is desired
and one of heavy-duty plywood for stormy weather
However - my current doors are so… well: cute!
I want to keep them!
They are characteristic to old boats and they have several advantages: you don’t need to store them because they are always there, hanging on their hinges.
They have ventilation openings and tracks to close and seal ventilation for stormy weather.
The only problem is that they are hard to make 100% water-tight so in case of really shitty weather - with following sea flooding the cockpit - there will be leaks into the cabin and bilge pump will have a work to do.
These conditions, however, are very rarely experienced in the Inner Archipelago so I can live with that. In case I will take her into really open sea I will put rubber seals there so that the doors will be tight.
So now I can move on with the remaining tasks - before the new traveller arrives:
repairing the hole in cockpit port bench with graving piece
preparing wood for beefing the cross-beam for new traveller
cutting scarves on steam-bent frames which are broken, starting from the engine compartment
Then I can start gluing replacements on the broken frames. Right now the winter is back, with snow and sub-zero temperatures. Too cold to work with epoxy but once I have all prepared the gluing should not take long.
Then riveting of all scarves will follow. Once done I can go on with:
painting the engine compartment
lifting the engine back and connecting all hoses, steering, water cooling etc
putting back the new cockpit structure
sanding and varnishing the hull
fixing dents in the deck (deck renovation is scheduled for next winter)
… and some more smaller tasks which always pop-out.
Then we can book a crane for doping Meritaten in water!