I'm keeping Stanley

[Phil Alderson]

**Top tips for sealing hatch covers**

Buy a decent sized tub of Vasaline. Put large amounts of this on the thread of the hatch everytime you put it on... also good for sealing bung holes.

Put loads of silicone underneath and around the hatch fitting (its amazing how much they leak!)

I've been advised against this. If dirt, sand and other stuff gets stuck in the Vaseline you don’t have a proper water tight seal and water just floods in. I can do this to the bigger inspection hatches as I never take them off. The small black ones at the back of the tank I use for general empting etc will have to be sealed properly and probably replaced.

On my old 14 I used vaseline on the hatches, it stopped the leaks and I never had problems with dirt getting in, you just have to be carefull how much you put on and not take them off with sand covered ropes sitting on top.

I also took every single fitting off the boat and re siliconed them each year.

[ross_burkin]

Ok, thats another thing to add to the list.

Now I 'have' this 700 mast I might as well get the ball rolling and start getting everything ready for his referb. The plan is to get him into the garage for a week (between Sundays so I can go sailing as normal  )  and just do everything in one hit. I'll be building a new rudder within the next few weeks and getting hold of all the materials, tools and parts I need.

[Eggbert]

the advert's still up on Apollo duck you know

[ross_burkin]

Right, Stanley is at home and is getting:

1) Repaired- The side tank (already started), the launch tube (requires me to chop of some off the deck ), other quick repairs that need redoing, anything else I find.

2) New layout- Everything gets tangled all the time so it's time to rethink the position of cleats and stuff. Fronting plates for fittings, can these just be bogged in place or is it advisable to lay some glass or carbon over the top?

3) PAINT- Flat Stanley looks shite and I'll be sanding most of the paint of due to repairs I might as well repaint him. I'm open to suggestions!

4) T-foil- Flat Stanley has fair amount of rocker and is an old school wide boy big arse Cherub. What will this mean for shape and size of the foil? Kevin, I’m sure you have something very clever to say hear.

5) Bottom panel needs refairing- It looks like the Lake District. My guess is that the epoxy has failed and the Kevlar has just depressed into the foam. I'm thinking if I sand down (vary carefully!) and epoxy the area then peel ply over the top then fill and fair.

OR

I could cut out the foam of the affected area, put some new foam in, glass or carbon over the top and fair.

I'll get some pictures up soon.

6) Anything else I think of doing.


I finish college on Friday so I’m just going to spend all day, everyday fixing him up and then go sailing all of the time!

[Will_Lee]

Fronting plates may not work on ply - old school backing plates are probably better if you can get to the back.

[ross_burkin]

I was thinking on the floor for some spinnaker related string.

[Phil Alderson]

On a fronting plate for spiniker blocks I would suggest two layers of 200g glass extending 2-3cm beyond the plate.


The bottom is probably just dents in the foam from years of being put down on the ground.

[ross_burkin]

I need some very light filler. I think I remember Will and Lucy mentioning that Tim Unerman has something a bit special. Is it true Tim?

I want to keep Stanley as light a possible and if I'm doing this work I might as well do it properly. I went to B&Q this morning and got myself a dremel. I had a bit of 'Pasta Frenzy'  (glass foam sandwich, kindly donated by the Lee's) that I cut to shape with a lip around the edge and bogged it in place. The top is pretty much flush with the deck so the jobs a good'un! I need to glass over the back and fill the gaps in and then fair it. The repair is messy in the picture but it is nowhere near finished. I'm going to sand of the dribbles on the back.
I have almost taken all the fittings of ready for stripping the paint back.

I'm going to have to take a chunk out of the foredeck and I'm thinking that if it's going to be fairly big anyway it might be worth redoing it in light foam and carbon/glass. To do it will I have to build a jig, bend the foam to shape and then glass/carbon what will be the inside of the front tank?

[Phil Alderson]

I'm going to have to take a chunk out of the foredeck and I'm thinking that if it's going to be fairly big anyway it might be worth redoing it in light foam and carbon/glass. To do it will I have to build a jig, bend the foam to shape and then glass/carbon what will be the inside of the front tank?

Depending on how much curvature there is in the foredeck there is probably no need to build a jig. Just laminate the inside skin of the foam flat on the ground then bog it in place using battens, weights and ratchet straps to get it to shape.( do a dry practice before you put bog on)

Once it is in place you can trim it to the edges and laminate the outside skin, taking the cloth down to the sides.

You need to use quite thin foam for it to work 6-8mm and probably 1 layer of 200g glass for inside and two on the outside one at 45 and on 0-90 plus more in the local spots where you need hard points.

[JimC]

I'm going to have to take a chunk out of the foredeck and I'm thinking that if it's going to be fairly big anyway it might be worth redoing it in light foam and carbon/glass.

I really don't see the need. There's no structural advantage on Stanley. What you should use is exterior grade 3mm plywood. You'll struggle to get much lighter in foam unless you go for a really fragile layup, and you'll keep the original style and save a big lump of cash. It should absolutely not be veneered plywood, just plain ply, and buy the lightest bit in the shop not the prettiest:-)

Just fill any dents in the bottom with light filler. Don't go into the laminate unless you are 100% sure there's a core failure, and if there is work from the inside if at all possible. Be *very* wary about sanding down. If you get to kevlar you'll really regret it. You should stop at white paint. As for colours dirty white with not very shiny varnish ply decks is the right finish for Flat Stanley. If you can manage a rust streak from being kept upside down in a shed with a galvanised iron roof then so much the better:-)

[ross_burkin]

I did a test sanding on the top side and there’s a good amount of filler/bog before the Kevlar. Before that there’s a layer of primer (gray), white paint then blue paint. I'll sand until I see gray.

After giving the dents a good poking they don’t seem to be soft which is a good sign. I'm just going to sand it down a bit then fill with a glass bubbles/epoxy mix.

The paint is lifting and peeling off in a lot of places. Does this mean I could put a heat gun to good use hear? The paint isn't brittle and peels off easily.

[ross_burkin]

OK, I need to order some epoxy? Where do I get it from and what brand do I go for.

[tim_unerman]

Firstly don't use a heat gun near composite as you could heat it up and destort it badly.

Epoxy: the main brands I have used in the past are, SP, Sicomin, West & PRF If you are using what the call the wood epoxy system they are all about as good as each other just try and get a slower hardner for this time of year.

For Sicomin you need www.mcmc-uk.com
For SP if you want volume then go for marine ware in southampton www.marineware.com
West system try wessex resins www.wessex-resins.com
PRF www.prfcomposites.com/

All of which are a bit of a distance from you if you want something more local then you could try welsh harp who stock SP

[ross_burkin]

Ok, thanks Tim.

I have just found the MOTHER of all leaks in my launch tube. There are several holes, gashes and splits along my launch tube.

I cut a hole in the foredeck and ran some water down and got a proper look. There was a small waterfall.

[ross_burkin]

Has anyone got any ideas for T-foil adjustment systems without modding the boat?

Roland, can you sketch in paint how your system works please.