before I put her in the water...

[sacto dave]

I am looking at a few possible repairs:
(see link in signature for photos)
1. Thwart: clam cleat was ripped out of wood.
2. Chine: at several points where the bottom plywood is joined to the side, the paint is cracked and bubbled slightly.
3. Stem: I just noticed these cracks.

Mel, (owner of Inland Sailing company - who replaced my rigging) suggested a type of epoxy filler to fill the holes where the screws ripped out of the wood. He then suggested redrilling the holes and using the same screws to hold the clam cleat in place. That sound right?

I was planning to scrape, sand and paint damaged spots on the chine and bottom just to make her watertight for this sailing season, with a full repaint and varnish this winter. I emailed former owner to determine type of paint used, so whatever I put on will be compatible. If I don't hear back, any suggestions on paint product?

I found cracks in top surface of stem alarming and would like some assessment as to what could have caused them and how they might be repaired.

Thank you! I can't tell you how much I appreciate forums like this, where complete beginners can benefit from the vast experiences of those that have traveled this road.

Sincerely,

[paladin]

The little short feller seems strong for his size, moving the boat and trailer in and out by hand.....
Could you have impacted something with the bow....it looks like stress cracks from an impact....I would check underneath to see if something is damaged or not, then if no...I would clean it and fill it with an epoxy past...
and your recommendation on the cleat seems a fair way to do it with the least expense and effort....but when you predrill the holes to reinsret the screws...run the screws into a block of beeswax and then out to lubricate it before screwing them back in.

[Thorne]

What sort of screws? If the fasteners are SS, or SB is locally available, why not replace the screws with bolts and washers == that's the usual advice. If screws failed once, they'll usually fail again after awhile, even into thickened epoxy.

If you use screws I wouldn't advise using anything like epoxy fairing compound...you'll want a stronger substance like cabosil-thickened epoxy to fill those holes.

[Canoeyawl]

Cleat fastened to a thwart?
I would use bolts

[sacto dave]

thank you for the recommendations...now about the paint...would you put the boat in the water as is and do a total paint this winter or patch the damage for this season. If patching, with the unknown current paint, what type of spot paint would you use over the exposed/exposed primer wood? thanks!

[Thorne]

The paint failure may cover wood failure or rot -- you'll need to scrape it down to make the decision on what to do.

Personally I'd be tempted to scrape and patch-paint right now, planning on a full paint removal / restoration during the Fall and Winter. But if you find damage to the wood, then operating the boat -- particularly sailing her hard -- may really put the wood at risk from moisture intrusion and rot.

[sacto dave]

Going back to the twart: I received several recommendations (which I like) to bolt the pivoting clam cleat.

However in photo #12 at the link below, you will see that solution, will require a different approach since the twart straddles and stablilzes the aft end of the centerboard trunk. I can not access the bottom of the thwart to secure bolts.

Please weigh in on the following solution or suggest an alternative:

Wrap a 'C' shaped metal bracket around the twart and secure with bolts fore to aft rather than top to bottom.

I am thinking of contacting a family member who has a metal machining company and asking him to design a bracket. With a metallic block that will accept machine screws securing the cleat and holes on fore and aft bracket arms to secure the assembly to the twart. Any chance there is a product out there that solves this problem? Should I just go with longer screws?

Thanks again

[Thorne]

Dave -

Just how much force does one camcleat take in this design, anyway? If you can't get to the bottom of the crossbrace / beam (I wouldn't call it a thwart as you can't sit on it and it runs across on edge), why not try filling the existing holes with thickened epoxy and embed long bolts with nuts on the end in the thickened material? You'd have to partially fill the holes, shove in the fasteners most of the way, fill in the rest of the hole along the sides of the bolt, then seat the cleat.

Some glue like epoxy or PL Premium, or an adhesive sealant like Vulkem116 underneath the cleat will also help it bond to the surface of the beam, irregardless of the fasteners.

Don't think you should be drilling any more holes in that important support beam unless you really really have to. Try the above and if that fails, then consider more drastic solutions.

http://images.kodakgallery.com/servlet/Images/653926170/photos3797/7/68/5/7/69/5/569070568705_0_BG.jpg

[Tom Robb]

It looks to me like photo #4 shows the ripped out screw holes and if you had the cleat straddle the cb trunk, the bolts could go through the thwart and the timbers on either side of the plywood of the trunk. Or make a plate to bolt the cleat to and wide enough to bolt in turn through the thwart with 4 separate bolts, nuts, washers.
Personally I'd be mostly concerned with the nail pops. What's that all about? Since the colors are different does that mean you fixed them and if so, how?

[sacto dave]

I have another post for the nailheads:
http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97974

[sacto dave]

Thorne,
thank you for the terminology correction. I don't know what any of these things are called and reference the drawings or manual in an attempt to use 'correct' terms. I will call that a crosspiece/beam. This design has just one sail and the mast is very near the stem. While I can not answer your clam cleat force question directly, I can share this:
Mel from Inland (who replaced my rigging) pointed out that my sheet was tied off in a fashion that by-passed a pulley (which meant nothing to me). Upon my inquiry, he explained it was now set up for a 1-1 ratio of effort pulling and if the pulley was used, it would be easier to pull, but the sail would move less. He said such an arrangement is critical on a boat like a Hobie catamaran, but not so much on this design.
http://www.penguinclass.com/
I just noticed in the photos of how to rig a Penguin, the boat pictured has a seperate double clam cleat and swivel pulley to do what my swiveling clam cleat does. Hmmmm....

In regards to the bolts set in epoxy, are you saying the bolts should be threads up? Because the design of the pulley has the fasteners hidden below the cleat, with an access hole to install remove the flat head screws. So, when I first read your recommendation, I visualized sinking a flat head machine screw with a nut into the wood, nut-down, then realized I would have to be fairly precise to make sure they don't bottom out before the cleat is held fast. But having seen fasteners sunk in concrete, I believe I know what you meant.

Perhaps I will consider an alternate hardware arrangement. I should probably have someone look at this cleat anyway. I am not sure it isn't damaged. The single clam portion seems to float rather than pivot in it's housing. It is so loose, I tried shaking the cleat to see if that clam would fall out.