Rails Crew Braves Tropical Depression

Tropical Depression Beryl is looping WNW between Jacksonville, FL and Valdosta, GA, as this is being written. It is raining here in Augusta. Then it is not. The sun is shining. Then it is not. Here comes another impenetrable shower. There it goes.  This is why there are no pictures of the new top with the beautiful rails that Jim and I installed today.

Other than frequent rain delays, the rails installation came off without a hitch.

There was a problem with the bond between the top and its underlying framework, however. When I removed the ratchet straps this morning. a 3-inch-long, 1/4" wide gap appeared in the corner over the steering wheel. There was a similar, smaller, separation in the aft inside corner on the port side. Everything else was cemented solidly.

Perhaps these separations were caused by insufficient adhesive at glue-up, or maybe we torqued something cockeyed when we tightened down the six straps last Wednesday. Anyway, we cleaned out the gaps and shot more 3M 5200 adhesive in from the inside and the outside. Then we re-rigged wide straps over the affected areas and ratcheted down until adhesive squeezed out. I will leave these straps in place, under tension, until I can't stand it anymore-- maybe at least until Friday.

Meanwhile, I need to find out how to glue in the little teak bungs that go in the tops of the rails over the rail fasteners. These bung holes are full of rainwater now, so this project will have to await some clear, warm, dry weather.

The top is on!

Today was warm and sunny with a light breeze. Mercifully, there were no wake board boats on the river. We began around 2 p.m. and ended  work about 4. Temporary positioning blocks, (shown at right), were clamped to three cross members. These will hold the top off the adhesive until everything is lined up for clamping. 

Captions are above each of the following photos. Click on a picture to enlarge for a closer look. 

Dia was waiting when the finished top came down the drive, delicately balanced on the back of the pickup.

David, Jim, Major, Paul and I maneuver it though the gazebo and down the ramp to the Albin.

After the rafters and longitudinal stringers are liberally buttered with 3M 5200 adhesive, the top is placed on the positioning blocks.

That's me on the coach roof and Jim on the aft cabin top. We are aligning the registration marks on the underside of the top with center line marks on forward and aft cross members. With the marks lined up, the positioning blocks are un-clamped and removed. This settled the underside center line of the top on the center line of arched the rafters.

Ratcheting nylon load binder straps are looped over the top. They are attached at each end to 2x4s lashed fore and aft between the cleats on each side. The top's arch becomes apparent as the the straps are tightened.

Taking up more slack in the straps completes a pleasing curvature.

The top is now held in place by a clamp on the aft cross member and by the screws securing the light mast brackets forward. After everything was clamped, screwed and strapped down, more 3M 5200 adhesive was applied along the insides and outsides of the longitudinal stringers and rafters. We used 2 1/2 10-ounce tubes of the adhesive, applied with caulking guns.

And, at the end of the day, Ms. Bettencourt is all strapped up, waiting for the adhesive to cure. 

Our present plan is to let her sit like this for a week or so. Then we'll bolt and screw the handrails on each side. The fasteners for the rails will pass through the top into the stringers. At that point, the top will be firmly and finally attached to the boat.

If anyone wants more details or needs questions answered, just use the comment box below and I will respond quickly. Thanks for following this project.

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Still waiting for the Big Event

In the last few days I have installed a new engine water pump and a new alternator belt and I have given the engine box a thorough cleanout. I have also been doing some epoxy filleting in the area over the windshield where the new top’s first cross member lies and some other pilot house area filling and fairing to get things ready for an interior paint job.

The top is finished and awaiting transport to the boat. I think it looks quite nice, with four coats of two-part epoxy paint.

Like many other things on this project, surface preparation for painting has turned out to be more complicated than expected. The framework we built on the boat to support the top needs to be smoothed. In addition to surface sanding, I want to knock the sharp edges off the rafters and supporting structure and to fair the intersections of wood to fiberglass with epoxy glue. This turns out to be harder than expected because the fir lumber we used for the project is really quite dense. And the pitch in the wood is gumming up sandpaper at a prodigious rate.

Meanwhile, it seems that it has been raining here, briefly and violently, about every 15 minutes. I am reminded of a time I worked on a ship in Apra Harbor, Guam, during the rainy season. It was possible to chip paint, be driven below decks by rain, return to buff rust off the spot you just finished chipping, then apply red lead primer only to have it mostly washed away by another furious torrent.

So, I am doing inside the boat work now and waiting for next Wednesday when we will try again to install the new top – weather permitting.

The Big Day Draws Near

The top is finished. My friend Major and I repaired the bird nest damage and applied the fourth and final coat of two-part polyurethane paint last Thursday. I removed my tools from the guest house garage. Dia will be moving her vehicle back in there tomorrow.

The journey

Wednesday afternoon, myself and three fellow geezers will lift the top from the table where it was built and take it to the Albin. It will be about a 150 yard trip, most of it easily accomplished on the back of my pickup. Moving it from the truck to the dock will be a test of strength and agility, but we have measured and we are confident. This last part of the journey will be over water--across a bridge and through a gazebo, then down a long ramp to the dock where the Albin awaits.

The process

I have simplified the installation plan. Instead of sticking the top on with epoxy glue mixed on the jobsite, we are going to use 3M 5200 adhesive. The 5200 comes in tubes and is applied with caulking guns. This  will be much easier to use than epoxy glue, since  it requires no small batch mixing and can be worked for about three hours after application. The epoxy would have been much messier. The 5200 will be relatively flexible after it cures, while epoxy provides a much more rigid bond. I think 5200's flexibility will be a benefit, since the hull and top framework will flex some, particularly going on and off the trailer.

Tomorrow, I will start preparing Ms Bettencourt to receive her new top. I am going to lash 10-foot 2x4s on edges, fore an aft, between the cleats at deck level on either side of the pilot house. The nylon strap load binders we will use to arch the top over the rafters will attach to these 2x4s. Also tomorrow or Tuesday, I will clamp some 2x6 scraps to two or three of the rafters with the top edges of these blocks about a inch higher than the tops of the rafters.

The vision

Here's how I see it working on installation day: We will butter the tops of the rafters and longitudinal members on the boat with the 5200 adhesive. This will involve running  beads of adhesive down the centers of the support members, then spreading the stuff on the tops of the boards with putty knives.

When this is done, two geezers will assume positions on the boat, one in front of the windshield and the other on top of the aft cabin. Then, the dock geezers will lift the new top and help the boat geezers maneuver the top onto the temporary blocks clamped to the rafters. When this is accomplished, the top will be resting about an inch above the freshly-prepared adhesive beds on the rafter tops. Next, we will align the marks on the underside of the top with the marks on the forward and aft members before releasing the clamps on the temporary blocks, allowing the top to come to rest in the correct position on the rafters.

We'll secure the top forward and aft on the centerline with screws and clamps.

Finally, a half-dozen or so nylon load binder straps will be deployed over the top and ratcheted down to curve the top and snug it into the adhesive on the rafter arches.

I am sure the straps will require a lot of adjustment and re-tightening to get the arch right and to achieve full contact of the top's underside with the rafters and longitudinal stringers.

We'll stop at that point on Wednesday afternoon and let the whole thing sit, strapped up under tension and embedded in adhesive, maybe for a week or so.

The final part of the job will be installation of the grab rails. These will be affixed with bolts and lag screws through the top and into the longitudinal stringers.

The forecast

The Weather Service is calling for sunny skies, temps in the mid 80s and a 50% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. This whole evolution should be very pictorial, so please stay tuned for the next report.

Late Bulletin: The Weather Service has changed its forecast and is now calling for cloudy skies with a 60% chance of rain. We may have to re-schedule.

Late, Late Bulletin: The probability of showers Wednesday afternoon is now 70%.

Very Latest and Final (for today) Bulletin: 12:30 p.m. Visibility zero in rain. Called everyone and cancelled installation for today. The next day everyone to can get together is Wednesday, May 23.