The refit of the mighty little ship ORCA is underway!

For all those who have wondered what happened to c.captain Quint’s ship, I am happy to report that yesterday the long anticipated refit commenced!

The agenda so far for this week is as follows

  1. remove all the underwater seam cement and caulking…then recaulk and pay seams (not originally planned but after sitting on the hard to three months, it is needed now)
  2. epoxy treat all punky spots above and below the waterline (not too many and mostly plankends at transom area
  3. replace steel plank screws which are bleeding though paint
  4. sand all hull above waterline and fill seam cracks then sand fair
  5. sand, fill and caulk rub and cap rails
  6. apply 2 part epoxy base coat above waterline including rails
  7. remove old 8kW genset and install new 11.5kW Onan
  8. install Furuno radar
  9. paint hull either dark blue or dark green with black rails and bootstripe
  10. varnish anchor sheathing and paint name ORCA on bows and transom
  11. paint underwater hull with antifouling
  12. relaunch and moor next Saturday afternoon until after my next offshore hitch when I will attack the upperworks and inside spaces

Time frame: 8 days total (7 working days)

Budget: $14000 not including $6500 I paid for new genset or $500 for used radar

Good luck with her cap. Are you doing all the work yourself or is a yard doing most of it for you? That seems like a lot of hard labor in a short time frame even for even a crusty old salt like yourself

[QUOTE=c.captain;117285]
2. epoxy treat all punky spots above and below the waterline (not too many and mostly plankends at transom area
3. replace steel plank screws which are bleeding though paint
[/QUOTE]

Oh please don’t do #2 to on your fine vessel! If you have rot on a plank, replace it! Do it right the first time or you will spend a great deal of time wishing you had.

#3 may turn into a far larger project than you think it will. Approach this with some caution and make sure you have very good shipwrights doing the work. Not just good ones but really good ones you can trust.

You have crossed into a whole 'nuther world of boats.

My fishing partner re-fastened his 36’ boat this spring, something like 3,500 screws later. Minor project!

That’s a lot of work for seven days. I hope you stay on schedule.

I recommend holding off on the recaulking until you have used her a while to see if its necessary. Just spray her inside and out with a garden hose for a few days and put her overboard. She should swell up and stop leaking after a couple days. Reefing and recalling by itself will probably take more than a week.

I have had many cheap boats turn into cash gobbling black holes Worth far less than I had in them

Shes a nice looking boat. Recommend that you put your salmon troller hat back on and try to enjoy her for awhile pretty much as is

How are the fasteners holding, and the ribs doing?

I love this project. I have a few suggestions for your ‘Plan of the week’:

  1. remove all the underwater seam cement and caulking…then recaulk and pay seams (not originally planned but after sitting on the hard to three months, it is needed now)
    Probably not essential as the wood will re-swell when launched. That said, if it were me, I’d want to do it too just to make sure all is good.

  2. epoxy treat all punky spots above and below the waterline (not too many and mostly plankends at transom area
    Though replacing planks is the way the purist would do it, Time constraints will dictate otherwise. Do not use “Epoxy” as it won’t penetrate. CPES is the right product for this purpose.

  3. replace steel plank screws which are bleeding though paint
    Replacement screws should be just a tad larger that what’s in there now.

  4. sand all hull above waterline and fill seam cracks then sand fair

  5. sand, fill and caulk rub and cap rails

  6. apply 2 part epoxy base coat above waterline including rails
    Whoa, Stop! Your going to epoxy coat the hull of a wooden boat? No, The wood will not be able to breath, moisture will still find a way between the epoxy and substrate and rot will be greatly accelerated. Skip this step and go straight to #9. Use a quality marine paint and marvel at how pretty the hull turns out.

  7. remove old 8kW genset and install new 11.5kW Onan

  8. install Furuno radar

  9. paint hull either dark blue or dark green with black rails and bootstripe
    Possible color scheme:

  1. varnish anchor sheathing and paint name ORCA on bows and transom
    Be sure to use appropriate font for the transom name:

  2. paint underwater hull with antifouling
    Use ablative paint.

  3. relaunch and moor next Saturday afternoon until after my next offshore hitch when I will attack the upperworks and inside spaces

Time frame: 8 days total (7 working days)
If you can get this all done in 7 daze, you are a better man than me…

You didn’t list where the stripper poles are being mounted.

Edit:

I agree; 7 days? You must work pretty long days. Just the setting time for the paints and epoxies will lengthen it. But best of luck, I want to see the finished product.

Just home after 12 hours on the ORCA, showered and 3 pounds of dirt and paint dust washed down the drain and a very cold Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale is opened beside me to recap the day’s progress

Here’s a rundown on day two for the project

  1. all seam cement is now removed and half the old cotton caulking is reefed out (reason why this was necessary is after sitting for more than two months on the hard, the seams had opened a lot and much of the cement in them literally fell out taking cotton with it. I have to caulk her now, there is no alternative…I can’t reset the cotton that isn’t there now)

  2. rot in planks was dug out to determine extent and there in no way to repair with epoxy. Two planks below waterline on stbd side need replacement. Would have taken pics but forgot camera this morning. Need to find something like 20’ of 5" wide 1 1/2" thick old growth clear fir now. That’s gonna hurt!

  3. the old genset is out and new genset sitting on the aft deck ready to drop in tomorrow. Got to lift it off the back of the delivery truck with the booms which was totally awesome! Got to love any boat that has booms on it!

  4. below waterline on port side is sanded and stbd side tomorrow

Tomorrow I will try to remember my camera to take pics of the progress.

Now about using an epoxy base coat…? I have never heard about wood breathing through paint!

Time to enjoy that beer!

[QUOTE=water;117357]How are the fasteners holding, and the ribs doing?[/QUOTE]

hull fasteners are all silicon bronze screws with the exception of maybe a dozen above the waterline that are bleeding through. No need to refasten the ORCA but I cannot abide rust streaks on nice fresh paint.

Frames are doing great as far as I can tell. Most have been sistered it seems so she is not extra heavy in that regard!

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[QUOTE=ChiefRob;117330]Good luck with her cap. Are you doing all the work yourself or is a yard doing most of it for you? That seems like a lot of hard labor in a short time frame even for even a crusty old salt like yourself[/QUOTE]

I have lots of very good help for this one. If I was flying solo it would be a month and a half full time and I am much too old for that shit anymore!

Absolutely.
Best marine enamel is made by George Kirby, New Bedford, Mass.

[QUOTE=c.captain;117366]Now about using an epoxy base coat…? I have never heard about wood breathing through paint!
[/QUOTE]

It does.

When applying paint, best method is called “Roll & Tip”. First, thin the paint with Penetrol until it is the consistency of heavy cream.

http://www.floodaustralia.net/products/paint_additives/penetrol.php

Then, using a roller, apply to hull. Within a few minutes, go over the rolled paint with a fine, wetted brush to smooth it out. Works best with a helper but you can DIY.

You’ll end up with an awesome paint job.

And especially with dark hull colors epoxy on a wood hull is a huge faux pas. The solar heat gain will exacerbate the expansion and contraction. Enamel paint has more “give” than an epoxy.

Did you end up getting a S15B ccap?

[QUOTE=Flyer69;117396]And especially with dark hull colors epoxy on a wood hull is a huge faux pas. The solar heat gain will exacerbate the expansion and contraction. Enamel paint has more “give” than an epoxy.[/QUOTE]

OK…point taken. Glad to get the advice. Will switch to an enamel base coat. Too bad that I will have to eat the epoxy I bought already but should be able to resell it on Craigslist later. Only paid $150 for 6gallons but not returnable.

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[QUOTE=jmad;117400]Did you end up getting a S15B ccap?[/QUOTE]

what’s that?

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[QUOTE=Flyer69;117388]Absolutely.
Best marine enamel is made by George Kirby, New Bedford, Mass.[/QUOTE]

I already have 10gallons of Hempels in dark blue but thinking of not using it and going dark green instead but not sure what brand I’ll use. Can’t afford top dollar $100gal paint. Any other recommendations? Anyone use Sherwin Williams Marine enamel? Certainly have no plan to use Interlux.

any chance to repair a plank? I have about ten feet of one plank that has only about an inch of one edge that is bad and wondering if I can rip off that portion and bond on a piece to not have to replace the entire length now then do a permanent repair next year? Would liberally use epoxy in the interface area.

Here is your assigned reading:

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvic/pdf/1995/n7-95.pdf

Be prepared for a quiz in the morning…

[QUOTE=water;117405]Here is your assigned reading:

Be prepared for a quiz in the morning…[/QUOTE]

NYET! I am an uninspected fisheries and research vessel under 300grt. I can do anything a surveyor will accept and sign off on. cmakin…you onboard?

Could work, you are basically splining that seam. With a REALLY FUCKING BIG spline :wink: