Steve and friends heeled over during a good day of sailing with clear skies. Photo: Steve Grisanti © 2006
The slotted rail is powder coated. Photo: Steve Grisanti © 2006
Companionway and teak cockpit gate. Photo: Steve Grisanti © 2006 s/y HARMONY
Working through a light chop with a full main, stays’l and yankee flying. Photo: Grisanti © 2006
Another fine day of sailing in New York State. Photo: Steve Grisanti © 2006 Restoring a Rare Original (Continued from page 7)
The following list details what was replaced, restored, fabricated, etc. Engine Engine has been maintained every year replacing the following on a regular basis: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Oil and filter Impeller and gasket Air and fuel elements Belts Zincs Water separator filter
Engine was professionally stripped and repainted using OEM factory Yanmar paint. All fuel lines were replaced including new double stainless clamps. Motor was tuned and valves were adjusted. Removed and refinished shaft. Replaced cutlass bearing and setscrews. Repacked stuffing box and had prop reconditioned, balanced w/a new key for keyway. Removed entire cockpit sole and installed new seal. Installed sound insulation to engine hatch from top entry to cabin entry. Painted entire bilge with two part white epoxy.
Head Installed new head with all new hoses. Installed new toilet paper holder. Changed bathroom door piano hinge from brass to new stainless. Stripped, polished and epoxy coated overhead bathroom light. Replaced carpeting on sidewall. Refinished and applied 4 coats of Interlux matte varnish to teak and holly floor. Applied original sticker to inner bathroom door.
Exterior Removed all painted stripes and scrolling. Reapplied new boot stripe. Stripped bottom to gel coat, applied 4 coats of barrier coat and 4 coats of Petite ACP bottom paint. Removed complete bow pulpit. Removed and replaced bowsprit with custom aluminum powder coated sprit. Removed and professionally polished all bronze hardware. Replaced all lifelines and lifeline attachments.
Installed new bronze portholes with bronze screens. Replaced teak cheeks on rudder and powder coated rudder cap. Installed new stainless flag staff holder, flag and staff. Installed teak boarding step on port side. Rebuilt both Barlow winches. Installed new Bomar white powder coated hatch. Installed 4 new ash shroud rollers and applied 10 coats of Epifanes gloss finish. All sails are cleaned and checked every year since 2000. Stripped and powder coated boom, club/staysail, mast and gaff. Replaced all lead lines, reefing lines. Replaced all lines and had all splices and whipping professionally done. (3) New bumpers w/matching lines and covers. New sail covers for staysail and main sail. Installed new CDI roller furler w/Schaffer lead set. Had Sunbrella edge attached to jib edge. Replaced all standing rigging including all 4 shrouds, jib stay and staysail stay. Installed new factory Pacific Seacraft bronze logo plates. Sanded all exterior teak / applied 3 coats of Cetol. Installed new permanent mounted stainless ladder on transom. Powder coated anchor, and connected new powder coated chain and anchor line. Installed chain stop and hold for anchor. Installed stainless on port side of anchor cutout on bowsprit. Cockpit New cockpit cushions in navy blue Sunbrella. Rebuilt manual pump and powder coated pump handle. Powder coated control handle. Replaced teak plate on cockpit floor. Replaced Lazarette hinges. Replaced tiller and applied 10 coats of Epifanes gloss and new custom navy blue Sunbrella tiller cover. Installed custom teak slat floor on cockpit sole. Replaced companionway doors with solid ¾ teak, and installed new 4” bronze ABI porthole in middle door. Installed new sheet bags on port and starboard bulkheads. Cut out and installed new Bomar aluminum porthole for the port quarter berth. Gaff Rigged Flicka • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Installed new Ritchie bulkhead compass. Re-caulked both cockpit drains. Fabricated new teak backing plate for cockpit instrument panel, and replaced panel 3/way switch, key mechanism and starter button. Lazarette Installed new fire extinguisher. Replaced both battery cases w/ straps. Installed (2) new batteries in 2004. Fabricated teak trim around seat. Applied 2-part epoxy to entire compartment under lazarette. Cabin Stripped, polished and epoxy coated all latches, hinges, lights, and other brass fixtures and cabin hardware. Custom fabricated new stove storage and installed new butane portable stove w/ new custom cutting board. Installed new teak and holly floor, and applied 10 coats of Interlux rubbed effect # 60. Replaced all cushions, interior and exterior. Installed new faucet pump. Installed teak handrail, which helps climb into quarter berth. Installed new oriental custom-made carpet on cabin sole and bathroom sole to protect new teak and holly flooring. New brass clock and tide on port side of cabin. Removed and powder coated gas tank and installed new direct tank gauge. Replaced all hoses including fuel feed, vent, sink, fresh water and bilge. Fabricated 2 new clean out hatches for water storage tanks. Installed new teak paper towel holder. Installed new brass coat hanger. Installed new rubber non-slip on stairs. Removed and professionally polished sink and welded 4 new mounting screws. Painted gas tank area, under settee, under sink, under entrance hatch and under quarter berth w/2 part Interlux white epoxy. Electronics Installed new rule 1500 GPH bilge pump w/ float and automatic float. Installed new standard horizon intrepid VHF radio. Installed new Jensen CD Stereo w/ poly planar speakers. Installed new standard depth reader w/ alarm.
Mast Completely removed every rivet and piece of hardware prior to stripping and powder coating. Ran all new electronic cables for VHF & masthead lights. Installed new masthead light. Installed new windex indicator. Installed new VHF antenna. Replaced all masthead sheaves. Removed and professionally polished mast plate. Installed new mast plate to accommodate all new blocks, which run all lines aft. Installed 8-point lazy jack system w/ all new blocks and lines, including new cam cleats on boom. Safety Installed new horseshoe buoy and holder w/bag and line. Commercial fishing first aid kit on board. 5 heavy-duty pad eyes were installed for connecting jack lines/tethers. Hardware New Schaefer 8” bow cleat. 2 Schaefer 3-sheave stainless deck organizers (2) New Lewmar super lock rope clutches for 6 lines. New Schaefer lead lines for roller furler. New swivel cam cleat for tail of furler line. (2) New Schaefer cast stainless sure grip cleats for jib lines. New preventer on boom. New Harken winch on cabin top to assist lines running aft
My future articles will discuss the fabrication of an aluminum bowsprit, designing, fabricating and installing cockpit teak tables, the installation of bronze ports to replace plastic ports, installation of a quarter berth port, installation of a new forward hatch, making a slatted teak cockpit sole, making and installing a teak and holly cabin sole, fabricating a new stovetop, painting and restoring your Yanmar engine, epoxing and painting your bilges and storage compartments, polishing your sink, powder coating your mast, booms, anchors, etc, fabricating additional teak accessories, etc. I will also include information and factory plans of gaff and sloop rigging and demonstrate several methods of running all lines forward. The most informative articles will be regarding the on-going maintenance of your Flicka, from the teak to the headliner. Restoring a Ferrocement By Christopher Toomey Eddies is a tiny, unfenced haul-out spot along Anchorage Road way back up the channel in Wilmington, CA. Cathy is the boss and Lupe runs the crew as well as the small white crane that pirouettes boat after boat up onto the hard and puts ‘em back in again without a scratch. It also happens to be the only yard in that neck of the woods that will haul a cement boat. Apparently it has happened that badly-made ferro boats have collapsed under their own weight when on the stands and this has made yard owners, well,…a little wary. I fell for JUNO, a 1978 made ferrocement Flicka, the minute I saw her, even with her cabin floorboards awash and with her termite infested cockpit. Had I done the sensible thing and researched ferrocement at all, that love would not as come as easily, but I still think I would not have been able to resist.
Finding a marina that would consider lifting a ferrocement Flicka required some research. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006
JUNO was hauled at Eddies on a virtually non-existent budget with the modest intention of re-packing her stuffing box, having her termited, giving her the once-over for spalling or cracks beneath the waterline, and cleaning the teak. I suppose few old boat owners would find news in the fact that a neglected twenty-eight year old boat might have some unpleasant surprises to offer once on the stands. That was certainly the case with JUNO in the form of a lower aft hull that looked like a well used ski slope mogul run. The pictures don’t do justice to the extent of the blistering that glimmered in the sunlight as the boat lifted from the water. I saw my few lay days either side of the 72 hour long termite tenting process evaporate, made peace with the fact that JUNO would not get much time to dry out, and found the money for a grinder, some Gluv-it epoxy coating, bottom paint, and a container of Marine
Once ashore, the amount of work ahead was easier to determine. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006 Flicka: s/y JUNO
Tex. I bought copper ablative bottom paint not knowing that I would have to do a thorough job of covering the exposed concrete with epoxy to prevent the copper from coming into contact with the steel mesh or armature through the porous ferro hull. As it happens, I was very careful with my application of epoxy so I’m not too concerned. In the future I will avoid the use of copper just to be sure that there is no chance of galvanic corrosion.
With JUNO on dry land, the inspection process began. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006
In the two weeks between buying JUNO and having her hauled, I researched the internet furiously and found just enough information to tell me that Ferro Cement was first developed by a Frenchman named Lambot who patented the process in 1855. The French and Italians built fishing boats, Restoring a Ferrocement yachts and huge cargo ships of it. In the Philippines and Southeast Asia, sampans were frequently made from the stuff. Following a 1970’s U.S. backyard building craze and the U.S. based company Sampson, it is New Zealanders and Aussies that have led the charge with contemporary Ferro construction.
There were two small, more serious issues below the waterline. One of them was an area near the shaft log where the mortar had become loose and powdered beneath a softball sized blister. Fortunately, somehow the area had stayed dry and there was no rust on the exposed mesh.
I learned from the Flicka history posted at web-site that some Flickas were built in ferro to showcase the process at boat shows. I also read one account of someone witnessing the actual explosion of a Ferro boat hit by lightening and read from an old debate in Latitude 38 a letter from one guy who had owned a number of boats of fiberglass, aluminum and wood and ferro. He wrote that other than a bit of a struggle to get one insured, a well-made ferro was, in his mind hands down the best hull material of the lot.
In another spot beneath a blister forward along the leading edge of the keel mass, I found a dollar-sized area of wet concrete with exposed, rusted mesh. Both of these areas were cleaned and covered with Marine-Tex. Good Friday bought me a free weekend before the splash as they did not drop the boat in as earlier agreed, so I was able to attack what I found to be a rotted, glassed over, mahogany rudder. I drilled holes and allowed the rudder to drain, then injected Dr. Rot and filled the holes with pieces of epoxy-soaked cellulose sponge.
From this writer I learned that ferrocement takes a good 30 years to fully cure and in that time does a lot of offgassing, hence the development of blisters between the resin coating and the actual concrete. This blistering often accelerates in the heat of the tropics but does not represent any danger of structural damage. Some good news there I suppose… Over a period of two days, starting with a paint scraper and a thin bladed putty knife I opened blister after blister, finding often, that with the putty knife I could easily lift off small sheets of thickly applied resin that had separated from the hull. This went on until, as can be seen in the pictures of the painted areas, just about the entire lower aft end of the keel mass was cleared of loose material. I figure that most of the blistering was concentrated there because of the density of the concrete in that area. I was concerned to find that on the port side the blistering was occurring up higher along the hull but this turned out to be one isolated spot.
With no time to paint the entire underwater portion of the hull, I ground the edges of the good epoxy coating down to make the transition between the coated and uncoated areas as smooth as possible, applied two coats of Gluv-it over the exposed concrete and then two coats of West Marine bottom of the line red-copper ablative. While I did get the stuffing box done, there was no time left to clean the teak or even fair the hull or the rudder. I had also run out of time needed to replace the loose shaft log that somebody pointed out to me as the probable cause of the loosened mortar near it.
Lifting the floorboard showed some of the ballast. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006
I was strongly advised not to use the engine since the set screws could not be tightened and it was loose enough to possibly wreck the shaft (one of my lessons as a new inboard engine owner). This was a real set-back since the rigging was not useable and I was relying on the Yanmar 1GM10 diesel engine to get me home. Flicka: s/y JUNO JUNO’s rigging was loose, the old enclosed tensioners frozen and I did not have the money or time for new, swaged rigging so, now, without an engine I had to figure out how to get Juno, wind on the nose, home north to King Harbor. First I bought nine used bronze turnbuckles from Minnies (the last nine complete ones they had!). Then I spent a long night before leaving Eddies cutting away the old tensioners and replacing them with a scary-looking but effective combination of chain, oversized thimbles and stainless cable clamps. This Bernard Montessier inspired jury-rig would have to see me and JUNO through the two day trip home from San Pedro to King Harbor by way of Emerald Bay on Catalina. I was hoping to motor it in a day but that option was no longer available. Oddly enough (hmmmm), none of my sailing friends were available to help me get her home. My new girlfriend (soon to be ex if this didn’t go right!) Cynthia, who is new to sailing but happens to be quite good at it and game for just about anything volunteered (honest) and stepped in where “angels fear to tread.” Our shakedown was the trip up the channel, out past Angel’s Gate and back in through Hurricane Gulch to a temporary berth at Cabrillo Way.
My first trip aboard JUNO. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006
We sculled away from Eddys out into the nearly windless channel at 0745 and, after what seemed an eon of shorttacking past container ships and trying to stay out of the way of the fast moving Foss tugs, got to Angels Gate at 1250. We found that the jury rig made tacking a lot of fun as it always snagged the sheets, that our placement of the sheet blocks on the obvious pad eyes was a nuisance, and that the working headsail was not going to give us the sort of windward tacking angle we needed for a simple straightforward trip out to Emerald Bay. Heading back into Restoring a Ferrocement the marina and cutting across Hurricane Gulch, we were clocking over 4 to 5 knots on a close reach with excessive heel so I let out the main a bit and she settled to about 15 to 20 degrees and just above 4.5 knots occasionally getting up to 5.2. The boat was steady through the wind chop and pretty dry. In the week before our two day trip north, I borrowed a slightly larger headsail from the new owners of my old Challenger and contacted the previous owner of JUNO who straightened me out regarding the block placement for the headsail sheets. He had placed them on the stanchions just forward of the winches and this worked out well enough. We got a 0630 start the following Saturday but there was already a breeze up, so sculling to windward up the channel away from the slip and into open water was a serious workout. We had to fend off two boats along the way but we made it out and quite happily set sail past a huge container ship that was about to do the same. The early breeze was a blessing and our course to Emerald Bay put us on a close reach all the way. The day was overcast, not a lot of boats out, and by noon we were averaging 3 knots in a freshening breeze.
The first guests to visit JUNO. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006
Throughout the day I would check to see if there was any slippage in the rigging but it held fast. We got to Emerald Bay by 1600, having traveled the last hour and a half at 4 knots or better. Without an engine we did not go into the crowded, quieter NW end of the moorings but ended up just south of Indian Rock where there was a pretty good roll. We found an uncrowned spot to safely sail to a mooring, bring her quickly up into the wind and horse the pennant on board to tie off fore and aft. We made a wonderful pasta dinner. The bay was quiet up at our end and the night was
They seemed to be having a great time as well. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006 Flicka: s/y JUNO crystal clear with just a sliver of a moon. The roll made sleeping difficult and made us grateful that we had not opened that bottle of wine as we had planned, but we managed. The following morning a thorough check of all the rigging found that everything was holding tight and we sailed away from the mooring at 0800. Initially, while close to the island, we had a small breeze from starboard that seemed it would allow us to sail along the lee of the island to a point were we could set a northerly close reach for King Harbor. This turned out to be a factor of the wind bending around Arrow Point and once we got out just past the point the breeze shifted more onto our nose and just about gave out.
A new captain aboard s/y JUNO. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006
The new Flicka docked safely after the previous long day on the water. Photo: Christopher Toomey © 2006
We struggled for about two hours, frequently tacking and occasionally jibbing 360 degrees. I certainly learned how “unforgiving” Flickas can be in light breezes but eventually we found open air. Beyond the shadow of the island we hit 12 to 15 knot breezes and JUNO picked up her skirts and flew, steadily shouldering her way through a 2 to 3 ft wind swell off the forward port quarter and never dropping below 4.5 knots, often pushing 5.2. With the exception of finding ourselves amid a large group of feeding dolphins for about 20 minutes, the rest of the trip until near the end was uneventful. As time went on and we closed in on King Harbor the wind started to fall off and I become concerned that we would be sculling the 4 miles to harbor! It held just well enough however and was even favorable for the ride up behind the breakwater and down the channel to JUNO’s new home. At 2000 with dark just beginning to settle in, we turned up into the wind and slipped easily into the berth. The last hour of the trip had been the toughest as the breeze started to die. We were tired, with a real sense of accomplishment and happy to step onto the dock. A Gallows for my By Bill Overman About six years ago in Mexico, I saw a gallows system aboard a Pacific Seacraft Orion. Attached are the pictures concerning my boom gallows, wind generator and solar panel setup. I thought the group might like to see it. I was able to reproduce it with a good deal of alterations from the original setup.
the stern and is rock solid. The two vertical plates, which support it, are far enough apart to give me full swing of the tiller. The solar panels are mounted on double “L” shaped aluminum pole brackets that are inserted into the top of the SS boom gallows poles, then through-bolted in position. There are two height settings for the solar panels, one about 5 1/2 feet above the stern and another a foot higher.
The wind generator is an “Air X,” which carries 400 watts at full throttle. The solar panel is 70 watts, but of course one doesn’t get the maximum out of either one. But, with the combination of the two, I have made 100 mile jaunts on the Great Lakes that kept my batteries topped off on a continuous basis—and that’s with the load of radar, an Autohelm self steering and two GPS plotters, plus lights and all the rest running at full bore most of the time. My goal was to install all of this together, yet having each system capable of disassembly if I did not want to run with any one part of it. Notice in the sailing pictures that I’m running without the wind generator and just the solar panels. The wind generator pole runs through the SS machined guide, which is through bolted to a plate on the boom gallows centerline.
There are two aluminum bars across the solar brackets upon which the solar panel is mounted, to insure any loading due to wind or sea bears on them and not the panel itself. That’s not to say a wave couldn’t crash the panels, but if it did, neither the brackets nor the boom gallows would go with it. The bottom tier of all this is where the boom gallows poles fit into a machined bracket fitted on each side of the stern, port and starboard. That bracket, one on each side, is actually two SS plates specially machined and welded together, then back-plated and bolted through the aft end of the port and starboard side.
If I don’t want the extra weight of the wind generator, I unplug the “snap-apart” connector countersunk on the stern, unbolt the side guide pole and lift it out. It goes fairly smoothly and only takes about ten minutes whether I’m putting it on or taking it off. The bottom of the wind generator pole fits into and is bolted through a bracket I had machined that is through bolted and back-plated on the transom. The horizontal flat plate this sits on is about eight inches above
It protrudes just beyond the transom. The inner part of this bracket is through-bolted on the inside of the stern cockpit. Each is one sturdy piece and a solid part of the boat. The boom gallows can also be disassembled by simply unbolting the lower poles from the inserts and taken off. Except for the mounting brackets, I am then down to the basic Flicka look.
The gallows supports a wind generator and solar panel. Photo: Bill Overman © 2006
The clearance on all the pole inserts is less than 1/64,” so when double- bolted from 180-degree directions with ¾” SS bolts, there is zero movement or rattle of any of it. Flicka — s/y MOJO So far I’ve only had it out in 30-35 knots of winds on Lake Michigan on a beam reach and a run and there was not a shake, rattle or roll to any of the conjoined parts. The upside is I can generate nearly all the power I need 90 percent of the time. When I can’t, I have a 2000-watt Honda generator that plugs into my shore-power outlet. The downside is all the weight aft, around fifty pounds, not counting my four-stroke engine. With everything rigged up I have a squat problem, but nothing that caused any problems so far in higher winds. I offset the weight aloft due to my mastmounted radar, boom gallows attachments and Furlex furling with 200extra pounds of glassed in lead in the forward portion of my bilge.
A single solar panel produced power even if the wind cannot. Photo: Bill Overman © 2005
Unless on an extended haul, I keep my stern water tank empty and my forward water bladder in the locker under the V-berth full. Also, on a long haul, I downgrade from my 100-pound 9.9 Honda four-stroke to a forty pound lighter six-horse two cycle, which I still have enough muscle to lift off the transom engine bracket while underway and place inside the cabin. So, there is one of my fun and brainnumbing Flicka projects with pictures. I am more than willing to entertain any comments, criticism or suggestions on the setup. I know we all have our own opinions of what a Flicka should be. It will be fun reading your comments. If you have any questions, please let me know. I also put together removable teak seats for the cockpit with Murphy snap-apart bolts. If anybody is interested, let me know and I’ll take some pictures of them also.
MOJO docked in low water. Photo: Bill Overman © 2005
Flicka—what a great sailing vessel. Pride may be a deadly sin, but it sure is fun to pull into a new port and watch the people look. Sometimes, I just sit there and look at it myself. What a joy.