🙏RIP Sir RIP🙏 👍It was such a blessing to have a man who can do and supervise so much of the needed work. He’s still with you. 💝 Wishing you the absolute best as you continue your journey. 🤗💞🤗
Great job. I love your down to earthness...if that is a word...you are resourcefull and have proven to me time and time again that making repairs doesn't have to be complicated or break the bank. Thanks for the time and effort you both put into making the videos.
Lisa here. Always a pleasure to watch you. And Rebecca is a natural spokesperson. Funny to be in Colombia watching you talk about your last repairs here. You've certainly made some miles since then (12 years ago, wow). Glad the dumpster dive for fiberglass was successful ;-)
Thanks Lisa... I had lost Lily the day I did that video. It was hard to smile. Still crying for her, but just got a new little kitten and he is this gentle affectionate little boy cat....he never stops snuggling with me! So maybe for the next video, I will brush my hair, and have a smile on my face ;) -Rebecca
@@RVLifeNOW OMG I had no idea Rebecca. I have been totally out of the loop with overland travel and family visits. That is absolutely heartbreaking news. I am glad that Lily sent a gentle, affectionate kitty to take care of you. The video illustrates that you are a good spokesperson adopting a 'show must go on attitude' in front of the camera. I had no idea you were carrying such a burden. Love and hugs from Cartagena
Before I started watching your videos, I would have been scared off from repairs of this magnitude. Now, I might have the confidence to give it a try! Can't wait to see what you have up next.
Hi Marcel, good hearing from you. It just takes the right tools and a lot of grunt work...and time. The next video will be installing the windlass, putting a vent in the chain locker door, backing plates and a bunch of details to finish off the project...land load our new 3/8" chain. In the mean time, I have a bunch of guys glassing up all the craters we ground into the hull 4 months ago, because of the resin blisters. Finally we turned the corner and all is going back together.
Thanks for saying that. It’s our hope to help people save a few BOAT bucks ;) (Bring Out Another Thousand) We just had 3 awesome guys this week help do tons of fiberglassing on the bottom of the boat, all day every day 8 hours, 3 guys. How much would that cost in the USA? We splurged and spent just about $300 for the great help ranging from one very skilled guy down to a diligent eager helper. Was lovely to see the boat take such a big leap upwards! There are many ways to save...from dumpster diving, to doing it yourself, to knowing when it’s worthwhile to get some help when you are in the right place! -Rebecca
Once upon a time I saw a guy take a Allen wrench and put it in a drill. He spun it and used that to dig the old core out!!! He went from hole to hole knocking up the rotten stuff. He was left with a lower layer of glass and a upper layer of glass with holes in it. He squirted foam in the middle and let it expand. He sanded off the foam coming out the holes. Then he laid glass over the mess, faired and painted. You could not find a scratch!!!! Amazing!! And easy
I just started using epoxy but when filling gaps I found cutting up some cloth into small fibers and strips really helps bulk the mixture out and dries solid and clings like mad.
Fun video again Mr Patrick! You will certainly have a new home when she splashes again! I am saving the links for your videos, I am surely going to need your "assistance" on several projects coming up. Top of the list is Miss Rebecca's Iridium Go/ nav station review.....Thanks, hope you get to travel around the cape before departing! Andrew
I had the same problem with balsa core. I made 2 pieces. of marine plywood and glued it under the same kind of lip that you made. it worked great. Boy a tough job!!
Wow! everybody's a critic. Dumpster diving boat repair, YOU ARE AWESOME! Wonder if your followers remember that all the tools and budget you are working with come from your boat. Most of my shade tree mechanic repairs last longer than any I've paid for and I have no doubt that your do too. Cheers!
Thanks, Joe. Yes, critics and experts straight from the arm chair, but that is fine. There are lots of ways to do the same job and there can be lots of speculation, but this is real life cruising. We have seen tremendous horror stories develop on other cruising boats, from shoddy work done by over priced boat yard workers. Much safer, and better, to do the work yourself.
Hi Patric I'm surprised you didn't excavate the deck skin back until you found un-rotted core! Every old Valiant I've surveyed has things like the cleats and sanction bases through bolted with long-failed bedding compound. The two cleats alongside your square cutout will invariably have rotted core under them, and will leak as they are stressed by the dock lines surging against them. And the areas under the old fiberglass will be so dirty that they will have no adhesion, no mater how much you try to reef them out with a hooked tool.
You are exactly right about the need to redo the wet balsa under cleats and stanchions. All that you are mentioned was done long ago on this boat. You can see some of those repairs as chunks of fiberglass where I removed the new, wet, balsa. A lot of side decks have been completely ripped out and rebuilt. We did that work in Colombia, 12 years ago. Thanks for your comment.
Yay another Brick House video! Patrick you sir have a nose for finding boat work projects :p I don't know what is more impressive - the repair or how you got yourself into the forward crawl space! I enjoyed the video. Glad to see a little footage at the end of the video which I hope was from your most recent Safari. Best of luck on knocking down the items on the refit list with hopefully fewer additions to it as you near completion. For a second there I thought Rebecca was living large with those tens of thousands of local currency (10 bucks) - what a clever video snippet. Take care
Hi David! Yeah it’s actually more like a hundred ;) But thanks for noticing. I’ve wanted to do that for a while :) And yes...we got lucky with those rhinos on our last Safari...we have never seen them so active before! It was really special! And yes...I think Patrick has been saving these projects up for a while...how could so many things need attention on one boat!? -Rebecca
Great work. Thanks for sharing. Good that you did not use modeling clay. It has moisture in it and finds moisture creating a weak point between glasses layers and affects resin.
I could have used flour mixed with water, anything that would stick and stay there. That was just to fill in the area in the lowest skin to preserve the original bolt hole, chain and electrical holes, positioning, and reduce the amount of thickness that would have to be drilled out to reinstall the windlass. That "putty" would also seal any gaps to the plastic covered plate so resin would not run everywhere. The windlass is now installed and I am working on that video. After removing the temporary plate wrapped in plastic, from inside of the chain locker, I was able to drill up through the original bolt hole position, and what little butyl I could not easily pull out, which made positioning for drilling the other larger holes, with a hole saw, much easier. Thanks for your comment.
It would be tough competition, which boat, Oria or Brick House has required the most rip out. But like you, I recently dug out the 10" sheetrock blade and have gone to work on the hull. But first, there was all the filling and laminating up of the craters caused by deep blisters that had to be ground out. . See you in S. America!
I put a link to it down in the description below the video, Patrick...and James...it actually a simple automotive tool , though I’m not sure the difference besides the price tag since it’s then considered “marine” when it becomes the cotter pin tool : -Rebecca Here is the link : amzn.to/2LFhdxE
:,) Patrick, I never knew you boss. But Vandra my families v40 my brother and I share has this exact same issue. Thank you mate and rest in peace. This video helps a LOT. :,)
Fred, I wonder why you got cracks. What did you fill the void with? I did not mention in the video that the top, deck, skin is 1/4 inch thick. Staying with a traditional 12:1 ratio, I beveled back 3 inches in each direction. Also, I am confident the void is fully filled around the perimeter and out 3 inches. I have made similar repairs and have had no cracking. I would suspect, cracking is from not beveling out far enough.
You should see the native guys working on this boat. They are patching the ground out blisters on the hull. Out of preference, some wear no sandals. They go barefoot even though there are fiberglass shards, cut bits of wire and all sorts of sharp things that would turn me lame in an instant. They have leather for feet. "African Feet" they are called.
That is good for bolt holes and what the builder should have done. Beat out the surrounding coring, refill the entire hole with thickened epoxy then redrill the bolt hole. Larger areas, like the side deck and the windlass areas requires a different approach.
Bill, There is nothing that gets buried in that dumpster that I don't know about! So many treasures to be had, I started a giveaway spot under a nearby boat for things I did not need but someone else might be able to use. Someone actually threw away an 8 inch stack of nautical charts that covered the world. Those went to the giveaway spot and within a few days, disappeared into good hands.
That looks like a good structural repair. Aesthetically it is kind of a mess though. Can you address how to finish the surface so it looks good and blends with the previous non-skid? I understand how to do the structural part and am not intimidated by it. What makes me nervous is getting to the end and having the deck look like a patchwork of repairs and original surface. Yes it would be stronger and safe, but looks also count.
Cosmetics are a far back seat on this boat. I do want things to look good but a marina queen this boat will never be as long as we are crossing oceans, continually. Look at the mess the coal dust makes every day. Paint color matching....some other day, some other harbor far away. There are too many other projects to take care of first. Strength before cosmetics. Thanks for your comment.
@@nightkil13r With a tap of a hammer, I more often use the tool to start a hole or a self tapping screw. Lots of uses for that tool, which, thanks to the comments, I now know what it was originally designed for.
The next time you are patching a hole like on the inside surface of that deck get a flat object board, piece of card board, mds and put it against the hole. Take a 2 x 4 and wedge it against the flat object. Now you have a flat surface to patch the holes. Patch just like you did. Then remove the flat object and fare with bondo. Easy! And can be made smooth easy!
Nice deck repair, it looks like a good, no drama shipyard. So how far off are you to launching Brickyard, and also how is your new battery locker area working out?
Here is the Battery Box Video in case you haven’t seen it... We don’t have tie downs yet...if that’s what you mean... ua-cam.com/video/8ANe0hA7BXg/v-deo.html We won’t be going anywhere for a few more months minimum. Lots more work to do! It was suppose to be 3 months...approaching 6 months now, and maybe we are halfway!? Hard to tell.the boss has his nose to the grindstone and only looks at today and tomorrow......Rebecca
Hi Beverly, I do wonder where you guys are? How is the Catalina 30 doing? Yes, the view numbers are up past where I ever dreamed. It is a ton of work though. This video took about 40 hours to edit. Ever since Rebecca got involved with this UA-cam thing, she has worked the analytics and thumbnails and all those behind the scene things I would never have the time to do properly, the numbers jumped. Plus, the editing is far better than way back in the first 10 videos. We are doing a lot of major work here in Africa, so there is a lot of video material, but little time to do videos when the boat requires so much labor. Let me know how you are doing! Patrick
I have a 68 Dufour Arpege, that is in good shape overall except for the deck getting soft in a couple small spots. I am going to wait for winter to dig into it, as Florida summers can be quite wet and hot. I saw some videos of people injecting expanding epoxy in small drilled holes. It was not foam, it was a very hard resin. It was a lot less invasive and time consuming. Have you had any experience with this method? Thanks for the videos, very helpful.
There’s definitely still rot in there but the cause has been removed and it’s sealed up and watertight so by rights it dry up and shouldn’t get any worse and yes it worked and will likely be ok for years to come but it’ll eventually fail big time but (a lot of buts in this repair) by then then it’ll be someone else’s problem… my current boat had a long term owner who bodgied up bolt holes with caulking compound as well as did a few small repairs using much the same stuff, he didn’t bother drilling rotten holes out to clean material first, similar with new holes, he drilled them, wiped some silicon on the surfaces of what he was mounting then bolted them down when he should’ve drilled them oversize, filled them with resin so it soaked into the walls of the holes then drilled them the correct size then sealed it all… cheap shortcuts might work for a surprisingly long time plus if it’s an old boat that’s nothing special it can be difficult to justify spending two or three times longer plus the money for proper materials to sort issues like this but damned if I could bodgie it up, you may as well of found a thick sheet of something strong enough and glued it on top of the front section of the deck and left the rot as once dry and the water source removed it’s not going to get worse… like drilling millions of holes in rotten decks then filling them with resin, the time it takes to dry it all first plus the cost of the resin usually ends up cost more and taking more time than replacing the section of deck. Properly sealed timber doesn’t get wet hence it doesn’t rot, all the issues are caused by things like drilling holes etc as mentioned: do it properly, maintain it and it’ll last for hundreds of years you just have to look at at how many old timber boats are still in service and most never had the resins etc that we do.
Bondo uses clay as a thickener and is a polyester. A terrible product to use on a boat. What was used here is epoxy, thickened with cabosil and microballoons. Only epoxy products are used for repairs on this boat.
It is a reaction to the humidity in the air as the resin cures. As long as things are still tacky, I can apply a new layer of glass with no worries. I stay within the acceptable limits of humidity and temperature during the layup so there are no complications. I have hired pros to do a layup on our skeg, years ago. They laid up 6 layers before having to let things cool down.
@@RVLifeNOW, thank you. A have a few patches to do. One bigger at the mast, stern around central cleat, and one torn out cleat on starboard side. I fear the task a bit.
Patrick, do you carry fiber-cloth, resin, buckets of the fairing compound aboard when afloat for repairs in the field? If so, was there any event or tales from sailors that made you do it? Thanks ~Mike
Mike, For 13 years, I always carried some fiberglass cloth on board but never had to use it nor have I known anyone who had to use fiberglass in an emergency. The polyester resin I had stored away hardened up on its own in a month or so. For long term storage, only epoxy will last. I used to have some epoxy glue, that is, ready made, two part thickened epoxy. That glue came in handy for repairs around the boat. I still have a gallon of epoxy resin left over from all of our repairs in Richards Bay. I am debating just how little of that do I want to store away for future use. Certainly not a half gallon.
f you need to do any small areas--or even large areas, I use a method like yours. I push in a layer of wet chopped strand mat and then over that I push in using pieces of plywood, (which never stayed once they had placed the mat) I use tongue depressors and narrow plywood off-cut spatulas, to push into place and smooth off a mixture of bean bag styrene foam beans and a mixture of epoxy resin, Q-Cells and cotton fibres or Cabosil, and I also pull to pieces a few scraps of chopped strand mat and put those fibres in there too. Some people burn the mat first to get rid of the stuff used to bond it to polyester. I do not bother--I just use it as it comes. I use a slow hardener. I do not make up more than a quarter of a litre or so of mixed epoxy resin at a time, or it will begin to exotherm before I even have the stuff mixed, and if it is a stinking hot day, I delay if I can, or refrigerate the resins before mixing them. Not too cold or they will be like treacle. Just enough to give me some extra time. I use cheap disposable angle-brushes such as mechanics use to clean parts, and brush the pure mixed resin resin to wet the underside of any remaining deck laminates and the the limiting surfaces to where I have scraped or chiseled out any core. I can slosh the stuff around--it does not matter. Any excess will be absorbed into the next step. Those plastic sponges on a twisted wire used to hand wash dishes might be ideal for getting priming resin into such voids. Cheap and entirely disposable. This "putty" is a replacement for the original sheet foam or balsa because the spheres of foam make it light, the glue that surrounds them makes it strong and rigid--but with the glass and Cabosil and cotton fibres it is stronger and fits any irregular area perfectly because as I tamp it gently into place it molds exactly to the shape of the void and bonds to anything with which it comes in contact if the place has been properly primed with pure mixed resin. If the mix is right, there will be enough adhesion for it to stick adequately to most surfaces anyway--but I like more rather than less resin if it is mixed with reinforcements. I call it a putty, but it is more like a stiff but bulky light glue, like white rice-bubbles mixed with treacle soaked in porridge.. I use as I said, plywood spatulas to push in the filler mix, tamping the mix into place with a bit of broom shank or small blocks of scrap wood. . I do not use too much force or I might crush the spherical styrene beads used to form the small voids for lightness.. Once it sets it is better than foam, sticks to both surfaces, has better stress dissipation properties, and I have never had a fail. I have even used it to make a cool room floor, covered with a few sheets of exterior plywood, over which hand carts were pushed. There was little heat lost through THAT floor. If you wish to try this, I would suggest one makes up a test piece or two and test it for strength and delamination resistance before risking it on your own or someone else's vessel. I have NOT used this below water line. Below waterline I use solid epoxy glass. I would not risk foam under there, and I would use phenolic microspheres rather than Q Cells in any fairing mix.
Mike, what excellent information. Your method would have been a very good way to go on this repair. Only recently have I used foam balls mixed into epoxy. That was to fill the big voids I dug out of the rudder to inspect the spline to shaft attachment. Thanks for your most valuable comment.
Thank you, Chuck. I don't know where that tool came from and never knew what it was for but it has been in my screwdriver box, forever. I have gotten a lot of use out of it, including punching a pilot hole to start a self tapping screw where a drill and bit would not fit. I will start using it now, when I pull cotter pins.
Http://www.noonsite.com for sailing...for general tourism this seems to be pretty realistic though not sure how often it’s updated: www.tripsavvy.com/travel-warnings-for-countries-in-africa-1454328
We have spent time in Tanzania south. Haven't heard of any problems. When we anchored in out of the way locations, we always took precautions anyway and locked up, left a cockpit light on and had the bear spray ready....as we do anywhere we anchor.
Another good source...it’s dated but they make updates, is this book... www.bluewaterweb.com/search.aspx?searchterm=East+Africa+pilot&pagesize=20&view=grid Good to join Facebook group...Indian Ocean crossing...and ask other sailors ahead of him about their experiences. -Rebecca
How do you stomach the freaking know-all comments? It happens on all channel but some people here seem particularly righteous from the safety of their chair navigating a computer. I dunno. Maybe I should train myself to NOT read comments. It can be discouraging at a time when humans seem to be determined to polarise.
There are a few people who need to go out and play rather than spend so much time on the internet. This happens on all channels, where some commenters are wimps and feel safe with the anonymity UA-cam affords. They watch not to be entertained or learn from others but to think up stupid things to say. If it is a very ridiculous remark, UA-cam directs the comment directly to a screening folder where I usually just delete it and block the idiot. Thanks for your nice comment.
I use my phone to watch videos and other computer related stuff. I can't find the tip jar link. I'm located in Australia so perhaps that has something to do with it???
A generic two part white paint. Not much choice here. Not even an off white was available. White white, was the only thing available unless I ordered from Durban, waited several days and paid extra for the shipping.
We used some fiberglass and resin and epoxy that we got in S Africa . It’s detailed in the video about the 500 blisters we had… can’t remember the name offhand.
no, balsawood is a common coring material. It's lightweight wood that is cut in a grid pattern but not all the way through, then epoxy is spread over it and into all the cracks, effectively making this lightweight wood sealed and solid as a rock.
Ah. Looked at a few of your videos now and can see that. Maybe we will see you there in a few months. We have a lot of work to do before we go back in the water, but slowly slowly. Hopefully by end of year we will be on our way there.
Laminated epoxy with biax cloth?? Other than the lead keel, it is the strongest part of the boat. What would you have done differently? This is how it is done in foreign countries.
It is a PIA but there is no choice but to dig in and do it. With all the repairs, we will feel much more secure out in the middle of a miserable anchorage or in a storm, offshore.
Here in S. Africa, black coal dust is a real problem as you clean it off the decks one day and it is back the next. Coal is a big export and the dust goes everywhere when they load it onto the nearby ships.
"Some dictionaries list smoothen, a verb meaning to make or become smooth, but the word is superfluous and can always give way to smooth. Smoothe, which appears about a tenth as often as smoothen, is an old secondary spelling of smooth, but it does not commonly appear in 21st-century published writing." I got lucky on that one. Never was a stellar in English class. And to think, I have written articles for magazines.
Becuase if there is ever water penetration again, which on a boat, there are always leaks, it will just become rotten again. Fiberglass is good forever and can’t rot. -Rebecca
Back when I was a kid, existing in a perfect world, knowing everything and simultaneously lacking much experience to know better, I would have scoffed at that repair. When later I was a yacht joiner at Hinckley, I heaped ridicule on an old fart who often repeated his mantra of ”good nuff”. Just today, a few decades later, I was performing a non-critical repair aboard my own boat, and caught myself saying it too! What? One of my old boatyard bosses told me once that the perfect raceboat was the one that upon crossing the line in record time, promptly failed. Nothing was left on the table. Success. I figure I’ve got another couple decades if I don’t replace this boat in the interim. There’s simply no sense in achieving more than a serviceable repair unless one is driven by ego, perfectionism, or the boat itself is worthy of an historical record, like say Dorade. I say, well done. It might be unnecessarily heavy, and hardly engineered, but I can’t imagine with all that mass and massive backing blocks that you’ll ever witness a catastrophic failure. Exquisite compromises exist on a continuum, and only a fool attempts to operate within a perfect world.
Swashfrog, thanks or such a thoughtful comment. "Good nuff" is how some of the "defects" on this boat have been for quite a while. For years, I have been looking forward to hauling out in S. Africa and digging into some of these on edge situations and making sure we will have no problems in the future, especially in the middle of an ocean, in the middle of a terrible storm. There have been some unexpected surprises, which is all for the better as we will have great confidence and be safer, as we cross the Atlantic to Uruguay and around to the west coast of S. America.
Patrick Childress Sailing, there’s truly an art to strategic maintenance deferral, isn’t there? Sure, we could all buy new boats every decade (because we’re all wealthy), but then we’d never gain important real world experience with respect to maintenance. I’ve been eying Chile myself, getting off the well-worn path. 👍🏼
Contrary to popular belief, the strength does not come from the core, it comes from the 'box' shape of the FRP around it. The core is just a empty space holder so that the box can be formed. It doesn't matter if it's rotten, the problem is the water intrusion into the layers of FRP. Anybody can break a piece of balsa wood with no problem. Some people repair rotted cores by simply drilling holes every few inches and filling up with epoxy, reinforcing the 'box'. In fact the entire boat is built on this theory, the typical 1/8" non-cored hull is flimsy until they complete the box by gluing the deck to it.
Walk on the deck of a boat with water saturated balsa and there is definite softness, definitely a sign of unwanted weakness in the vertical direction and certainly not a boat you would want to purchase. Deck cleats and windlasses have pulled out of such a weakened structure. It isn't just this Valiant 40, but other makes of boats with balsa cores, where the builder did properly treat penetrations of the decks, have structural issues. You might have a box at the boat factory, but years later, dissolve away the balsa, one can't expect to retain the original structural specifications. In the area of the windlass a dense, foam coring, could have been an option but would have been difficult to fill into the voids of dug out balsa, properly. I chose to laminate this area, I will have no future concerns about strength or water intrusion issues. . Thank you very much for your comment.
Now you can be happy you have some real world, continuing, education from areas around the world, not college. Also, see the reply to John Anthony. Please, study up on new, modern, coring materials and don't ever suggest to a customer the use of balsa. See the video before this one about rebuilding the battery box area using cored materials. Stay away from balsa and wood for deck coring. Thanks for your comment.
Two part primer, two part paint. Maybe if this were a beautiful, shiny deck, marina queen with decks of gel coat, then yes. This boat is 42 years old with painted decks.
Looking forward to seeing if the chain is what you think is going to Last in time or just Rust away over time :) Stainless Steel would be the dream way to go but the cost might be another boat in price and Gal well would be how good the Dip was done ??????????. on it. Most would say you get what you pay for but in the boat world that does not hold true .
Years ago I thought stainless steel chain would be great to have. After seeing so much broken stainless steel, bolts and chainplates, due to crevice corrosion, I do believe galvanized steel chain is far safer. Practical Sailor says some Chinese chain is very good while other Chinese chain is not. The problem being that Chinese chain is not stamped on the links by the manufacturer so a purchaser does not know who made the chain or anything about it. Each chain purchase would have to be tested for strength and durability. Our Italian made, Maggi Chain, is stamped every 3 feet, or so, with "MGI", Maggi Chain Italy. The seller gave us a "cert", certification, stating the chain has been tested to meet all stated specifications. The alternative would be to buy the American made , Laclede HT, chain available through Chains And Anchors www.chainsandanchors.com.
I realize it is way after the fact, but a better filler would have been a 2 part urethane expanding foam, the type used in rudder construction, 16 lbs density. Advice for next time
For an exterior area, I would never use a coring that could rot or become a sponge, like balsa or plywood. There are far better, modern, foam coring materials available. See the video just before this one about rebuilding the acid ruined, battery box area. The foam and honeycomb corings are very strong and would be great for the side decks. This, being the windlass area, I wanted to give ultimate strength and have no future concerns. Thanks for watching.
Emanuel, I like Mads. He comes up with a lot of good ideas. Our boat is 42 years old and we have been putting it through hard sailing for 12 years now. We are fortunate to pick up techniques from experienced people in boat yards around the world, and like here, share them with the "first world". Mads likes over kill to make up for the lacking of the original design and execution by the builder, so do I. This repair is strong and will never be a problem for us or any future owner. I only wish the designer and builder of this boat would have done it this way from the beginning. Did you read the comment from a very experienced boat repair man in the U.K.? He was suggesting the area should have been recored with balsa! A lot of ways of doing it, but I much prefer the longevity and strength of this repair. Thanks for your comment. PS, do you think Mads would be impressed with all the glorious sanding that was done?
Why not use a small piece of marine plywood I'm sure there some in that garbage so why so u do patch with solid fiberglass your cutting corners in some areas and then using matting and fiberglass in areas you can use wood.
Not only epoxy, but the other resins like polyester and vinylester will do the same thing. You do have to be careful how the resin is mixed and use a wide container to help reduce heat buildup so you can get it out of the container before it sets off.
Why didn't you cut out more of the top layer and then cut away all of the rotten balsa? Seems like the wet balsa most likely goes all the way under the stanchions and other equipment you have nearby. Too much work for this occasion and saving it for later? Why not have the guys doing the sides do all of the front at the same time?
I was at the University of Iowa in 1989-1990 studying writing and Book Art, and I knew a lovely young woman named Rebecca Childress. I wonder if there is any relation. . . .?
Hope this lasts and you and your family are safe. I commend your efforts but this is how it’s supposed to go,... 1) determine the extent of the damage by drilling a series of small holes through the top skin into the core material but NOT through the bottom skin. If the balsa comes out wet, drill another hole further out from the center of the damage till you hit dry core. 2) Mark the perimeter of the damage. 3) Cut the top skin and remove as carefully as possible to avoid damaging it. 4) Scrape out rotted core material. 5) Prepare/clean up area. Also prepare/cut to size your replacement balsa core. It comes in sheets of little blocks glued to fabric and is flexible to match any curvature on your deck. 6) Pour enough resin to cover entire repair and set in the new balsa core. Pour enough resin over the new core to cover it. 7) place top skin back and place weight on it; sandbags work best. Some resin may squish out the edges. 8) After the repair has cured, use your circular sander to create a feathered edge all along the edge of the repair. You should have about 3 inches of feathering on each side of the repair edge. 9) Start laying your fiberglass in the channel you’ve created, starting in the middle right over the repair edge with a thin (about 2”) strip. Follow that with successively wider fiberglass pieces till you reach desired thickness and width. 10) the repair is essentially done. Now make it pretty by sanding flush and gel coating. (Mixing the perfect color takes some effort) BAM!! Time to go sailing!!
"Hope this lasts" ? It was pretty sturdy to begin with because of the large backing plates. Laminated biax, with epoxy.....I am quite confident it will be just fine, forever. It is now the strongest part of any part of the decking, as it should be to carry the tremendous stresses created by the windlass. Balsa is an antiquated material. I would NEVER use balsa as a coring and this video clearly shows why. There are far better, modern, coring materials. Obviously, I chose not to use coring in this area of the fore deck. There was no need to poke a lot of holes as you suggest. I knew pretty well what I would find and would have been surprised to find good coring. There can be several ways to do it right. Forget the balsa, though. . Thanks for your comment.
John, It sounds like you have great experience but need to catch up to modern methods. Why would someone want to duplicate a problem by using balsa? There are far better cores to use these days. This repair looks solid, as a windlass area should be.
geez back in the 70s we sailors at work thought the valiant 40 was the gold standard that would last forever especially since it cost so much little did we know 40yrs later its just rotten like any wood boat
I don't understand why not just cut away a little more of your top layer deck rather then having to use a 90 degree tool and air dryer and scavenge on the yard for questionable fiberglass panels serious what are you saving if you have to pull it up again...
Not using wood that can rot is a GIANT plus in my book, also great idea to replace it with thrown away fiberglass that looked good. Really grateful to the Sir in the video
wow, you have a great boat and are probably a great sailor but that was a horrible repair. You did not even sand the lower skin! I would say that was pretty much a how to in how to not repair a boat. I hope it holds and wish you a great trip!
To show every detail can be a pretty boring video. It was said what was done in preparation for the layup. Actually, the lower skin had a very rough texture, better than a 40 grit. Being very clean, also cleaned with acetone, it will have excellent adhesion. Thanks for your comment.
@@RVLifeNOW Rebecca. I wrote that before I knew Patrick had passed. I am so sorry for your loos. I have friends in construction in RI (USA) that did business with Patrick some years back. They are friends of mine that I have sailed with and made sea passages with. I recently spoke to one of those guys and mentioned Patrick's passing as a sailor, and i was then informed that he lived n RI and that he did business with some of my friends. He had all good words for Patrick. My best wishes for you on your physical and emotional journey.
Fortunately, since we do all the work ourselves, or with helpers, it is more like an easy hundred. Soon, all the work will be done and we can start crossing oceans again.
Why? It’s nonslip and safe and takes a beating. We painted it in 2018 but it’s a hard working deck and won’t stay pretty for long if we painted it. Plus we want to sail someday...it’s been 8 months of making this boat strong and pretty. It’s time to stop and go! Yes the deck could look pretty for a couple years...and the cockpit could too...but there is only so much time in life to go have some fun. And paint does nothing for that. -Rebecca
A lot of the shit look is from black coal dust blowing in from the ship loading terminal a couple miles away. Any time there is a SE wind, everything get covered in the stuff.
Thomas Bonde The rest of the deck isn’t rotten. It has been repaired and replaced over the years whenever needed. It’s very strong now. Under the windlass was once the beta, now it was the worst. So now that part of the deck has been done too. Should be about the last of it. But painting is never a priority. Patrick is right..it’s a hard used deck that doesn’t need to be a pretty shade of white...because it won’t be that way for very long! -Rebecca
In the video it shows the side deck ripped out and in the process...That was 12 years ago in Colombia, where I learned from the local contractor how to do this work. I could have used foam coring, like I used for the battery box rebuild in the video before this one, but chose to make it as strong and solid as possible and have no future problems in this area.
🙏RIP Sir RIP🙏
👍It was such a blessing to have a man who can do and supervise so much of the needed work. He’s still with you. 💝 Wishing you the absolute best as you continue your journey. 🤗💞🤗
Thanks.
Such a pleasure to be able to see Patrick and his craft. Quite a body of work during his (too short) lifetime. Thankful. Blessings.
Thanks for watching. Sometimes its the quality not the quantity. But i agree...it was too short.
i watch these old videos and think, life is fleeting, go sailing today!
Life is definitely short! Go sailing! Or RVing. But go!
Great job. I love your down to earthness...if that is a word...you are resourcefull and have proven to me time and time again that making repairs doesn't have to be complicated or break the bank. Thanks for the time and effort you both put into making the videos.
Thanks David P. It certainly does take a lot of time. Always nice to get compliments like this! -Rebecca
Lisa here. Always a pleasure to watch you. And Rebecca is a natural spokesperson. Funny to be in Colombia watching you talk about your last repairs here. You've certainly made some miles since then (12 years ago, wow). Glad the dumpster dive for fiberglass was successful ;-)
Thanks Lisa... I had lost Lily the day I did that video. It was hard to smile. Still crying for her, but just got a new little kitten and he is this gentle affectionate little boy cat....he never stops snuggling with me! So maybe for the next video, I will brush my hair, and have a smile on my face ;) -Rebecca
@@RVLifeNOW OMG I had no idea Rebecca. I have been totally out of the loop with overland travel and family visits. That is absolutely heartbreaking news. I am glad that Lily sent a gentle, affectionate kitty to take care of you. The video illustrates that you are a good spokesperson adopting a 'show must go on attitude' in front of the camera. I had no idea you were carrying such a burden. Love and hugs from Cartagena
Thanks Lisa. There is a reason you got blog of the year, photographer of the year on www.lisadorenfest.com!
Before I started watching your videos, I would have been scared off from repairs of this magnitude. Now, I might have the confidence to give it a try! Can't wait to see what you have up next.
Hi Marcel, good hearing from you. It just takes the right tools and a lot of grunt work...and time. The next video will be installing the windlass, putting a vent in the chain locker door, backing plates and a bunch of details to finish off the project...land load our new 3/8" chain. In the mean time, I have a bunch of guys glassing up all the craters we ground into the hull 4 months ago, because of the resin blisters. Finally we turned the corner and all is going back together.
Hi Patrick !
Nice instructional video , by the way you teach people's they are going to save a lot of money !
Regards, Angel From Fort Lauderdale .
Thanks for saying that. It’s our hope to help people save a few BOAT bucks ;) (Bring Out Another Thousand) We just had 3 awesome guys this week help do tons of fiberglassing on the bottom of the boat, all day every day 8 hours, 3 guys. How much would that cost in the USA? We splurged and spent just about $300 for the great help ranging from one very skilled guy down to a diligent eager helper. Was lovely to see the boat take such a big leap upwards! There are many ways to save...from dumpster diving, to doing it yourself, to knowing when it’s worthwhile to get some help when you are in the right place! -Rebecca
Once upon a time I saw a guy take a Allen wrench and put it in a drill. He spun it and used that to dig the old core out!!! He went from hole to hole knocking up the rotten stuff. He was left with a lower layer of glass and a upper layer of glass with holes in it. He squirted foam in the middle and let it expand. He sanded off the foam coming out the holes. Then he laid glass over the mess, faired and painted. You could not find a scratch!!!! Amazing!! And easy
Lots of ways of doing it.
I just started using epoxy but when filling gaps I found cutting up some cloth into small fibers and strips really helps bulk the mixture out and dries solid and clings like mad.
Good ideas
Fun video again Mr Patrick! You will certainly have a new home when she splashes again! I am saving the links for your videos, I am surely going to need your "assistance" on several projects coming up. Top of the list is Miss Rebecca's Iridium Go/ nav station review.....Thanks, hope you get to travel around the cape before departing! Andrew
Yes...we gotta see that part of S Africa too!
We hope to do another video on the Iridium GO soon! -Rebecca
I had the same problem with balsa core. I made 2 pieces. of marine plywood and glued it under the same kind of lip that you made. it worked great.
Boy a tough job!!
Yes..that was a touch diy repair, but it’s holding up well ;)
Wow! everybody's a critic. Dumpster diving boat repair, YOU ARE AWESOME! Wonder if your followers remember that all the tools and budget you are working with come from your boat. Most of my shade tree mechanic repairs last longer than any I've paid for and I have no doubt that your do too. Cheers!
Thanks, Joe. Yes, critics and experts straight from the arm chair, but that is fine. There are lots of ways to do the same job and there can be lots of speculation, but this is real life cruising. We have seen tremendous horror stories develop on other cruising boats, from shoddy work done by over priced boat yard workers. Much safer, and better, to do the work yourself.
@@RVLifeNOWYes! It's good to know what's going on with your own boat huh? Pirates these days are the boat yards.
Estrella Del Mar Haha! That’s for absolute sure! Thanks for watching this video...and obviously the other too...haha. -Rebecca
Patrick, the 90 degree bent tool you are using is also known as a cotter pin extractor. A lot of people don't know that. Enjoy your videos. Thanks
Thanks, Russell. I will now be using it to pull cotter pins.
Hi Patric
I'm surprised you didn't excavate the deck skin back until you found un-rotted core! Every old Valiant I've surveyed has things like the cleats and sanction bases through bolted with long-failed bedding compound. The two cleats alongside your square cutout will invariably have rotted core under them, and will leak as they are stressed by the dock lines surging against them. And the areas under the old fiberglass will be so dirty that they will have no adhesion, no mater how much you try to reef them out with a hooked tool.
You are exactly right about the need to redo the wet balsa under cleats and stanchions. All that you are mentioned was done long ago on this boat. You can see some of those repairs as chunks of fiberglass where I removed the new, wet, balsa. A lot of side decks have been completely ripped out and rebuilt. We did that work in Colombia, 12 years ago. Thanks for your comment.
Nice repair job, Patrick.
Thanknyou..it was
Yay another Brick House video! Patrick you sir have a nose for finding boat work projects :p I don't know what is more impressive - the repair or how you got yourself into the forward crawl space! I enjoyed the video. Glad to see a little footage at the end of the video which I hope was from your most recent Safari. Best of luck on knocking down the items on the refit list with hopefully fewer additions to it as you near completion. For a second there I thought Rebecca was living large with those tens of thousands of local currency (10 bucks) - what a clever video snippet. Take care
Hi David! Yeah it’s actually more like a hundred ;) But thanks for noticing. I’ve wanted to do that for a while :)
And yes...we got lucky with those rhinos on our last Safari...we have never seen them so active before! It was really special! And yes...I think Patrick has been saving these projects up for a while...how could so many things need attention on one boat!? -Rebecca
All this stuff takes me back.
If you cruise long enough (or just have a boat old enough) this sort of thing awaits. You have to dig in. 😁
I'm about to dig into mine. It's intimidating. This channel helps.
It just takes the right tools.....and some very long days.
Great work. Thanks for sharing. Good that you did not use modeling clay. It has moisture in it and finds moisture creating a weak point between glasses layers and affects resin.
I could have used flour mixed with water, anything that would stick and stay there. That was just to fill in the area in the lowest skin to preserve the original bolt hole, chain and electrical holes, positioning, and reduce the amount of thickness that would have to be drilled out to reinstall the windlass. That "putty" would also seal any gaps to the plastic covered plate so resin would not run everywhere. The windlass is now installed and I am working on that video. After removing the temporary plate wrapped in plastic, from inside of the chain locker, I was able to drill up through the original bolt hole position, and what little butyl I could not easily pull out, which made positioning for drilling the other larger holes, with a hole saw, much easier. Thanks for your comment.
Man... you guys must REALLY love that boat.
Easier to fix it than trade it in for some other boating headache. All sailboats are a maintenance treadmill, old sailboats or new sailboats.
Thanks
No problem
Nice job Patrick...wish I had it that easy LOL...can't wait for your crossing to Chile...favorable winds
It would be tough competition, which boat, Oria or Brick House has required the most rip out. But like you, I recently dug out the 10" sheetrock blade and have gone to work on the hull. But first, there was all the filling and laminating up of the craters caused by deep blisters that had to be ground out. . See you in S. America!
Cotter pin/key tool. A hose pick is similar. Awesome job, love the channel.
I don't know where that tool came from but I have had it forever and never knew its original purpose, but I get a lot of use out of it. Thanks!
I put a link to it down in the description below the video, Patrick...and James...it actually a simple automotive tool , though I’m not sure the difference besides the price tag since it’s then considered “marine” when it becomes the cotter pin tool : -Rebecca
Here is the link : amzn.to/2LFhdxE
:,) Patrick, I never knew you boss. But Vandra my families v40 my brother and I share has this exact same issue. Thank you mate and rest in peace. This video helps a LOT. :,)
Thanks for your kind comment to Patrick... I hope his videos help many for years to come!
@@RVLifeNOW :,) :,)
I learned a lot. Many thanks!
Thanks for the comment!
Nicely done.
Thanks for watching! -Rebecca
Olá, muito instrutivo o seu vídeo pra quem gosta de barcos e a maneira de fazer consertos em fibra de vidro. Parabéns.
Obrigado Lamberto. E obrigado por assistir.
obrigado pelo elogio muito bom ... agradecemos seu apoio por lá no Brasil! -Rebecc
Thanks for the informative video. Did a similar repair but kept getting annoying cracks showing up around the edges.
Fred, I wonder why you got cracks. What did you fill the void with? I did not mention in the video that the top, deck, skin is 1/4 inch thick. Staying with a traditional 12:1 ratio, I beveled back 3 inches in each direction. Also, I am confident the void is fully filled around the perimeter and out 3 inches. I have made similar repairs and have had no cracking. I would suspect, cracking is from not beveling out far enough.
Bravo to you guys and thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for Watching!
Just discovered your videos I think this is awesome!! Thank you for good content sir. :)
Thank you, Dale, for joining us. It is much appreciated on our end.
Thanks for another great "how to" video - Where can I get a pair of those "steel toe work sandals?"
You should see the native guys working on this boat. They are patching the ground out blisters on the hull. Out of preference, some wear no sandals. They go barefoot even though there are fiberglass shards, cut bits of wire and all sorts of sharp things that would turn me lame in an instant. They have leather for feet. "African Feet" they are called.
Great to finally see Rebekah , Kudodos to you both kidos ~
It has been difficult getting video of her running the disk grinder.
Superb!
Thank you, Kit.
Great job... thanks
Thanks for the comment! -Rebecca
Might want to try Allen wrench in drill, even put a cutting edge on it, my two cents😎
That is good for bolt holes and what the builder should have done. Beat out the surrounding coring, refill the entire hole with thickened epoxy then redrill the bolt hole. Larger areas, like the side deck and the windlass areas requires a different approach.
@@RVLifeNOW leave the long end out and hold on!! 😉
Awesome ! And Thank You .
Thanks for watching! -Rebecca
And it was laying right on top ,I think it’s a set up ! Anytime I see something I could use in a skip it’s right at the bottom . Good vid
Bill, There is nothing that gets buried in that dumpster that I don't know about! So many treasures to be had, I started a giveaway spot under a nearby boat for things I did not need but someone else might be able to use. Someone actually threw away an 8 inch stack of nautical charts that covered the world. Those went to the giveaway spot and within a few days, disappeared into good hands.
@@RVLifeNOW I like how the dumpster says metal only but there's next to zero metal in it.
@@greggv8 One dumpster does all at this marina!
That 90° tool is also use to break the seal on a coolant hose or any hose after you take the clamp off. Great Videos
Good idea. Thanks.
its a cotter pin puller - remover , made by snap-on and few others
That looks like a good structural repair. Aesthetically it is kind of a mess though. Can you address how to finish the surface so it looks good and blends with the previous non-skid? I understand how to do the structural part and am not intimidated by it. What makes me nervous is getting to the end and having the deck look like a patchwork of repairs and original surface. Yes it would be stronger and safe, but looks also count.
Cosmetics are a far back seat on this boat. I do want things to look good but a marina queen this boat will never be as long as we are crossing oceans, continually. Look at the mess the coal dust makes every day. Paint color matching....some other day, some other harbor far away. There are too many other projects to take care of first. Strength before cosmetics. Thanks for your comment.
I believe that 90° tool is made to remove/install radiator hoses. Good tool I use it for a lot of things other than hoses.
Thank you, Lee.
Just a 90 degree pick, but i always find a use for them, last one was clean out a washing machine pump.
@@nightkil13r With a tap of a hammer, I more often use the tool to start a hole or a self tapping screw. Lots of uses for that tool, which, thanks to the comments, I now know what it was originally designed for.
God bless Patrick, RIP, have fun sailing in heaven.
Yes..he’s probably fixing up the place!
great work ,,,,, fantastic ,
Thanks a lot for saying so...and thanks for watching! -Rebecca
The next time you are patching a hole like on the inside surface of that deck get a flat object board, piece of card board, mds and put it against the hole. Take a 2 x 4 and wedge it against the flat object. Now you have a flat surface to patch the holes. Patch just like you did. Then remove the flat object and fare with bondo. Easy! And can be made smooth easy!
For all these repairs, I use only epoxy. Bondo is not epoxy. Thanks for the tips.
Watching another video to ge caught up
Thanks
Nice deck repair, it looks like a good, no drama shipyard. So how far off are you to launching Brickyard, and also how is your new battery locker area working out?
Here is the Battery Box Video in case you haven’t seen it... We don’t have tie downs yet...if that’s what you mean...
ua-cam.com/video/8ANe0hA7BXg/v-deo.html
We won’t be going anywhere for a few more months minimum. Lots more work to do! It was suppose to be 3 months...approaching 6 months now, and maybe we are halfway!? Hard to tell.the boss has his nose to the grindstone and only looks at today and tomorrow......Rebecca
Good job ! Ain’t the way I would do it, but that is the fantastic thing about FG. There are 1000s of ways to work glass.
Do you ever use foam?
Not on this boat but I have used plenty of spray in foam when fixing old houses.
20k+ views! Wow! Good job!
Hi Beverly, I do wonder where you guys are? How is the Catalina 30 doing? Yes, the view numbers are up past where I ever dreamed. It is a ton of work though. This video took about 40 hours to edit. Ever since Rebecca got involved with this UA-cam thing, she has worked the analytics and thumbnails and all those behind the scene things I would never have the time to do properly, the numbers jumped. Plus, the editing is far better than way back in the first 10 videos. We are doing a lot of major work here in Africa, so there is a lot of video material, but little time to do videos when the boat requires so much labor. Let me know how you are doing! Patrick
I have a 68 Dufour Arpege, that is in good shape overall except for the deck getting soft in a couple small spots. I am going to wait for winter to dig into it, as Florida summers can be quite wet and hot. I saw some videos of people injecting expanding epoxy in small drilled holes. It was not foam, it was a very hard resin. It was a lot less invasive and time consuming. Have you had any experience with this method? Thanks for the videos, very helpful.
Patrick has Covid19 and is in the hospital. Please ask your question again in a few months so he can find it. Thanks-Rebecca
@@RVLifeNOW Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that, I wish him a speedy recovery. Thank you.
Detailed updates here : gf.me/u/x3793z
There’s definitely still rot in there but the cause has been removed and it’s sealed up and watertight so by rights it dry up and shouldn’t get any worse and yes it worked and will likely be ok for years to come but it’ll eventually fail big time but (a lot of buts in this repair) by then then it’ll be someone else’s problem… my current boat had a long term owner who bodgied up bolt holes with caulking compound as well as did a few small repairs using much the same stuff, he didn’t bother drilling rotten holes out to clean material first, similar with new holes, he drilled them, wiped some silicon on the surfaces of what he was mounting then bolted them down when he should’ve drilled them oversize, filled them with resin so it soaked into the walls of the holes then drilled them the correct size then sealed it all… cheap shortcuts might work for a surprisingly long time plus if it’s an old boat that’s nothing special it can be difficult to justify spending two or three times longer plus the money for proper materials to sort issues like this but damned if I could bodgie it up, you may as well of found a thick sheet of something strong enough and glued it on top of the front section of the deck and left the rot as once dry and the water source removed it’s not going to get worse… like drilling millions of holes in rotten decks then filling them with resin, the time it takes to dry it all first plus the cost of the resin usually ends up cost more and taking more time than replacing the section of deck. Properly sealed timber doesn’t get wet hence it doesn’t rot, all the issues are caused by things like drilling holes etc as mentioned: do it properly, maintain it and it’ll last for hundreds of years you just have to look at at how many old timber boats are still in service and most never had the resins etc that we do.
Lots of good info… thank you for watching and for your comment
The fairing compound. Looks like bondo. But im assuming its more weather resistant?
Bondo uses clay as a thickener and is a polyester. A terrible product to use on a boat. What was used here is epoxy, thickened with cabosil and microballoons. Only epoxy products are used for repairs on this boat.
Patrick, u lay as much as 4 layers of cloth at the time, doesn't that amino blush stay between layers, or does it all come on top of the final layer?
It is a reaction to the humidity in the air as the resin cures. As long as things are still tacky, I can apply a new layer of glass with no worries. I stay within the acceptable limits of humidity and temperature during the layup so there are no complications. I have hired pros to do a layup on our skeg, years ago. They laid up 6 layers before having to let things cool down.
@@RVLifeNOW, thank you. A have a few patches to do. One bigger at the mast, stern around central cleat, and one torn out cleat on starboard side. I fear the task a bit.
@@RVLifeNOW, cheers and thank you.
If you have the right tools, it is just a matter of a lot of grunt work.
thanks
Thank you
Patrick, do you carry fiber-cloth, resin, buckets of the fairing compound aboard when afloat for repairs in the field? If so, was there any event or tales from sailors that made you do it? Thanks ~Mike
Mike, For 13 years, I always carried some fiberglass cloth on board but never had to use it nor have I known anyone who had to use fiberglass in an emergency. The polyester resin I had stored away hardened up on its own in a month or so. For long term storage, only epoxy will last. I used to have some epoxy glue, that is, ready made, two part thickened epoxy. That glue came in handy for repairs around the boat. I still have a gallon of epoxy resin left over from all of our repairs in Richards Bay. I am debating just how little of that do I want to store away for future use. Certainly not a half gallon.
f you need to do any small areas--or even large areas, I use a method like yours. I push in a layer of wet chopped strand mat and then over that I push in using pieces of plywood, (which never stayed once they had placed the mat) I use tongue depressors and narrow plywood off-cut spatulas, to push into place and smooth off a mixture of bean bag styrene foam beans and a mixture of epoxy resin, Q-Cells and cotton fibres or Cabosil, and I also pull to pieces a few scraps of chopped strand mat and put those fibres in there too. Some people burn the mat first to get rid of the stuff used to bond it to polyester. I do not bother--I just use it as it comes.
I use a slow hardener. I do not make up more than a quarter of a litre or so of mixed epoxy resin at a time, or it will begin to exotherm before I even have the stuff mixed, and if it is a stinking hot day, I delay if I can, or refrigerate the resins before mixing them. Not too cold or they will be like treacle. Just enough to give me some extra time.
I use cheap disposable angle-brushes such as mechanics use to clean parts, and brush the pure mixed resin resin to wet the underside of any remaining deck laminates and the the limiting surfaces to where I have scraped or chiseled out any core. I can slosh the stuff around--it does not matter. Any excess will be absorbed into the next step. Those plastic sponges on a twisted wire used to hand wash dishes might be ideal for getting priming resin into such voids. Cheap and entirely disposable.
This "putty" is a replacement for the original sheet foam or balsa because the spheres of foam make it light, the glue that surrounds them makes it strong and rigid--but with the glass and Cabosil and cotton fibres it is stronger and fits any irregular area perfectly because as I tamp it gently into place it molds exactly to the shape of the void and bonds to anything with which it comes in contact if the place has been properly primed with pure mixed resin. If the mix is right, there will be enough adhesion for it to stick adequately to most surfaces anyway--but I like more rather than less resin if it is mixed with reinforcements.
I call it a putty, but it is more like a stiff but bulky light glue, like white rice-bubbles mixed with treacle soaked in porridge.. I use as I said, plywood spatulas to push in the filler mix, tamping the mix into place with a bit of broom shank or small blocks of scrap wood. . I do not use too much force or I might crush the spherical styrene beads used to form the small voids for lightness.. Once it sets it is better than foam, sticks to both surfaces, has better stress dissipation properties, and I have never had a fail.
I have even used it to make a cool room floor, covered with a few sheets of exterior plywood, over which hand carts were pushed. There was little heat lost through THAT floor. If you wish to try this, I would suggest one makes up a test piece or two and test it for strength and delamination resistance before risking it on your own or someone else's vessel. I have NOT used this below water line.
Below waterline I use solid epoxy glass. I would not risk foam under there, and I would use phenolic microspheres rather than Q Cells in any fairing mix.
Mike, what excellent information. Your method would have been a very good way to go on this repair. Only recently have I used foam balls mixed into epoxy. That was to fill the big voids I dug out of the rudder to inspect the spline to shaft attachment. Thanks for your most valuable comment.
Step-1 is to remove every bit of rotten material. Leaving even one DS bad-actor ensures the repair will also soon rot-out.
What is there in that repair that can rot ? It is perfect and permanent
@@RVLifeNOW - Sorry, was referring to another topic entirely. Rotten decking was a perfect metaphor.
Yep
The 90 degree probe is actually called a cotter key puller.
Thanks, Steve. I will use it for that now, and continue using it for making starter holes for self tapping screws and a lot of other things.
That 90 degree bent tool is a cotter pin puller. Works pretty good for your task eh?
Thank you, Chuck. I don't know where that tool came from and never knew what it was for but it has been in my screwdriver box, forever. I have gotten a lot of use out of it, including punching a pilot hole to start a self tapping screw where a drill and bit would not fit. I will start using it now, when I pull cotter pins.
Will the final coat be paint or gel-coat?
Two part white paint.
Tthe tool you are using is a hose removal tool , it works for a lot of things
Thanks Randy. With a whack of a hammer, it even works for starting holes for self tapping screws.
It's great for repairing screens, pulling out the old spline. I never knew what they were actually for.
Patrick can you recommend any good sources to research which areas are safe on Africa’s east coast? State Dept website is not overly detailed
Http://www.noonsite.com for sailing...for general tourism this seems to be pretty realistic though not sure how often it’s updated: www.tripsavvy.com/travel-warnings-for-countries-in-africa-1454328
Tank you very much! Asking for Schooner Alvei trying to get stateside from Fiji
We have spent time in Tanzania south. Haven't heard of any problems. When we anchored in out of the way locations, we always took precautions anyway and locked up, left a cockpit light on and had the bear spray ready....as we do anywhere we anchor.
Another good source...it’s dated but they make updates, is this book... www.bluewaterweb.com/search.aspx?searchterm=East+Africa+pilot&pagesize=20&view=grid Good to join Facebook group...Indian Ocean crossing...and ask other sailors ahead of him about their experiences. -Rebecca
How do you stomach the freaking know-all comments? It happens on all channel but some people here seem particularly righteous from the safety of their chair navigating a computer. I dunno. Maybe I should train myself to NOT read comments. It can be discouraging at a time when humans seem to be determined to polarise.
There are a few people who need to go out and play rather than spend so much time on the internet. This happens on all channels, where some commenters are wimps and feel safe with the anonymity UA-cam affords. They watch not to be entertained or learn from others but to think up stupid things to say. If it is a very ridiculous remark, UA-cam directs the comment directly to a screening folder where I usually just delete it and block the idiot. Thanks for your nice comment.
I use my phone to watch videos and other computer related stuff. I can't find the tip jar link. I'm located in Australia so perhaps that has something to do with it???
Maybe a direct link will help...thanks for your support!! www.WhereIsBrickHouse.com/tip-jar
You mention the greasey feel of 'epoxy' 9.10 next morning, but was it regular fibreglass resin you used or an epoxy one?
In these videos, only epoxy was used for repairs on this boat, inside and out.
Fair winds in heaven 🙏
Yep… thanks
What kind of white paint did you end up using?
A generic two part white paint. Not much choice here. Not even an off white was available. White white, was the only thing available unless I ordered from Durban, waited several days and paid extra for the shipping.
What type of resins did you use? Epoxy?
We used some fiberglass and resin and epoxy that we got in S Africa . It’s detailed in the video about the 500 blisters we had… can’t remember the name offhand.
At 8:52 he said Epoxy
When you use the words balsa panels is that what we call marine ply ?.
no, balsawood is a common coring material. It's lightweight wood that is cut in a grid pattern but not all the way through, then epoxy is spread over it and into all the cracks, effectively making this lightweight wood sealed and solid as a rock.
Hi Patrick, where in SA are you guys?
We are in Richards Bay...you?-Rebecca
@@RVLifeNOW We are in a very sunny Cape Town...
Ah. Looked at a few of your videos now and can see that. Maybe we will see you there in a few months. We have a lot of work to do before we go back in the water, but slowly slowly. Hopefully by end of year we will be on our way there.
Great, see you soon and best of luck with the work!
Thanks...you too!
The thing I've learned most from these videos is never buy a valiant 40!
Haha. All boats are high maintenance if you want them to be right :);
Up there with a lot of shoddy deck filling…the Tayana 38.
Looked like a jack leg job. Hope it holds up.
Laminated epoxy with biax cloth?? Other than the lead keel, it is the strongest part of the boat. What would you have done differently? This is how it is done in foreign countries.
Wow , uh , ya . Good luck ! Your gunna need it
It is a PIA but there is no choice but to dig in and do it. With all the repairs, we will feel much more secure out in the middle of a miserable anchorage or in a storm, offshore.
Omg you going to have so many voids by pushing the fiberglass in like that
So far so good...2.5 years later...
I lightly spray Black paint around my work area ... really gets the area dry ...
Here in S. Africa, black coal dust is a real problem as you clean it off the decks one day and it is back the next. Coal is a big export and the dust goes everywhere when they load it onto the nearby ships.
Smoothen?
"Some dictionaries list smoothen, a verb meaning to make or become smooth, but the word is superfluous and can always give way to smooth. Smoothe, which appears about a tenth as often as smoothen, is an old secondary spelling of smooth, but it does not commonly appear in 21st-century published writing." I got lucky on that one. Never was a stellar in English class. And to think, I have written articles for magazines.
Patrick Childress Sailing - All is well! I just wasn’t thinking in metric. 🤣
Patrick Childress Sailing - All is well! I just wasn’t thinking in metric. 🤣
How come you don't replace the wood?
Becuase if there is ever water penetration again, which on a boat, there are always leaks, it will just become rotten again. Fiberglass is good forever and can’t rot. -Rebecca
Back when I was a kid, existing in a perfect world, knowing everything and simultaneously lacking much experience to know better, I would have scoffed at that repair. When later I was a yacht joiner at Hinckley, I heaped ridicule on an old fart who often repeated his mantra of ”good nuff”. Just today, a few decades later, I was performing a non-critical repair aboard my own boat, and caught myself saying it too! What?
One of my old boatyard bosses told me once that the perfect raceboat was the one that upon crossing the line in record time, promptly failed. Nothing was left on the table. Success.
I figure I’ve got another couple decades if I don’t replace this boat in the interim. There’s simply no sense in achieving more than a serviceable repair unless one is driven by ego, perfectionism, or the boat itself is worthy of an historical record, like say Dorade.
I say, well done. It might be unnecessarily heavy, and hardly engineered, but I can’t imagine with all that mass and massive backing blocks that you’ll ever witness a catastrophic failure. Exquisite compromises exist on a continuum, and only a fool attempts to operate within a perfect world.
Swashfrog, thanks or such a thoughtful comment. "Good nuff" is how some of the "defects" on this boat have been for quite a while. For years, I have been looking forward to hauling out in S. Africa and digging into some of these on edge situations and making sure we will have no problems in the future, especially in the middle of an ocean, in the middle of a terrible storm. There have been some unexpected surprises, which is all for the better as we will have great confidence and be safer, as we cross the Atlantic to Uruguay and around to the west coast of S. America.
Patrick Childress Sailing, there’s truly an art to strategic maintenance deferral, isn’t there? Sure, we could all buy new boats every decade (because we’re all wealthy), but then we’d never gain important real world experience with respect to maintenance.
I’ve been eying Chile myself, getting off the well-worn path. 👍🏼
Contrary to popular belief, the strength does not come from the core, it comes from the 'box' shape of the FRP around it. The core is just a empty space holder so that the box can be formed. It doesn't matter if it's rotten, the problem is the water intrusion into the layers of FRP. Anybody can break a piece of balsa wood with no problem. Some people repair rotted cores by simply drilling holes every few inches and filling up with epoxy, reinforcing the 'box'. In fact the entire boat is built on this theory, the typical 1/8" non-cored hull is flimsy until they complete the box by gluing the deck to it.
Walk on the deck of a boat with water saturated balsa and there is definite softness, definitely a sign of unwanted weakness in the vertical direction and certainly not a boat you would want to purchase. Deck cleats and windlasses have pulled out of such a weakened structure. It isn't just this Valiant 40, but other makes of boats with balsa cores, where the builder did properly treat penetrations of the decks, have structural issues. You might have a box at the boat factory, but years later, dissolve away the balsa, one can't expect to retain the original structural specifications. In the area of the windlass a dense, foam coring, could have been an option but would have been difficult to fill into the voids of dug out balsa, properly. I chose to laminate this area, I will have no future concerns about strength or water intrusion issues. . Thank you very much for your comment.
I'm with John Anthony I'm afraid, sorry! Probably because I'm a college trained and time served boat builder. In the UK we'd call that a 'bodge'.
Now you can be happy you have some real world, continuing, education from areas around the world, not college. Also, see the reply to John Anthony. Please, study up on new, modern, coring materials and don't ever suggest to a customer the use of balsa. See the video before this one about rebuilding the battery box area using cored materials. Stay away from balsa and wood for deck coring. Thanks for your comment.
No gel coat?
Two part primer, two part paint. Maybe if this were a beautiful, shiny deck, marina queen with decks of gel coat, then yes. This boat is 42 years old with painted decks.
Looking forward to seeing if the chain is what you think is going to Last in time or just Rust away over time :) Stainless Steel would be the dream way to go but the cost might be another boat in price and Gal well would be how good the Dip was done ??????????. on it. Most would say you get what you pay for but in the boat world that does not hold true .
Years ago I thought stainless steel chain would be great to have. After seeing so much broken stainless steel, bolts and chainplates, due to crevice corrosion, I do believe galvanized steel chain is far safer. Practical Sailor says some Chinese chain is very good while other Chinese chain is not. The problem being that Chinese chain is not stamped on the links by the manufacturer so a purchaser does not know who made the chain or anything about it. Each chain purchase would have to be tested for strength and durability. Our Italian made, Maggi Chain, is stamped every 3 feet, or so, with "MGI", Maggi Chain Italy. The seller gave us a "cert", certification, stating the chain has been tested to meet all stated specifications. The alternative would be to buy the American made , Laclede HT, chain available through Chains And Anchors www.chainsandanchors.com.
I realize it is way after the fact, but a better filler would have been a 2 part urethane expanding foam, the type used in rudder construction, 16 lbs density. Advice for next time
There won’t be a next time..I’m sure you have seen the latest videos…but it’s good for me, the wife to know…so thanks
Would you not want to replace the deteriorated balsa with at least an equivalent piece of marine ply to glass in place?
For an exterior area, I would never use a coring that could rot or become a sponge, like balsa or plywood. There are far better, modern, foam coring materials available. See the video just before this one about rebuilding the acid ruined, battery box area. The foam and honeycomb corings are very strong and would be great for the side decks. This, being the windlass area, I wanted to give ultimate strength and have no future concerns. Thanks for watching.
Oh my god.. if mads from Sail Life would see this...
@@RVLifeNOW I would imagine he would be speechless.
Emanuel, I like Mads. He comes up with a lot of good ideas. Our boat is 42 years old and we have been putting it through hard sailing for 12 years now. We are fortunate to pick up techniques from experienced people in boat yards around the world, and like here, share them with the "first world". Mads likes over kill to make up for the lacking of the original design and execution by the builder, so do I. This repair is strong and will never be a problem for us or any future owner. I only wish the designer and builder of this boat would have done it this way from the beginning. Did you read the comment from a very experienced boat repair man in the U.K.? He was suggesting the area should have been recored with balsa! A lot of ways of doing it, but I much prefer the longevity and strength of this repair. Thanks for your comment. PS, do you think Mads would be impressed with all the glorious sanding that was done?
Why not use a small piece of marine plywood I'm sure there some in that garbage so why so u do patch with solid fiberglass your cutting corners in some areas and then using matting and fiberglass in areas you can use wood.
Because wood rots
Amazing that curing epoxy can gat so hot that it would start smoking/melting the surrounding!
Not only epoxy, but the other resins like polyester and vinylester will do the same thing. You do have to be careful how the resin is mixed and use a wide container to help reduce heat buildup so you can get it out of the container before it sets off.
Why didn't you cut out more of the top layer and then cut away all of the rotten balsa? Seems like the wet balsa most likely goes all the way under the stanchions and other equipment you have nearby. Too much work for this occasion and saving it for later? Why not have the guys doing the sides do all of the front at the same time?
Long ago, balsa from under every stancion and deck cleat had been removed and replaced with solid fiberglass.
Maggie Chain is made from Rhinoceros tusks
How many does it take?
I was at the University of Iowa in 1989-1990 studying writing and Book Art, and I knew a lovely young woman named Rebecca Childress. I wonder if there is any relation. . . .?
No don’t think so…I wasn’t Rebecca Childress until 2007 ;) And I don’t know of any Rebecca’s in his family…
Hope this lasts and you and your family are safe. I commend your efforts but this is how it’s supposed to go,...
1) determine the extent of the damage by drilling a series of small holes through the top skin into the core material but NOT through the bottom skin. If the balsa comes out wet, drill another hole further out from the center of the damage till you hit dry core.
2) Mark the perimeter of the damage.
3) Cut the top skin and remove as carefully as possible to avoid damaging it.
4) Scrape out rotted core material.
5) Prepare/clean up area. Also prepare/cut to size your replacement balsa core. It comes in sheets of little blocks glued to fabric and is flexible to match any curvature on your deck.
6) Pour enough resin to cover entire repair and set in the new balsa core. Pour enough resin over the new core to cover it.
7) place top skin back and place weight on it; sandbags work best. Some resin may squish out the edges.
8) After the repair has cured, use your circular sander to create a feathered edge all along the edge of the repair. You should have about 3 inches of feathering on each side of the repair edge.
9) Start laying your fiberglass in the channel you’ve created, starting in the middle right over the repair edge with a thin (about 2”) strip. Follow that with successively wider fiberglass pieces till you reach desired thickness and width.
10) the repair is essentially done. Now make it pretty by sanding flush and gel coating. (Mixing the perfect color takes some effort)
BAM!! Time to go sailing!!
"Hope this lasts" ? It was pretty sturdy to begin with because of the large backing plates. Laminated biax, with epoxy.....I am quite confident it will be just fine, forever. It is now the strongest part of any part of the decking, as it should be to carry the tremendous stresses created by the windlass. Balsa is an antiquated material. I would NEVER use balsa as a coring and this video clearly shows why. There are far better, modern, coring materials. Obviously, I chose not to use coring in this area of the fore deck. There was no need to poke a lot of holes as you suggest. I knew pretty well what I would find and would have been surprised to find good coring. There can be several ways to do it right. Forget the balsa, though. . Thanks for your comment.
John, It sounds like you have great experience but need to catch up to modern methods. Why would someone want to duplicate a problem by using balsa? There are far better cores to use these days. This repair looks solid, as a windlass area should be.
My. Little westerly my core is fiberglass sucks to be you. Catch on the next one sir.
Hah..pretty soon ours will be all fiberglass too. ;) -Rebecca
geez back in the 70s we sailors at work thought the valiant 40 was the gold standard that would last forever especially since it cost so much little did we know 40yrs later its just rotten like any wood boat
Haha..yeah...nothing lasts forever. Sea a great boat and has new life!
Next job is remove the rest of the sodden balsawood starting at your patch & working the rest of the deck .
Done. The repair of the deck was already done..this was the last bit..unless you see something we didn’t see...-Rebecca
Lucky those panels were sitting right on top of the garbage heap since you only had one hand available.
I check that dumpster every time I walk near it. Nothing gets buried that I don't know about!
I don't understand why not just cut away a little more of your top layer deck rather then having to use a 90 degree tool and air dryer and scavenge on the yard for questionable fiberglass panels serious what are you saving if you have to pull it up again...
He will never have to pull it up again...keep watching...
Not using wood that can rot is a GIANT plus in my book, also great idea to replace it with thrown away fiberglass that looked good. Really grateful to the Sir in the video
Divinycell 👍. Balsa 👎.
Yep
wow, you have a great boat and are probably a great sailor but that was a horrible repair. You did not even sand the lower skin! I would say that was pretty much a how to in how to not repair a boat. I hope it holds and wish you a great trip!
To show every detail can be a pretty boring video. It was said what was done in preparation for the layup. Actually, the lower skin had a very rough texture, better than a 40 grit. Being very clean, also cleaned with acetone, it will have excellent adhesion. Thanks for your comment.
@@RVLifeNOW Thanks for your replay. Have a great voyage. I envy you out there.
The "90 degree tool" is a cotter pin remover.
Thanks Ron!
@@RVLifeNOW Rebecca. I wrote that before I knew Patrick had passed. I am so sorry for your loos. I have friends in construction in RI (USA) that did business with Patrick some years back. They are friends of mine that I have sailed with and made sea passages with. I recently spoke to one of those guys and mentioned Patrick's passing as a sailor, and i was then informed that he lived n RI and that he did business with some of my friends. He had all good words for Patrick. My best wishes for you on your physical and emotional journey.
Thanks Ron. Yeah...not many people could say anything bad about him. He definitely lived life 100% with kindness and gusto.
Boat = bust out another thousand
Fortunately, since we do all the work ourselves, or with helpers, it is more like an easy hundred. Soon, all the work will be done and we can start crossing oceans again.
Repaint the rest of the deck please
Why? It’s nonslip and safe and takes a beating. We painted it in 2018 but it’s a hard working deck and won’t stay pretty for long if we painted it. Plus we want to sail someday...it’s been 8 months of making this boat strong and pretty. It’s time to stop and go! Yes the deck could look pretty for a couple years...and the cockpit could too...but there is only so much time in life to go have some fun. And paint does nothing for that. -Rebecca
A lot of the shit look is from black coal dust blowing in from the ship loading terminal a couple miles away. Any time there is a SE wind, everything get covered in the stuff.
I think he mean the rest of the rotten deck - just a guess :-)
Thomas Bonde The rest of the deck isn’t rotten. It has been repaired and replaced over the years whenever needed. It’s very strong now. Under the windlass was once the beta, now it was the worst. So now that part of the deck has been done too. Should be about the last of it. But painting is never a priority. Patrick is right..it’s a hard used deck that doesn’t need to be a pretty shade of white...because it won’t be that way for very long! -Rebecca
I'm no expert, but I believe you need to re-core the deck when you get back to base. Check out the Sail Life channel. It's a big job!
In the video it shows the side deck ripped out and in the process...That was 12 years ago in Colombia, where I learned from the local contractor how to do this work. I could have used foam coring, like I used for the battery box rebuild in the video before this one, but chose to make it as strong and solid as possible and have no future problems in this area.
Base? We are full time cruising for life...and no desire to recore, ever, anywhere. -Rebecca
Rebecca says "for life"! You guys are BAD TO THA BONE LOL
I'm not so sure about this!
Haha..you don’t want to repair a sailboat deck?