Half way through the work?

Anastasia
Phil May and Andrea Twigg
Mon 25 Nov 2019 00:27
The first eleven days have flown by, and it is touch and go whether I will get everything completed.  The way I see it, as long as the propellers are back in before we launch then I can do pretty much anything else at sea (although repairing the outboard is difficult when you are bouncing around in waves).
  • The props are filled and primed ready for copper coating. That was a bigger job than I planned.  It didn’t help that the boatyard has been sanding Anastasia’s hull over the last couple of days, which has limited the time available for working on the props because the air has been full of toxic dust.  (They were wearing full body suits with masks and respirators.)
  • Removing the cutlass bearings was a full day job.  I am always too cautious about cutting too far through the bearing and damaging the housing, which means it is really hard to make the fold in the bearings to aid in removal.  Then I found that the replacement bearings I brought from the UK are the wrong size.  The bore is correctly 35mm but the external diameter is 1 7/8 inches (48mm), not the 50mm I brought.  Why would Catana do that?  
  • I removed the prop shaft couplings and cleaned and primed them ready for re-installation of the props.
  • I installed new bathroom fixtures in the starboard hull while waiting for breathable air outside.
  • I discovered the outboard steering bearing was completely rusted up and taking it apart for repair has proven a challenge.  Why does Yamaha use steel bolts inside steel sleeves in so many places?  It is just asking for the bolts to seize up completely.  It would really have been quicker to just cut all the bolts with an angle grinder and replace them.  I may yet have to do that, given there are two bolts I have not yet managed to release, but I will try with a heat gun first.  No guarantee that if I cut a bolt I will find the correct replacement on Grenada, although I am thinking that I can make anything I need from threaded stainless steel rod and nuts.
Here are some photos of the more interesting(?) parts work.
 
The pitting was really quite severe on some of the prop blades
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The guy in the chandlery suggested filling with stuff called JB weld, a metal reinforced epoxy filler
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The filler sticks well enough that it can be sanded down flush with the good parts of the blades
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And when they are primed with epoxy undercoat the prop blades look good as new
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I got caught out by the “no see ems” (midges) that live in the shade under Anastasia.  They really like eating my ankles.  I am making sure I wear plenty of repellent now.
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This cutlass bearing was a real bugger to roll up for removal
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