Hauled Out, Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Fri 8 Nov 2013 10:46
Position: On the hard, CCYS
Wind: South east, F4 moderate breeze
Sea: Asphalt calm
Weather: sunny, warm.
Last Monday we hauled Sylph out for the 18 month maintenance chore of
cleaning and painting her bottom. All went well, until Tuesday, when I was
sanding some of the old rough antifouling paint smooth and broke through some
shiny metal which was bulging a little suspiciously out from the smooth curving
line of Sylph’s hull. I decided to give it a good whack with a hammer and
sure enough, it buckled under the blow. It was clear that the hull plating
was very thin in this location. I knew what had to be done, and, with a
resigned sigh, I broke out the angle grinder, donned goggles, dusk mask and
gloves and went to work, cutting out the cancerous rust. An hour or so
later I had the worst of it removed.
![]() The big picture:
![]() The rust was along a stringer behind the decommissioned fridge, a section
of the hull which unfortunately has always been inaccessible from the inside of
the boat. I had to cut out the insulation and some timber work so that
when it came time to weld I would not send Sylph up in flames.
![]() Wednesday I went for a short walk to a metal fabrication shop and managed
to acquire an appropriately sized piece of steel and spent much of the rest of
the day cutting it into the required shape to fit the hole, then bending it ever
so slightly to match the curve of the hull – not easy.
My patented plate bending machine:
![]() A perfect fit:
![]() From the inside (most of it is inaccessible):
![]() Thursday I had a go at welding the plate in place. Peter, owner of a
neighbouring boat, came over to look at my handiwork and gave me some advice to
improve my non-existent welding technique. I was very grateful. A
short while later a professional welder arrived who was doing some work on the
neighbour’s boat. He also came over for a look. He just shook his
head and made some very desultory remarks in his strong German accent. I
was rather embarrassed, but even more grateful when he offered to end my misery
and to complete the welding for me. About an hour later the job was done,
and to a much higher standard then I could ever hope to achieve. And we
didn’t burn the boar down.
My neighbour’s boat:
![]() The Professional:
![]() Like new, almost:
![]() The view outside:
![]() And a short walk to the watering hole after a hot and dirty day of
work:
![]() So indeed,
All is well. |