The start of a new adventure

[Steady1]

Wes - the brightwork is amazing.  An enormous amount of work.  I've used Helmsman before and it holds up well.

Back to your question about instruments: I'm very pleased with the GMI 10 system I installed a couple of summer ago.  Because the mast needs to be pulled to install the wind instrument, I've decided not to install that part of the system.  It's still in the box.  It would be fairly straightforward for you at this stage in your renovation.  If you're interested, let me know.  I'm sure we could work out a good price.

Either way, continued success with the project!

Bill

[wes]

The long winter drags on; until this weekend it's been too cold for boatyard work. Onward with the indoor projects!

Rebuilding my 1988 Edson model 335 steering pedestal. Don't think it's been apart since the day it was built. Showing no signs of problems, but Edson tech support says the wire & chain should be replaced every 7-10 years at least, because chain failure (micro cracks) is invisible until the chain breaks, probably in the middle of a howling gale. Since I have to disassemble the pedestal (mostly) to get the wire & chain out, I decided to do a full rebuild job. Did I mention the weather has been lousy?

View of the internal works after compass removed. I have the older style pedestal with shift lever on the wheel side (to the left in the photo):



After removal of chain and throttle/shifter controls. Note the brake assembly at the bottom. Pedestals have "drum brakes" (sort of):



Brake retainer clip removed in preparation for removal of brake "pads" and brake knob/shaft:



Brake assembly after removal. Edson sells a brake rebuild kit, but I didn't need it. Don't think the PO used the brake very much (or at least he used it gently):



The dreaded pin that retains the chain sprocket on the wheel shaft. OMG this was hard to remove. Two weeks of PB Blaster, propane torch on the sprocket, biggest pin punch that would fit (1/4"), three pound hammer.



Finally out. If you do this on the boat, stuff a towel inside the pedestal first, so the sprocket doesn't fall down to the bottom of the pedestal when the shaft is pulled out:



Wheel shaft fully removed. Edson also sells a shaft rebuild kit containing bearings, o-rings, snap rings, nylon washers, and a replacement for the hated retaining pin, which I did buy. I could feel some roughness in the bearings and suspected they had not been kept greased.



More photos coming after I get it all reassembled!

[skip1930]

Holy cow!
This way too complex for a simple Com Pac.
Give me the tiller.

skip.

[MacGyver]

Nice Job Wes,

Between you and I, so far in all my years of boat repair, we are the only ones I know of to have disassembled a pedestal. I am glad I am not alone now.

Mac

[wes]

Mac - this is the start of a trend, my friend. Mark my words, soon everybody here will be doing it. Why, the number of us pedestal-disassemblers has already grown by 100% - and that's just in the first week.

I'm awarding myself bonus points for not only disassembling the blessed thing, but COMLETELY REMOVING IT FROM THE BOAT. Top that!

Wes

[Tim Gardner]

Once, as a Cadet at Maritime College, I was sent to the bridge to grease the Relative Bearing, does that count?

TG

[Bob23]

Oh c'mon, guys. It really doesn't look that hard. Maybe Mac can bring one to the CLR and you guys could stage a race to see who's fastest. Maybe try it blindfolded or with one hand.
I once removed a steering wheel from a 1956 VW Beetle...do I get points for that?
Bob23

[wes]

Bad news at the boatyard. Started in on reinforcing the infamous joint where cabin house meets foredeck (early CP 27s all seem to develop cracks there), working from below - right above the v-berth. But moisture meter showed a ton of wetness all around that area; looks like the cracks let water into the area of the foredeck that's foam cored. Unlike balsa core (luckily we have none of that) the foam won't rot, but nonetheless I decided to go ahead and fix it the right way, before I paint the deck (Mac, do I hear you applauding? Or is that laughter? You may recall this area of the deck felt bouncy when you inspected the boat).

Here's the original condition with the cracks. Water would seep out if you pressed down on the surrounding area:



Removal of the top layer of nonskid and gelcoat, via shallow circular saw cut. You can see the fiberglass below. The dark green chunks are the water saturated foam core:



Close-up. The grid lines show the pattern of foam blocks below. Notice how the grid is darker in the wettest areas:



Post surgery. Wet foam core cleaned out, new foam core meticulously assembled and laid in by Victor, the boatyard tech, who is a freaking artist with fiberglass repair:



Next: laying in new glass on top, faired into the surrounding areas. Not sure yet what I'll do where the nonskid was removed. Hmm...

Good news from the boatyard: finished all the topsides prep work (de-waxing, epoxy patching/fairing of minor scratches and dings, sanding). Today I masked off the deck and bottom, and Victor sprayed first coat of epoxy primer. A red letter day! I had all the removable fiberglass parts (locker seats, helm seat, companionway hatch, sea hood) all prepped up too, so those were sprayed at the same time. Hurray!



Here's the finished product. Happiest day of my life: the fashionable-for-1988 brown cove stripe is finally gone. Will this be the week we get the finish paint on? Stand by for updates.....

[MHardy]

She is looking great Wes - can't wait to see the finished product. But enough about your boat. What about that sweet 16 in the background of your last picture? ;-)

[deisher6]

Visited Wes in Washington yesterday and saw firsthand the work that he is doing, unbelievable.  Wes is doing the repairs the right way.  I was very grateful that he took some time out of his rebuild to give me a sailing lesson on his C19 tied up nearby.  By the way, the work that he did on his 19 is also first class.  Wes's C-27 is going to be not only a solid boat but a real looker.

Thanks Wes.

regards charlie

[NateD]

Wow, amazing amount of work! She is going to be better than new when you're done, but I'm not sure she will even be recognizable as a Com-Pac without that brown stripe.

[wes]

Nate - that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Charlie - ha, sailing lesson indeed. Careful what you say; someone may think you're serious .

Mark - that 16 is a beauty indeed. Charlie was amazed to hear she's a 1983. Not only has the yard finished your bottom paint, but your nice sail cover has mysteriously reappeared. Sorry for the scare! I took it down while we sprayed primer in the vicinity.

[/URL]

[MHardy]

Thanks for looking out for me Wes! If Charlie saw my boat's cabin, he would have no doubts about her age!

[MacGyver]

Keep up the good work Wes,
I like how he put that foam core back in, nice work! And I am glad you cut that all out, Might I suggest you do a non skid application like I did on my boat, with the Interlux Perfection with GripTex added instead of Intergrip.... It is a little more rough but great if the boat gets to bobblin around.

At any rate, When the boat is done it will look fantastic I am sure, and the one thing that is really cool about a freshly painted boat (complete redo) Is when someone comes by and asked when you took delivery of the new boat..... and you can proudly say "Its  a 89", or in your case, 88.

We had that happen today, and my wife just smiled..... made all that hard work worth it for her, along with the niceness of the boat itself.

Mac

[moonlight]

I can join in the pedestal disassembly club, although it was almost 18 years ago when I did the first.  And I had it blasted with walnut shells and powder coated, which was a mistake; I don't know if the finish just didn't take or if it was too brittle but it fractured around the base bolt holes and has gotten ugly, so I'll be doing it again, soon!