Progress

Shinny offerings are being fitted for the approval of the sea gods at a pace unseen at hundalee mill farm. Chortle is becoming quite a uplifted!

Good progress today

Its good to bet fitting and making new at last.

Prop inspection

Cut the prop shaft to length this afternoon fergus helped me put it in and make sure it was not too short!

Satisfying

The engine was lifted in yesterday with the help of john our saltyseadog friend who has effectively provided helpful and considered advice throughout our sailing adventures, his sagely advice is much appreciated specially when he so effortlessly points out what will be the failing factor. And the engine cupeling to the prop shaft matched with little engine mount adjustments. The pee bracket on the prop was glassed in place solidly thankfully its over heating of resin did not go to far beyond some surface bubblies. John did ask before i started what was the max thickness could i build it up!

Bed made

Tapping bolting and glassing down

Well that pretty well fixes the engine beds down just need to gelcoat them a pritty colour in the morning. It was very satisfying drilling down through to the original embedded metal beds tapping threads in them and bolting the new beds down. Double bedded i guess.

Engine bedding progress

Having cut the engine beds in with 90deg Angles on monday on tuesday morning it was time to make amendments to what was looking wrong. chamfering them in would make them stronger.

Chamfers

So after yesterdays keeping the thick glass mat flat, chamfers and fillets all round. Stronger too.

Here i am

This is me at the a real marine engineering works, where i picked up chortles new engine, did my best to look the part, some folk in the works thought i was a spot check safety inspector from bp with my late dads boiler suit on...

Day three of new engine beds

After a hot glassing day yesterday, i have cut away the bubbles in the glass mat, it did not like going round tight corners and will now do a fearing job with thickened goo and rounding of corners before any more mat goes on. Hopefully i can get the mat flat this time and build up a good strong job.

engine beds

This has not been something i was looking forward too and the hot weather 30 deg. C in the boat today has not helped, cutting into to the glass fibre of the engine bay beds and re-making them for the new engine, is still only part way done on day two. About the most hideous job done so far, cramped hot frustrating and very critical to get it right and accurate. Pleased i am doing it myself though to know it is done to standard. Well so far its not to bad but not with out furious concentration and hard work, the joys of doing a job never done before. After some very careful measurements of the engine, making a jig to attach to the prop shaft coupling, marking out cutting into the old beds and fashioning some bits of teak, the engine was lifted in to test its new bed and it very reassuringly fits, basically as the instillation manual says it should 85mm off its bed. So now into the glassing it all together and making good the big holes i have made.

The ebb is over

The tide is turning in chortles refurbishment. The new engine arrived on friday having had a lovely tour round roystons, a real marine engineering works and very helpful local supplier of volvo penta engines.

Fairing

Thickened polyester resin filling the crushed area of rudder.

Table socket

Table bush

Fitted the cock pit sole table bush today through bolts ordered. And polyester resin poured in around underside to fill and stiffen the delaminated foam core and stiffen the whole thing.

Fairing the rudder

Well its not race profile perfection i am after but bottom of the rudder was badly worn and pitting just into the foam core. A thickened polyester with glass strand filling and fairing of the rudder base part done gel coat cover before epoxy barrier and then copper coat anti foiling to go. Also faired in the collapsed rudder area around pintle straps, gelcoat on tomorrow and oh joy more sanding, buffing and waxing for the white out of the water section.