New Modifications on Siri for 2015

Siri at the mooring this summer.

Last year I had a few issues that I wanted to find a solution for.  First was leaky fore and aft compartments.  Second was that the throat and peak halliards would often cross and bind making it hard to drop the main.  Siri has the 3 sail rig.

I thought about making hatches but decided that if I could find a manufactured hatch, I might go that route.   There are lots of hatches on the market but reviews seemed to indicate that most are junk.  I decided on this one-  Oval Sea-Lect Performance Kayak Hatch K745260 - cover + K745165 - ring

 
I got 2 for $90. each.  They are great and easy to install.  I used 4 small screws for locating the rim but 3m 5200. is doing all of the holding.  They are plenty big for gear and I actually managed to slide inside the bow hatch. It was tight though.

The bow hatch was pretty simple. The only issue was avoiding the structural framing underneath the deck. 

The rigid plastic rim is on the left. I have just started cutting the hole on the right.

all mounted

with the rubberized hatch in place

The aft hatch was a bit more tricky as there was a rectangular 'door' type hatch in place when I got the boat.  It let water all around the edges when it rained.  So I removed all of the hardware, cut the hole for the hatch and then fiberglassed the parts back in place before mounting the new hatch ring.

everything set loosely in place before fiberglassing.

all done

Yes, I can fit in the hatch.  Not easy though.

My next issue was the halliard sticking problem. My first plan was to find a stainless steel 'strap' to mount vertically on the centerline of the sheaves to keep the lines separate.  When I could not find anything suitable, I decided on a piece of aluminum from the hardware store metal bin and fashioned a divider for the sheaves.   This meant removing the sheaves and widening the hole in the mast and morticing a slot for the aluminum piece.  Finally , the mortices were simple filled with thickened epoxy to hold it firmly in place.  It works great as my mainsail now drops with ease when I want it to.  

notice that the edges of the divider are filed and sanded smooth to minimize wear on the halliards. Aluminum is easy to work with woodworking tools.

everything went in and out a few times to make sure that the mortice for the sheaves  allowed them to spin freely.

all done

Projects for next year will be- 

a tiller with a larger curve in it or another steering solution.

maybe some rudder modifications to allow for better tacking.

an over the boom mooring cover

Pictures of the Caledonia Yawl, Siri and a lot details for the tinkerers.

This is what Siri looks like today.  I bought her in the winter of 2013 in Boston from Henry Richards who built her in Bangladesh. She was launched there in 2008.  

There was some work to be done before she could be launched. 

The forward and aft bulkheads were both rotten at their bases so that was the thing to fix.  I just removed the rotten parts of the plywood and scabbed on some new ply with a generous amount of thickened WEST System epoxy.  Now they are rock solid and look nice.   The reason they rotted, I have discovered is because the hatch on the after deck leaks and the holes (for oars?)  that go into the forward compartment also leak.  The problem was that those compartments were holding the water and not letting it drain.  My plan is to make them water tight so that they work as buoyancy tanks.

The next issue was that the centerboard trunk was leaking.  CB trunks are a pain in the behind but the are fixable with patience.  I found that the hull to trunk joint was a bit rough on the inside, so I filled and fiberglassed the joint.  No leak now. Also, I filled and glassed some of the keel joints near the trunk that looked suspect.  In my experience, if it looks bad, it generally is.

The last issue was that the centerboard itself was made of ply and was ready to break so I replaced it with a 3/8" piece of aluminum that I had cut at a metal shop.  A bit expensive but I will not ever need to worry about it.  I like a CB that can hit rock or scrape the shallows and act like a depth sounder.

The mizzen mast had broken and was repaired with a rough scarf that is holding but has left the mast with a permanent bend to it.  I painted over the rough scarf and have almost forgotten about it.

So, one project before next year is to find some good watertight hatches for the fore and aft compartments.  This is valuable storage space that I hate to waste.

Another small project is to place a flat stainless bar to separate the to halyards  where they enter the mast on the aft side.  The peak halyard is always riding over the throat halyard and jamming.  A simple steel (round) bar should solve that issue.

A thrown together sun shade made for comfortable lounging on a hot day at anchor.

On her mooring in Kingsland Bay on Lake Champlain.

We soon discovered that the most comfortable seating was on the bottom of the boat.