Re-bedding the chain plates with poly butyl tape.

I decided before the winter really comes to re-bed the chain plates. In the Don Casey book "Sailboat Maintenance Manual" actually the recommended material is polysulfide sealant. I visited more than 5 shops here in Netherlands, and I did not find such a sealant. Because of that, I started to look for alternatives. I found several reviews and sailors in Internet who actually recommend the use of polybutyl tape when sealing movable deck hardware like the chain plates and stanchions. I found such a tape in the shop called KOK-Watersport: poly butyl tape KOK watersport. 3 meters of it cost just 6.50 Euro. The procedure which I found is pretty basic. 

1. Remove chain plates.

2. Clean and Dry chain plates and the through holes.

3. Repair the deck with epoxy if necessary.     

4. Apply the poly butyl tape.

5. Tighten the chain plates.

6. Remove the excess of the poly butyl tape.

Cleaned chain plate.

Poly butyl tape applied.

Tightened chain plate.

Removing the excess of the sealant.

Moving Sasha for the winter on dry dock :)

Rigging Notes

I just checked the rigging tension. Decided to make everything on 10% of ultimate breaking strength except for the capping shrouds which were set to 15%. I found the information about rigging here:

Click

The explanation which I liked the most was the following:

"Note From Nigel Charlesworth (UK) regarding accurate mast rake.

I have a measured drawing of Birgitta (Rogers CO26) which shows the original configuration and the modifications required to achieve a 2 degree mast rake. It meant chopping 125 mm off the backstays (dia = 4 mm) and increasing the forestay length (dia = 5 mm) by 110 mm. I used Staloks. No changes were made to the capping or the lower shrouds. The standing rigging was re-tensioned, using a “Sure-Rig” tension meter as follows: everything 10% of ultimate breaking strength except for the capping shrouds which were set to 15%. When this was all done, the main halyard was dropped to the deck into a bucket of water and the distance from its bottom to the mast step was measured and found to be 295 mm which gives a 2 degree rake. Birgitta was put on the water, sailed and the standing rigging re-tensioned. Prior to any of this we were tacking through 115 degrees. Post static tensioning we tacked through 90 degrees, and after the dynamic re-tensioning we achieved 85 degrees in a 15 – 20 knot breeze. What was interesting was that it was the lower fore shrouds that create an automatic pre-bend. Equally interesting is that the flatter the sails the better the tack. By just slightly loosening the main and genoa luffs and easing the vang the tacking angle increases to 95 degrees."

Interior layout.

A lot of people ask me how Sasha looks from inside :) Here it is :)

Works done, boat moved to Wadenzee

New engine works great. Smooth and quite :) Cruising speed 4.7 kn, maximal speed 5.5 kn. 1 liter per hour. Brilliant. Of course the first thing which I did was to fill the reservoir with gasoline instead of diesel. Took me some time to remove it and refill again :)

 

Very proud with the working original from 1976 Brooks and Gatehouse analog speed meter, log, and depth meter. Awesome :) 

 

Looks good :) 

Works going on.

I got Sasha out of the water in Enkhuizen and started the engine installation.  All mechanical parts, exhaust,  inlets needed replacement, and the foundation of the engine was redone. The works are undergoing :) 

The engine fits perfect after cutting the old engine foundation. There is an easy access to all of the filters.

The connection of the shaft to the engine was done by flanch.

The support of the shaft and the shaft tube was rotten, new support was built in. New tube and new shaft were installed.

New propeller installed :)

Isn't she a beauty :)

The search of a new engine :)

When I purchased the boat the engine was the original Peters 6HP engine. It is a great little thing which works as the Dutch say as a small sunshine :) It was even possible to start the engine completely manually. The cruising speed on engine was 3 kn. At this time when Sasha has been produced I assume it has been fine, because the engine has been used just to get in and out of the harbour. However, since I plan to use the boat in the tidal water for the safety reasons I decide to upgrade the engine. I did a check in Internet and at the end I narrowed the options to 6 possibilities.

1. Beta 10, 2 cylinder, naturally aspirated, diesel propulsion engine developing 10 bhp at 3,000 rpm with a swept volume of 479 cc;

2. Beta 14, 2 cylinder, naturally aspirated, diesel propulsion engine developing 13.5 bhp at 3,600 rpm with a swept volume of 479 cc. The big brother of Beta 10, same size but more powerful;

Both Beta 10 and Beta 14 engines are recommended by Jeremy Rogers on his web site as a replacement engines for Contessa 26.

3. Sole Mini 11, Basis Mitsubishi, 2 cylinder 11HP / 8,2kW;

4. Yanmar 1GM10, 1 cylinder, 6 kW / 9 HP;

5. Nanni 2.10, 2 cylinder 10 HP, 7.36 KW;

6. Vetus M2.13, 2 cilinder, 8,8 KW (12 PK);


The price of the new engine is similar for all the models and ranges inclusive the taxes between 6-7000 Euro.

I decided that it will be too much for me, and started looking for good second hand engine. I found nice second hand fully revised Yanmar1GM10 from a Yanmar dealer near Kagerplassen estimated to be 10-15 years old and on 500- 1000 working hours from a boat used in "Westeinderplassen" lakes in Holland.

I started reading about this engine, and apparently it has been used in a lot of the Canadian versions of Contessa 26.

Fortunately it appeared to be a nice engine:

a. The lightest and most compact marine inboard engine around.
b. Proven reliability. A very simple and tough engine that when properly maintained and supplied with clean fuel and water will never let you down.
c. Relatively cheap to maintain and run. A 1gm 10 uses about 1 litre per hour at 2600 RPM. This rises to about 1 3/4 litres at 3000 RPM.
d. Spares are easy to come by as the Yanmar network is worldwide.
e. If something does go wrong there is nearly always a Yanmar specialist around. Or a tractor mechanic who will understand the engine. It only has one cylinder so there is less to go wrong.
f. Raw water cooling can be an advantage because its simpler; there is only one water pump and the cooling system is very basic. Thermostat and cooling system are easy to check and replace.

There is a really nice blog about this particular type of engines:
Yanmar 1GM10

Ok, now is time to find someone to install it :)