Systems report by Beth
For the past several weeks, we’ve had a real boat in the systems shop. Theory, bench projects, and working in our mock hulls mounted up high has been useful, but real boats are where it’s at. This particular boat, Renegade, is a wooden launch IYRS uses to get people around Newport Harbor. It was a second-year restoration project several years ago, and was in the systems shop two years ago for some sprucing up. It needs attention again; wooden boats take some care and this one is no exception.
We removed the engine, controls and control panel, rudder, tiller, wiring, cleats, running lights…you name it, we removed it. The only non-wood items remaining were the fuel tank (polyethylene and in good shape) and the drain plug.
Pulling the engine was not difficult in the shop, with three people and a lift:
Pulling the prop took a lot of muscle and some heat, even with our own prop-puller:
After the engine was out, we could access all the wiring, exhaust system, conduits, and prop shaft for removal:
Another team is working on the transom. They removed the old varnish and the peeling lettering very carefully, using a heat gun and scraper, and a lot of patience.
We were focused on studying for our ABYC Marine Systems exam, so the work on Renegade gave us a good break from the books.
Once everything was out of the boat, we gave the bilge a good powerwashing and then scrubbed with Simple Green. After a rinse and a day to dry, we painted a primer coat in the bilge. Once that was dry, grey Bilgecoat paint was applied. That stuff is impervious to all sorts of nasty bilge things. It dries to a hard, glossy coating that should hold up for a few years.
While we were painting, another team was scraping the old varnish off the deck. They have put a primer coat on the bare wood and will paint it a shade of white to match the topsides. This should hold up longer than varnish. We left the coaming varnished and will restore the varnish as the last step in the refit. Here’s a picture of the painted bilge and primed deck:
The transom was sanded and stained. Now the varnishing has begun. It will get about 10 coats of varnish. It already looks good:
We are on break as I write this, so the next post will be about a site visit we took a few weeks ago, to a company that sells and installs potable water tanks, watermakers, and sanitation systems.