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Our mistake of painting with gelcoat
After many days of preparing the cockpit for painting by adding putty and sanding, we were finally satisfied with the surfaces. We cleaned the cockpit thoroughly with both water and acetone and added masking tape. Our plan was to paint with gelcoat first and then add another layer of topcoat above. The reason for this is because if it doesn’t cover properly the topcoat most be sanded first before the second layer can be applied. If only gelcoat were to be used it would harden properly and will remain a little bit sticky. We had discussed earlier if we should use a two component paint instead but since we had…
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DIY autopilot for sailboat – Part one
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Renovation of leaking sliding hatch
We have had trouble earlier with our leaking sliding hatch , which we started to repair a couple of weeks ago, read more about part one HERE. When the linseed oil we added had hardened 14 days later we started to varnish it. After we had added 8 layers of varnish we glued the Isiteek, which is fake teak made out of plastic, back on the hatch and then it was time to start with repairing the leakages. In parallel to working with the leaking sliding hatch we have also started working with the door to the cabin. We currently have a provisional one but the previous owner had started…
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DIY autopilot for sailboat – Part one
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The mast stepping
The time had finally come to do the mast stepping! 🙂 If you want to read more about our rig, see our blog posts about the rig HERE. Before starting the mast stepping we had to do some final preparations before getting started. We had to mount the windex, change to LED-bulbs in the lanterns, mount the new electrical horn we bought and do a final check of the masts to make sure everything looked good. When we felt satisfied with the masts it was time for the mast stepping. We had some friends with us to help during the process, since we never done this before and since we…
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DIY autopilot for sailboat – Part one
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Rope overhaul and cleaning halyards
We got a bunch of different kind of ropes for the rig when we bought the boat, but most of them ha been laying outside on the mast for several years and needed an overhaul and to be cleaned. We went over the halyards in search for weaknesses in the ropes and wires. Then we started cleaning the halyards. Some of the halyards are made entirely of rope and those we cleaned in a washing machine, just a normal 40 degree wash (celsius) with less centrifugation than an ordinary washing program. We added vinegar essence as fabric softener, which makes the fabric soft, without wearing them out to much. Unfortunately…
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DIY autopilot for sailboat – Part one
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Rig for ketch rigged sailboat
It was time for us to start an overhaul on the rig for our ketch rigged sailboat. As it is ketch-rigged we have two masts; one bigger main mast and a smaller one, called a mizzen mast. The mizzen mast is positioned in the cockpit and is much smaller than the main mast. The main mast is keel-stepped, which it means it goes through the deck. Main Mast We started with the main mast, which is made out of aluminum and has one pair of spreaders. First up was to loosen all straps that held the stays and shrouds together. We went over the shrouds and stays, took a close…
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DIY autopilot for sailboat – Part one
