Plastic Classic Forum

I used PTFE (Teflon) "gaskets" for all stainless fittings on my spars and tefgel on the fasteners. 1/16" or 3/32" sheet should be sufficient. McMaster sells them for a pretty reasonable price. http://www.mcmaster.com/#sheets-%28made-with-teflon-ptfe%29/=h4zj4r Look for "Film...

I recently used a Craftsman manual impact driver to remove all the stainless hardware from my mast. It's an indispensable tool for working on spars. Unless the wall of your spar is quite thin, there is little chance of denting it from a blow to the impact driver (providing you don't use a 10 lb sled...

I have this same lamp. The burner unscrews from the base.

Thanks Ric. That's all the convincing I needed. The gelcoat below the waterline was in great shape. No crazing and few chips/cracks. The boat has been out of the water since 2005 except for two weeks this past Fall so I figured if I was ever going to barrier coat this would be the time. I decided to...

As Ric mentioned, it's a good idea to knock the corners off the blade. I did this with my angle grinder but only when scraping awkwardly shaped areas. I did bite the gelcoat in a few spots but nothing a touch of epoxy won't fix. I'm considering doing a barrier coat while I have all the paint off. I ...

I think any carbide scraper would work well. I'm sure there are some handles that are more comfortable than others but the one my local Lowes carries worked quite well for me. It's a Finish Factor Soft Grip carbide scraper like this one: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dGv-upVbBL8/TeBMPQ69QoI/AAA...

Thanks. I got laid off a few months back so I've had nothing but time to work on her. One thing I'm starting to notice is that old boats demand every spare moment (and dollar) you have...at least in the initial refit stage. Eight hours seem to pass in what seems like no time. Beginning to seem like ...

Thanks Rachel. I'm sure she was quite happy to get all that old paint off. Some areas had failed so bad I could knock off a 2'x2' section by barely touching it. Other took much more work. Ric, The tubes were pretty solid and took some convincing to get out. The tube for the head sink drain had a sli...

I've been meaning to document the refit of my Alberg 35, Auriga, but I've been so busy working on her the last few months, I haven't had time. So, here goes: When purchased, Auriga seemed to be a well cared for boat for her age. She had the same issues most boats from this era suffer from. Rotten co...

I've had very good luck with my Topclimber. The first few times were really awkward and difficult but after I got the hang of it, it was fairly easy. I have yet to try it underway. The biggest thing is that you have to get the line really tight or you end up swing all over. I also use prusick knot a...

That's a great deal. I paid over $600 to get my 400# mooring all set up last year. It cost me $200 for the mushroom and about $400 for the heavy/light chains, shackles, swivels etc. Funny, I still have a 250# mooring with all tackle and the ball in the water on City Island. I used to keep my boat th...

I'll check at my club. I think we have a used 300lb mushroom and they usually charge about 50 cents a pound. You would have to pick it up in Nyack.

Made quite a bit of progress on the rudder over the past few weeks. Almost ready to hang it back on. Got my new prop shaft and cutlass bearing as well so this project should be done by next weekend. Here are a few pictures of the progress: I decided to route out the bolt passages on each half before...

The pink spots are only on the surface. I can sand and bit and they come off and expose healthy looking bronze.

I cleaned up my lower bronze rudder post today and there are some minor pinkish spots on the surface. You can sort of make out the spots in the photo below. The post looks to be in good shape other than the pink spots. No pitting or anything of the sort. The shoe and gudgeon are in about the same sh...

Thanks Zach. I ended up going with the angle grinder quick method. Spent to much time trying to get it out and needed to get on with the project. It ended up being a good thing because there was significant stuffing box and cutlass bearing wear on the shaft. Also, going to be moving up to a larger g...

After many hours over many days I was able to press the prop shaft out of the coupling. Now I can't get the key out of the shaft no matter what I try. Any suggestions? I may just cut the shaft tomorrow.

I haven't messed with the concave cove on the keel but I would bet it is mostly filler. You can see where a few small chunks have broken away and I don't see any fibers underneath. I'm not sure there would be enough benefit to glassing around the stock to justify the extra hassle. I'd really hate to...

Thanks for all the great info Zach. I thought about wrapping a few layers of glass around the rudder stock but I don't think it will clear the cove in the trailing edge of the keel if I do. Looks like there is only maybe 1/8" of clearance between the stock and the cove in the keel. I was wonder...

I'm planning to first seal with epoxy then laminate some carbon fiber on the leading and trailing edges. Following that, I will laminate the entire blade with a layer of 1708 biax followed by a layer or 10 oz cloth. Then fair and barrier coat. Sound like a good schedule?

Got started on the rudder rebuild project this week. I'm using two thicknesses of 3/4" BS1088 grade Okoume Mahogany marine ply. Pictures and comments are below. I used what was left of the old blade to trace the shape onto one half of the ply. I then cut out the rough shape (cutting about 1/2&q...

Thanks Chuck. I called around today and found a company in the Buffalo area, CC Fasteners, that carries all sorts of bronze and stainless fasteners. They had the 16" lengths I need. Now it's time to start hacking into that $140 piece of mahogany ply I bought today :-)

Thanks for the pics. My rudder is very similar. The drifts were all tapped in on mine however. I had to cut the drifts with a grinder through the wood to get the post off. Could not work them out for anything. I've decided to build a new blade in the laminated marine ply fashion. I'm having trouble ...

Ric,

Where do you house the battery bank on your A35? I'm getting ready to buy a new bank of 4 Trojan T105s and was considering building a box in the bilge just aft of the water tank. Right now they are in the stbd cockpit locker but I'd like to get all that weight as low as possible.

I sort of answered my own question on this topic. Went to cut up more of the old skin yesterday and ended up ripping it to shreds in the process. I think I'm going to use the method recommended here and laminate a new skin with 1708 biax. I was really surprised to find how wet the core was and how f...

Thanks for the pics. Mine looks exactly the same where the trim was missing from the transom. I was really hoping to avoid that project. I glassed a hull/deck joint on a Vanguard a few years back and it was a long and tedious process. Have you ever had any leaking issues from the joint? On another n...

That would be great if you could. I have yet to yank the rudder and start dissecting it. Would be nice to see how the planks fit together before I start. I did find a local lumber yard that has pretty good prices for quarter sawn mahogany planks so I think I am going to go with wood rather than a pl...

The mahogany rudder on my Alberg 35 has reached the end of it's useful life. I guess 48 years isn't bad. It would probably still be serviceable but at some point, a PO coated with something. The material looks almost like gelcoat. Needless to say, water got in, the wood swelled, the coating cracked ...

Hi Everyone, I'm the proud new (~6 months) owner of a '62 Alberg 35 hull# 54. I'm just getting started on a fairly basic winter refit. The boat is in pretty good shape for the age with the exception of a rotten rudder and a couple of soft spots on the deck. I'll be starting a new thread about the ru...