Galley Maid Windlass removal

[Dan Mapes]

Ok this is moving forward. Fortunately, the spindle tube protruded above the deck plate about 3/16 to a 1/4 inch. So an 1 1/2 pipe with a straight coupler on one end landed on the tube really well. With a cap on the 12 inch nipple I started beating.
With a 2 pound baby.
It laughed at me.

So I went to Lowes and bought a 10 pounder and wailed on it. And it moved. Only one divot into the deck plate so all in all it went well.

Now I need something that just fits into the bore of the deck plate because the threaded end pushes in on the bushing which is not good.

Tons of rust fell off the winch.

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[Maynard Rupp]

Ain't salt water great. Ours was a virgin fresh water boat at the time we removed the windlass. No rust at all, but what a tough job.

[Dan Mapes]

Actually today I was able to get it out the rest of the way. The trick was to get a "Merchant" coupling for the 1 1/2 pipe and grind down the end a little so it would get down into the deck plate without binding. Once that was installed 4 more whacks with the 10 pounder and it was hanging on the last bolt.
Prior to the last 4 whacks I pushed out 4 bolts, and ran some 1/4 in poly up through the 4 holes and over to a cleat. Then the last nut came off which allowed me to go back up topside and lower it down onto a board in the locker. However, before it came down the rest of the way I pulled a heavy black garbage bag over it to collect all the rust laying around on it.

We'll see how it goes. I know we need some glass work...

[magnawake]

Ah Man, Good Luck Dan. I'll be watching this project. I have been in SC at home sprucing up the house. The Blue Bayou is on the hard in Stewart. The 2nd of Sept. we will slash her and head down to Homestead, Fl for work. I'm crossing my fingers everything still works. I have never left our boat unattended for this long. It makes me nervous you know. Keep us posted on the windlass.

[Dan Mapes]

Pate we are going to need the good luck. The first estimate for the deck repair is 13K and that's if I remove and replace the pulpit. BTW not going there. So this is an expensive repair.
Essentially the damage runs from bow cleat to bow cleat and forward. The core is all rotted out.

[Dan Mapes]

It doesn't get more ugly than this. It's a total surprise. There are contributing factors that go back a couple of years. We'll see how it all unfolds.
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[Dan Mapes]

So we have been the route with the insurance company and yes as you probably guessed it was declined. That being the case, there is more incentive to find a more cost effective solution to this mess.
Taking a lead from one of the shops, I went to work on the locker and laid down a coat of Kilz followed by a couple of coats of exterior gloss. So it looks good now up to the locker ceiling. The estimates we have seen so far read like a horror story of labor and glass work.
None of them are appealing. Especially since I have sounded the area and taken a few core samples with a hole saw.
Most if not all of the damage is forward of the bulkhead. This is great news. Perhaps the starboard cleat has an issue but that will not make itself obvious until the area is exposed one way or the other.
There are three basic approaches to this deal.
1) peel up the deck and lay down new coring along with a new foredeck (expensive)
2) peel off the lower laminate in the locker, clean it all out, install new coring going up and restore the lower laminate (cheaper I think)
3) peel off the lower laminate, clean up, restore lower laminate and pour expoxy with bubbles in, then repaint the deck (Swiss cheese the deck and restore).

I think I am going to build up a platform on the center board dividing the rope and chain sections and see how it feels. Right now 15-20K seems outrageous.

I am thinking of Fasco-110 putty and chunks of coosa board stuck up to the foredeck followed by a restoration of the lower laminate.

Warnings, advice and alternatives are welcome.



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[magnawake]

Dan, You are scaring the HECK out of me. Florida isnt the place to do these big jobs. Its like wolves licking their chops at the boat yards. We are in Homestead now starting work tomorrow. Yuck !!! kepp me posted.

[Dan Mapes]

Pate if you go the route I will turn over everything I have.

It ain't pretty but I think there are those that will scare the crap out of you to extract more dollars.

[jim rosenthal]

One of my friends who is restoring a vintage fiberglass skipjack had the same problems with rot in a cored deck. He took up the outer layer of the deck, cleaned out the rotten coring, dried it thoroughly, and rebuilt the deck. I think he used Coremat. I have done the same thing and used Coosa, which I like a lot.

There are some advantages to doing it from the top. It is easier to see and work on, and you can weight the layers of new coring as you put them in, to help them bond solidly to what's underneath them. It is much harder to do that working from underneath.

He saved the removed outer layer of the deck and epoxied it back into place, weighting it with sandbags, when the core was rebuilt. It looks great and when painted will be invisible or nearly so.

For what it's worth, I would use several layers of thinner Coosa paneling, like 0.25", rather than one thick layer, although it takes longer. I did that in a repair of my aft bulkhead and it came out pretty well.