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The World According To |
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The World According To |
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BILL SHAW ANSWERS THE MAIL I have a 30-year old P35, hull number 38, and I have recently noticed that the topsides, underneath the lower aft starboard shroud, are buckled inward slightly. I think this has been becoming more pronounced: I used to wave it off as an optical illusion, but now it is obvious. Is there a fix for this? I tensioned the shrouds based on the numbers given for ¼ inch wire on the tension meter I bought at Boat-US. Is this the proper size wire for the lowers? Are there any particular specifications for shroud/stay tension on a P35? Any info is appreciated as always. — Mart Dismukes, P35 #38 First, slack off the lower shroud and see if the indentation goes away or is lessened. Second, the lower shrouds should not be any tighter than is necessary to keep the mast straight at the spreaders (on the windward side) in a 12- to 14-knot breeze, not one ounce more. It is quite possible that this shroud was, at some time, severely over-tightened and has now taken set. If this is indeed the case, the cure is not cheap and requires a detailed explanation. I am the first and only owner of our 1989 P33. I checked the original Pearson manual and Yanmar engine manual and found nothing about gear ratios. I did find stamped on the Yanmar transmission case the following: "MARINE GEAR MODEL KM-2P. GEAR RATIO 262." Maybe this means 1:262 ratio. My prop is Michigan Wheel Inc. Sailor 16RH10. The engine is two cylinders, 15hp. This is adequate, but I wish it were a three cylinder. Why is gear ratio reduction necessary? We sail on Lake Ontario—sweet fresh water, so our P33 is in like-new condition. Shoal draft wing keel is especially valuable now because of the very low water levels in Lake Ontario. I study and save your columns. — Francis Greetham, elpaso51@yahoo.com Your might be right about the reduction gear: you should check with Yanmar. Why the need for reduction gears? Generally the most efficient prop has a large diameter and turns slowly. For a sailboat, we need a larger prop with more blade area to avoid cavitation when working into a head sea or adverse currents. This could not be accomplished without a proper reduction between the prop and power source. I recently purchased a ’67 Invicta. As I’ve gotten into it, I have found that the gelcoat is pretty much toast all over the boat. She has been out of the water for two years, and the bottom paint was impressively flaky when I had her surveyed. The surveyor found nothing wrong with the gelcoat underlying the bottom paint. However, when I had the old bottom paint taken off, I found, especially at the waterline but pretty much everywhere to some degree, that the gelcoat had one- to three-millimeter craters and voids. At some points there were little plugs of gelcoat still in the incipient crater; in this case the little plug could be flicked out with a fingernail. At the waterline, about 1/3 of the distance back from the bow on both sides, these craters are pretty much continuous, giving the impression of a roiled sea from several hundred feet up in an airplane. I have sanded down to the fiberglass in places along the waterline, and I have found some superficial voids in the fiberglass—much sparser; a lot of evidence of hydrolysis; white threads visible under the surface of the fiberglass. There don’t appear to be any blisters between the laminates of fiberglass. It has been suggested to me that I can sand down the gelcoat in the vicinity of the waterline where the problem is at its worst, then put down an epoxy barrier coat. Others have suggested to me that I should have the gelcoat peeled or bead-blasted off. I don’t want to have to revisit this problem again, but I also don’t want to sink too much money into a boat with a pretty limited resale value. I would appreciate it if you could put me in touch with someone that has some experience with these issues, and advise me what to do. Thanks very much. — John Lafleur, amores@aol.com The best advice is to contact the experts at International Paint, Glidden, who developed blister block, and the guys at West Systems. They will have procedures and materials to be used in the restoration. I strongly suggest you avoid sand blasting—it is dangerous and may weaken the FRP lay-up of your boat. I have a 1987 Pearson 39 centerboard model. The problem is that it takes an act of God to raise my centerboard. The wire pendant has so much strain on it when the board is fully — Jack Gorby The reason for the centerboard pendant being close to the pivot point was to keep it out of the stream of water passing by the centerboard. With the pendant end up in the stream, it will vibrate and will eventually break. Moving the attachment further aft will not work unless the sheave arrangement is changed. Doing this will definitely put the pendant in the slipstream. The arrangement looks something like this:
From this you can see that moving the pick-up point further aft will increase the load on the cable. The best solu-tion to the problem you describe is to add a block to the system. I would recommend something like this:
I have a Pearson 30, hull 1189. Several years ago I read an article in a sailing magazine about adding a track to allow you to have in-board sheeting on a Pearson 30 that would allow you point much higher. If you know the positioning of such a track or any other information about pointing higher, I would appreciate it. — Ed Gottschalk, 76771.1346@compuserve.com This is possible to achieve, but you would need to talk to your local sailmaker to discuss the merits of this, as well as what kind of a jib that could be cut to accommodate the change. If you go ahead with this modification, be sure to verify that the deck where the track would be installed has not suffered through age and that adequate backing for the track is installed. I know I talked with you at length after we purchased our P36 about the defect in the width of the fiber-glass in front of the keel. You responded to Paul Kirshen that there is no problem. I find that there is a big problem if the boat was fitted with a hydraulic back stay that put extra pressure on the boat; it pushes the mast down and causes cracking where the bow tried to pull up (the keel pushed down away from the hull). The width of the fiberglass in that area was very thin, and we had to add to it after the problem surfaced. (A lightening bolt crack that could have sunk the boat). We also found a defect at the back of the keel, toward the top, where angle is most pronounced: the layers of fiberglass were not packed well and allowed seepage (air pockets) in the hull. Many P36 owners already know about these defects and I am very surprised by your response to a new owner inquiring about these problems. We love our boat and wouldn’t trade her for anything else, but have learned most of these lessons the hard way. I hope you will advise Paul Kirshen of these problems. — Pam Heath, "Fantasy," St. Thomas, USVI The 1970s P36 did have a problem at the aft end of the hull/keel joint. The solution of the problem required a retrofit by the dealer or owner of record. If the retrofit was actually done, we were to be notified. Some P36s could not be located, so it is possible that they did not receive the notification from us. My boat has had a gradual increase in leaking through the toe rail screws into the cabin over the past five years. This winter, I removed the SS track and the entire toe rail from fore to aft and sanded it; I’m oiling it with Cetol now. Almost all of the SS two-inch screws are rusty and I plan to replace them before reinstallation of the rail. I have been advised to use Boatlife caulk in each screw hole when I reinstall the rail, rather than the clear silicon, which was used originally. Is this the best caulk to use to stop the leaking? The factory used a liberal amount of silicon caulk under the rail, but there were many voids; moisture easily collected and stayed under the rail. I see no reason to use caulk except around each screw hole so that water will drain out from under the rail faster. Do you agree? Or should I try to set the rail in a lot of caulk and fill in the voids as best as I can, recognizing that there will be spots which will trap moisture? What is the best waterproof glue to use to fasten the teak bungs into the toe rail? There have been great improvements in adhesives and sealers for jobs like this. They shrink less, are more watertight, and are easier to apply. Boatlife products are good and better than straight silicon for your purpose. My suggestion is to put a sealant on each screw as it is replaced. It is important to know that SS screws which suffer from oxygen starvation will corrode. SS is stainless as long as it gets oxygen. The rail itself should be bedded down and sealed completely. It is important to prevent water from seeping under it, as it will eventually get trapped and cause serious damage, especially in the winter. Regarding the teak bungs, Elmer’s waterproof or West Systems epoxy are both good products. We have a 1979 P30 and would like to install a bimini. The problem is the mast, which is very low. Can I BILL SHAW raise the boom height without losing too much speed? What would you recommend? — Jean-Luc If you are a serious racer, you need to recognize that if you decrease your sail area, you decrease your speed. Of course, this is less important to weekend cruisers. Reducing your sail area will increase your center of effort and increase your heeling moment. A six-inch reduction of the main won’t impact the cruiser to any great degree. I do, however, strongly recommend taking the cut out of the head of the sail, not the foot. I am about to have a 400# MarsKeel supplemental ballast bulb added at the bottom of the keel on my ’74 Pearson 30. Anyone have any experience doing this and any advice? — Jim Eshelman, West Newton, MA This is an internal keel that is glassed to the hull. This design is not suitable for an extension like the one you are considering. |
retracted that it is like a piano wire. I have only had the boat for one season, so last spring I had the pendant checked by the surveyor who sent this picture. It seems to indicate that the pendant is attached very close to the pivot point of the centerboard, which would mean that there is practically no mechanical advantage, especially for the last couple of cranks of the centerboard winch. My thought was to place the pendant attachment further down on the trailing edge of the centerboard. However, I am not sure what the arrangement is at the point where the pendant enters the centerboard trunk. If there is some sort of sheave, then my approach will work. If not, the pendant will wear on the fiberglass, which I do not want. One other option is to get a bigger winch, or use a wire rope with a block/sheave arrangement to get greater mechanical advantage. I would appreciate any ideas you may have on my dilemma, and look forward to using your organization for some of the other little concerns that seem to arise when one owns a boat. 
