BOAT RESCUE PART 4: LET THE RESTORATION BEGIN

(Previous: BOAT RESCUE PART 3: SO, WHAT DID I DRAG HOME?

The rescue of a 1976 Albin Ballad 30' sailboat

It's a relief to stop taking things off the boat and start some serious rebuilding work. One of the first jobs, after removing all the debris from the old ceilings, was to "de-glue" the hull sides. In places the old adhesive peeled off in sheets, partly due to the moist conditions in the boat. But most of it put up a good fight, and it took an assorted arsenal of tools to persuade it to let go.

Tool Arsenal

My main tools were a razor blade scraper, a wire brush, an old 1/2" chisel, gloves, and a kneeling pad. I found that if I kept the razor blade wet when scraping the glue did not re-stick to the fiberglass. Another useful tool was an abrasive pad, also kept wet. Even after it was all removed (two days work) little bits of rubbery glue were everywhere, trying their best to re-adhere to anything they came in contact with!

Wire Brush in Action

Working inside the bare hull was interesting: everything dropped immediately headed for the bilge, and unless I kept a grip on something I was apt to slide bilgeward also!

Most of the gear I removed was in decent shape. The winches, although dirty with debris, are in good working condition and should be fine after a good cleaning and lubrication.

Winch with Drum Removed.

A coat of good industrial enamel on the interior areas that wouldn't be covered brightened up the inside considerably.

Bow Area Repainted

Repainted Quarter Berth and Engine 'Room'.

The one piece of kit that had failed was the prop. When I held onto a blade while removing the prop nut with a long wrench, it broke off in my had. This happened twice, but the third blade held to allow the nut to be loosened.

Single Blade Prop!

There had been no zinc on the shaft for a while, as the prop was pink inside, and very weak.

Broken Blade.

Today I started removing the old bottom paint. I use a carbide-bladed paint scraper. It's hard work, but removes the paint in flakes, rather than creating a lot of dust with a sander.  Gel Coat damage is minimized by slightly rounding the blade corners on a sanding wheel.  Doing this job a couple of hours a day is usually enough for me!

Bare Bottom.

After the bottom is clean, and has had a final sanding, it'll be time to build a winter cover for the hull.
Next installment: PART 5: INTERIOR REBUID STARTS.