aegir-ran

The original stove was probably a two-burner propane model. During the refit in the early 2000’s, a genset was installed, the propane stove and locker were removed, and a non-gimbaled induction cook surface and convection oven were installed. Toward our goal of being environmentally friendly, we removed the diesel-burning genset and the galley appliances. Our options for a replacement propane stove were limited. In fact, there was only one commercial stove that would fit, a Force 10 “Euro Sub-compact” 3-burner stove. Unfortunately, the new stove is about 3 inches narrower than the previous one. As a first effort, we made a spacer out of teak (using the discarded cheeks from the rudder). While functional, we did not like the appearance., the gap seemed to invite dropping things in the crevasse, and it did not seem sturdy enough. So, we set out to construct a proper cabinet. Because the brackets for the new stove required high tolerance (within a 1/4″ in width) and the existing cabinet was (naturally) not square, it was necessary to have proper woodworking tools. Unfortunately, ours were not in Mexico. We borrowed a cheap miter saw from a relative in Tucson and purchased an inexpensive table saw from Home Depot. As an aside, we highly recommend the Ryobi RTS12T Table Saw for about $200. While at Home Depot in Tucson, we also picked up some 1 x 3″ (actually 0.75 x 2.5″) appearance board. To make the construction easier, we also picked up a cheap nail gun at Harbor Freight (on sale for $20) and used the compressed air in the yard. The first step was to create a frame (the piece in the back is temporary and some of the components required gluing before ripping to the proper width).

After filling the nail holes, sanding, varnishing (necessary to apply the veneer), and sanding smooth, we insulated with some fiberglass and installed locally-sourced 20 gauge 306 stainless.

Teak veneer with 3M self-adhesive is easy to cut (and trim once applied) with a sharp utility knife, and once a couple of coats of varnish are applied, it is unlikely to come off.

Because considerable effort was put into “measuring ten times and cutting once”, the stove fit like a glove.

A bonus of the stainless firewall is the lock for the gimbal (lower right) is simply a hole drilled in the firewall (no need to install the hardware supplied by Force 10). As a note, if you are going to drill through stainless, you will need cobalt-tipped bits.

The hull was painted with primer today.

The original problem in the rudder was delamination, which we detected during the original survey by “tapping” the fiberglass. After drilling a hole to check the integrity of the foam (which was fine) and establish the core was dry, the delaminated section was cut out.

After the edges of the cutout were ground beveled, the area was built up again with a series of increasingly larger pieces of mat. A small section of the rudder at the position of the middle gudgeon was removed (shown in lower right) to allow the rudder to be more easily removed without the need to remove the corresponding pintle.

Stress fractures were ground out and patched.

The entire rudder was covered with a layer of mat.

The backside of the new 316 stainless-reinforced cheeks (April 22 post) were glassed, then they were mounded to the rudder with countersunk 316 stainless bolts.

A spacer was fabricated from the old teak cheeks and the bolt holes were filled with epoxy.

The entire rudder was covered in mat and epoxy mixed with West Systems 407 filler (which makes it easier to sand).

After sanding, the entire rudder was coated with epoxy mixed with some primer. Below the waterline, the epoxy was mixed with a powdered aluminum vapor barrier (the darker color).

After several months of work, the rudder is now ready to be remounted on the boat.

We started converting the aft lazarette into a propane locker. To reduce the noise and facilitate drainage, we installed an interlocking rubber “anti-fatigue” mat, which is available from Amazon, for $34 per nine. It cuts easily and has channels on the underside that allow water to drain.

Carlos The Rigger and Elvis (his cousin who does not sing) replaced the standing rigging today. Basically, everything was replaced except for the chainplates and the turnbuckles.

The Aegir-Ran has eight Barient winches. Developed more than half a century ago, Barients were the first two-speed winches geared in both directions. At some point Lewmar bought Barient and most parts for the winches are no longer available. Our winches had not been serviced in some time and the primary 28 STS winches in particular were stiff and practically unusable. Winches are expensive and replacing the primaries would cost about $5000 a pop. so we set out to rebuild them. Unfortunately, the 28s were poorly designed with a bronze gear housing mounted on an aluminum base with stainless steel bolts. Electrolysis had practically fused the aluminum to the bronze. To make removing of the 28s for servicing even more complicated were six eight-inch bolts that passed through the hull. The bolts had been gooped in so it was impossible to simply unbolt the winches to remove them for servicing. The order of removal had to be the drum, followed by the gear housing, followed by the base. While it proved possible to disassemble the port 28 without much difficulty, it was clear that the 28 on the starboard side was in much poorer shape. While the drum could be removed, the four bolts that held the gear housing to the base were frozen. After soaking in Liquid Wrench for a day, only two of the bolts could be removed with a wrench. Eventually, two of the Allen bolt heads were stripped.

After three days of effort, the stripped bolts were eventually removed with an extractor using an impact winch.

After a day’s work, separating the housing from the base was eventually achieved by using a Dremel tool and a cutting wheel to create separation and a rubber mallet. The dirt in the base evidenced the winch had not been disassembled or properly maintenanced for decades.

Eventually, all five of the cockpit winches were removed and an assembly line was created to disassemble and clean the parts.

Using the aluminum foil and vinegar trick, it proved possible to polish the chrome to like-new condition.

Luckily, a pair of non-self-tailing Barient 28s were found on eBay that had STAINLESS STEEL bases.

After about nine days of work, the winches were reassembled and now operate like new.