Standing Rigging Support Rods

There are six threaded rods which are fastened to the hull of the boat and penetrate through the deck. These rods are part of the standing rigging and are attached to steel cables to help hold the mast up.

Where they penetrate the deck there are covers to prevent any water leaking into the cabin. Two of these rods run through the mast base support beam (which may have been a contributing factor to the water damage). The covers are made from aluminium and have become badly corroded and are no longer providing an adequate seal.

I purchased new cable glands made from 316 stainless steel, however these are not angled liked the old ones and so the the section where the rods penetrate the deck had to be built up to the right angle. I did this using bog with some strands of fibreglass mixed in to help strengthen it.

Mast Base

The external section of fibreglass under the mast base has been ground out and a new layer of fibreglass added to restore strength.

Windows

I attached the new acrylic windows to the side of the boat with butyl tape, this will provide a good water proof seal but does not have a lot of holding force so it can not be used on its own. This is not a problem as the external window frames are bolted on and apply force onto the windows.

Gelcoat

On a fibreglass boat, there is a layer on most external and some internal surfaces called gelcoat, this surface provides a nice looking finish and usually with a pigment mixed for colour. More importantly the gelcoat protects the fibreglass and resin underneath from UV damage.

My father managed to find some pigment called “Honey Fawn” which seems to be an exact colour match to the original gelcoat. I applied two layers of gelcoat to all areas that I fibreglassed. The second layer has wax in styrene added to it which removes the tackyness of the gelcoat.