No problems to report

[TomG]

Last November, I hauled out and stored the boat for some long-needed maintenance. While on the hard, I pulled the mast and had new standing rigging made, I replaced all the running rigging, replaced all mast lighting, repaired damage to the spreaders, and most importantly, I replaced a section of delaminated core in the deck around the starboard chainplate. I winterized the A-4 per the MMI A-4 manual and did not do another thing to the engine.

Life kept getting in the way of me launching this spring and even well into the summer. Today, finally, Patina was gently lowered into the water and awaits having her mast reinstalled. Since I replaced the flax in the shaft log, I wanted to check and adjust the drip rate. But really and truly, I wanted to hear my little A-4 roar to life after being dormant for nine months.

Oil level and color - checked.
Water intake valve - opened.
Master switch - on.
Blower - on.
Throttle - just above idle.
Choke - fully closed.
Ignition switch - start.

After 10 seconds of cranking - VVVRRROOOOOMMMMmmm!

So without a mast or a sail, I sat on my little boat and luxuriated in the sweet, smooth sound of a perfectly running Atomic 4.

[Hymodyne]

Looking good Tom!!
The Triton is coming along.

James

[joe_db]

It's Alive

btw - do you have CNG? I have a tank filler now and can fill up at BWI for like $3. You are welcome to borrow it.

[lat 64]

Good on ya.

Pride of a job well done. We all understand it

[wristwister]

That's one gorgeous T30 Tom. I can tell from that one picture that you coddle this baby, and have done a lot of very special touches. I'd love to know what all you've done to her and see more pictures. I'm always dinking with my T30 and I'm inspired by how others keep theirs up.

[TomG]

Looking good Tom!!
The Triton is coming along.

James

James, I can't wait to see some pictures!

BTW, my daughter Kate starts her second year at SU next month and loves the school. My wife and I are also absolutely impressed with all we have seen.

[TomG]

It's Alive

btw - do you have CNG? I have a tank filler now and can fill up at BWI for like $3. You are welcome to borrow it.

I do not have CNG. The boat had it originally and the tank was still in when I got it, but the cook top had been removed years ago. Thanks for the offer Joe!

[TomG]

That's one gorgeous T30 Tom. I can tell from that one picture that you coddle this baby, and have done a lot of very special touches. I'd love to know what all you've done to her and see more pictures. I'm always dinking with my T30 and I'm inspired by how others keep theirs up.

Hi Dan, thank you for the kind words. As you know, Tartan built a pretty good boat back in the day, so many of my touches are more cosmetic now than safety related.

When I got the boat six years ago, it had been unused and untouched for almost two years, had some water intrusion issues and core damage around the starboard chainplate (the Achilles heal of T30s), had some serious electrical and A-4 exhaust issues, and was in dire need of a face lift. What it did have was a brand new (maybe 10 hours?) MMI rebuilt A-4, a full set of brand new UK Halsey Tape Drive sails, brand new Lewmar 40 ST winches, and a gorgeous (to me) Sparkman and Stephens design. It was love at first sight and highlighted the old boating saw "If you don't like her lines the first time you see them, you never will."


The old water lift muffler

Due to circumstances way beyond my ability to negotiate a sweet deal, I got the boat for a song - I could have sold the A-4, sails, winches, and lead keel and come out WAAAy ahead. Way ahead. Instead of scrapping and selling her off in bits, I set about restoring her as best as my talent and wallet would allow, inspired by the magnificent website www.t30makeover.com and the restoration of "Ayacucho." I would love to say I was able to replicate the results of Ayacucho, but that simply wasn't possible given my constraints of skill and dollar bills. What I have though is a very pretty boat, thanks mostly to Olin Stephens, and a ton of free advice from good people and boat lovers everywhere - many of them hanging out here.

My first order of business before even moving the boat was safety. The first big issue was the exhaust system and the other biggie was the DC electrical. Oddly enough, the PO was selling the boat for many reasons, but he said after replacing the A-4 that he thought his motor issues would be over. When I got into the exhaust system, I found the inner liner of the exhaust hose had collapsed and very nearly completely closed off. Once I cut that hose in half, I knew I had likely discovered the cause of his engine woes. I bit the bullet and installed the MMI Stainless Steel Standpipe for Tartans and could not be happier.


Collapsed exhaust hose


MMI SS Standpipe

Once the exhaust and DC were repaired and upgraded (I went with a new BlueSea DC electrical system), we used the boat and continued to do little odds and ends as we could while in the water. The big refit came during the winter after Hurricane Sandy hit NY/NJ. I hauled out and planned the big refit and collected information and parts all winter. A previous (poorly done) installation of a fuel tank not only allowed water into the fuel system, but also into the core of the winch island on the starboard side. The teak topper was badly worn and needed replacing anyway, so that "little" repair led to removing the new fuel tank, removing the old fuel tank, removing the winches and teak planking, removing and repairing the delaminated core, installing a new fuel tank, cutting new teak, reinstalling the winches and plumbing the fuel system.


Delaminated core under the winch island.

[TomG]

Once that chore was done, I wanted to rebed all the fittings on deck. So everything came off except the toe rail. All the teak came off too. While I was at it, I figured I might as well replace the deadlight glass as the old was crazed and hazy. And since I was doing that, I might as well replace the old opening ports in the head and V-berth. So the deck was absolutely nude.


Deck after filling, priming, and sanding.

All holes were over-drilled and filled with epoxy prior to painting, new NewFoundMetals stainless opening ports were installed in the head and V-berth and new plexiglass cut and installed in the deadlights.



Deadlight before




Deadlight after


I replaced the old thru-hulls with proper seacocks and backing plates and ran all new fresh, grey, and black water plumbing lines.



New seacocks

[TomG]

The biggest bang for the cosmetic buck came with painting the deck and hull. I used flattened Brightside on the deck with KiwiGrip for the non-skid areas and Perfection for the hull.



Brightside and KiwiGrip

I cut all new teak (except for the toe rail) and finished with Cetol. A new off-white boot stripe on the flag blue hull (on the proper waterline this time!) really tied things together.



Interlux Perfection



Boot stripe

[TomG]

The interior has also been redone with new overhead panels and recessed LED lighting, all the interior teak has been refinished with Schooner 96, an AC electrical system added, water source marine air conditioning added, the EWDS upgrade was added (love it!), and a zillion other little things. The big work this winter was repairing the delam deck core, replacing the standing rigging and all the mast upgrades.



New Corecel in place



Completed repair


This last project has taken me a lot longer to complete than I wanted, but I'm very fortunate to have a boatyard that is eager to work with me and allow me to tackle a lot of these projects myself. I truly love working on my boat and with simple basic maintenance, my little A-4 just runs and runs and runs. It was such a delight to turn the switch and listen to the engine fire right off after such a long hiatus. I know sailors aren't supposed to love their engines as much as I love mine, but I do.

[Oldlaxer1]

It is great to see your progress. She looks gorgeous. The bootstripe jigs made my painting process so much easier. Thanks. I'm curious, do you have the starboard or aft galley model. You mentioned the fuel tank and the winch island. Where is your fuel tank? Mine is located under the stb settee.You're right, Jeff at T30makeover.com has been a veritable wealth of information.
On the recore of the deck, did you re-use the skin or put new glass down?

[TomG]

It is great to see your progress. She looks gorgeous. The bootstripe jigs made my painting process so much easier. Thanks. I'm curious, do you have the starboard or aft galley model. You mentioned the fuel tank and the winch island. Where is your fuel tank? Mine is located under the stb settee.You're right, Jeff at T30makeover.com has been a veritable wealth of information.
On the recore of the deck, did you re-use the skin or put new glass down?

Thanks John and I'm happy the jigs worked out for you. It really makes it a lot easier!

The original fuel tank was under the port settee (I have the aft galley interior). Somewhere along the way, the original steel tank developed a pinhole leak and a PO installed a second tank in the sail locker under the cockpit next to the aft quarter berth. The new location of the fuel tank meant the fuel fill, just aft of the port chainplates, wouldn't work. Their answer was to cut a hole through the teak winch island and install a new fuel fill there. The installation was poor and water leaked into both the tank and the core thus the delam (and fuel contamination issues that were a devil to figure out!) I removed both tanks and replaced with a new insulated tank in the original location under the port settee and just tied back into the original fuel deck fill.



Leaking fuel deck fill




New insulated fuel tank

The core delam was in many respects much easier to repair than I had though it was going to be. When Tartan laid up the deck (at least on the '77 models), they apparently put in some kind of "break" between sections of core (plywood). It could be they used ply around the chain plates and balsa elsewhere in the deck and where the two joined, there is a solid division of resin so the deck was dry or it was saturated. It didn't go from "saturated" to "very wet" to "kinda wet", it went from "saturated" to "dry". I used a surveyor's moisture meter to find this division. Once I cut the top skin, it simply peeled right up from the delaminated core. I debated laying up new glass, going with G10, or reusing the old skin. Since the old skin came right off, I just epoxied right back in place (after cleaning it up obviously). I put a generous bevel around the perimeter of the cut and laid up I think 8 layers of glass.

[joe_db]

Patina really needs to move someplace else, she makes the rest of us on J dock look bad!

[TomG]

Patina really needs to move someplace else, she makes the rest of us on J dock look bad!

Thanks Joe. I hope to get her back to her slip next week! We'll see how the stepping of the mast goes... I have my fingers crossed!