Transmission Disassembly & Clutch Resurface

The transmission main drive shaft was setup in a vice and a bearing puller used so that the gears and bearings could be removed. The inside of the gear is the mating surface for the conical clutch.














This picture below shows the top gear removed and one surface of the conical clutch. The clutch face has concentric rings that are about 1/32" wide. These are what mate with the inside surface of the drive gear.















Below is one of the drive gears that has the inside surface shown. This becomes a highly polished glazed surface caused by the clutch rubbing against it. I've used fine emery cloth to remove the glaze. This is all done just by rubbing the emery cloth across the surface by hand.














The picture below attempts to show one gear with the glazed surface on the right, and a gear that has been lapped with emery cloth to remove the glaze on the left.














I've kept all the pieces laid out the same way they came apart. This should help get them back together correctly.

Winter Work 2009-2010 - Rudder and Transmission

It's been a while since I posted on the blog. This fall, I noticed some blisters returned on the stbd side when the boat was hauled. I believe these are residual effects of the old glass I left there on the outer skin after the core was replaced last year. I'm just grinding out the blisters, and will fair and barrier coat.




























Last summer Rhapsody was on Block Island and had some significant transom and rudder damage when the piling we were tied up to broke off during a storm. This was documented in a post on the J/30 Forum along with some photos. The new rudder was installed for the J/30 NAs in September, but I didn't have a chance to really prepare it properly. The upper holes needed to be epoxy isolated with a stainless sleeve.

The 1st photo shows over-drilling the holes to accept the sleeve.














Once the holes were drilled and countersunk, I taped the edges and mixed West Systems Epoxy to coat the holes. The sleeves were then lightly tapped in place. Colloidal silica was added to the epoxy to make a paste so the area around the stainless sleeves by the countersunk area could be filled.















Next I needed to put on the gel coat stripe to match the waterline. I used fine line masking tape and created a mask for the stripe all around the rudder. The adjacent area was masked with wax paper. In the photo below, you can see the old rudder that was patched on the floor, with the new rudder standing upright. My basement is about 50 degrees since it is 20 degrees outside. I have a space heater warming the area so that when the gel coat is sprayed it will kick.















The rudder was sprayed with gelcoat using a preval sprayer. First I mixed the gel coat using pure white base, then gradually adding blue color to match the old gel coat. Once the color matched, I mixed about 1 ounce with hardner and thinned it 30% with Acetone. The Gel coat is the type with wax in it. I removed the filter in the pickup tube on the Preval sprayer because I have found in the past, gel coat clogs this. The photo below shows the result of spraying. There is some orange peel that I'll need to wet sand out. I also ended up using a heat gun to make the Gel coat kick, as the space heater just wasn't keeping the area warm enough.















Below is the stripe with the masking removed. Next weekend, I'll do the wet sanding and mount the rudder hardware.














Below is the transmission with the shift lever removed. The casing is being separated from the bell housing. This work is just to reface the conical clutch to make the transmission go into gear better when it is warmed up. It works fine when cold, but chatters when warm.














Here's a view inside the case with the drive gears . I need to get a 1-3/16" socket to remove the retaining nut. It's on my list of things to pick up. More next weekend.

April Recore Work - Almost there!

It's been a while since I posted because I misplaced my camera. It turns out I put it in a tool bag returning from the boat, and didn't find it until I was sorting things out in my basement this weekend. Here are some pictures for work performed in April 2009.

The picture below shows the area adjacent to the engine intake valve in the stbd quarter berth reglassed with 2 layers. You can see I marked with a Sharpie the fiberglass pieces after cutting from the cloth. The lighter markings are visible through the translucent layer of cured resin infiltrated fiberglass on the top layer. The lower portion of the picture shows the area around the top portion of the hull valve. Remember from a previous post that I kept the old valve in place and built up an epoxy base around the valve to isolate it.















The view below is the stbd quarter berth looking aft. Note the fiberglass is tied in to a strip about 2 inches wide adjacent to the settee bulkhead for structural integrity.



















A view inside the transom is shown with the engine control panel removed. A plate made from 1/2" fiberglass was bonded to the inside of the transom to serve as a doubler behind the rudder gudgeons. The original construction had this done with marine plywood that was waterlogged. There will be no chance of anything getting water logged in the future!















You can see below where I slipped with the Fein tool when removing the old core in the transom. The areas were ground down, filled with fairing compound (West Systems epoxy thickened with 410 Microlight filler), then sanded using 220 grit paper. Note the temporary hoses connected to the deck drain to facilitate cockpit draining - remember, I don't have the luxury of doing this inside an enclosure.
















The areas on the stbd aft quarter that had blisters have been recored (wet balsa was the source of the blisters). The area has been faired, sanded and 4 layers of Interlux 2000e barrier coat applied. The area was feathered using an orbital sander to make it easier to match the final painted surface edges.















Here is Warren taking a break from waxing the hull in advance of wrapping the hull above the waterline in plastic so the bottom could be sanded and sprayed.















This is the result of spraying VC Offshore on the bottom. Shown is the area where the blisters were repaired. The bottom was sprayed on Saturday morning 25 April, then wet sanded on Sunday 26 April.















Sunday 26 April had record weather approaching 80 degrees. This was perfect to spray gelcoat. The transom was masked, gelcoat mixed for color match (I was lucky this time - you can't see the difference), and sprayed on with Preval disposable sprayers. Lesson learned - you really need to thin the gelcoat or the sprayers sputter and clog.














Rhapsody was launched on Friday 1 May. The transom and below the waterline where the work was done is great. Topside the boat looks like a disaster area and needs some serious preservation work and cleanup. More pictures to follow!

Sat 28 March - warm enough to core & glass

The area under the stbd settee had a spot that was very tough to chisel out. The outer skin ended up getting punctured. A plastic sheet was taped on the outside of the hull and then the area was faired from the inside using epoxy thickened with West Systems 410 fairing filler. This will be easier to sand when the work is done on the outside of the hull. Inside was then covered with neat epoxy and 2 layers of 17 oz biaxial cloth rolled in.














While the settee was curing, the stbd quarter berth was cored. Below shows the area by the hull valve. The area around the valve was filled with epoxy thickened with colloidal silica to isolate it from the balsa core, and provide structural integrity for bonding the fiberglass inner skin.















The same area looking aft shows the balsa jigsaw puzzle.















Once the stbd quarter berth was cored, the stbd setee cured enough to bond core. The view below shows the area with core bonded. The area will be trimmed and sanded prior to applying the inner skin.














Here is a view of the transom area with new the inner skin on both the transom and the stbd side. The holes for the backstay chainplate were drilled so I could trace a template for a doubling plate in the corner. Even though what is there now is much stronger than the original balsa core with a marine plywood doubler, I plan on bonding a pice of 1/4 inch fiberglass in the corner to serve as a doubler. I'll need to sand the glass threads to get a smooth surface for bonding the doubler.















The area below is a view looking in the stbd cockpit locker by the engine control. The new inner skin can be seen tabbed to the bulkhead that seperates the engine compartment.















I bought a new fiberglass exhaust tube but don't like the wall thickness. I plan on bonding a 1-3/4" tube inside the 2" tube to strengthen it similar to the original exhaust tube. Rain is predicted for Sunday, so that's all the work for this weekend.

Glassing in the Stern & Chipping Rotted Core Elsewhere

21/22 March turned out to be another ok weekend for fiberglass work with temps in the high 40 degree range. This is good since during the week it was in the 20s and 30s.

The transom area finally has the inner skin with two layers of 17 oz biaxial fiberglass cloth bonded to the new core. This is like working as a one armed paper hanger trying to keep the cloth flat on the vertical transom surface while hanging in through the cockpit lockers. The picture below shows the view looking at the intersection of the transom, deck and starboard side. The fiberglass lip at the seam will be sanded to take out the bumps prior to bonding the inner skin on the side.















The view below shows the transom in the area behind the lower rudder gudgeon. You can see the seam where the glass cloth was split in two pieces to make it manageable to hang. There is also a lip that overlaps the bottom to tie the transom to the main part of the hull.
















The starboard quarter berth show where 2 layers of 17 oz cloth are bonded to the outer skin. This will be ready for new core next weekend.














The same area with another view showing the engine intake valve. I decided to leave the valve in place since I would need to cut it to get it out. It's a good valve, so will be building up the area around it to isolate it from the balsa core, and tie it structurally to the surrounding fiberglass skin.















Here's more bad news. There is plenty of rotted balsa in the stbd settee just forward of the nav table. The area is the last that will be done this season, meaning that there is more work to do forward of this under the fuel tank and moving forward next year. I don't think the boat will fall apart if I leave those areas undone for another season.

Another "Warm" weekend to Bond Core

The second weekend in a row and March 14/15 provided some great 50 degree weather to work on the boat. I continued to cut the balsa pieces to match the contour of the transom. The photo below shows the final transom core pieces bonded with bracing material to hold it in place so the Core Bond could cure. Although hard to tell, the bracing board is approximately parallel with the horizontal bottom of the boat. This was completed on Saturday.















On Sunday morning I removed the bracing and sanded the areas where I dropped core bond in the section forward of the transom. This needed to be a smooth surface for bonding balsa core. The core bond sands pretty easily compared to using a filler of thickened West Systems. I used large sheets of paper to trace the cutout sections just forward of the transom on the stdb side. The paper tracing was then transferred to the balsa core and the pieces cut using a knife.
Below is a picture that shows fitting up the pieces. The edges were sanded/cut as needed. The gaps between pieces aren't real critical, as they would be filled with core bond. Note that the balsa pieces were fabricated as one large piece that I then cut into smaller sections no larger than 12 inches. This allows the pieces to conform to any irregularities and insures a good bond to the outer skin. The picture below is a view looking straight down in the stbd cockpit locker. The top of the picture forward and left side towards the keel.



















The view below shows the area in the cockpit locker bonded. Note the core bond between the core section joints. I left a tab of the old inner skin around the entire new core area so when the fiberglass is bonded, it will be bonded over the tab to provide structural support. This means that there are still some areas with wet core. I'll live with it, since I know the boat won't crack if there is hull slamming in rough seas!




















This is my chance to make sure the exhaust is never again the culprit contributing to wet core. The picture below shows where I created a dam at the bottom of the hole where the fiberglass exhaust tube will be bonded. I filled the area with thickened epoxy. The dam leaked so I have a little puddle forward of the hole. It's just a cosmetic problem, and nobody but me and the world reading this blog will ever know about it. The top of the picture is stbd and right side is looking aft. The white triangle is sunlight overexposing an area - hey I held the camera below in the locker, so this was a blind shot!




















Remember that the area on the stbd side by the transom and the backstay chain plate was like mush? The photo below shows the new and improved cored area. The section with the upper bonding tab I left on the stbd side was dug out, ground clean using a wire brush on a flexible shaft, then thoroughly dried with a heat gun (it was very wet). The void space was filled with core bond. That way if water was coming in by the seam, it will be stopped before reaching balsa. The core bond was also used as a layer to isolate the transom from the new core on the stbd side, again to prevent water migration if there ever was a problem in the future. The photo below is looking up at the intersection of the transom, stbd side and deck joint.
















The center area above the transom is shown. Note that there used to be a piece of plywood strengthening the area behind the rudder gudgeons. That's the gap that shows along the top seem. This won't be needed with the stronger fiberglass plate that is there now. Before bonding the inner skin, I'll use thickened epoxy to fill the area and provide a contoured surface. Plan is to bond the inner skin as a flat surface, then bond a fiberglass tape to connect the surface with the adjacent tabbing. It's just too hard to try and work all the complex angles with a big sheet of resin soaked 17 oz biaxial cloth.

Note to self - no backing plate on the stbd side padeye for the back stay (see just the nuts and washers in lower left portion of picture). Fix that!
















Starting the "easy" areas to core. This means working on your knees instead of hanging in a locker upside down. Warren was working on grinding out the inner skin from the stbd quarter berth while I was working on the transom. He needed a little calibration on how to use the Fein tool because he punched through the outer skin in a few places.... more exterior sanding, filling and fairing work to do. I continued this work on Sunday after the core bonding.
















Here's another potential water source. The engine intake hull valve does not appear to be isolated from the core. Plan is to dig out underneath leaving the valve in place, then build a dam using a 6" diameter plastic mixing bowl that has been cut off leaving about a 2 inch lip. The dam will be filled with thickened epoxy and provide an area where the fiberglass cloth can be bonded to for structural strength. I'd replace the vale, but it is in great shape, so no sense destroying it taking it out. It has been routinely lubricated, operates freely and shows no sign of corrosion.

Spring temperatures so Transom work starts again

I worked on Rhapsody today for the first time since the 1st week in December. The temperature hit 60 degrees so it was perfect weather to do some core bonding. However...it's supposed to snow tomorrow. I never took pictures of the fiberglass plates bonded to the transom, so started with that. The picture below shows the backstay chainplate backing and swim ladder backing bonded to the transom. I predrilled the holes and used throw away hardware to hold the sandwich compressed while the bonding material set. I used a two part vinyl ester resin called "Core Bond" for the bonding, except for the rudder mounts I used thickened epoxy. The problem is I now have the fasteners on the rudder mounts frozen in place and need to drill out the bolts. I was able to unscrew the fasteners where I used the Core Bond. The Core Bond is very easy to work with because it is already the consistency of peanut butter, and only requires the mixing with hardner.


Back in December I had bonded all the fiberglass plates and bonded balsa core between the fiberglass places used for the backing on the rudder gudgeons. The next two pictures show views of the center transom area where the bonding was done. I'll end up sanding, filling the bond voids at the joint seems and fair it before applying the inside fiberglass biaxial cloth.





























Today I spent making the jigsaw puzzle pieces so I could fit them together and continue the core bonding work. It was a little tedious because of hanging in the cockpit lockers to make paper templates, cut the balsa core pieces, and trim them to fit. I ended up completing about half the transom on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully the weather next weekend will support finishing the rest of the transom bonding. Below are pictures after the bonding work today.