Grandfather's Axe rebuilds...

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JimC
Posts: 1721
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:24 pm
Location: Surrey
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Grandfather's Axe rebuilds...

Post by JimC »

I've never been that keen on these, but just now I got the impulse for the first time as I looked at the new little piece of cedar reinforcing on Queenie shining in its fresh varnish alongside all the battered and stained thirty seven year old cedar... Wouldn't it be nice, I thought, to replace all those old bits of deck ply and stripwood... Then sense intervened!
Rupert
Posts: 6255
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:40 pm
Location: Cotswold Water Park

Re: Grandfather's Axe rebuilds...

Post by Rupert »

Go for it...once you are at it, get a nice new wing mast made, and some new sails to go with it, and the hull could probebly do with reskinning with some nice strong new ply...and could the tanks do with replacing, too? Some shiny new modern fittings would make her easier to sail, as well.
Barring the hull reskin, this is pretty much the condition Saskia the Firefly is in, with new decks, transom, mast, Hyde sails, modern(ish) controls and the like. But there are lotas of Fireflies around, so there is room for some to be changed and some to remain as they were. There appears to be only one Queenie (and not many other Cherubs like her) so resist the little voices, please!
Rupert
JimC
Posts: 1721
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:24 pm
Location: Surrey
Contact:

Re: Grandfather's Axe rebuilds...

Post by JimC »

A particular problem I have is the side tank/floor seal, which has just gone *again*. Always a very vulnerable point on Cherubs... The deck ply over the tanks is the last original deck ply, so I really don't want to rip it off so I can do the repair properly from the inside. I could just dribble epoxy in the crack again, but I was half wondering about cutting away the tank side about 5mm at the outside, tapering off in a wedge back to level with the floor at the batten, so I can actually clear out all the old bits of cracking up glue, sand and all the rest on the glue faces. Be a better job I reckon, but any thoughts on the cosmetics/any other downsides? Of course I might find that the battenis glued to the floor just fine, its the tank side ply coming loose, in which case this idea won't be any help at all... Have to get out the feeler gauges and see what's going on...
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