Recent Work

Starting August 2020 I have been doing work on Shackleton, first to prepare her for the journey north, Lanzarote to Holland, and then to correct some niggles discovered during this journey. Work on a classic boat never stops, but different owners have different ideas and priorities so I have primarily focused on essential systems and comfort. (From early December I am back in Scotland; Shackleton remains in the Netherlands)

Hull: under water-line

First activity was lift-out, to find out whether I was prepared to sail her at all! Just because the inside of the hull (normally the main corrosion risk)  looks excellent, doesn't automatically mean all is well. Also: the insurance company required a hull-thickness survey for the journey.

A strip-down refurbishment was done in 2016, under Swiss ownership, in Spain. This was the reason the interior is for the most part readily accessible and cleanly painted, the equipment is mainly recent, and the interior modern and light.
Welding?
Before the hull was surveyed, prior to shotblasting, I had noted a few tiny oil-drips coming from a weld on the side of the keel. Thickness measurements were good (I own an advanced through-paint steel thickness meter), the weld was structurally sound, and the only reason I saw the drips was that I'd removed paint and filler which must have kept it in. The question was fill-and-paint (as this appeared to have successfully prevented deterioration - that's the whole reason oil-fill is used) or welding? Helped by the presence of an expert welder - rare to come by- I chose to weld a strip over the previous weld for cosmetic reasons. This is of course the expensive choice, but I considered that if I was going through the expense and effort of a textbook shot-blast-and-epoxy-paint-job, I did not want distractions. In a similar vein he welded a little disc over an earlier re-welded through-hull to restore external steel continuity (which I personally feel good about), even though corrosion risk here was zero (quality coating + anodes)
Blasting
Shot-blasting (technically sand-blasting in this case) is the best way to get good and long-lasting paint adhesion on steel, and a critical parameter is the time between blasting and painting: this must be kept short, much less than 24 hours. It was arranged that the blasting would finish daily around 15:00, leaving enough day-time for the critical first epoxy coat. Educating the blasters that it is not paint-removal they are doing but steel preparation, meant they also treated clean and previously unblasted steel (e.g. from the stern tube replacement of 2016). Prop,rudder and bow-thruster bearings and through-hulls were elaborately protected with sand-ingress.
The alternative adequate treatment (according to the paint manufacturer) of "grinding" was used only for small sections where blasting was not possible.
Painting/Coating
International Paint is what I have extensive experience with and I have the technical help-line in my contacts, so that was used. The critical issues to make the job last for decades are -as mentioned: minimise time between blasting and first coat, and use no less than "4 to 5 coats". So 5 coats international epoxy coating it is, in alternating colours to ensure a sufficiently thick and even coat, and to ensure no parts are missed. While some small sections, such as under the pads of the stands, may have only 4 coats, that's the minimum.
Filling?
I personally believe filler is for elegance but not to hide things, so decided to only add a small filler-bevel to existing weld areas to minimise micro-turbulence, and so minimise anti-fouling wear. In the end the combination of anodes and anti-fouling prevents corrosion under the waterline, permanently.
Anti-fouling
For environmental and experience reasons I use International Micron (Extra), an eroding anti-fouling. To prevent growth, and prevent the need for annual lifting, I put on 4+ coats on erosive areas (near waterline, rudder, leading edges) and 3 coats overall. The prop wash area gets the remains from each coat extra. This should keep the hull clean for several years, more so since she's spending this winter in fresh non-flowing water.
Anodes
All 12 hull anodes and th eprop anode were renewed (4.5 kg hull)
Rudder
The rudder is wood with a glass reinforced covering. This was cleaned and dried, abrasion areas re-coated with West epoxy and glass, filled, sanded and coated with Primocon before anti fouling. Blasting would have been too risky for a well made continuous thin glass covering.

Hand-holds

On the ocean, boats roll and pitch. Good handholds within reach are essential for keeping the crew fit & healthy! Two cabin-ceiling lengthwise handholds, and one transverse grip at the step-down to the nav area were made in Sapeli hardwood, which naturally has the colour of varnished teak. The compass was re-mounted on the same wood, replacing the plastic un-beveled support -and the A2 stainless screws that fixed this to the coach-roof!

Batteries

All three battery banks were renewed. The instability of the shore power supplies causing regular resets, and possibly the lack of alternative charging method, meant the batteries were near the end of their life; an ocean journey is not the time to put your starter motor, winch or navigation abilities at risk.  The domestic bank was replaced with costly but long-lasting Varta dual purpose batteries, while the engine and windlass+bow thruster battery banks are standard lead-acid.

Solar Panels

Solar panels were installed, serving multiple purposes: 1) An alternative charging method creates power redundancy in case of engine failure and 2) continuous part-charging prevents deep discharge of the battery banks, prolonging life. The two 100W panels are independently regulated and connected, providing yet more redundancy to guarantee power for electronic navigation and lighting.

Pumps

Shackleton had one manual and two electric pumps for the three bilges: an electric submersible aft by the stern gland, a manual one for the engine compartment, and a submersible electric for the main (forward) bilge. The main bilge pump was replaced with a dry-installed pump and an air-pressure sensor (to get electrics out of the bilge and improve trouble shooting under stress), and also a large manual pump was added to the main bilge: if things get wet you want to get rid of water quick, and manual pumps do that! It is installed readily accessible, out of the way, by the companionway steps (see image of battery cutoffs below). A "loose"electric bilge pump is installed in the engine room to be able to dispose of oily bilge water into jerry cans, for environmental reasons, particularly inland waterways and the Baltic. The stern-gland submersible pump was not replaced as the electrical risk was considered much smaller due to the easy access, but a replacement pump + sensor are on board.

Power-electrics

Safe high power electricity is more important on a steel yacht than on wood or fibreglass. Though the entire system was built with quality materials and equipment, I found the main cutoff-switches (de-powering the boat) too far from the power source (the batteries), and also the cables running too close to the steel hull. This was re-done in order to have the cutoffs strategically placed very close to the batteries, easily accessible, and by a new CO2 fire extinguisher, just in case. Most fires are caused by electricity; having had a fire on board once on the high seas over 20 years ago -being saved by good cutoffs and an extinguisher- I'd rather prepare than merely hope!

Sea-berths

The really cosy and clean aftcabin has a double transverse berth, normally, as seen in the picture here. For the trip north, sea-berths were required: a lengthwise arrangement, head aft, and with side-support ("lee-cloth" equivalent). This was done as indicated in the other photo, with a high-sided storage section in the middle. This gave excellent and comfortable support, and even a small amount of privacy in harbour when both berths were in use simultaneously. The "box" can be assembled or disassembled in minutes, and is stored in the aft cabin. Just in case you wonder why two single mattresses were chosen instead of one double...

Windows

During the trip we noted a few drips: the biggest over the chart table, and the most annoying over a bunk! At sea, spray and humidity prevented all but temporary solutions, so on arrival in Holland 4 windows were removed and re-installed, with success, also confirming what is a pet-hate of mine: many boat people use too little mastic (and often an incorrect type too) to seat windows and hatches. The reason is simple: the less you use, the less you have to clean up and the less it costs. But if you want to *stay* dry, use masking tape, the right primer, the right mastic, and above all take your time both in preparation and clean-up.
The two main opening windows are now re-sealed (and dry), the forward-looking window above the navigation table, and the SB-aft side window are re-seated with Sika 591, and the wood-side prepared with Sika 290 Primer. And yes, cleaning up excess was a time-consuming effort. Done right, you can save your energy for a different job next time! (Note that due to the design, just like with classic car windows, the opening windows require to have the furry "seals" sprayed with silicone spray occasionally.)

Force-10 Cooker

Shackleton has a 4 burner "Force 10" stove with grill and oven. One burner didn't work due to a stuck valve, which was no hindrance for the trip - I just removed the knob. But for me this was not good enough to live with, and here the joy starts. To access the stuck gas valve 7 seized hob screws needed removing (1.25 hours each, to not break them). The first screw broke, proving my strength (!), but this meant that with care it took over an hour per screw to remove the others, in addition to the . 2.5 hours to remove the stub cleanly. The one pre-existing stub I left for the future, as I did not want to unnecessarily open further gas-conduits of the hob. Once disassembled, it turned out the seized valve was truly seized solid, so I ordered a replacement (with transfer and refurbishment of some of the stove-specific parts). Once this was installed and leak tested, it turned out the jet was blocked, and it too was seized. Disassembled to prove the jet was the problem, reassembled, leak tested, unseized the jet (>1hr). Cleaned and refurbished the dirty/ corroded jet (another hour). And then I cleaned a few bits of shiny stainless just to make the point: it's as new again! The simple un-sticking of a valve altogether took maybe 20 hours and EUR 80, including new screws (of which 10 needed shortening) where relevant. All that is left is to stick the "Force_10" factory label on again.

.. and many other bits and pieces

When winterising, the airconditioning raw water cooling pump was re-piped to move the intake filter above the waterline.

Siting of an internal 200A cutoff for the external electrics panel and winches, to prevent inadvertent use. (The red-tape is the electric heads winterisation warning)

The internal engine ventilation inlet, sited to ensure optimum engine cooling and also allow application of the CO2 extinguisher in case of a fire.

An access opening was cut for inspection of the SB deck drain pipe, inside the aft cabin locker. Due to the pristine condition the port side drain was not inspected from within.

Two porthole glasses were re-seated due to a single-drop drip, after a week of watching proving it not to be condensation.

The preparation paid off: the only real surprise we encountered was when, about a day before intended arrival in Falmouth, the engine panel went blank. The engine kept on running, as good diesels do, so while manually monitoring the engine as best we could, we set about troubleshooting. The fuel gauge, fan and generator were soon restored (relay-controlled), and from the schematic it was assumed that there might be a cable fault in one of the Yanmar looms. Indeed, it turned out that a single pin had fatigue-sheared off a connector, cutting the instrument power at the engine. Rather than install a yanmar replacement loom, the offending power supply was routed around the plug, separately sealed, and has proven to work ever since.

The separate switch for the fuel gauge remains, which now allows checking and topping up of the daytank with the engine off.

The tiny broken pin of the engine loom is visible here