STERN CLEATS- EPOXY WORKS ON DECK

Finally we uncovered all the interior and got rid of the cardboards. What a revelation ! Our boat was looking great all painted and with new windows.

The deck with the new Gebo hatches. The white areas are where we did the repairs. Because epoxy cannot stay long in the sunlight, we painted the repairs with a two parts polyurethane white primer. In the future we are also planning to repaint all deck.

Meanwhile we started installing the stern cleats. Originaly we found that the cleats were just bolted through with no reinforcement. The deck is certainly very strong in this area, but still we thought it was wise to add some extra strength. For each cleat, we ordered two nice stainless steel backing plates which would give the necessary reinforcement.

And added also double bolts for each machine screw, just in case !

Reading through the CO32 forum, it seems that there are different opinions on were to fit the U-bolt for the second forestay. Some owners prefer to fit it behind the anchor locker but as we found out, the thickness of deck is extra strong just at the front of this same locker.

So we chose to fit this U-bolt at this point with another stainless backing plate. We will see in the future if that was a good idea. This is were the second forestay will support the storm gib…hopefully quite a rare situation…

This is the area in the middle of the deck were the mast go through. We had to make some leveling with epoxy to make sure the new deck ring is nicely flat on deck. This repair was absolutely not structural, but the new deck ring had to marry exactly the shape of the deck.

And the big day came when we finally installed all the new boards inside. We were very pleased with the interior look of our Contessa. This is the new front cabin with the different boards giving access to some storage underneath.

The heads area also looking clean and fresh.

And the original hanging locker reconverted with some shelves.

Here is the starboard berth with the new arrangement for side storage.

 

And the portside berth which is still waiting for the saloon table….

The chart table waiting for the electronics and electrical panel…

The navigation berth was divided in two parts. Under the first board, we will install the batteries and the main electrical wiring. The longer board has some more storage space underneath it.

By now we were totally exhausted and the heat was not helping either ! It was time to go back to normal life and try to get some rest. We decided to leave the boat and come back in autumn to continue the refit. Meanwhile, the hull was going to dry in the very hot greek summer. Our future plan was to do a preventive osmosis treatment in the beginning of October, when the temperature is more suitable.