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Phase I was to sand and paint the lockers inside the boat. They looked pretty dirty and would put splinters in your fingers. We insulated the back of some of the lockers where the hull is covered with vinyl with Prodex. We were hoping this would prevent condensation in the lockers and it has to an extent, but there is still some moisture in the lockers. We think we might want to modify some of the lockers or at least the access to some of them. The hatches to get into the back of the settees are really tight and we have an idea for a slide-out shelving unit we might try. All this will be Phase II, but depending on how all the other projects go, we might wag Phase II altogether. See cabinets and countertops for updates on improvements to storage.
Behind the skinny slide-out cabinet in the nav station there was quite a bit of dead space so we did what we’ve always done and turned it into storage (video below). Rich cut a new door under the nav station to access it and it holds his computer and other electronics. We also changed the access to the area under the new breaker panel. There used to be a weird diamond-shaped hole as access to that area and it was hard to shove anything in there. Rich cut in a proper door and now we have another space for storing even more stuff.
Ramble On came with a thin, moldy, dirty, and generally disgusting mattress. While I would have really liked to get a traditional mattress for the V-berth, they were too expensive so we ended up opting for a foam mattress. I searched the internet high and low for information on the “best” foam mattress for a boat. I had no idea there were so many options and choices in foam. Having no experience with foam mattresses I really wanted to try them out before making a final decision so online ordering was out. I finally found a place in San Francisco that makes custom mattresses so Rich and I traveled to Foam Order.com. They were great, very knowledgeable and helpful. We ended up ordering 4 inch Ever-flex medium-firm foam (density – 2.6 lb/ft3 and indentation load deflection (ILD) – 34) with a 2 inch memory foam (5.3 lb/ft3 ) top. Both layers are covered with medium weight fabric with zippers. There’s three pieces (right, left and the cutout) so we can still access the fuel tank and lower lockers.
We originally planned to buy the Froli Sleep System for under the mattress to increase airflow, prevent condensation and mold. Unfortunately, the Froli System adds about 1.5 inches to the height of the mattress, which means we would have to go with about a 4-5 inch mattress (2-3 inch base and 2 inch top) since we only have about 6 inches from the platform base to the bottom of the tilt-out cabinet door on each side of the V-berth. That seemed way too thin to me. Also, the Froli System is expensive, so we decided to go with a thicker mattress and Hypervent. It’s a 3/4 inch pad of white spun polymer woven into a large open configuration that is bonded to a breathable white fabric layer that sits under the mattress to allow air to circulate. It was about half the price of the Froli System so we thought we’d give it a shot. It’s worked out great. We cut it so it would wrap up the sides of the mattress since they touch the sides of the boat. We get condensation on the side walls of the V-berth (soon to be remedied with a dehumidifier we hope), but the mattress stays dry.
We upgraded to the Froli Sleep System. I wrote a post about it here. The Hypervent works fine for moisture, but our bed was starting to make our backs sore. The Froli solved both problems. We bought the Froli Travel V-berth Large Kit with one 12-pack expansion kit and we have a couple pieces left over.
Our first project on Ramble On was to tear out the headliner, rewire and upgrade the lighting, and then put it all back together better than before. We started here because it was obvious one of the previous owners tried (but failed) to repair a leak and we figured this is a project best done before we live on the boat. When we pulled the patched headliner piece down it was completely saturated. Apparently, the turtle over the hatch had sprung a leak and instead of stopping the leak, a patch was put over the damaged headliner.
This project then morphed into re-bedding the deck hardware. The original hardware is through-bolted all the way to the headliner so the backing plates are visible throughout the boat. We don’t particularly like the way it looks, so we decided to bed the hardware under the headliner. Here’s the problem: we’re not ready to redo all the hardware just yet and we don’t want to finish the headliner then tear it all down again to re-bed the deck hardware. So the solution we came up with is this: we’re going to rewire the cabin lights, re-bed some deck hardware, put up the new headliner and put the battens up but we’re not going to finish the trim until we’re done with the deck hardware. The interior will look unfinished for a year or so, but once we’re done re-bedding the deck hardware and adding any new hardware, we will finish the trim on the battens. It’s not perfect, but it will have to do.
We’ve heard a lot of pros and cons on insulation. We decided we wanted to insulate the headliner at least. We found closed-cell reflective vapor barrier insulation called Prodex online and decided to give it a try. In the process, I learned more than I ever wanted to know about how insulation works. Bottom line is we will not get the R-value advertised because in order to get that you have to have a significant airspace between the outside wall and the insulation and we don’t. However, we’re still optimistic that installing some insulation will be better than nothing.
Once the new marine grade electrical wire was in place, Rich cleaned the bare ceiling with TSP (trisodium phosphate), cut the insulation to size, and put it up. Then he cut FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) shims to put over the mahogany nail strips. The original headliner was thicker than new headliner material, which is white matte finish Formica. We cut it to size then tacked it up with little nails. The battens then went back up to hold it all in place. It looks great and the insulation has so far prevented any condensation on the ceiling.
We’re also installed Prodex on the hull in some of the larger lockers and in the V-berth on the ceiling over the forward part of the bed. We noticed that condensation formed in the hanging lockers and Prodex has helped minimize that problem.
We bought an old boat with worn out teak decks knowing we would have to repair or replace them. So we ditched the teak and opted for paint and non-skid.
Before we bought SVRO we were pretty sure we’d have to remove the teak from the decks and cockpit. The non-skid paint on the cabin top was peeling and flaking as well. In general, the decks, cabin top and cockpit were in shambles. We soon learned that removing old teak decks from a sailboat is a meticulous and labor-intensive process that requires a delicate balance between preserving the boat’s structural integrity and maintaining its aesthetics. Could we have tried to repair the teak and leave it in place? Probably. But there was evidence of issues like water intrusion, missing teak plugs, and wear-and-tear. We like a challenge as much as the next guy, but after this experience it’s not something we ever anticipate doing again.
In the Spring of 2014 we started on the removal of the leaking teak decks over the V-berth and side decks. We popped out all the teak plugs, removed all the screws, and pried up each plank. The layer of black adhesive was scraped off and the fiberglass underneath sanded smooth. The screw holes were drilled out to verify the condition of the “balsa” core (ranging from soaking wet to bone dry), then filled temporarily with a thickened mix of epoxy to strengthen the outer fiberglass skin and keep any additional rain water out.
During the summer of 2015 we cut through the top skin of the deck at the fore-peak. We already knew the core was wet so we replaced it with new balsa. Then we cut the side decks open to about the forward shroud. Those were wet too, but not as bad. We completely replaced the port side; we jigsaw-puzzled in the new pieces on the starboard side because the old pieces were not coming out easily. After those areas were done, we put the original skin back, Rich ground a bevel on each edge, and it was stitched the together with fiberglass tape and epoxy.
It was kind of a nightmare job so we decided that’s enough of that and we’re going to leave the remaining side decks as they are. Overall it’s a pretty small area so it shouldn’t be too big of a problem. I doubt we’ll finish figerglassing and fairing the decks this year, but they’re water-tight for now.
DONE. That’s what we are with the decks. We spent most of May and June removing the old paint from the cabin top sides and fairing the decks smooth. By the end of June we had the Interlux Epoxy Primkote on everything. Over the next several weekends in July we managed to paint all the white parts (the cabin top sides and the edges where there wouldn’t be non-skid) with Interlux Perfection. Before the month was done we had the non-skid (Interlux Intergrip) on as well. I must say this project was hell. July was the hottest month on record (everyday was over 90 degrees and we had about a dozen days over 100 degrees). We think it turned out pretty good, though it’s far from perfect.
The non-skid and paint on the cabin top (also called the coachroof) was abominable when we bought Ramble On. I mean, really bad. Every time we would hose off the boat, a white layer of flaking paint would rain down on the dock and neighboring boats. I scraped the flaking top layer off Spring 2015. Underneath were 2-3 layers of various shades of tan paint and non-skid that appeared to be fairly well adhered to the surface. We were originally going to use Brightside and Kiwigrip for the entire boat like we did in the cockpit. We’re not happy with the Kiwigrip results so we decided to change tactics.
Rich did a chemical test on the remaining layers of paint. It appears one of the layers is a one-part paint. We switched to using a two-part paint (Interlux Perfection) which cannot be used over a one-part. So we had to strip off more layers of paint and non-skid. We tried using a heat gun and scraper, but for me it was a non-starter. It took me over an hour to do about a one square foot section. We decided to use a chemical stripper called TotalStrip by TotalBoat from Jamestown Distributors. It worked great and was not that messy. We’re still working on this project and are hoping to get at least a coat of primer on before winter. We’ll update as we go.
We did get a coat of Interlux Primekote on the cabin top before winter last year. Over the past couple of weeks Rich has been prepping the cabin top for paint and non-skid. We used Interlux Perfection for the shiny parts that won’t get the non-skid and gray Interlux Intergrip for the non-skid areas (the same as we used on the Sea Hood).
As we removed the teak from the cockpit we found rotten teak and mahogany and a few areas where water was leaking into the boat. We cut off the tops of the cockpit combings to remove the rotten wood, built new, bigger scuppers, repaired all the leaks, then built new cockpit combings, and finally added a shitload of epoxy to everything. We painted the areas that didn’t get non-skid with Interlux Brightsides then masked it off and painted it with Kiwi Grip.
At first we thought it was great. But it hasn’t held up well at all. The Brightsides paint has several chips and scratches that won’t come out. The Kiwi Grip has several stains (especially under the barbecue) that we can’t get out and on several areas it looks like there was an air bubble under the peak on the Kiwi Grip; when the bubble popped it left a void which is now filled with dirt that won’t come out.
I’m glad we did just the cockpit before we determined we didn’t like this combination. We’re going to use a two-part paint and a different non-skid from now on, but we’re going to leave the cockpit as is. It’ still functional, just not as pretty as we would like.
