[Rhodes22-list] Lou's CB trunk almost done

[Lou Rosenberg]

Stan, Rhodies,

  Thanks to Roger Pihlaga, Stan, GBI, and some others who have helped 
me out on this list, I have almost completed  the repair of my 
damaged CB trunk.  Sunday I put the last fibreglass  on the  last of 
the 4 patches which covered almost the entire length of the inside of 
the trunk.
  The trunk had been compromised by water entering from a totally 
cracked and emaciated flange around the trunk.   I had to cut 
Garolite into patches, epoxy them around the flange wall to shore 
that up,  & add more epoxy to fill holes.   Garolite  is an epoxy 
laminate sold by McMaster- Carr in various sizes.
  Over the course of a year I had to use a dremel tool with a flex 
drive attachment to cut out the bad laminate walls of my trunk. 
Working under my trailer at first  I was able to cut fairly accurate 
pieces out without damaging useful areas.  At first I balked at 
taking out the pivot slots but early in the summer I realized they 
were also bulging inward with bad cement behind them.  The pivot 
slots had to be reinforced from behind at home and carefully 
evaluated for any severe permanent damage before I decided to fix 
them.  I actually considered making my own copies out of wood and 
fibreglass, but just reinforced the original ones.
  After I would cut away all four sides of  a panel I would pry open 
the bad laminate and in most cases,  dry cement would fall out.  I 
figured I only lost a few pounds at most of ballast and have begun 
pouring sand back into the voids that have now been covered by new 
garolite laminate.  There are extra pieces of  fibreglass on the back 
sides of  some of the larger panels which have been wetted out by 
injecting thickened epoxy through a DUNCAN DONUTS straw attached to a 
West System syringe.  Only DD straws work for this job!  The extra 
fibreglass attaches to the tie layer and the extra injected epoxy to 
help create a strong bond.  After pouring sand there will be much 
room for more thickened epoxy until the voids are filled.

I am now up to sanding down the walls with fairing sticks, using 
regular 80grit and 100grit paper.  In some places i will be able to 
use my dremel tool with a sanding drum but since the drum is only 
3/4" wide at most, its not an efficient way to get most of the job 
done.  Dremels tend to leave tracks anyway.  But in the narrow 
sections of the aft taper on the trunk i will need the dremel tool.

  After sanding the entire trunk down, I will re insert my rejuvinated 
board with new a custom SS bail which holds my pennant.  I opted for 
this bail because the pennant now takes up less space as it connects 
to the board.  The bail is a flat piece of SS I had laying around 
which is about 1/ 1/4 " wide and only about 1/8" thick.
  I also bolted a  Harken double sheave to the top of my cap.  The 
sheaves are in line and separated by enough space to re create the 
mechanical advantage of the original design. The Harken bullet 
sheaves, I believe they are called, are complimented by two new 
sheaves on the board, also with new SS mounts.  I tested  the sheaves 
on the system before I installed it.

  I am trying to buy some Trindad SR soon to re do the board and paint 
the trunk after a few more layers of epoxy and barrier coating.  Then 
its on to more of my restoration!

  When I am done with the entire repair, Roger is helping me draft an 
article about the methods, communication  ( use of the internet) to 
facilitate a boat repair.  I would also like to put this material 
into the R22 Arhives for future boaters who may have a similar issue. 
There will be pictures, and illustrations, but if you think about the 
angle one needs to see into the CB trunk, a picture is not really 
going to show the details of the repair.

  onto the electronics implant and  fuel cell power plant:) !

  Lou Rosenberg





Lou Rosenberg